Terms for Fayetteville City Council members may soon be extended, but a public hearing scheduled Monday will give residents a chance to have their voices heard on the issue.

The City Council will hold the hearing at its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall. The plan is to change the council member terms from two years to four-year, staggered terms, meaning some council members will be elected in one election cycle while others will be elected in the next election.

Supporters of the change currently plan to keep the mayor’s term at two years. Council members Kathy Jensen and Mario Benavente were the lone members to vote against holding a public hearing.

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 City Council would have to determine those details, if it decides to proceed following Monday’s public hearing.

To speak at Monday’s public hearing, residents can sign up online, in person at the city clerk’s office at 433 Hay St., by phone at 910-433-1312, by fax at 910-433-1980 or by email at cityclerk@ci.fay.nc.us.

Residents must sign up to speak by 5 p.m. Monday, and they must state whether they favor or oppose term extensions.

Previously, Benavente had called for the issue to go to a voter referendum.

In 2018, the issue was on the ballot, and nearly 65% of Fayetteville voters rejected the measure.

Council member Derrick Thompson, who initially proposed the changes at a work session in March, has argued that a city of Fayetteville’s size should not run the risk of the entire City Council changing in a single election. Currently, all members and the mayor are up for election during every odd-numbered year.

“I brought this because it’s not about us. It’s about saving the city money, time, effort and stability,” Thompson said at a meeting last month.

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Ben Sessoms covers Fayetteville and education for CityView. He can be reached at bsessoms@cityviewnc.com.