Commission to review number of council seats

City Council is deciding whether to cut four of its seats as part of proposed changes.

Elyria City Council is deciding whether to cut four of its seats as part of proposed changes to the city’s Charter Review Commission.

The proposal would eliminate the four at-large seats, dropping Council to the seven ward seats.

Charter Review Commission President Pete Shilling said some community members suggested removing the Council seats.

One recommendation to remove some of the seats came from an anonymous comment made on a Google document the city posted online inquiring about changes in the area.

Although Shilling doubts the seats will be removed, he and other members of the Charter Review Commission expressed their concerns and duty to the public.

In some ways, the Charter Review Commission acts as a gateway for the community to the Council, and it’s the duty of the committee to alert the Council of community concerns, he said.

“That’s part of what we’re here for,” Shilling said.

Charter Review Commission members believed Council should look at this issue itself.

“If the proposal is forwarded to Council, the likelihood of it being presented to voters is unlikely,” Shilling said. “I can tell you what’s probably going to happen with this one, Council is probably going to say no.

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t submit it (the report) to them.”

To change the city charter, the Council must approve whether to put the changes on a ballot for voters to make the final decision.

Every 10 years, an appointed Charter Review Commission reviews the city charter and recommends changes and amendments.

The Charter Review Commission will meet at 5 p.m., Jan. 14, to finalize the proposals, which will go to Council.

The meeting will be streamed to the public on the city’s YouTube page.