Residents urge council to keep treasurer elected, cite consent decree and representation concerns

During the public comment period several residents urged the council to keep the city treasurer as an elected position and to respect the intent of the consent decree that addressed past underrepresentation. Brenda Brown told the council the treasurer change "was not a last minute addition" and urged officials to "leave this position" elected, calling the idea of altering the consent decree "insulting" and warning it would roll back protections established after litigation.

PJ Bourne said he had collected more than 220 signatures on a petition concerning a street‑name change and criticized what he described as omissions from the published agenda; he asked for clearer public notice and for council action to address petitions presented by residents. The discussion fed into later council remarks about whether a referendum or legal opinion would be required for changing the manner of selecting the treasurer.

Council members acknowledged the subject and indicated staff would follow up. The mayor noted an opinion was expected by the end of the week regarding potential changes to treasurer selection and that the administration would share that opinion with council when available.