As the city charter stands, the mayor and members of city council may serve two four-year consecutive terms in office, regardless of whether or not that office is that of mayor, city council, or some combination of the two.
The charter amendment, if passed, would increase the number of terms from two to three.
City council members say this change was recommended by the Charter Review Commission, a committee of seven members appointed every five years.
Councilman Glenn Duerr said he was split on the merits of the idea, but added that voters will have the final say.
“I am a strong believer in term limits, limiting government power, and that includes myself. I like two terms, I think it fits the best, but having said that, there was a case made to me by other members of council... that there are elements outside of Beavercreek that may make a third term reasonable,” Duerr said.
Beavercreek resident Harold Lewis voiced his opposition to the charter changes at the council meeting Monday.
“Let’s stop the games,” he said.
Several council members said that an increased term limit would help continuity in Beavercreek leadership at the regional level, particularly with organizations like the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, the Ohio Mayor’s Council, and others.
“The institutional knowledge we lose every four to eight years is substantial,” Garcia said. “(In) the time it takes to learn the role and understand what you’re doing, you’re losing out on opportunities to grow and progress as a city because you don’t have time to understand your role sufficiently. MVRPC is an example, but there are plenty of others.”
Other proposed charter recommendation changes that will be on the ballot include allowing the city to disseminate public meeting notices to “public media forums,” where allowed by law. This includes the Internet, as opposed to solely printed publications like the newspaper.
Other revisions include making copies of the city’s budget and capital program available for inspection on public media forums, and clarifying that there will be no primary elections for nominations of city council members or the mayor.
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