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Council discusses four-year terms, charter revision and seeking a grant to fund the review
Summary
The council reviewed a proposal to move mayor and council terms to four years and debated whether the change requires a charter amendment and special election; members agreed to wait for potential grant funding and to review a 2017 draft charter before acting.
Vernon — Council members debated changing city elected terms to four years and whether the change should be pursued now or held until grant funding could support a formal charter review.
One council member proposed moving to four-year terms to align Vernon elections with regular cycles. Staff reminded the council that changing term length would require a charter amendment. "We do," the staff member said, noting charter revision is a separate, time-consuming and expensive process and that past attempts (a 2017 draft) did not progress beyond initial review. (Staff member, SEG 632; SEG 766)
Members discussed a potential grant to underwrite a charter-review committee. Council consensus was to wait to see if the grant is awarded before launching formal revision work; in the meantime, staff agreed to provide copies of the 2017 draft charter for council review. "Let's wait and see if we can get a grant," the Chair said. (Chair, SEG 837)
Council briefly discussed whether a special election could be scheduled with the county supervisor of elections if the supervisor agrees to place the referendum on the August or November ballot. Staff said it is procedurally possible but requires county cooperation and separate ballot administration. (Agency official, SEG 681)
No formal action was taken; staff will provide the 2017 draft charter and bring grant-application status back to the council for a future decision.
