Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
REVIEW THE COSTS OF THE EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE AND STATUTORY PUBLICATION ASSOCIATED WITH CONVERTING TO A CHARTER CITY (CITY COUNCIL)
Body
I. SUMMARY
On May 1, 2018, the City Council determined that it would like to explore the possibility of a city charter for adoption by the voters in the November 6, 2018 general election. Ultimately, a charter was developed and presented to the voters on November 6, 2018. Carson voters approved the Charter, and it became effective January 17, 2019.
In preparation for putting a ballot measure before the voters, a substantial informational initiative needed to occur to gather input from the community and educate them on the difference between a general law city and a charter city. The process of developing a draft city charter was a significant undertaking and needed to commence immediately due to the short time frame in which staff had to educate the community, work with the community on the draft charter language and meet all legally obligated deadlines. This report, requested by Councilmember Davis-Holmes, is specifically to review the costs of that informational initiative. Attached as Exhibit No. 1 are the costs of the educational initiative and the statutory publishing obligations.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
RECEIVE and FILE.
Body
III. ALTERNATIVES
None.
IV. BACKGROUND
The process of developing the city charter involved establishing a charter committee, drafting the city charter, and holding a minimum of two public hearings on the proposed city charter.
The charter committee had the responsibility of considering what topics would be addressed in the charter, and were tasked with providing input on those topics as to how the language should be drafted for presentation to the voters for consideration and possible approval. The committee did not receive a stipend for their service.
Prior to submitting the proposed city ch...
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