The current Essexville City Charter was last updated in 1998. In 2019 a Charter Commission was elected and began work to update portions of the Charter. This work was completed over the summer in 2022. Below some of the proposed changes.
1. Transition from yearly elections for City Council members and move to even year elections. If passed, this will save Essexville around $10,000 for those off/odd year elections.
2. If the City comes under difficult financial times in the future a common place that is looked at to save money is the public safety department. If such a decision would be discussed by the City Council, the proposed Charter would put that decision on a ballot and then the citizens of Essexville would vote to eliminate the public safety department or not.
3. In some cases, the current Charter explicitly listed certain things such as in Section 3.9 (Non Discrimination and Civil Rights) which listed race, color, creed, political beliefs, national origin, marital status, sex, age, height, weight, or handicap. Due to recent changes in legislature, such lists can become outdated and the Charter would need to be updated. Minor language changes in the proposed Charter state, “the City shall not discriminate against any person in a manner prohibited by Law”. This would allow for flexibility within the Charter as laws are added and/or changed which extend the life of the Charter.
Click here to view the proposed charter.