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Council members and the mayor are currently elected every two years. If the proposed change is approved, council members would serve staggered, four-year terms, meaning some seats would be on the ballot one year and others in the next election.
The mayor would still be elected every two years. The changes would apply only to future elections. The terms of current council members would stay at two years.
Two council members, Mario Benavente and Kathy Jensen, voted against proceeding with the measure. The date of the public hearing has not been determined.
Council member Derrick Thompson presented the measure to the City Council. He said four-year terms would help with long-term planning and decrease the risk of abrupt changes in the council makeup.
“We run the risk of having a new board every election cycle, including the mayor,” Thompson said. “This will cause havoc for a city this size, if that was to happen.”
The council’s action only puts the issue before the public for feedback at a hearing. The City Council would then decide whether to extend the length of the terms.
In 2018, the issue was put before voters in a referendum, and nearly 65% of voters rejected the measure.
When Benavente asked Monday why the council couldn’t put the proposed change on the ballot in another referendum, Thompson said, “Because we don’t have to.”
Thompson said that the public hearing would give city residents a chance to have their say on the proposal.
“Everybody will have an input on how we move forward,” Thompson said.
He said he could fill City Hall with people from his district who would support the plan, but he added that he wants to hear from people who live in other districts. Jensen, who opposed the measure, said constituents in her district are against term extensions.
“I know what my district has told me over and over again, so I'm not going to be able to support this,” Jensen said.