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Elections, political changes OK’d
YOUNGSTOWN
The city charter-review committee is proposing significant sweeping changes to elections and political positions.
Among the recommendations approved Monday at a three-plus-hour meeting include:
No longer have political partisan elections. Instead, the city would hold a nonpartisan primary with the top two vote-getters in each race running in the November general election.
Eliminate a citywide election for council president, and have the seven council members select one of their own to serve in that position.
Create the position of vice or deputy mayor and have that person run on a ticket with a mayoral candidate.
Reduce the pay for city council members. Each member is paid $27,817.24 a year. The committee recommends council members be considered part-time and be paid no more than 80 percent of the average annual income of a city resident. That average is $25,902, with council members paid no more than $20,721.60 in annual salary.
If council members are eligible for medical insurance through their other job — if they have one — or through their spouse’s employer, they would have to take that insurance and not be covered by the city.
Require the city to redistrict its wards, dividing them evenly so the population is balanced. A redistricting hasn’t been done in 30 years. The committee wanted to discuss redistricting, but after meeting for more than three hours Monday, the members decided to take it up next Monday.
Have all city council and council committee meetings start no earlier than 6 p.m. in order to make it easier for the public to attend. Council members recently have moved many of their committee meetings to 5 p.m. Council meets every first and third Wednesday as a whole, starting at 5:30 p.m.
Make it easier to recall the mayor and council members. The current requirement is petitions with the valid signatures of 5,000 registered voters for mayor and 700 for council. The proposal is to make that 15 percent of the total voters in the last mayoral and council elections.
The committee voted to abolish term limits for the mayor, but keep two four-year-term limits for council members.
Voted to keep four-year terms for those positions. Mayor Charles Sammarone had recommended two-year terms.
The 11-member committee plans to present its recommendations to city council by June 1. Council members must approve the proposals before they can be placed on the November general-election ballot.
Eight of the 11 charter committee members were appointed by council members with the other three selected by Sammarone.
Jerome Williams, committee chairman, said even though the recommendations will be a “hard-sell” to council members, “they asked us to do a job. There’s nothing we can do if they don’t accept the recommendations.”
There likely will be 25 to 30 proposed changes to the charter, but committee members will prioritize them for council, Williams said.