After an outpouring of opposition and even confusion by residents about the merits of their city adopting its own charter, the Fountain Valley City Council decided to “pump the brakes” on the prospect.
The council narrowly voted in November to put the idea of becoming a charter city before voters this year. A charter, essentially a city constitution, could give the city more say over local affairs such as local elections and bidding processes and even put the city in a better position to challenge state laws, officials said. But charter cities are sometimes more vulnerable to legal conflicts and additional legal costs for taxpayers.
But during the Jan. 20 council meeting, a conversation intended to move forward with drafting a charter for the November ballot quickly reignited a heated debate between councilmembers on whether adopting a charter was “worth it.”
And after spending nearly three hours on the topic, the council decided to pivot its plans and instead voted, with Councilmember Kim Constantine abstaining, to put out a public survey to gauge community support for adopting a charter; if constituents voiced enough interest, the option would potentially be put before voters in 2028.
“If there is an outpouring of the residents, that they want this…I will support Councilmember (Ted) Bui to make sure this passes,” Councilmember Glenn Gradis said.
“We held two town hall meetings and the majority of the people were against it and you still went forward with it,” he said. “I’m fairly confident that if we go do a survey, a statistically valid survey, that we’re going to get something similar.”
The dozens of constituents at the council meeting expressed overwhelming concern over what adopting a charter might entail; concerns touched on the legal costs of potential challenges to the state in court, councilmembers having too much power and uncertainty about how the change would benefit the city.
Councilmember Ted Bui refuted those concerns and maintained his vocal support of adopting a charter.
“Charter city status does not automatically raise taxes. It does not force the city into a lawsuit. It does not require reckless spending. It does not create new departments, new staff or new operating budget. It does not eliminate state mandates across the board,” he said.
“But charter city status,” he said, “is simply a form of local governance that allows voters, not Sacramento, to decide certain municipal matters if and only voters approve.”
About a fourth of California’s cities have adopted a charter, including 10 cities in Orange County, including Fountain Valley’s nearby cities Anaheim, Cypress, Irvine, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach.
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