Agenda Date: 04/14/2026
Subject:
Title
Charter Review Committee (CRC) update and recommendations
Body
From:
James L. Becklenberg, City Manager
Prepared by:
Colleen L. Norton, City Clerk
Presentations:
Jose Briones, CRC Chair
Reid Betzing, City Attorney
Mike Gent, Deputy City Manager
Colleen L. Norton, City Clerk
PURPOSE:
To provide an update on the Charter Review Committee's (CRC's) final review and recommendations for potential council-initiated amendments to the city's charter.
LONG-TERM OUTCOME(S) SERVED:
High-Quality Governance
DISCUSSION:
The council-appointed CRC has met seven (7) times from August 2025 through March 2026. All fourteen members were provided with a full copy of the city's charter for comprehensive review and discussion. At all meetings, city staff from the city manager, city attorney, and city clerk offices were available to provide background and statutory substance to encourage and facilitate discussion.
Over the course of all meetings, and through robust discussion and consideration of each section, the CRC narrowed 39 sections for final council consideration, with the top 11 noted below. For most, if not all, of the sections recommended for consideration, specific language was not crafted. Rather a direction or concern was noted with the understanding that should council opt to place recommendations on a future ballot, the onus would be on staff to draft the ballot language so as to comply with statutory requirements, legal review, and council approval.
1. Sec. 8. Amending the Charter
2. Sec. 23. Qualifications of Council
3. Sec. 27. Council Meetings; Open and Executive Sessions
4. Sec. 34. Procedures (related to Recall)
5. Sec. 36. Ordinances, Resolutions, and Motions
6. Sec. 45. Initiative
7. Sec. 46. Submissions (related to Initiative and Referendum)
8. Sec. 47. Referendum
9. Sec. 65.5. Preservation of Neighborhood Land Use Restrictions
10. Sec. 70. Submission of the Budget
11. Sec. 89. General Obligation Bonds
BACKGRO...
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