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Commission votes to hold special election on charter changes in 2025; preamble proposal rejected
Summary
After a lengthy debate, the commission voted to reconsider the timing of charter amendments and directed staff to pursue a special election in 2025 to present seven items recommended by the Charter Review Committee; a separate motion to add a revised preamble failed.
The commission reconsidered its prior decision on charter timing and voted to send the Charter Review Committee's seven recommended amendments to voters in a special election targeted for 2025. The debate spanned concerns about turnout, ballot fatigue, procedural constraints in the city charter, and whether additional language such as a new preamble should be attached.
Commissioner Ashley moved to reconsider and to add a preamble change to the seven items; after extensive exchange the commission voted to reconsider and then to pursue a special election in 2025. The commission later voted against a motion to direct the city attorney to draft and include Commissioner Ashley's preamble language with the submitted items. City Attorney guidance and several commissioners' remarks emphasized that statutes permit charter amendments by ordinance or petition and that ballot timing and the supervisor of elections's schedule will govern final dates.
A vice chair of the Charter Review Committee addressed the dais and said the committee had worked with public input and recommended letting voters decide. The commission directed the city attorney to prepare ordinance language for the election items and instructed staff to refine contract language for the clerk's employment agreement to reflect the referendum timeline.
