Following a five-hour session last week, the Knox County Charter Review Committee took just 55 minutes on Monday evening to establish ground rules for the serious work ahead. The first order of business for Committee members will be to read the Charter, especially Sections I and II, which will be examined first for potential amendment.
Committee chair Brad Anders set a goal of limiting future meeting length to two hours. In light of an approved motion to allow public forum input of 30 minutes “per side” (pro and con) of each proposed amendment, the goal appears optimistic.
Robert’s Rules of Order will govern the Committee proceedings in general, and county commission rules will apply specifically. Law Director Bud Armstrong again reminded members to avoid communicating directly with one another about their work.
A motion by Commissioner Randy Smith to require two readings of each proposed amendment passed without dissent. There was general agreement that amendments to minor language changes should be grouped to appear on the Aug. 4 ballot and substantive changes on the Nov. 3 ballot. Committee member Lisa Starbuck, who served on the 2012 Committee, suggested waiting until more was known about the amendments that may be proposed before making a decision.
Deadlines for making the ballot are May 23 for the Aug. 4 election and Aug. 20 for the Nov. 3 election. The law director will place his imprimatur on an amendment before it goes to the Knox County Election Commission.
The Committee won’t meet again until March 9, and Commissioner John Schoonmaker seemed anxious to plow ahead. The commissioner suggested the first discussions run through Section 3.03 of the Charter. (Section 3.03 outlines the mayor’s duties.) When a Committee member noted that would cover about 1/3 of the Charter the proposal fizzled.
Suggestions that early discussions might include doing away with the staggered election cycle for commissioners, as well as at-large commission districts, may find support at the March 9 meeting.
The two-hour meeting goal notwithstanding, Anders wants the process to be “meticulous” in review: “It only happens once every eight years.”
Larry Van Guilder is the business/government editor for KnoxTNToday.