Council adopts ordinance creating Charter Review Commission after lengthy debate

The Pepper Pike City Council voted to adopt Ordinance 2024-04 on March 27 to form a Charter Review Commission to examine the city charter. The sponsor (Unidentified Speaker 6) described proposed membership and process changes, including an initial plan for eight citizen members plus three council liaisons who would serve as nonvoting facilitators and only vote in the rare instance of a tie.

Council members discussed options to avoid council overreach into the commission, debated whether council liaisons should be nonvoting at all times, and considered increasing the commission’s citizen membership to an odd number (moving from 8 to 9) to reduce the chance of ties. Several members suggested clarifying ordinance language to explicitly state council liaisons are nonvoting and to include process steps (for example, that the full council may accept, revise or reject commission recommendations).

Supporters said the commission will allow a timely review of the charter and compared the proposed schedule to neighboring communities that review charters periodically. Critics urged additional public outreach and suggested a short review window so the commission can complete its work quickly. The sponsor agreed to several clarifying edits during deliberations.

After deliberation and line-by-line clarifying edits requested by council members, a motion to adopt the ordinance passed on roll call. Council and staff said the city will publish materials to inform residents and will solicit qualified applicants for the commission; staff indicated the process will include a cover letter, the charter text and an informational packet for prospective members.