Residents in Boardman will vote on a measure to update the city’s charter during the upcoming general election on Nov. 5.
The question in Measure 25-103, the city of Boardman New Home Rule Charter, is if the city should adopt a new charter, replacing the current one. Charters give legal authority to cities, assign duties to city officials and establish a local government’s structure.
Boardman City Manager Brandon Hammond said the proposed document is a more succinct and modern version of the charter, which the city last updated in 1985, nearly 40 years ago.
“There are no new taxes, not any significant changes,” Hammond said. “It really was just having more concise language. We’re not adding council members, we are not changing voting procedures.”
The most prominent changes, he said, will bring the charter into agreement with state law regarding the city’s debt limits, set more qualifications for elected officials, clarify the process for filling council vacancies and for tied races, and allow the removal of a councilor for certain actions.
Finally, the proposed charter will eliminate language the council had adopted about a city recorder. That role is outdated, Hammond said, and the city clerk, who the city manager hires, now fulfills those responsibilities.
“It really just brings some clarity to the process of elected officials,” Hammond said.
The seven-person city council voted unanimously Aug. 6 to approve the final draft of the proposal for the charter. Now, it’s the voters’ turn to decide whether they agree.
