Lancaster’s Home Rule Study Commission is planning to vote this evening, Thursday, Aug. 15, on approving the charter it has drafted for the city, the ballot question that will be placed before voters on Election Day and the commission’s final report.
The agenda for tonight’s meeting includes motions for all those items, as well as a fourth vote the encompasses all three together.
Beforehand, the commission is scheduled to discuss last week’s public hearing. At that session, Mayor Sorace and various city residents recommended the commission reconsider expanding City Council to nine and making members eligible for benefits.
The mayor also suggested considering term limits for elected officials and not imposing residency requirements on department heads.
In an email to One United Lancaster, Chair Brian Adams confirmed that the commission expects to hold the votes that cap its work this evening.
The commission normally holds two regular meetings each month, on the first and third Thursdays; but this month has a third meeting on the schedule, on Thursday, Aug. 29.
“The reason for originally scheduling the meeting on the 29th was in case the commission did not complete the draft on Aug. 1,” Adams wrote. “… But we did complete it, so today should be the votes.”
The commission’s meeting tonight begins at 6:30 p.m. in Polite Council Chambers at City Hall. It will be livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel. Public comments cannot be offered via the livestream, only in person.
