Our Perspective - Citizens for Responsive City Government Mount Vernon Ohio

We’ve been told a City Charter will give voters a bigger voice in city government	Our perspective: We’ll have less voice. City officials will be less accessible. Hired officials can’t be voted out of office. They don’t even have to be citizens of Mt. Vernon.
We’ve been told Charter government will save money.	Our perspective: When was the last time you can remember government doing something to save money? Combining job descriptions like eliminating the City Treasurer could technically save $7,000, but eliminating the Mayor position and hiring a City Manager could easily add $100,000 to the budget. Pickerington’s City Manager quit this year because his salary and benefits amounting to over $208,000 was not enough. Hired officials, with more training, education, and experience, will demand higher salaries.
We’ve been told, “What could be wrong with having a conversation about a City Charter government?”	Our perspective: The conversation needed to take place before the issue was put on the ballot, not after. Once council voted to put it on the ballot, it was too late to debate pros and cons.
Charters can be written so council members are nonpartisan. No council candidate would run as a Republican or Democrat.	Our perspective: Wouldn’t you like to know what party each candidate is affiliated with?
Charters can be written so council members are all at large.	Our perspective: Whole areas of Mt. Vernon could have no one to represent them.
We’ve been told a Charter could look much like our current government.	Our perspective: Why change, then? Plus, the door will have been opened to changes in the future we won’t like. In all the talk about Charter government our local officials have not demonstrated one good reason why this change would benefit the people of Mount Vernon. The Mayor and other city leaders claim that under a Charter government people could see no change. The problem with that statement is that nobody knows what this document will look like… it will be in the hands of 15 people on the Charter Commission mandated to create this new structure.
We’ve been told hiring people from outside the city will avoid ending up with corrupt city officials.	Our perspective: Charter cities have ended up with people who have run afoul of the law, too. People are all human, with possible flaws.
Many Charter governments use a City Manager as their Mayor.	Our perspective: The problem is that the citizens have no say in the hiring of that position. This is not an elected position like the Mayor is today. The City Manager is HIRED by the city council members.
Council members have been quoted in open meetings that a Charter form of government will benefit them and how they run our city.	Our perspective: council members have not told us one thing that will benefit you.
Charter government will put more power and control in the hands of a few.	Our perspective: Under many Carter governments that replace the mayor with a City Manager, the city council gains additional powers. Often Charters increase the term of council members from 2 years to 4 years, making it more difficult to get rid of unfavorable council members.
City officials say under a Charter government they could add a Human Resources department.	Our perspective: a Human Resources department could be added now, according to the Ohio Revised Code, if they really want or need one.
We’ve been told a Charter would allow us to do what we want with our city government without having to follow ‘lock-step’ with everything that 132 legislators in Columbus tell us to.	Our perspective: Those 132 legislators in Columbus are elected. If we are unhappy with the ones we elect, we can vote for someone else. A City Charter for Mount Vernon would be written by 15 people, perhaps none of whom have any experience with working in government in any capacity, or really understand what a City Charter is themselves.
We’ve been told a Charter could bring benefit to Mount Vernon “over the coming decades.”	Our perspective: Who knows who will be running the city even a few years down the road? Who can predict the changes that will have been made to the Charter? While we may be happy with it initially, changes in both the Charter and people in office could be very different in the future. Is that a risk worth taking?