BY LINDA BENTLEY | JULY 30, 2014
Carefree takes another stab at four-year terms
… which brings up the question as to how the town plans to deal with the term limits if Propositions 488 and 489 pass
CAREFREE – On July 24, 2014, Town Clerk Kandace French announced she had certified two citizen initiatives as having a sufficient number of valid signatures to be presented to voters on the November ballot.
The initiatives, filed by Planning and Zoning Commissioner Michael Krahe (l), will appear on the ballot as Propositions 488 and 489, proposing to amend the terms of office for the mayor and council.
Proposition 488 proposes to increase council member terms from two years to four-year staggered terms, while Proposition 489 proposes to increase the mayor’s term from 2 years to four years.
A similar proposal to increase council terms was placed before voters on the March 10, 2009 ballot, where it failed by a vote of 503-669 (43-57 percent).
Two years later, on March 8, 2011, citizens voted 881-446, by a near 2-1 margin, in favor of a ballot measure limiting terms to three two-year terms (six consecutive years) for both the mayor and council, which brings up the question as to how the town plans to deal with the term limits if Propositions 488 and 489 pass.
French stated the term limit measure passed prior to her being hired and Town Attorney Michael Wright will need to advise the town about what it needs to do.
Wright stated if the measures pass, the town will need to take some additional steps to address the term limit issue and possibly place another proposition on the ballot.
However, if the measures fail in November, the issue will become moot and no further action will be required.
