VOTING FOR CHANGE?
Charter reformagain on ballot for Saratoga Springs
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Residents of Saratoga Springs are voting this year on whether or not to change the city’s form of government.
Anyone t rave l ing throughout the city lately has likely noticed lawn signs advising locals to vote “yes” or “no” on charter reform.
The question, as it is presented on the ballot, is: “Shall the Saratoga Springs City Charter be amended to provide for a City Council elected from six neighborhood wards of equal population, presided by a Mayor elected citywide, and for the appointment of a professional City Manager and other administrative officials accountable to the Council?”
The charter, which can be viewed through the city’s website, is a document that provides the legal framework for operating the government in the City of Saratoga Springs.
Under the current charter, the City of Saratoga Springs utilizes the commission form of government, in which members of the City Council typically serve as both the head of their department and a legislator who votes on city matters. The current City Council members are the mayor, commissioner of finance, commissioner of public works, commissioner of public safety, and commissioner of accounts.
Though the charter has been revised in the past, the commission formof government hasn’t been changed since Saratoga Springs was incorporated as a city in 1915.
In recent years, there have been unsuccessful attempts to change it, including a proposition in 2017 that was rejected by a 10-vote difference.
The 2020 charter proposal includes the creation of wards, a new element added since the 2017 proposal. A map of the six proposed wards can be found on the website for Common Sense Saratoga, a group that supports charter reform.
Common Sense Saratoga presents accountability, real representation, and transparency as its three main goals for the city’s government, according to its website. “Common Sense Saratoga is about our city’s future— acitywhere all voices are heard and government works for the people,” the group’s website states. “Charter Reform is the path to a Saratoga Springs that works for all of us.”
It continues, “It’s time for Saratoga Springs’ form of government to evolve from a turn of the last century at-large Commissioner formof government to a 21st century truly representative
form with neighborhoods represented, the mayor strengthened with a vital policy making voice and a government run by the professionals.”
In addition to the ward map, the Common Sense Saratoga website includes a link to the full charter proposal.
Another group called SaratogaWorks opposes the proposed charter change, calling it an unneeded and dangerous risk, according to its website.
“Abolishing and setting up a whole new form of government is expensive, disruptive, and challenging under the best of circumstances. Imagine doing this during a pandemic and national economic crisis equal to the Great Depression,” the group’s website states.
“We should not be spending time and resources conducting a search for a City Manager during this extreme economic and health crisis,” it continues. “Our Commission form of government has used its disaster plan to successfully run our city when forced out of City Hall by a fire, has guided the City during a pandemic, and is now working to sustain our local economy during a national crisis.”
More information about Common Sense Saratoga is available online at commonsensesaratoga.com
More information about SaratogaWorks is available online at saratogaworks.org
The League of Women Voters of Saratoga County, a nonpartisan organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, recently released a video explaining the differences between the current and proposed charters, including information on the council positions, length of terms, compensation, wards, and other topics. It also explains the transition process if the proposed charter were to be adopted.
That video can be viewed online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3HI1_Ncx2Y&feature=youtu.be