Monroe voters overwhelmingly pass 3 charter amendments

Amendments were suggested to City Council by Charter Review Commission.

Part of the city of Monroe charter needs revised.

The Charter Review Commission met for months in 2020 and made numerous recommendations to Monroe City Council. Three of those proposed charter amendments — Issue 7, Issue 8 and Issue 9 — were overwhelmingly passed Tuesday night, according to unofficial results from the Butler County Board of Elections.

Issue 7 was supported by 91% of the votes, while Issue 8 had 55% and Issue 9 had 62% of the votes.

Issue 7 establishes term limits for council members commencing on Jan. 1, 2024, reduces unexcused absences from four to three consecutive regular meetings, and requires attendance at 66% of regularly scheduled meetings in a calendar year.

Issue 8 provides for gender neutral references, requires council proceedings on public media platforms and to make available to the public a complete report on the finances and administrative activities of the city at the end of each fiscal year.

Issue 9 specifies which acts of council must be done by ordinance; to permit legislation to be read by title only unless otherwise indicated; to permit resolutions to become effective immediately; to increase from 30 to 60 days the time limit for holding public hearings on zoning; and to eliminate the requirement for the council to authorize the manager to obtain bids.

The charter, considered the city’s constitution, is reviewed every 10 years. The Charter Review Commission was chaired by Dr. Kelly Clark, now a member of city council, Vice Chair Katie Wagner, Vicki Hickman, Linda Tucker, Kara Brown and Colleen Taylor.

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