Conneaut City Council failed Monday night to muster the 5-2 vote required to place a charter change measure on the ballot.
For the most part, we support giving the voters a chance to decide such issues.
This issue would return the city to two-year terms for council members.
Back in 2005, voters by a narrow margin voted to expand the terms to four years, staggered.
You have the council president and at-large council members elected one year, the ward council members two years later.
The charter change really hasn’t gone one full cycle since it was instituted. This fall will see the election of the council president and at-large members for the second time under the change.
The 2005 charter change was suggested because people were elected, got one year to get acclimated to the job and spent the second year preparing for re-election. It leaves little time for instituting programs to better the community.
Some can argue council has spent little time doing anything substantive despite the change.
We think the city should give the four-year terms a little more time. It hasn’t been given a chance.
As always, it is up to the voters to look at who is running, do their research, ask questions and do everything possible to get bright, capable, smart, innovate people on council.
It beats throwing anybody into the job, knowing you can dump them in two years.
