Newport News City Council unanimously voted on Tuesday to adopt an ordinance creating a Charter Review Committee. The committee would be tasked with thoroughly reviewing the charter and making recommendations to the City Council for necessary revisions.
The city’s current charter was enacted by the Virginia General Assembly in 1978. Since then, the General Assembly has made piecemeal amendments to specific charter sections at the City Council’s request. But Mayor Phillip Jones believes a more comprehensive look is needed. He believes routinely changing a line or two of the charter without considering the whole thing has led to a “fragmented charter.”
City Manager Alan Archer said the council believes establishing the committee will help ensure the charter remains “relevant and effective.”
In the fall, the council had considered asking the General Assembly to make numerous charter amendments — such as instituting a limit of two consecutive four-year terms for mayor and providing citizens an avenue to remove council members through a recall election. State law allows people to remove elected officials through the courts for various reasons, but the proposal considered would have allowed residents to vote out council members in an election. Some council members raised concerns about the charter changes leading to frivolous recall efforts.
Ultimately, the council held off on making such requests due to a lack of consensus. In November, Jones said the proposed changes could be revisited after the Charter Review Committee was formed.
According to the ordinance passed Tuesday night, the committee will consist of five people appointed by the City Council. Archer said the city will soon announce details on how to apply for the committee. But the committee is expected to begin its work in July.
Each person appointed to the committee shall meet one or more of the following qualifications: a person with substantial experience in local government, based on either practical experience or academic research; or a person who is a resident of Newport News. No current city employees or officers of any authority or political subdivision operating in the city shall be eligible.
The committee will be tasked with identifying ambiguities and conflicts, clerical and grammatical errors, and outdated text. Members will also evaluate any amendments to the charter that the mayor or other council members propose, and make recommendations on other beneficial charter amendments.
The ordinance says the committee shall ensure public participation in its review process by soliciting written suggestions to inform the committee’s work and any other means the committee believes will ensure public participation in its review process.
Afterward, the committee will consider the results of its review and public participation processes, make recommendations to the council for charter amendments, and propose legislation needed to implement the committee’s recommendations.
The committee will submit to the City Council a final written report containing the committee’s findings and recommendations by June 30, 2025.
Jones told the Daily Press that while the committee is currently a “one-time thing” that would dissolve after submitting a final written report, he would like to see a charter review committee examine the city’s charter every 10 years.
Councilwoman Pat Woodbury urged those attending the council meeting to be aware of the committee and “get involved.”
“This really is important stuff, and I think you should be a part of it and be very aware of what’s going on,” she said.
Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com