Charter Review Commission

Charter Review Commission 2011

Background

In 2010 the City of Newburgh, working in partnership with Pattern for Progress, applied for and was awarded a NYS Department of State High Priority Local Government Efficiency Grant for the purpose of funding a City Charter Revision Study to implement functional consolidation, increase shared services and manage improvements to achieve savings.

Mayor Nicholas Valentine appointed the 2011 Charter Review Commission, which originally included: Chairman, Charles Woodard, Vice Chair, Brigidanne Flynn, Isaac Diggs, Pauline Dillard, Thomas J. Murphy, John F. Penney, Mary Ann Prokosch, Hhans Sandiford, Barbara Simon, Barbara J. Smith, Susan Smith, and Decora Sandiford. The City contracted with Pattern for Progress, Prof. Gerald Benjamin, SUNY New Paltz, and Lester Steinman, former Director of the Municipal Law Resource Center to assist the Commission in their two-fold task: to review and determine whether revisions should be made to the City Charter, and to explore possible consolidation of City services to enhance efficiency and reduce costs.

On Tuesday, November 8, 2011 voters approved the proposed changes to the City of Newburgh Charter that will change the composition of the City Council from five members to seven, and re-configure the City into four wards. With this action, the City of Newburgh Charter Review Commission ceased to exist.

City Council Appoints Districting Commission

In March of 2012, City Council Appointed the Districting Commission from a pool of interested candidates pre-qualified by the Citizens Advisory Committee.