Term limits, taxes targeted as Litchfield Park defines its new city charter

Litchfield Park residents are having their say in how their town could become the first charter city in Arizona in over 40 years, with a discussion of term limits for council members grabbing the most attention.

The city had its first public input meeting on Wednesday, where residents gave feedback on the draft charter. On Nov. 14, freeholders were elected to write the charter. They've been meeting twice a week since then, sometimes for over three hours, said Paul Charnetsky, a local physician elected to the Board of Freeholders, who gave the presentation on Wednesday evening.

The charter has not yet been finalized, but when it is, voters will consider it in a March 12 special election.

Currently, Litchfield Park is a general law city, which means it operates under state law. Becoming a charter city would allow it to have its own policies in terms of the hiring and firing process or implementing term limits for elected officials.

Currently, the minimum age for mayor and councilmembers is 18. In the draft charter, that age would be raised to 21, although some residents said they would like that age to be higher, like 25.

The draft charter would also implement term limits. Currently, someone can run for mayor or City Council as many times as they want.

History: How Litchfield Park turned from a company town to a tourist destination

Mayor Tom Schoaf, for example, has won six elections since 2006. But the charter draft implements four term limits of four years for both mayor and council members. In theory, someone could serve four terms as a council member and an additional four terms as mayor, Charnetsky said.

While other larger cities in the Valley have shorter terms or fewer terms, Charnetsky said it's important for people to have the opportunity to stay for several terms, with the longer term limits being more suitable for a smaller city.

Term limits were one of the more controversial topics when it came to the freeholders' discussions, Charnetsky said. So, the mayor and each council member would be allowed to complete their term and run for one more additional term, no matter their current number of terms.

The city also currently does not have its own debt policy, but the new charter would implement a city minimum reserve, which includes a target 25% minimum unassigned fund balance, which refers to funds that have not been assigned a specific project or purpose.

Any property taxes would also have to be approved by voters, Chernetsky said.

After the public comment section of the meeting, the freeholders entered into executive session to discuss suggestions made by the public. They included raising the minimum age for mayor and council members to older than 21, filling vacancies by special election instead of appointment and requiring voters to approve sales taxes, as opposed to only property taxes.

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or by phone at 480-259-8545. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @AlexandraHardle.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Litchfield Park targets term limits in new city charter