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LOCAL GOVERNMENT Talent ponders change in city charter Mayor would have full voting privileges if measure passes Comment By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 5, 2016 at 4:41 PM Updated Jan 5, 2016 at 5:17 PM By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 5, 2016 at 4:41 PM Updated Jan 5, 2016 at 5:17 PM » Social News Proposed charter revisions for the city of Talent might give the mayor the right to vote on all issues. The charter was last revised in 2002. A six-member, ad hoc committee has suggested changes, but the group was split evenly on the mayoral voting question. Administrative changes are also suggested. City voters would have final say on any charter revisions. Tentative plans call for changes to be put on the November 2016 general election ballot, said Mayor Darby Stricker. The council will first vet the suggestions and then have them reviewed by city attorneys. Discussion of the suggestions is planned for the Wednesday, Jan. 6 council meeting. “If the council wants to recommend changes to the charter, we want to put it before as many voters as we can,” said Stricker. Committee members Joi Riley, Tonia Morro and Marguerite Schellentrager attached a letter to a report on suggested changes presented to the council Dec. 2 recommending that the mayor be allowed to vote. Committee member Sherman Lamb submitted a letter urging the opposite. “I feel the people elect the leader of the city, and the leader should get to vote,” said Joi Riley. Many people in Talent would be surprised to learn that the mayor doesn’t vote on all issues, she added. “It’s a really hard job, and beyond thankless, so come on, let her vote,” said Riley, expressing her own feelings. A model charter from the League of Oregon Cities was studied by the committee. Several suggestions from the model were incorporated into proposed revisions, including mayoral voting rights. Under the current charter, the mayor votes only to break a tie. Lamb’s letter stated that the current arrangement preserves the dignity of the office, and that it is better the mayor not participate in partisanship by voting on issues. People interested in an issue might feel more likely they were given a neutral hearing if the mayor were not a voting member, Lamb wrote. For the charter change, voters might see two or three items to vote on, said Stricker. One would probably be the question of the mayor’s vote, with a choice between enacting the suggestion or maintaining the current status. Other items would be administrative or clarify language. Stricker said the ad hoc committee was a “dream team” in terms of experience with city issues. She called for revisions when she took office last January, saying several issues had arisen about charter wording over the years. Members included former mayor and councilor Don Steyskal, former councilors Riley and Lamb, former city attorney Moro, and Schellentrager, who was a city attorney in Washington state. Councilor Teresa Cooke was also a member and liaison. A provision that requires council members to resign in the middle of a four-year term if they seek other elected office in the city is also recommended for elimination by the committee. The provision applied to Stricker, who resigned her seat when she ran for mayor in fall of 2014. “It was such a dated rule,” said Stricker. “I found very few cities that continue to use that rule.” The words “enact this Home Rule Charter” would be incorporated into the documents to make clear the city has home rule power. Other proposed administrative changes would cover procedures for dealing with council and mayoral vacancies and clarifying the power of the city manager. “It will be a complicated ballot for us, but hopefully we will have some public meetings beforehand so people will understand the changes,” said Riley. Tony Boom is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected] By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 5, 2016 at 4:41 PM Updated Jan 5, 2016 at 5:17 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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