Warren panel: Let voters decide on government

By ED RUNYAN

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

A 13-member citizens committee unanimously has recommended to Warren City Council that it allow voters to decide whether they want to create a new form of city government, known as a charter form of government, or home rule.

The Warren Citizens Advisory Committee on Charter Government released its report Monday night at a council committee meeting attended by 10 of the 11 city council members.

None of the council members’ comments suggested any stiff opposition to the idea, though several did raise questions about how much it would cost to prepare and mail the finished charter document to Warren’s registered voters in fall 2011 if council gives its blessings.

Councilman Bob Dean, who already has expressed his opposition to a change to a charter government, did not attend the meeting.

Dan Crouse, chairman of the citizens committee and a former councilman, said the committee didn’t calculate the cost to prepare a charter proposal for voters, in part because there are a lot of variables that will determine the price.

Charter committee member Meegan Demagall, a stay-at-home mom the last three years and former administrative employee at AVI Food Systems of Warren, said she feels so strongly about the positives that a new form of government might bring to Warren that she’s prepared to write grant requests to reduce the cost to the city.

She theorized that the mailing costs that would be incurred in fall 2011 could be around $30,000. Council President Bob Marchese said the total cost might be double that.

Marchese said two community groups supplied most of money to pay several Kent State University professors to train the citizens committee members.

“You don’t have to take any more time educating me. I support this,” Councilman Dan Sferra said.

In its report, the charter committee said its members felt creating a charter form of government would allow the city to tailor its government to best meet the needs of the city, “whereas a statutory government is ‘locked’ in by state regulations.”

The report says that if city council agrees to putting the measure to frame a charter and elect charter commission members on the Nov. 2 general election ballot, it must approve a resolution by a two-thirds vote by about Aug. 19.

If voters say yes, the commission would draft a charter, and it would go before voters in November 2011 for a yes or no vote.