• The Charter Review Committee and City staff recommended five amendments to the City’s Charter, two proposed by the Committee and three proposed by City staff.
• The proposed amendments included revisions addressing non-inclusive language; eliminating non-accessible signature requirements; addressing ambiguities in direction to the Salary Review Commission; updating language to reflect the current budget process; and eliminating a requirement for contracts that creates an administrative burden.
• Council remanded back to staff the amendment that would eliminate non-accessible signature requirements to add clarifying language about when new signature requirements would go into effect. Staff has made that addition and is bringing the last recommended amendment back to Council for consideration.

The City of Vancouver’s charter requires a committee of 15 residents be appointed at least every five years to review the charter and make recommendations to the City Council on potential changes. The 2024 Charter Review Committee held seven meetings between October 2023 and April 2024 and recommended five amendments to the charter for consideration by the City Council.

The County Elections Office raised concerns about the language for one of the proposed amendments and requested additional clarifying language be added, specifying that the proposed amendment language would go into effect once legal under state law. Council remanded the amendment back to staff to add clarifying language.

The proposed amendment is:

Section 10.03 Petitions and Committees and 10.04 Filing and Certifying – Removing language referencing paper and indelible signatures that would prevent the acceptance of electronic signature on petitions.

1. Supports the work of the Charter Review Committee by adopting their final recommendation.
2. Encourages voter participation in the City’s governance process.
3. Makes other changes to the City’s charter that modernizes, streamlines, and clarifies processes.