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Charlene Hunter urges Lancaster council to enforce attendance rules, says District 5 lacks representation
Summary
At a Lancaster work session, resident Charlene Hunter urged the council to apply fines and consider forfeiture under City of Lancaster ordinances after accusing Council member Taylor of chronic absences, saying District 5 is left without proper representation.
Charlene Hunter, a resident of District 5, told the Lancaster City Council during its work session that Council member Taylor has attended only about 20% of meetings since election and “not even 1 in 2025,” and urged the council to use municipal penalties to address the absences. "I implore you to exercise the ability to impose the fines for non attendance as outlined in the City Of Lancaster ordinances article 2 section 2 dash 5 6," Hunter said.
Hunter told the council she read the city's ordinances and said Article 2, section 2-29 (as quoted to the council) supports fines or forfeiture for members who fail to attend meetings. "Councilwoman Taylor should be required to forfeit the office as she lacks the ability to attend meetings and perform constituent work," she said, and called accepting compensation while failing to perform duties "moral turpitude." She added concerns about crime, overdevelopment and insufficient infrastructure in District 5 as the substantive problems that require representation.
The comments were made during the public-comment portion of the work session; the transcript shows no council response or formal action addressing Hunter’s request in the provided segment. The council subsequently moved on to routine business, including approval of amended minutes. Hunter’s attendance figures and her assertions about ordinance applicability were presented as claims; the council did not record a deliberation or vote on sanctions in the available transcript.
Background: Hunter said the alleged absences date to Council member Taylor’s election in 2022 and referenced a planned pay increase for council members set to begin in January, arguing it would be improper if the member continues to miss meetings. The ordinance citations Hunter read at the podium were recorded in the transcript as "City Of Lancaster ordinances article 2 section 2 dash 5 6" and "article 2 section 2 dash 2 9." The council’s official minutes and staff records would be the authoritative source for attendance statistics and any enforcement steps.
The work session continued with other agenda items; no vote on sanctions or forfeiture was recorded in the provided transcript.
