Bartlesville voters will soon have an opportunity to decide whether proposed changes to the City Charter will be implemented. Absentee in-person voting will be held this Thursday and Friday, or voters may vote at their precinct on April 2. City Manager Mike Bailey answers questions about the election in today’s edition of City Beat.
Note: To view the Charter election resolution, red-line changes, ballot questions and staff report, click here.
The basics
First, what is the City Charter and why should we care about it?
Our charter is essentially our constitution. It allows the citizens of Bartlesville to determine how they want to be governed. Bartlesville is one of the oldest charter cities in the State of Oklahoma, and we’ve been operating via charter since 1910. Charters are extremely important in city government as they can serve to override even state laws.
What does changing the charter entail?
Any changes that are made to the charter require approval from Bartlesville voters. This is a fairly major undertaking. It is not taken lightly or attempted often.
How is it determined what changes will be presented to voters?
Charter changes can originate from a variety of sources, including citizen requests, Council discussions, and City staff input. As City staff operate the City on a daily basis, it is often us who first become aware of the need for a change. But in this case, discussions with concerned citizens and the City Council over the last decade led to staff requesting a City Council workshop meeting to discuss possible amendments.
When did the process start for this election?
It was first formally discussed by City Councilors during a “workshop” meeting in November of last year. Workshop meetings are less formal than regular meetings and are typically held so the council can discuss items that may be lengthy or complicated. The council can but typically does not take any formal action during these meetings. (Workshop meetings, like all City Council meetings, are held at City Hall, 401 S. Johnstone Ave. and are open to the public.) The changes were also discussed during Mayor Dale Copeland’s public Town Hall meeting in December 2023 and during two council meetings in January of this year. The council officially called for the April election on Jan. 22.
What will voters be asked to decide in the election?
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on the ballot, several of which are essentially housekeeping items having to do with dates and other language that is no longer valid. But there are a few items that could have a fairly significant impact on the way we do business, including when we hold elections, as well as City Council recall procedures and how we purchase materials.
City Council elections
How would council elections change if the measure is approved by voters on April 2?
It would move council elections from November to April, extend the length of council terms from two years to three, and it would stagger council terms so that all five seats would not be subject to election at one time. We believe that holding council elections with other local elections in April would allow more focused attention on local issues for our voters and media, not to mention make campaigns less expensive for council candidates, away from the noise of state and federal elections in November.
If the proposed changes are approved by voters, how would upcoming elections be held in a way that would stagger the terms? Would we still vote in November this year?
If the changes are approved, there would not be a council election in November. Instead, all five council seats would be up for election in April 2025, but the terms would be adjusted so they can be staggered. So, the term for the Ward 1 seat would be for one year, the term for Wards 2 and 3 would be for two years, and the terms for Wards 4 and 5 would be for three years.
Council recall procedures
How would these changes affect the recall of a sitting council member?
If approved, the changes pertaining to council recall would merely give the City clerk more time (from 10 days to 30 days) to verify signatures on a recall petition, as well as reduce the period for obtaining signatures from no time limit to 180 days, and eliminate the potential for a recall in the last four months of the term.
These changes make sense to us, because as the charter is currently written, a person or group could collect signatures for the recall during a council member’s entire time on the council. We feel if a council member needs to be recalled, they need to be recalled quickly, not, potentially, years into their term. And by the time a council member reaches the last four months of their term, an election is imminent and they can simply be voted out of office.
Purchasing
Regarding the proposed changes pertaining to purchasing, someone on social media said recently that voters approving these changes would be giving the city manager “a blank check” to spend taxpayer money however he wants. Can you address this, please?
That is misinformation, to put it mildly. Currently, we have two completely different sets of rules for purchasing, and these variances represent a risk to our organization and ultimately the taxpayers. 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.
Vote!
When can people vote?
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. And then, of course, precinct voting is 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2.
For more information or to view a sample ballot, see www.cityofbartlesville.org.