Commission mulls extending council terms
By Ben Saylor
Rocky River
Published March 26, 2008

Among the topics discussed by the Charter Review Commission at its meeting last Thursday was whether or not to extend the term length of City Council members.

The nine-member commission discussed the City Council portion of the charter at its meeting last Thursday, selecting term lengths, procedures for posting notice of special meetings, qualifications of council members, certified mail notices, and changing dates of primaries in the city to conform with the countywide primary dates as topics that it would discuss further in the Charter review process.

Discussion about City Council revolved around whether to stagger elections and also whether to extend term lengths to four years. Currently, all seven members of City Council are elected every two years, during the same odd-numbered year.

Council President James Moran, who attended the meeting, said he felt a four-year term would be advantageous to council members because it would increase the effectiveness of council members and give them more time to settle into the position.

“I think it takes a while to try to get used to the program,” Moran told the group. “Once someone is in, I think that it takes a while to understand everything. I think a four-year term would be positive not only for the person running, but also positive for the city.”

Going along with making the council term four years, it was suggested that elections be staggered, which Moran said would be positive because it would still give residents the opportunity to run for office every two years if ward seats were up for election one year and at-large seats were up two years later.

Commission member Michael O’Donnell asked Moran if he felt the mayor’s term should be extended to four years if council’s is as well. Moran said that he felt it would also be beneficial to the city that the mayor’s term be extended.

Commission member Bernice McGovern noted that other cities in the area have different term configurations for council members and the mayor.

Commission Co-Chair and former Councilwoman - at - large Linda Bartolozzi said that based on her study of past councils, most council members serve an average of approximately 8 to 10 years, and that historically, there have been few council members who have served just one term.

McGovern, who served on the last Charter Review Commission in 2002, said that the council at that time indicated that residents appreciated the fact that the two-year terms meant they were seeing their council representatives more often.

Councilwoman-at-large Anjanette Arabian voiced her support for staggering terms, saying that if seven new council members were elected simultaneously, while it might be advantageous to have the new input on council, it might also slow down the process with which council could get acclimated and do business.

During the meeting, Mayor Pamela Bobst also presented election cost figures to the commission for reference during their discussions. According to a memo by Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Fiscal Services Manager Trevor McAleer, last year’s general election in Rocky River cost the city approximately $41,000. The Ward 3 council primary that was held in September of last year cost $25,000.

The 2002 Charter Review Commission also tried to extend the term lengths of council, the mayor and the law director — measures that were rejected by voters. The commission meets tomorrow at 7 p.m. in City Council chambers, where they will discuss administrative departments.