Voters will decide in an April 2 election whether changes proposed to the Bartlesville charter will be implemented. The changes were recommended by City staff and given the Go-Ahead by the City Council in January.
“Voters will see 10 questions on the ballot, several of which are essentially housekeeping items having to do with dates and other language that is no longer valid,” said City Manager Mike Bailey. “But there are a few items that could have a fairly significant impact on the way we do business, including when we hold elections, City Council recall procedures, and how we purchase materials.”
City Council elections (Articles 2, 3)
Now: City Council elections are held during the general election in November. All five seats are up for election during that election cycle. Council terms are for two years.
If passed: Council elections would be held in April, terms would be increased to three years and staggered so that no more than two council seats are up for (re)election at one time.
Why: Most local elections are held in April, so moving City Council elections to April would allow voters to focus on local issues at one time and apart from the overcrowded state and federal election season in November. It would allow local media to better focus on City Council candidates and would result in lower campaign costs for council candidates. This would make running for a council seat more accessible to more people. Staggering the terms would ensure continuity on the council and eliminate the potential seating of an all-new council at any given time.
“Moving council elections to April would serve several functions,” said City Manager Mike Bailey. “Most importantly, it would allow us to hold all City elections, including council seats, General Obligation Bond funding, half-cent sales tax and quarter-cent economic development tax elections at the same time of the year and in conjunction with other local elections, such as Bartlesville Public School Board elections.
“This would keep our local elections clear of getting lost in the noise and politics of state and federal elections, and would thereby result in better informed voters and allowing local media to focus solely on local issues.”
Recall procedures (Article 4)
Now: There is no time limit in collecting signatures to recall a City Council member. The City clerk has 10 days to certify all names submitted on a recall petition. Council members cannot be recalled within the first four months of their term.
If passed: All signatures on a recall petition would have to be obtained within 180 days of filing the petition with the City clerk. The City clerk would have 30 days to verify the signatures. Council members could not be subject to recall for both the first and last four months of their term.
“Currently, the charter does not specify a time limit for a recall effort,” Bailey said. “So theoretically, you could have a group or individual collecting signatures to recall a council member for the entire duration of their service on the council, possibly for multiple terms. It makes sense to put some parameters in place for this, and it is vital that the city clerk have more time to validate signatures. Ten days is simply not enough time to verify the legitimacy of a thousand or more signatures. Regarding the proposed addition of prohibiting recall eligibility during the last four months of a council member’s term, this seems like a logical inclusion because at that point, an election is imminent and the public would have the opportunity to simply vote the candidate out of office.”
Purchasing (Article 16)
Now: Purchases through a contract are treated completely different than all other types of purchases in the City.
If passed: Purchases through a contract will be treated exactly the same as all other purchases.
“Currently, we have two completely different sets of rules for purchasing, and these variances represent a risk to our organization and ultimately the taxpayers,” Bailey said. “For contracts, all purchases must go the City Council for approval regardless of amount. A $10 contract gets the same level of scrutiny as a $1 million contract. For all other types of purchases, the dollar amount determines the type of accounting controls and level of scrutiny, so that we are focusing our attention on higher dollar amounts and higher risk purchases. Passing these amendments will not only make us more efficient as an organization, but it will provide more controls to ensure that purchases are made appropriately.”
Early voting for charter election March 28-29
Early absentee voting for the election will be available at the Washington County Election Board, located on the fourth floor of City Hall, 401 S. Johnstone Ave.
Early absentee voting will be held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 28, and Friday, March 29.
View sample ballot HERE.