Amendments to the Bartlesville city charter approved by voters in April are in effect after Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed the document last week.
Stitt’s approval allows the City to adopt the amended charter, which contains changes approved by Bartlesville voters in an election held April 2 — when voters said Yes to four of 10 propositions put before them.
The governor’s approval, which clarifies the amendments are “not in conflict with the constitution or the laws of the State of Oklahoma,” was the last step required for the amended charter to be enacted.
The changes include:
Article 2, Section 2 — Requires City Council candidates to be a qualified elector of their ward six months prior to the first day of filing for the seat rather than six months prior to the election.
Article 2, Section 2 — Requires that a City Council member who ceases to be a resident of the ward they were elected to represent may no longer represent the ward on the council. This eliminates the exception that previously allowed a councilor to continue to hold office if moving to another ward within the city.
Article 2, Section 7 — Requires that notice of special meetings be provided as required by Oklahoma (state) law.
Article 2, Section 12 — Requires that the terms of office of a newly-elected City Council begin at 12:01 p.m. on the first Monday of the month following each election and that they hold their first meeting and be inducted into office as soon as possible.
The city charter, which essentially serves as the city’s constitution, was last updated in 2010.
To view the amended charter in full, see Bartlesville City Charter.
To see all 10 propositions and the election outcome, see Charter changes on tap for voters April 2.