Carson voters will weigh whether to make amendments to the City Charter, including removing term limits for election officials, after the City Council voted this week to place a measure on the November election ballot.
Many of the other proposed changes are aimed at cleaning up the language and aligning the code with state practices
Currently, Carson elected officials – including the mayor, council members, city clerk and city treasurer – can only serve a maximum three terms in their positions. This amendment, however, would “increase voter options,” according to the adopted resolution.
“They are allowing the voters to decide how long they want to keep someone in office,” City Attorney Sunny Soltani said. “We polled satisfaction with the council right now and the polling company came back to us and said, ‘These are the highest numbers they’ve seen in the County of L.A.’
“The satisfaction with the council is close to 70%,” she added. “So based on that, the council wants to give the consideration to the voters because right now, the voters seem to be very satisfied with the council.”
Each elected official would continue serving four-year terms before either vacating their seat or running for reelection. If this amendment is approved, however, no one could be termed out.
“The City Council,” the resolution says, “recognizes the importance of local voter participation in matters concerning the City’s governance structure.”
Other proposed amendments to the City Charter include requiring campaign contribution transparency, making the charter consistent with state law on referring ballot measures for voter approval, clarifying inconsistent or outdated language, and giving the city manager more authority over contracts.
“The City Council finds that these proposed changes collectively serve to clarify, modernize and clean up inconsistent or outdated language within the City Charter,” the resolution says, “thereby supporting efficient government operations, accountability, and oversight.”
The charter amendment would also authorize the city manager “to approve any contract for any subject matter so long as such approval complies with applicable law.”
If the amendment is approved, it would also add a new section titled, “Reporting of Campaign Donations.”
“Each city councilmember and mayor must comply with state disclosure laws for campaign donations,” that proposed section says. “The city’s local donation disclosure rules shall not be less stringent than those of the state; city may not increase the minimum donation reporting threshold to be higher than the dollar threshold required under state law.”
Carson will have the opportunity either approve these changes or keep the charter as is during the Nov. 3 election. The measure needs a simple majority to pass.