Council made right decision on charter amendment vote

Timing isn’t right, given all the other issues going on

The Yuma City Council on Wednesday night decided to simplify a special election ballot on proposed amendments to the city’s charter.

It was the right decision.

Initially, there were seven recommended changes to the charter introduced in a proposed ordinance last month. Voters would need to vote on those changes in a special election, which will be held on Nov. 3, in order to amend the charter.

Three of the proposed amendments were related to the supervision off the city attorney, the city administrator’s severance pay, and the compensation for the mayor and the council members.

The balance of the proposed amendments address the timing of elections in order to comply with new state laws.

The proposals came about as a result of recommendations of the Charter Review Committee. And the committee has a point, bringing up issues in need of attention — the council and mayor, for example, are woefully under compensated, and something needs to be done there.

However, given the unprecedented issues and challenges of the last few months, the city council decided to drop everything except the election-related amendments. Voters will be able to weigh in on the election amendments in November.

In a normal year, it’s hard to get voters to participate in elections. There is often a flood of information, which either overwhelms voters or turns them off to the process.

This is a presidential election year, which is always overwhelming — and there are a variety of state and county seats up too.

And then, one has to consider all the other issues on the table that have upended America right now, including COVID-19, economic uncertainty and protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

The timing simply isn’t right for the city of Yuma to proceed with some of these issues — the conversation, which is important, would be lost.

What do you think, readers? Did the council make the right decision to hold off on some of these proposed amendments? Let us know. Share your thoughts online at www.YumaSun.com, or send in a Letter to the Editor at letters@yumasun.com.