Glen Cove council to discuss revisions to city charter that could reduce mayor's powers

The Glen Cove City Council will discuss two efforts to revise the city charter at its Aug. 21 work session, Mayor Timothy Tenke said.

One effort, by the city-appointed charter review commission, hit a snag after City Attorney Charles McQuair said the council must formally re-create the commission before the commission can place referendums on the November election ballot. The last scheduled meeting it can do so is Aug. 28, several days before the deadline to submit referendums. Current commission members are eligible to be on the reconstituted commission, McQuair said.

Commission chairwoman Carolyn Willson said there may be three referendums, on changing the number of years the mayor and council members can serve, and on imposing term limits.

A separate initiative, with more sweeping changes to the charter, is spearheaded by the group Reboot Glen Cove. It includes creating a city manager form of government that limits the power of the mayor, electing most council members by district rather than at-large, and imposing term limits.

Unlike the commission, Reboot cannot directly place referendums on the ballot. The group plans to submit about 700 signatures this month to qualify its proposals for the ballot, said resident Philip Pidot, who is leading the effort.

But Reboot also must get council approval to place its proposed changes on the November ballot or face having to collect additional signatures.

Tenke has said that the city charter review commission is a better route for instituting major changes than what he called “knee-jerk reactions” to perceived problems. The commission has been analyzing the charter since 2015.

“They throw out these great big ideas of how to change things, but they may not be looking at the ramifications of doing so very clearly,” Tenke said in June of the Reboot effort.

If the council does not vote on Reboot’s proposals at its Aug. 28 meeting or votes them down, the group plans to focus on getting the measures on the November 2019 ballot, Pidot said.