Fremont City Council is likely to push back its charter initiative until 2028. Nearly 40 residents attended the second proposed city charter public hearing on July 7, many saying the entire process is rushed.
Residents said they felt they weren’t informed about the whole process, and some said it’s just too expensive to spend over $600,000 on a ballot measure. Others have said the city should spend more time fleshing out a city charter draft by having more community meetings.
“We’ve been General Law for this long,” one resident said. “What is the hurry to get this to the ballot so quickly? It astounds me how fast this is moving. I would like to see us slow it down and pause.”
The council plans to continue receiving feedback during a third public hearing on July 28 and make a final decision then.
A city charter has the ability to run its own government under a city-wide constitution. A General Law city, which is what Fremont is now, follows laws in the California Constitution.
The proposed Fremont Charter City draft includes the city council confirming appointments of department heads, changing city council compensation through an ordinance and allowing the mayor to add agenda topics before the meeting starts. The city attorney would be able to hire and fire their own staff, and the city council can hire or fire a possible city council staff member who would serve the council and not the city.
An amendment to the charter can be proposed by the city council or a citizen’s group, then placed on a ballot in an election. Basically, an organization can propose rules on the city charter, get it on the ballot and get it passed if they get enough support during that election.
One lifelong resident of Fremont said a work plan that is only about a month and a half long is not enough time to create a city charter. “We are not just adding things. We’re casting off some controls that are left to us by the state. And those guardrails are important. Forcing a complex constitutional shift on the ballot, without months of dedicated outreach, will backfire because the citizens will feel that they haven’t had a chance to understand and participate.”
Councilmember Desrie Campbell said online outreach is not enough to inform residents about the city charter process. “We’re making an assumption that the Fremont community is electronically savvy,” she said.
Campbell said most of the city’s voters are part of an aging population who are more likely to attend meetings in person because they like to socialize.
