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Soldotna council discusses fall ballot question

The Soldotna city council will vote on putting a question to voters on the fall ballot about the role of the mayor at its meeting Wednesday night.

 

Last year, Soldotna became a home rule city. But some language in the new charter didn’t line up with city code regarding what role the mayor plays in administering local government. Mayor Pete Sprague says he wants that role to remain unchanged, and to have it not only codified in the city’s books, but also in the city’s charter, which has to be done at the ballot.

“This is a little bit more than housekeeping because the council did approve a change to code that gives the mayor veto power and the ability to vote in case of a tie. But having it in code doesn’t have the same strength as it would having it in the charter...I would like to see it in the charter. That was the impetus for doing this.”

He says the goal is to basically keep things as they were, so even though this question could be on the ballot, if approved, it wouldn’t represent any real changes.

“There were a variety of opinions during the charter commission meetings about it, but it was my understanding the intent was to leave things as they were. But I think this would solidify the mayor’s role in the charter.”

The city will vote on both the ordinance to put the question on the ballot and a resolution approving the language of that ballot question. If approved, voters will have the final say on October 4th.