Charter revision commission approves first directives, moves boundary text, and asks lawyer to draft Gak language

The Ithaca Charter Revision Commission on its first public comment meeting approved a package of directives asking the city attorney to draft charter language for a range of working-group recommendations, and adopted several amendments to simplify and modernize longtime charter provisions.

Commission Chair Billy Noseworthy opened the session with an overview of the three-step approach the commission will use — working groups prepare “asks” for the city attorney, the attorney drafts language and explains legal constraints, and the commission then refines final ballot text. "We are an independent nonpartisan commission charged with reviewing and revising the city charter," Noseworthy said during introductory remarks.

Why it matters: The commission is building the set of changes that could appear on a future ballot and must finish legal review well ahead of the submission deadline. Commissioners emphasized they first want to direct attorneys to return workable draft text rather than spend commission time drafting provisions that may be legally infeasible.

Public commenters pushed the commission to protect long-standing community programs. "I strongly support codifying GK and the Ithaca Youth Bureau in the charter," Sam P., who identified himself as a resident of Ithaca and a Cornell student, told commissioners. He said codification would "cement their status" and urged preserving representation and staff efficiency.

Dr. Lesman Mcbine Clareborn, who identified herself as director of the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (Gak), asked commissioners…