Charter reviews infrequent, important

Opportunities for residents to reshape local government are few and far between.

With this in mind, we hope Iowa City residents will take advantage of a once-a-decade review of the city charter and let their voices be heard at a community discussion on Jan. 7. The meeting will take place at the Iowa City Public Library, beginning at 6 p.m., and is being hosted by a review committee established last spring.

Specific questions are:

' Should the mayor be directly elected for a four-year term by a majority vote of the citizens rather than selected by a majority vote of city councilors?

' Should district council members be elected only by the voters within the district?

' Should the city charter be amended to allow people eligible to register to vote to sign petitions?

' Should the charter require a higher level of compensation for councilors and the mayor?

During the second half of the meeting, residents are invited to make comment regarding any issues related to the charter that do not appear on the formal agenda.

The Iowa City Council is currently comprised of seven individuals - four at-large members and three district representatives. Members of the council appoint a mayor, who serves a two-year term.

All council members, including those who are required to live within a specific district, are elected by all eligible Iowa City voters. The only time voters within a specific district cast a ballot is when three or more individuals run for a single district seat, which would require a primary. The top two vote-getters on that ballot would then continue to the November election.

While our main reason for highlighting this meeting is to encourage residents to participate, we also think it's worth asking whether the current three-district makeup is enough to ensure distribution of representation on the council.

The current council's is decidedly slanted toward the eastern portion of the city, with four of the seven members residing in District B - not an unusual occurrence in the council's history. Two members live within District A. One member resides in District C.

We support district representatives being elected by voters within their district, but aren't convinced this change alone is enough to establish a seven-member council as diverse as the city it represents.

Now is the time to ask such questions.

' Comments: editorial@thegazette.com; (319) 398-8262.