Cedar Rapids Charter Review Commission sets June 2 forum

CEDAR RAPIDS - The city's Charter Review Commission will hold a public forum the evening of Thursday, June 2 to get citizen input on what if any changes the city might need to make to its Home Rule Charter.

The forum will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the El Kahir Shrine Center, 1400 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE. Two former mayors, Paul Pate and Kay Halloran, are heading up the 12-member commission.

The city's charter, approved by voters in June 2005, spells out the way the city's government, which features a part-time mayor and part-time City Council and a full-time city manager, operates.

By charter, the City Council-appointed Charter Review Commission is meeting in 2011 to conduct a first review of the six-year-old charter. A similar commission will convene every 10 years after that.

The commission has noted that its job is not to change the city's form of government but to review the particulars of the charter. The commission will report its recommendations to the City Council in August.

To see a copy of the charter go to:

http://www.cedar-rapids.org/government/about-city/Documents/CedarRapidsHomeRuleCharter.pdf