REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Update to Council on Charter Review Committee Progress with its Assigned "Charter Project" Proposed Plan for Charter Reorganization, and Proposed Schedule for City Council Consideration and Action
Report
BACKGROUND
The idea for a comprehensive review and update of the City Charter (now commonly referred to as the "Charter Project") was incorporated into the Governance and Ethics Committee Work Plan in early 2025. An outline for the project was first formally presented to the Governance and Ethics Committee on May 1, 2025. Senior City staff were supportive of the project based on their own assessment, and feedback from the different departments responsible for implementing its terms, that a number of Charter provisions were ambiguous, out of date, not aligned with current City operations or best practices, and/or not aligned with current laws. With support from the Committee, the project concept was presented to the full City Council on July 15, 2025. Recognizing the potential benefits of the project, the Council directed staff to take the initial steps to form a Charter Review Committee for purposes of implementing the "Charter Project" (the Charter Project CRC). Council direction included terms for the CRC's composition, selection process and purposes. Staff advertised the availability of CRC positions and, with the City Clerk, implemented the CRC lottery selection and appointment process. On September 16, 2025, the City Council appointed the CRC members and formally established the CRC by adoption of the CRC Bylaws.
Section 2 of the City Council adopted Bylaws for the Charter Project CRC describes its purpose as follows:
"The purpose of the CRC is to work with City staff, with input from the community, to facilitate the implementation of the "Charter Project." The Charter Project involves a process for comprehensive review of the City Charter to identify provisions in the Charter that should be corrected, clarified or ...
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