The City of Fremont has moved forward with city charter plans by creating a seven-member Charter Advisory Committee.
The group will be in charge of working on a proposed city charter with city staff who would recommend best practices and key issues. Member applications are due next week, March 17.
The council approved a city charter work plan on March 3. It includes the charter committee having 42 days to meet six times before submitting a report on May 8. The city council will then hold two public meetings before making a final vote on the proposed charter on July 28.
The city charter ballot question will then be sent to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters by Aug. 7 and will be put in front of voters this November.
Councilmembers Desrie Campbell and Kathy Kimberlin both expressed their support for the city charter overall, but they had concerns. Both councilmembers voted against the formation of the city Charter Advisory Committee and the city charter workplan.
Campbell said the rushed workplan doesn’t allow time for the robust community engagement it deserves. Kimberlin said it’s conflicting to have both a city charter and a sales tax revenue measure on the November ballot.
She said if the revenue measure doesn’t pass, the city would be in an even worse situation financially. It would cost the city $600,000 to $850,000 to put the city charter measure on the ballot.
The council members added amendments to the workplan, including a schedule for public outreach and opportunities for residents to submit public comments. Another recommendation is to identify the city staff who will work with the charter advisory committee.
Vice Mayor Yajing Zhang initiated the city charter process. She reiterated her reason for wanting to establish a city charter.
“I just want to reemphasize that this is for leadership clarity,” said Zhang. “And for the execution speed. Also accountability for results. We cannot dictate one way or another. But this is how democracy works, and we have to exercise that.”
