INITIAL REPORT, May 15:
Eight proposed recommendations to Franklin’s city charter will be discussed by city council tonight.
Those changes receiving five votes at a June 9 meeting will be placed on the Nov. 7 general election ballot.
Those proposed changes include:
- Posting the intent to sell a piece of property in one conspicuous location as well as allowing the city to sell or lease property to any federal, state or local governmental unit or agency without competitive bidding, by ordinance, upon the vote of five members of council.
- Requiring a roll call vote to adopt a resolution instead of a voice vote so citizens know how each council member voted. Council is already doing this voluntarily, but the proposed amendment would make this mandatory.
- Eliminating the requirement that three copies of state technical codes such as the state building code, state fire code, etc. be kept by the city clerk as most of these codes are available online. The amendment would only require one copy of each code publication be kept by the city clerk.
- Requiring the city finance director to prepare the annual Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and annual complete annual reports on the finances, administrative activities, and an inventory of city-owned properties and equipment to be submitted to the city manager at the end of each fiscal year.
- Rewording the monetary thresholds to the amount fixed by state law for competitive bidding, up from the current $25,000.
- Changing the Planning Commission term for the city council member on the commission from a four-year term to a one-year term to be appointed annually as municipal elections occur every two years.
- Updating language of unclassified service positions from secretary to each department head to assistant to each department head; adding the following positions to the city's unclassified service including division heads in the finance department and safety department, except for the police and fire & EMS chiefs; and the clerk of court, deputy court clerks and other court personnel such as bailiffs and probation officers.
- Deleting the Civil Service Commission requirement that three of its five members be of the same political party as municipal elections and appointments are non-partisan.
Franklin City Council meets at 6 p.m. today at the Franklin City Building, 1 Benjamin Franklin Way.
The Charter Review Commission reviews the charter for possible alterations, revisions and amendments charter every five years.
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