Columbus City Councilmember Shannon Hardin Joins Mayor Andrew J. Ginther in Announcing the Formation of a Charter Review Committee
Columbus City Councilmember Shannon Hardin joined Mayor Andrew J. Ginther to announce the formation of a Council Charter Review Committee to conduct a comprehensive review of how City Council is structured. The Committee will be formed after the August 2, 2016 election.
“Issue 1 is wrong for Columbus. We want to evaluate the structure of the Council in a thorough, thoughtful and public way. We will do it right,” said Mayor Andrew J. Ginther.
"As Columbus grows, our City Council structure should adapt to meet our changing needs," said Hardin. "This means having conversations throughout Columbus to collectively determine how our City Council looks and functions. Community input will be at the crux of this process as we look at the current vacancy appointment process, the number of councilmembers, wards and numerous other potential changes.”
The Committee will be comprised of seven community members appointed by the Mayor and City Council. No elected officials or city employees will be part of the Committee. The Committee will look at the most successful cities across the country and research how their Councils are structured, as well as how vacancies are filled.
A series of no fewer than seven public meetings will begin in September to solicit feedback from the public.
The Charter Review Committee will culminate in recommendations to Council and the Mayor. The goal of the Committee is to report back to the community by February 2017. Any recommendations made by the Charter Review Committee to amend the Charter will require a vote of Council and the approval of Columbus voters.
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