Council to Consider Charter Government

Port Hueneme has taken its first tentative steps toward becoming a charter city, a move that would free the city from many state mandates.

The City Council agreed Wednesday night to sit as a charter commission to study the idea and to hold a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall to meet with a consultant who would guide the municipality through the process.

The council may decide then whether the city should focus on simply how a charter could provide a greater measure of local fiscal control or whether a wider range of issues will be considered, including such items as how elections are conducted. A citizens advisory committee will also be formed at a later date.

Unlike general law cities, a charter city essentially writes a constitution that gives it a greater measure of freedom from state mandates. The concept is appealing given the budget problems cities such as Port Hueneme encountered in recent years when the state withheld money that had traditionally gone to municipalities.

Ventura is a charter city and Oxnard is considering the change. In contrast to Oxnard, where the idea met with suspicion from some residents recently, most residents who addressed the Port Hueneme council Wednesday urged a closer, if cautious, examination of a charter.

But Mary DePaolo, who has said she intends to run for a City Council seat this fall, did question several references from officials that switching to a charter city could help the city raise money more easily.

“I’m concerned that our main focus isn’t local financial independence, but taxation,” she said.

Other speakers asked how much the switch would cost and warned that the consequences of the idea should be thoroughly investigated before the city rushes into anything. It’s possible the charter issue may be on the November ballot, although officials conceded that timeline may be optimistic.