Below is a link to the current Charter change proposal to be considered by the City Council at their meeting on February 14 at 7 p.m., which is also the subject of a public hearing to be held the same night at 6 p.m.:

Charter Change Executive Summary

Proposed New Charter of New Castle Revised 2-17-12

Resolution 2012-3 Charter Changes

Below is a previous article with links at the end detailing the process up until February 10.

The New Castle City Council is considering comprehensive changes to the City Charter. This process started about nine months ago when the City Council appointed a committee of citizens to review the Charter and make recommendations to the Council for revisions. Charter Change Committee members are Committee Chair Dr. Genevieve Miller (former City Council President), John Houben (former Mayor), Josephine Moore, James Vincent and City Solicitor Daniel R. Losco.

Since mid-2011, the Committee met eight times in meetings open to the public which were publicized in advance in accordance with the Freedom Of Information Act. The Committee performed a comprehensive review of the entire Charter.

The City Council met on January 24 with the Charter Change Committee to discuss the proposed revisions. Two additional special City Council Workshop Meetings have been scheduled to continue review of the proposed Charter changes. Those meetings are scheduled for January 31 and February 7. Both meetings are at 6 p.m. at the Town Hall (second floor) in the City Council chambers.

Additionally, a public hearing on the proposed changes is scheduled for Tuesday, February 14 at 6 p.m. at the Town Hall. Further, this item will be on the City Council agenda for their next regular meeting which begins at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 14. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend all meetings where the proposed Charter changes will be discussed.

The Council’s goal is to have all the changes agreed upon and approved by Resolution of the City Council no later than the end of February. This will allow the Delaware General Assembly time to consider its adoption in its current session.

In general, a number of changes eliminated items which were in conflict with Federal and/or State laws and also modernized some of the language. The following highlights some specific items proposed to be revised in the Charter:

• Change the current two-year terms of City elected officials, with various alternatives being considered. One alternative would be to change the terms to four years, which would also allow for staggered terms of Council members, providing continuity on the Council after each election. City elections would continue to occur every two years, however only two Council seats would be open each election along with either the seat for the Mayor or Council President (alternating every two years). Another alternative would be to change the terms to three years and have staggered terms, however this would then require a City election to occur every year. Another option would be to change to three year non-staggered terms, with City elections then occurring every three years. Finally, the option remains to not have a change in this section of the Charter, leaving intact the current system of two-year non-staggered terms for all elected officials.
• Change the requirement that for any borrowing proposed by the City, a referendum vote is required. The proposed change recommended by the Charter Change Committee is to have a three-tiered system. Limited short-term borrowing (13 months maximum) could occur, approved by at least a two-thirds vote of the City Council. The second tier would allow long-term borrowing with a limit which is tied to a percentage of the total assessed value of City real property, also requiring approval by at least a two-thirds vote of City Council. The third tier covers borrowing over the limit of the second tier, which would require a referendum vote of New Castle citizens.
• It is recommended that the official name of the City be changed from, “The Mayor and Council of New Castle” to the “City of New Castle”.