Portland Charter Commission discusses proposals to change city government
PORTLAND (WGME) – Changes could be coming to the structure of Portland's municipal government.
The city's charter commission a public meeting Wednesday night in which a number of structural changes were discussed.
Among the topics were new leadership models and a proposal to increase the pay of city councilors.
It also includes a proposal to implement universal resident voting, which one commissioner says is important for the city and the state's future.
“I make this proposal as a matter of justice, so that people who live in our communities, who send their kids to local schools and who will be the future of this state, have at least a small opportunity to weigh in on that future,” Portland Charter Commissioner Pat Washburn said.
The commission is also facing a May 9 deadline to release a preliminary report on proposals.
One commissioner says they're making progress ahead of that deadline.
“The real work begins now, where we start to weed out the priorities and to really focus and home in on what we really want to put in front of the voters in the November election,” At-Large Charter Commissioner Marpheen Chann said.
Any changes approved by the commission would be put into the hands of voters this November.
