ELGIN — Elgin voters will decide whether to adopt an updated city charter during the Nov. 5 election.

The proposed charter is modeled on the most recent League of Oregon Cities model charter, but has been modified to meet the needs of Elgin, according to City Administrator Alex McHaddad. If approved by voters, Ballot Measure 31-122 will introduce three changes to the charter.

“There are three key changes that will arise from adopting a new charter for the first time since the 1980s,” McHaddad said.

The proposed charter would give the mayor the power to appoint members to city committees.

Currently, the mayor can appoint councilors to city committees. However, McHaddad said, members of the general public can only be added at the discretion of the council. This means there is no single official tasked with filling appointments and many of Elgin’s committee seats remain unfilled.

The change would make the mayor responsible for filling appointments. McHaddad said this is part of the mayor’s duties in many other cities.

The proposed ballot measure also would retain the city administrator as an elected official, but would make it so that the council could fill the pro tem city administrator position for the remainder of the term rather than in six-month increments.

Under the current city charter, the pro tem position is only a six-month appointment. McHaddad said this can be annoying as it requires twice-a-year appointment and contract negotiation.

It also means that the voters cannot easily recall a city administrator appointed to fill a vacancy, according to McHaddad. He explained that the Oregon Constitution only permits a recall after an individual has served six months, but the appointment rule in Elgin automatically resets the clock.

“The tradeoff for allowing the council to fill appointments for more than six months at a time, ideally for the remainder of a four-year term, is that voters have more control over their community leaders,” McHaddad said.

Elgin is the last city in Oregon with an elected city administrator, according to McHaddad.

The final proposed charter amendment would allow the city council to adopt its own election rules and adopt state laws through reference.

Under the current charter, Elgin residents running for mayor, council or city administrator only have two weeks to do so. Adopting the state rules would increase this to a three-month window, which is in line with other cities around the state.

“It also makes staff recruitment and retention better because seasoned professionals will know how to administer future city elections without local idiosyncrasies, and existing staff will benefit from elections training tailored to obeying state laws,” McHaddad said.

The proposed Elgin charter also differs from the model League of Oregon Cities charter as it retains the mayor as a two-year term rather than the recommended four years.