READING, Pa. – As part of its scheduled agenda on Thursday, the Berks County Board of Elections addressed correspondence it received regarding 13 City of Reading ballot questions proposed by the Charter Review Commission.
On June 22, Reading City Council voted to amend its voting agenda and remove thirteen proposed ordinances which would have amended the city’s charter if approved by voters in November.
At a meeting the week before that, council expressed frustration at the proposed referendum questions and questioned whether some of the amendments were unconstitutional and would trigger litigation.
Election Board Solicitor Cody Kauffman further explained that City Council removed the questions from its agenda stating a failure of the Commission to conform to the requirements of the charter.
The council solicitor had said that the Commission failed to make proposed charter amendments within six months from the time of its appointment, as required by the charter.
Kauffman said he reviewed the proposed questions and prepared plain English explanations in the event the ordinances would have been passed by council.
“The relevant law regarding these ballot questions is set forth within the Home Rule Charter, which governs the City of Reading,” Kauffman said. “It states a referendum on the question of the amendment of a home rule charter or an optional plan of government, shall be held when the election officials find that the initiative petition, or in this case, the ordinance, of the governing body is in proper order.”
Kauffman said it is the responsibility of the election board to frame the questions to be placed on the ballot, but that it does not have the authority to intervene with the City Council action.
The deadline for referendums to be submitted to the county is Aug. 4, Kauffman said.
“We don’t have the authority, nor is it our role, to do anything further with these ballot questions at this time,” he said.
County Commissioner Christian Y. Leinbach said the matter was a little more confusing than it would be in any other municipality in Berks County because the questions come from the Charter Review Commission, which must then be approved by the council.
Kauffman reiterated that the county does not have the authority to step in and place the questions on the ballot without the formal statutory procedure.
“I would not recommend that we get involved or take any types of proactive steps,” he added.
The proposed questions ranged from several new requirements which would have regulated who can serve on authorities, board and Commissions, to whether the city should create a Department of Health and whether the charter should make a statement regarding preservation and protection of natural resources and about equal and inclusive treatment of individuals.