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Youngstown charter review panel has proposals
YOUNGSTOWN
The city charter-review committee will recommend 10 to 15 proposed charter amendments to city council, its chairman said.
The 11-member committee voted earlier this week to recommend a proposal from Mayor Charles Sammarone requiring city council approval on all nonemergency contracts of at least $10,000 instead of the current $25,000 minimum amount.
It’s up to city council to accept or reject the committee’s recommendations. Those supported by council will go on the November general-election ballot for voters to consider.
The charter needs dozens of amendments, committee members say. But to avoid voter confusion, 10 to 15 proposals will be submitted to council by June 1, Williams said.
The committee will meet at 5 p.m. Monday at city hall to discuss possible charter amendments dealing with city departments such as consolidating demolition, code enforcement and planning into one entity; changing the park and recreation commission from a separate and largely independent group into an advisory board, and a more- developed ethics policy, said Jerome Williams, charter-review chairman.
The commission will meet at 5 p.m. April 30 to discuss significant changes to the election process, Williams said.
Among the possible recommendations are requiring ward boundaries be redrawn after each census so the population in each is balanced, making some council seats citywide rather than by ward, staggering elections for council members who currently all run in the same year, eliminating term limits, and getting rid of the council president position.
“Who knows how many they’ll adopt?” said Williams about council.
The wards haven’t been redistricted in 30 years.
The committee also will meet at 5 p.m. May 7 to discuss unresolved issues.
One issue already on the table for that meeting is creating a standing charter-review committee and who would appoint members to it.
Before this committee, it had been eight years since the last charter-review group was selected.
The city charter doesn’t give guidance on appointing committee members. The current committee consists of an appointment from each of the seven city council members and council president, and three from the mayor.
Glenda House, a committee member appointed by Councilwoman Annie Gillam, D-1st, recently resigned and was replaced by the Rev. Kenneth Simon.
The committee also will have a citywide public meeting in mid-May to get input on its recommendations. It’s already had five smaller public meetings.