Notice of Public Hearings on Proposed Charter Amendments
On Wednesday, October 23, 2019, the City Council will hold three public hearings on proposed amendments to the Takoma Park Charter. The hearings begin at 7:30 PM in the Auditorium of the Takoma Park Community Center, 7500 Maple Avenue, Takoma Park.
A. The proposed amendment to Article III City Council (1) adds a requirement that each voting ward be “compact in form, composed of adjoining territory, and have substantially equal populations,” a requirement currently imposed by the City Code; (2) changes the day of the first meeting of a newly elected Council from the second Monday following an election to the second Wednesday following the election to reflect the Council’s meeting schedule; and (3) eliminates gender binary language.
B. The proposed amendment to Article V Amendment Procedures: provides that the signature requirement for Charter amendment petitions is twenty percent of registered voters at the time of the last election, rather than twenty percent of persons qualified to vote.
C. The proposed amendment to Article VI Registration, Nominations and Elections: (1) eliminates the 21-day residency requirement for voters; (2) eliminates outdated procedures; (3) clarifies existing language; (4) eliminates gender binary language; (5) revises deadlines to comport with early voting; (6) provides for election ties to be resolved by lot rather than runoff election; (7) eliminates requirement that election judges be appointed by the Council; (8) establishes a list of voters only registered to vote in City elections rather than a list of noncitizen registered voters; (9) changes references to “citizens” to “residents”; (10) provides that the signature requirement for advisory referendum petitions is twenty percent of registered voters at the time of the last election, rather than twenty percent of persons qualified to vote; (11) provides that the signature requirement for recall petitions is twenty percent of registered voters at the time of the last election, rather than the greater of 1500 qualified voters or twenty percent of qualified voters; (12) requires that signatures on recall petitions be obtained after the most recent election and at least 180 days prior to the next general election; (13) prohibits the Council from reappointing a recalled official; and (14) allows potential candidates to nominate themselves or second their nomination.
All interested persons should attend the public hearing and sign in to speak. View the full text of the proposed amendments:
See agenda item #4 from the City Council meeting of September 18, 2019 (Continued Discussion of Election-Related Charter and Code Amendments).
For information contact the City Clerk at clerk@takomaparkmd.gov or 301-891-7267.
(Post updated October 6, 2019)
