Franklin Council agrees to place five charter amendments on the ballot

On June 5 the Franklin City Council reached consensus to place five proposed charter amendments on the ballot for voter consideration. Law Director Donnette Fisher reviewed eight possible changes and the Council settled on five to forward to a public hearing on June 19.

The five items Council agreed to place on the ballot are: - Section 8.04(a) (Civil Service Commission): remove the political-party requirement for commission members to make it easier to recruit members; - Section 8.02 (Unclassified Service): technical wording changes, including updating titles and removals of certain enumerated positions; - Section 5.05 (Contracting Powers): replace the fixed dollar threshold of Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000) with language that references “the amount fixed by State Law” to align with changes in state competitive bidding thresholds; - Section 3.03 (Powers of Council): streamline the process for selling or leasing property to other governmental entities by removing one advertising location requirement and allowing sale/lease to government entities by ordinance upon five votes of Council; - Section 4.10 (Adoption of Technical Codes by Reference): reduce the paper-code copy requirement (delete multiple copy/sale language) reflecting that codes are available online.

Fisher said the contracting change is intended to prevent the charter from becoming outdated when the state changes bidding thresholds. Mayor Denny Centers and other members noted the amendments are a mix of previously considered language and new clarifications; Council’s consensus was to bring the five items to voters rather than place all eight before the electorate.

Ending: The specific amendments will appear on the ballot following the public hearings scheduled for June 19; Fisher and staff will prepare final language and advertise the measures as required.