Thursday, June 26, 2008

Proposed Charter Changes To Be Addressed During Monday Special Session

   Proposed changes to the existing charter will be the focus of a special session of the Lawrenceburg Board of Mayor and Commissioners slated for Monday morning.

   City leaders have set a public hearing on proposed charter changes, approved at the state level, allowing citizens an opportunity to express their views on the matter.

   Following several months of discussion, members of the board voted unanimously in February to initiate the process of “tweaking” the charter under which the city is operated. Most of the changes, commissioners said, were proposed in an effort to institute cost-saving measures. The document was drafted with the aid of the University of Tennessee’s Municipal Technical Advisory Service.

   Passage of the charter changes would align city elections, currently held in April, with the County General Elections (in November), thus resulting in a cost savings to the city of approximately $2,000 per election. The greatest controversy arose over this change.

   In order to align the elections, commissioners had proposed that terms of current commission members be extended by approximately 16 months. A handful of citizens were very vocal in expressing concerns regarding this matter.

   The matter was quickly resolved at the state level, however, when Senator Doug Jackson had an amendment drafted, specifying that the additional sixteen months be added to the term of the next commission. Under the amendment commissioners elected in May of 2009 and May of 2011 will serve an additional sixteen months after which terms will revert to four years. The city will be required to foot the bill for the 2009 and 2011 elections before the alignment occurs.

   Should the charter changes gain final approval, the title of the board would be changed from the “Lawrenceburg Board of Mayor and Commissioners” to “Lawrenceburg Board of Mayor and Council.”

   One cost saving measure would do away with runoff elections within the city. The charter currently requires that a candidate gain “50% plus one vote” in order to be elected. This leads to numerous runoff elections being held. The board proposes changing the document to require only a majority vote.

   The proposal would reduce the requirement of “2/3 vote of the board,” to “a majority” in order to terminate the employment of a city administrator. It also includes a provision to allow the board to appoint someone other than the mayor to serve as interim city administrator in the event that the position becomes vacant.

   The document addresses the currently unfilled position of city recorder, and clarifies votes cast by non-resident property owners, limiting the number of property owners voting per piece of property to two.

   Commissioner Butch Morrow pointed out Thursday that the charter ordinance was signed by Governor Phil Bredesen on June 5, 2008. The city commission now has thirty days, or until July 5, 2008, to approve the document a second time.

   The public hearing will begin at 10:00 a.m. at the Lawrenceburg City Administration Building on West Gaines Street. There will be a public comment period after which the commission will convene and hold a vote on the amended document.

 

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