The Troy City Charter Review Commission, of which I'm a member, is diligently working on overhauling our city's long-outdated governing document. Our final recommendations will be up for your "yes" or "no" vote in November.
We have had numerous public hearings at which we have received a decent amount of testimony from City officials, City employees, Council members, administration, etc. Unfortunately, there has been very sparse turnout from the general public throughout the months-long process.
During the Commission's many other working sessions, we have been able to find ways to eliminate a lot of outdated, unnecessary and redundant material contained in the current Charter. And, we have been able to include in our draft documents suggested improvements in the makeup and scope of city agencies and procedures as well as recognition of modern technologies and forms of communication to reflect today's fiscal, legal and practical factors.
However, we're looking for more public input in several areas.
One of the items we'd appreciate people weighing in on is the matter of City Council size and term length.
We currently have three at-large seats plus six district seats and no specific direct election of president. Should we reduce the size of the Council from 9 to 7 members (six district seats and one Council president elected on an at-large basis) to reflect the smaller city population and save at least $30,000 in taxpayer money on Council salaries?
Another question is whether we should retain the term limit of four consecutive two-year Council terms (8 years) or change it to two consecutive four-year terms (8 years). Such a change would eliminate the expense and effort of having candidates run every 24 months. On the other hand, it would not give voters the opportunity to change Council members as often.
Your thoughts are welcome. After all, the Charter is meant to serve the citizens of Troy.
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