Charter Review Commission to hold Aug. 11 forum on Phase 2 amendments

Vince Deliandardis, representing the Charter Review Commission, presented the commission's Phase 2 draft amendments and said the commission will hold a public forum on Aug. 11 in the council chamber to solicit public input before finalizing questions for a November referendum.

Deliandardis said the proposals address the budget process, deputies and directors, human resources, information technology, legal/risk and safety functions, and related definitions. "You'll see in the draft language we've got a minimum of 6 hours annually," he said, describing a draft requirement for mandatory training for elected and appointed officials that could be conducted at no cost to the city using existing providers such as the Committee on Open Government and the local bar association. He also said the commission removed the requirement that the city assessor be an elected office and declined to include periodic or cyclical reassessments in the charter after public comment and commission discussion.

Why it matters: the charter changes would be placed before electors and could change how administrative oversight and elected-official transitions are handled. Deliandardis said the commission also drafted revisions to the capital program section to improve transparency and added definitions (for example, "resident elector") to clarify terms in the charter. A forum on Aug. 11 will permit residents to weigh in on the draft language before the commission finalizes referendum questions.