Charter Review Commission presents five charter changes to Prince George's County Council

Camille Exa, chair of the Charter Review Commission, told the Prince George’s County Council on April 28 that the commission completed a multi-month review and is recommending five specific changes to the county charter.

The commission proposed a technical amendment to charter provisions on compensation for council members and the county executive to ensure compliance with state law; changes to the transfer-of-appropriations process to allow the county executive to authorize transfers within the same agency and require council approval for transfers exceeding $1.5 million; adding language to align the charter with state labor code to permit use of the American Arbitration Association and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service for disputed bargaining matters; granting the county purchasing agent full signature authority to execute contracts and removing surplus-property authority from central services; and streamlining competitive bidding by adding requests for quotations and removing language tied to garbage and refuse collection extensions.

"The Charter Review Commission has been established pursuant to Charter section 1106," Exa said, and described the commission’s work from December through April and the subcommittees that considered administrative, personnel and contracting, and budget and fiscal matters. She said the commission sought to make county operating procedures more efficient and to bring charter language into alignment with state law where necessary.

Council members thanked the commission and asked follow-up questions. One council member urged that the charter be revised to correct a redistricting-related error identified by the courts; Exa said correspondence on that court matter had been received and characterized some of the concerns as process-related rather than direct charter text changes.

Why it matters: the recommendations, if adopted, would change how the county handles pay compliance, budget transfers, procurement authority and collective-bargaining dispute resolution. Some changes could be executed administratively; others may require council action or voter placement on the ballot.

Next steps: Exa concluded the presentation after describing prior public hearings on charter amendments and the option the commission provided to place proposed charter amendments on the ballot via petition referendum. The council did not vote on charter amendments during the April 28 session; further council deliberation or referral to committee would be required.