The Charter Review Commission was told it has an initial $7,000 in discretionary funds to begin work, but commissioners asked for written confirmation and a copy of the ordinance that established the commission’s full budget authority.

A recording-secretary job description is under review and commissioners discussed compensation and translation duties for the role. Commissioners also asked the executive committee to finalize the job description before presenting it to the full commission.

At the meeting a staff representative explained that the finance director has the authority to allocate up to $7,000 and that the full $20,000 the commission had expected would require a council ordinance. “The Charter Review Commission has been allocated $7,000 initially as, budgetary authority,” staff said. Commissioners asked for that allocation to be provided in writing.

Why it matters: commissioners said they need documented budget authority to hire support, pay for translation and captioning, and to avoid reopening administrative questions later in the review process.

Key details discussed:
- Allocation: staff reported a verbal allocation of $7,000 from the finance director; commissioners requested an email or written notice confirming the allocation and said the council would need to pass an ordinance to provide the balance of the commission’s expected $20,000 budget.
- Recording secretary: commissioners reviewed a draft job description and asked the executive committee to refine it. The group discussed a pay structure that was clarified during the meeting — $100 per meeting plus $40 per hour for preparation and translation time, with an expectation that preparation would normally not exceed two hours. Commissioners asked that any work beyond that receive prior approval.
- Procurement and approvals: members said hiring for the role and any costs beyond the initial allocation should follow the usual ordinance and council-approval process.

Next steps: staff will seek written confirmation of the $7,000 allocation, circulate the draft recording-secretary job description to the executive committee for comment, and present a final job description and proposed pay schedule to the full commission for approval.