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Give Salem residents vote on charter government

Salem voters may get a chance to set the wheels in motion to establish a charter form of government for their town in the November general election.

City Council last week held the first reading of an ordinance that will place on the ballot the issue of a charter government formation and elect the 15 members to compose a charter commission. The ordinance will require two more readings before taking effect.

On the ballot, voters will be asked whether the commission should be formed and who will serve on it. If approved, the charter commission will have up to a year to develop a charter for residents to vote on in a general election. The charter could take effect whenever the commission chooses, but it would not be able to be changed for five years.

Registered voters living within the city are eligible to be elected to the 15 member commission by submitting a petition with at least 25 signatures to the board of elections by 4 p.m. Aug. 10. That is also the deadline for council to file the issue for placement on the November ballot.

“Charter cities” are municipalities that have adopted a charter outlining their governance. The charters are documents that say how the city is run and how power is divided.

A charter form of government allows citizens to have a greater voice in the determination of local government policies which can result in encouraging more residents to participate in local government affairs. Charters also tend to make governments function with less political in-fighting. In Salem, it could help eliminate the need for so many council committee meetings, where it seems some officials use the opportunity to talk every issue to death, no matter how insignificant.

In Columbiana County, the village of East Palestine and the city of Columbiana operate under charter government and both are examples of well-run municipalities.

We hope Salem council will continue the steps to place the charter issue on the ballot and we encourage residents to pursue becoming one of the 15 members of the charter commission. Citizens should welcome the opportunity to give their input into the creation of a new form of city government.

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