Proposed Beaverton Charter of 2021

The Beaverton City Council referred a proposed city charter to Beaverton voters for the May 19, 2020, ballot. If approved, the proposed charter would become operative on January 1, 2021.

What is a Charter? A city charter is like a constitution that outlines the principles, structures and process of government. Beaverton’s existing Charter was approved by voters in November 1980, and subsequently amended once in 2008 when voters changed a section relating to urban renewal.

Draft City Charter

Overview

The proposed city charter outlines specifications to the city’s form of government, term limits and languages preferences, such as:

• The mayor would no longer be the city’s administrative head. Instead, the city council would appoint a full-time city manager to oversee the city’s day-to-day operations.
• The council would expand from five members to seven members: six part-time city councilors and one full-time mayor with voting privileges. The council would serve as the city’s governing body and be responsible for the city’s legislative functions. In addition to serving on the council, the mayor would serve as the city’s chief elected official.
• All council positions would remain nonpartisan and elected at-large by Beaverton voters. The councilors and the mayor would be limited to three consecutive four-year terms in office for their respective positions.
• The new charter would no longer use gender-exclusive references as are found in the city’s current charter.

Timeline

The Beaverton City Council held a series of public discussions, work sessions and hearings on the draft city Charter: