BY JIMMY LAWTON

North Country This Week

OGDENSBURG — Ogdensburg will soon need to name members to the Charter Review Commission.

The commission was last formed in 2017 and included chair Fred Bean, Sean O’Brien, Laura Pearson, Sean McNamara, Laura Ashley, Douglas Loffler, Andrew Putmar, Kevin Kendall, Storm Cilley, Christopher Pitcher and Scott McRoberts.

The commission is tasked with reviewing the city charter which essentially outlines the city’s governance rules and dictates nearly every aspect of how the city operates.

The charter itself requires “The Mayor and City Council, shall

either appoint a Charter Review Commission or place on the ballot the election of a Charter Review Commission no later than December 31, 2023, and immediately following each six-year period thereafter. Should the appointment/election of a Charter Review Commission not occur by December 31, 2023, or in six-year periods immediately thereafter, all powers of the City vested in City Council pursuant to the Charter shall be vacated other than to cause the establishment of a Charter Review Commission, at which time vacated powers shall be restored,” the document says.

The Commission will be made up of 12 qualified voters of the City of Ogdensburg.

“It shall be the duty of said Commission to review the Charter in light of current needs and trends and make recommendations to the City Council,” the document says.

Last time around the commission offered many suggested changes, though many were not supported by the city council.

Among the failed proposals would have a three-year term for the position of mayor and a call to ensure that each of the city’s election district included a representative who resided within it.

Instead the city opted to continue “at large” voting which allows anyone who resides in the city to run for any available seat.

It is possible for the charter commission to bypass the council via public referendum, however that does not appear to have been done in the past.