THE PUBLIC MIND: FLAWED AMENDMENT ON CITY ZONES WOULD RESULT IN LAWSUITS

To the editor:

Even though I lack the eloquence of some, I still felt compelled to communicate my feelings to you on a very important community issue. My topic of concern is the proposition regarding the ward system of representation which will appear on the ballot on Nov. 2.

I have always been, and still am, convinced that our charter could be improved. I truly believe, however, that the proposed amendment is too flawed, and therefore warrants defeat. It is obvious, upon reading the amendment, that no consultation occurred with anyone who knows how to properly initiate such a change in a fair and equitable manner. The result of this lack of adequate preparation spells countless lawsuits and wasted money for our city, which means for you and me. We deserve better than this!

A brief description of a few of inadequacies of this amendment are:

1. A one-man one-vote principle is violated since there is not an equal number of registered voters in each described ward.

2. The date at which time this amendment will become effective has been omitted.

3. The "old provisions" in the charter to be eliminated have not been described. Will we have two sets of conflicting laws on the books at the same time? It appears so.

4. The procedures one must follow to run for city council have not been included.

5. The revision of each ward boundary at census time will have to be done by a charter amendment.

I'm not holding myself out as an authority on this issue, but I have learned a thing or two since taking my position on the city council. One of the first things that I learned is that when it comes to law, there is a proper way and an improper way of wording things and doing things. The reason for this is so that litigation is avoided. That's why we have a full-time city attorney. Another well learned lesson is that funds are extremely tight. There is no extra! This proposed amendment will surely make some lawyers very rich at the taxpayers' expense. We don't have extra money in hidden coffers somewhere to frivolously throw away on a poorly written amendment such as this.

This is not an issue of whether one is for or against a zone system or an at-large system to elect council members. This is, however, an issue of maintaining the proper legal status of our city charter, and possibly even financial solvency for our city.

Those who proposed this amendment to our city charter deserve to be commended for their efforts in collecting signatures and for all the time they spent in pursuing their firm beliefs. It's a crying shame that they did not possess the foresight to compose a proper amendment, one we could with a clear conscience support.

Respectfully yours,

Mary K. Wulfers