Document text
Central Point officials seek counter-measures By BUFFY POLLOCK CENTRAL POINT � After narrowly escaping two initiatives that would have forced an election for every new fee or fee increase, City Council members Thursday looked for a defense mechanism to guard against such initiatives in the future. Council President Bill Stults proposed that city staff research a charter amendment that would require initiative measures with unusually strict voting requirements to face up to the same standards. Measures 15-25 and 15-26, voted down Tuesday, would have required that every new fee or fee increase be approved by 50 percent of registered voters � meaning that at least 50 percent would have to turn out, and every one would have to vote yes for the fee to pass. But only a simple majority was needed for the measures to pass. They failed by 252 and 153 votes, respectively. After such a close call, Stults said, the city should look at ways to protect itself in the future. "My suggestion was that any time a charter amendment is proposed that, if passed, would have imposed a stricter standard than a simple majority approval, that the initiative proposed would have to meet the same standard it�s going to impose. That�s only fair," he said. "We could�ve had 10 percent turnout and half of that plus one could have passed the thing. I think a majority of voters should be needed to amend the city charter." Former Councilwoman Carol Fischer, who petitioned to place the measures on the ballot, said the idea was unethical. "I�m not surprised," she said. "After the election was so close, what they should have been talking about was watching what they do and how. Whenever there�s a project and they�re spending money, they need to look at doing it for less or deciding whether it�s really necessary." Fischer said an attempt to change the charter to make subsequent changes more difficult was unfair. "That should be referred to a standards and ethics committee in Salem. They�re just trying to cover their own actions," she said. No specific plans were made regarding the proposal, but staff was directed to research details and legalities. Stults stressed he is merely trying to level the playing field when it comes to changing the city charter. "Like I said, a charter should only be able to be done by approval from a majority of the voters." Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.