Voters in the city will be asked to approve a revised City of The Dalles charter on the May 19 primary election following unanimous approval of the proposed charter by the city council Jan. 13.
The revisions were recommended to the council by a subcommittee tasked with reviewing the charter provisions and city attorney Gene Parker assisted by Dufur attorney Keith Mobley.
Under the proposed charter, council members would no longer be nominated by district, but would be nominated and elected “at large,” meaning a citizen living anywhere in the city could be elected to any one of five council positions, all serving four-year terms.
The practice of staggering terms for councilors and the mayor would continue unchanged. Beginning in 2022, the mayor, currently elected for a two-year term, would run for a four-year term. Subsequently, councilors and the mayor would be elected to staggered four-year terms.
The council and mayor would continue to serve as volunteers. However, language specifically prohibiting the paying of councilors or the mayor for their service would be removed. The proposed charter reads, “The Council may prescribe a plan for reimbursing city personnel and councilors or mayor for expenses that they incur in serving the city.”
Current language regarding the appointment of a city attorney would be changed to allow the council to consider having legal services provided to the city by contract with a local attorney or law firm.
In addition to changes in language related to the above, the new charter also allows the city clerk to provide notification of city business by “the method of social media determined to be the most effective in communicating with the public.”
Niki Lesich, a former mayor of The Dalles, said she wanted the council to reconsider increasing the mayor’s term from two to four years. “I would like to see the public remain having the opportunity to recommit their vote for city leadership at a 2-year term,” she told the council. She also suggested the council consider adding term limits for the mayor, limiting an individual to only two two-year terms.
Councilor Rob Runyon, a member of the subcommittee that reviewed the charter, said that the committee believed a two-year term was too short, especially during the budget process, which can be lengthy. “We felt the position needed three years, minimum,” he said. Mayor Richard Mays agreed, and added that he didn’t see why term limits would be applied only to the position of mayor.
Councilor Linda Miller, who was also on the subcommittee, said that a two-year term for the mayor simply didn’t work. “I had suggested a three-year term for all positions, but we decided on four because of the election cycle and the need to be able to stagger terms,” she added.
The council unanimously passed the resolution with only minor changes. The city charter was last revised, by a vote of the people, in 1994.
On Thursday, Jan. 16, the proposed ballot title was filed with the city election office.
The ballot title reads, “CAPTION: MEASURE ADOPTING REVISED CHARTER OF THE CITY OF THE DALLES
“QUESTION: Shall the Proposed 2020 City of The Dalles Charter be adopted?
“SUMMARY: This Measure proposes adoption of a revised City Charter. This revision is recommended because the current Charter was last updated in 1994. Since then, state laws and the way the City is administered have changed. This revised City Charter specifies a general grant of powers consistent with state law; a Council/Manager form of government; elimination of Council districts; nomination and election of Councilors and the Mayor at large with the terms of the positions established on a staggered basis; establishment of a four-year term for the Mayor beginning at the 2022 biennial election; establishment of the office of City Attorney as the chief legal officer of the City government with the ability to assign duties of the office by contract; revision of procedures for adoption of ordinances; elimination of the provision providing that the Mayor and Councilors shall not receive compensation for serving as public officials; and other matters. The Charter may be amended by a vote of the people.
“Any elector of the City of The Dalles who is dissatisfied with the caption may file a petition for review in the Wasco County Circuit Court no later than 4 p.m. on the 7th business day after the date the City received the title. The deadline to request a review from Circuit Court will be Jan. 23, 2020.”
In other business, the council:
Established fees for the release of audio and video recordings from body camera footage that qualifies as a public record subject to disclosure under state law. State law requires that before a copy of the body camera footage can be disclosed, the footage must be edited in such a manner that the faces of all persons appearing in the recording are unidentifiable. The City Police Department has recently begun having officers in the department wear body cameras.
The department researched the costs involved in providing redacted copies camera footage, and selected a firm which offers its redaction services on a case-by-case basis. The department also reviewed fee schedules from other law enforcement agencies. The new fees are comparable to the fees charged by other law enforcement agencies, according to the department.
The fees, adopted by the council, include a one-time $25 clerical fee, and a redaction fee (to remove recognizable faces) up to $100 per hour of video. The redaction fee will be charged at the following rates: up to 15 minutes, $25; 16 to 30 minutes, $50; 31 to 45 minutes, $75; 46 minutes to 60 minutes, $100.
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