The Ashland Constitution
The Ashland City Charter is its constitution, and it is under review. However, the City Council cannot change the city charter—only you can. Over 14,000 Ashland voters will soon decide constitution-level changes to Ashland City government.
Summary of AshlandConstitution.org Amendments
| Amendment | What's the Problem? | What's the Solution? |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The 7 Core Values Guiding City Government | Community values aren't articulated in the Charter, creating a soulless document and inviting government actions outside the important, unstated values. | Articulate the core values of democracy in a way that guides city government and allows enforcement. |
| 2. Ashland Code of Ethics For All Public Servants. | Charter has no code of ethics. City's elected and appointed officials have no ethical code beyond a narrow and poorly enforced state code. City employees' code has mixed wording and is basically ignored. | Establish a professional Ashland Code Of Ethics for all public servants. Make it clear, specific, and enforceable. |
| 3. Public Forums (Speaker Procedures and Fair Minutes). | Public Forum procedures are designed to limit Citizen participation as one-way 'input': posting the speaker's address on the web, limiting their content, excluding written comments from minutes, no response to Speakers, etc. | Revamp Public Forums to be more Citizen-friendly and respectful. |
| 4. Public Interest Vote (‘Silent Majority Vote’). | The ‘silent majority’ has no time-effective way to voice its values and position on major City proposals. Many Citizens see the City as heavily influenced by special interests (e.g., developers and wealthy landowners) rather than the public interest. | Use a Public Interest Vote, a semi-formal vote of the ‘silent majority’ on major proposals to guide Council decisions. Examples: AFN Options, Northlight, Bemis, Downtown Master Plan, LIDs, etc. |
| 5. Public Improvements (Condemnation, LIDs). | US Supreme Court ruled that a city could take private property to resell to a developer for higher tax revenue. City can implement an LID over majority opposition of homeowners, then put liens on homeowners' property to pay for the LID. |
Define the limits and procedures for condemnation. Establish a majority vote requirement to condemn private property. Require an LID to have majority support from those affected by the LID, who have liens put on their properties to pay for it. |