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Council takes 1st step in restructuring

Leave it up to voters.

That was the general tone after discussion Thursday night, as City Council passed an ordinance 5-1. It set the stage for voters to answer a referendum question in the fall on the ballot of whether they want to see a seven-member, elected and unpaid Charter Commission study the four forms of third-class city government and make recommendation that voters the following year could decide again at the polls.

The second and final vote for council on the matter occurs June 22. Councilwoman Bonnie Katz was the dissenting vote, saying she has seen other third-class cities not succeed under the council-manager structure. The manager has seven bosses, which could pose a problem if the council members are newly-elected, she said.

Mayor Gabriel J. Campana told the Sun-Gazette before the meeting he thought the process to be ludicrous.

“If council wants to save money instead of automatically calling for tax increases every year, I believe they, as part-time employees, should give up health care benefits, which cost taxpayers $158,000 annually,” Campana said.

Council needs to give better representation to various wards that are not being represented, Campana said.

“Give a Newberry resident an automatic seat,” he said, suggesting that the western section of the city is neglected by council.

“Those ideas would make for a better government as most council members live in the same area,” Campana said.

The mayor also is bemused by the credit he receives for major developments over the past nine years while continually being the subject of a political ploy.

“This council does not want checks and balances like the state and federal governments have,” he said.

Campana said replacing the strong-mayor form of government would cost more because a manager would want more than $70,000 a year, the mayor’s salary.

However, the discussion should last a minimum of 16 months, according to Council President Jonathan Williamson. Starting with the vote up or down in two weeks and, if approved, a referendum on the ballot, which would be whether voters want to approve a Charter Commission and elect members by nomination not less than two months after the ordinance is filed with the Election Office.

If approved, the commission would spend nine months studying the issue and arrive at a recommendation, which must be filed with the County Board of Elections within five days. The vote to approve the form of government recommended by the commission would take place in November 2018.

But it is up to the voters, he and others on council reiterated.

Town halls and discussions would take place allowing all to lend their opinions and have their questions answered. Then, voters would go into the 2018 fall election and vote on the commission’s recommendation for form of government. It could be they want to preserve the strong mayor-council government as it exists and a mayoral election would be held.

“The conversation should transcend the ordinance itself,” stated Councilman Randall J. Allison, who wrote his statement because he did not attend the meeting.

“We should resist the temptation to demonize each other because of different (views).”

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