Term lengths for Fayetteville City Council members may be extended soon, but the council wants to hear from residents first.
At its meeting Monday night, the council set a public hearing for April 10 on whether the length of council members’ terms should be extended from the current two years to staggered, four-year terms. That would mean that some seats would be on the ballot one year and others in the next election.
The measure does not finalize any changes to elections but only sets a public hearing on the issue. The City Council would decide how to proceed during its meeting on April 24, City Attorney Karen McDonald said during Monday’s meeting.
Mayor Mitch Colvin and seven council members voted in support of holding the hearing. Council members Kathy Jensen and Mario Benavente voted against it.
When asked by Benavente, McDonald said that it’s possible for the council on April 24 to put the issue to a referendum on November’s ballot for upcoming municipal elections.
In 2018, the issue was put on the ballot, and nearly 65% of Fayetteville voters rejected the measure.
According to a resolution drafted by McDonald, the changes would require four council members to be elected to two-year terms in November’s election. The remaining seats would carry four-year terms. In the elections afterward, all council seats would be for four-year terms.
The resolution also states that the mayor’s term would extend to four years, but Colvin said during the meeting that the current intent of supporters of the plan is that the final changes keep the mayoral term at two years.
Discussion among council
Benavente, who voted against setting the public hearing, said it is “an important time to make your voice heard about whether you feel as though the city of Fayetteville should move to four-year terms unilaterally.”
“I think it’s crucial that if we want to make such a drastic change to the way that this city operates, that it once again goes to the vote of the people and should not rely simply on City Council to benefit themselves by changing the rules to give themselves more time,” Benavente continued.
Council member Derrick Thompson, who initially proposed the changes at a work session last week, had a different view.
“I brought this because it’s not about us. It’s about saving the city money, time, effort and stability,” said Thompson.
He argued at the work session last week, CityView reported, that having terms set at two years runs the risk of drastically changing the makeup of the council when every seat is up for election.
“People think that politicians just want to sit on council and do what they want to do,” Thompson said. “The problem is I’m not a politician, and I’m not thinking like a politician. I’m thinking like a concerned citizen to look at what’s best for the city.”
Ben Sessoms covers Fayetteville and education for CityView. He can be reached at bsessoms@cityviewnc.com.
