Cedar Rapids charter commission needs 15 members, not nine, member says

A member of the city's 15-member Home Rule Charter Commission of 2004-2005 says the new Charter Review Commission also should have 15 members, not nine.

In addition, Robin Tucker, a local Realtor and businessman and a 2007 candidate for the City Council, says City Hall should fill seats on the review commission from those who apply to sit on the commission rather than having council members handpick people for the job.

Tucker's comments come in a letter to City Hall, a letter which followed the council decision on Dec. 28 to have each of the nine council members pick one person for the Charter Review Commission.

For their part, District 1 council member Kris Gulick and District 4 council member Chuck Wieneke aren't making their commission choices without some work. Each wants those in his district interested in the assignment to apply by a Jan. 11 deadline. Call 286-5080 for details, they say.

The city's charter, which the Home Rule Charter Commission created in 2005 and which voters approved in June of that year, requires the council to convene a review commission in 2011 and every 10 years after that.

Tucker says putting 15 members on the review commission would result in greater citizen participation and encourage greater gender and age balance.

He also notes that the City Council in 2004 filled the seats on the Home Rule Charter Commission from those who formally applied for the job.

“My recommendation would be to embrace the Home Rule Charter and the traditions of good government in the city of Cedar Rapids,” Tucker says. “Yes, there are good traditions in Cedar Rapids, as well as some bad and ugly ones from time to time within our community.”

Among the issues expected to be discussed by the review commission are: Is nine the right number of council members? Should the part-time council have a full-time mayor? Now six council seats, including the mayor's seat, are filled in one election cycle and the other three seats are filled two years later. Would a 5-4 stagger be better?