The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted to place recommendations from last March’s civic assembly on their docket during a Tuesday work session.
The assembly, organized by civic education nonprofit CivicLex, was meant to get more residents involved in tackling local issues. Last March, the 36-person group discussed ways to change Lexington’s charter, which is similar to a city constitution, over the span of the month.
The group created three recommendations that are now being heard by council. If they’re approved, they would be put on the ballot for Lexingtonians to vote on in November.
Those recommendations include increasing council member pay to $59,987 annually, the average salary for a Lexingtonian according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was coupled with another that would add more accountability measures for council members, like publicly viewable attendance.
A third recommendation would require Lexington’s charter to be reviewed every eight years by a representative cross-section of 36 residents, similar to the original assembly.
“Even if the other stuff doesn't work out, I know that in eight years, or however, we know there's going to be another citizens’ assembly that can address this, if it needs to be,” assembly member Tommy Clasby said during the work session.
The council voted unanimously to add the ordinances on accountability and charter review to the docket. At-large council member James Brown and District 8’s Amy Beasley voted against the ordinance on council member pay, with the rest voting to move it forward.
All three ordinances are up for first reading during the council’s regular Thursday meeting. They would need a three-fifths majority vote from the 15-member council to be approved. If they pass a second reading on June 18, each item will be put on the ballot for voters.
