The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Charter Commission to split into committees
The Lorain Charter Commission will subdivide into five committees to examine the rules of local government in the city.
On Feb. 23, the Commission voted unanimously to form five committees and a meeting schedule for March, April and May.
The committees
• Committee No. 1 will examine the form of government and City Council, elections, initiative and referendum votes, recalls and general provisions.
Jessie Tower and Joel Arredondo will share the chairmanship. The other member is Ted Kalo.
• Committee No. 2 will consider duties of the mayor and administrative offices under the mayor.
Jack Bradley and Ruben Torres will share the chairmanship. The third member is Rick Soto.
• Committee No. 3 will examine administrative offices.
Terri Soto and Mallory Santiago are co-chairwomen. Lori Olson is the third member.
• Committee No. 4 will suggest boards and commissions, such as civil service commission, planning, board of zoning appeals, parks and recreation, public utilities and other boards.
David Arredondo and A.J. Torres are co-chairmen with Tim Carrion as the third member.
• Committee No. 5 will consider finance, taxation, debt and transition from the existing government to a new form.
Karen Shawver and Dennis Flores will serve as cochairs, with Mary Santiago as the third member.
When to meet
The Charter Commission approved a calendar of meeting dates with committee meetings scheduled every Tuesday in March, April and May.
The schedule works for consulting attorney Garry Hunter, a lawyer who works with the Ohio Municipal League, said Soto, who serves as Charter Commission chairwoman.
The full Commission will convene on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month.
Committee No. 1 also will meet on those days.
Committees 2 and 3 will meet on the first Tuesday of the month; Committees 4 and 5 will meet on the third Tuesday of the month.
Hunter called it an aggressive work schedule because it uses every Tuesday for the next three months, to establish the framework of the charter.
But the committees do not necessarily need to provide polished final drafts of rules after every committee meeting, he said.
Hunter described it in response to a question from Kalo, who noted Committee No. 1 will deal with a preamble and 11 articles that deal with issues ranging from city boundaries to oaths of office.
Who speaks up
The Charter Commission has met online due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
For meeting procedure, Hunter said he agreed with rules suggested by Nancy Greer, the clerk of Lorain City Council.
Committee members will be visible on the screen.
Other Commission members may sit in, but will not be visible.
The meetings are open to the public, so anyone who wants to attend may listen in, but also will not be visible.
Guest speakers will be visible to offer any materials they want to share.
As the committees narrow down their rules, Hunter said he will compile specific legal language for the full Charter Commission to consider.
Committee meetings are work sessions and the members may ask specific people to discuss issues.
Members of the public who want to comment should write to the committee, ideally in advance, so if the committee members have questions, they can invite the person to comment during a meeting, Hunter said.
Old charter
Torres asked whether the proposed Lorain charter from 1992 could be the foundation for a future one.
Hunter said it’s worth reading and may provide some insights about city government.
But, it was way too long with too much information for the voting public to digest a month or two before an election, he said.
That charter outlined a mayor and administrator, which would be unusual for a city.
It appeared that Charter Commission reproduced state law in parts, Hunter said.
The former charter most likely should not be the foundation of Lorain’s next government, he said.
“We may be able to glean some pearls from that document, and I won’t want to discount that everybody should probably read it,” Hunter said. “But, did I think it was a solid foundation for forming the work of this Charter Commission? No, I did not.”
Torres asked if the Lorain Charter Commission should review other city charters.
The Charter Commission could look for useful charter
provisions in other communities, but should not throw down another city’s charter as a model for a committee to work from, Hunter said.
Writing in
Three local accountants also wrote to the Charter Commission to urge maintaining the Lorain City Treasurer’s Office.
The Treasurer’s staff signed a joint letter introducing their job duties and urging the Charter Commission to review their efficiencies.
Soto also is Lorain’s elected treasurer.
“Let us remind each other that the charter process is not meant to be a criticism of the functioning of our current city offices or our elected officials,” said David Arredondo. “Rather, the point of the charter is to make some fundamental changes for the city of Lorain, regardless of the elected officials who hold those offices, and the fact that perhaps there may be elimination of those offices.”
He said he is sure Soto is doing a fine job, as are most of the city’s elected officials.
Lorain City Councilman-at-Large Tony Dimacchia wrote in with suggestions to consider, such as making Council terms four years long instead of two; eliminating a Council president; reducing the number of wards; and combining an auditor and treasurer to become a new finance office.
David Arredondo said the suggestions were well and he would recommend the committees consider them, although he did not agree with all of them.
Administrative services
“Let us remind each other that the charter process is not meant to be a criticism of the functioning of our current city offices or our elected officials. Rather, the point of the charter is to make some fundamental changes for the city of Lorain, regardless of the elected officials who hold those offices, and the fact that perhaps there may be elimination of those offices.” — David Arredondo
Greer wrote to outline the work that she and Deputy Clerk Breanna Dull have performed for the Charter Commission.
She proposed a temporary pay increase of 10 percent to cover costs of duties so far and continuing through July 2021.
The Charter Commission members agreed.
Greer will propose an ordinance to Council to expand the duties of the clerk’s office to assist the Charter Commission this year.