May 18, 2023 3:50 a.m.

Officials have responded after voters have agreed to update the Roseburg City Charter.

A City of Roseburg release said unofficial preliminary results from the Douglas County Elections Division indicate the proposal is passing by a wide margin with approximately 62 percent in favor and 38 percent opposed.

Mayor Larry Rich said, “That’s impressive. I’m glad it has passed. Its good to have an updated charter”.

A City Charter Review Committee met for five months last year to review a Charter last revised in 1984. The committee recommended several dozen revisions – with all but two approved by the city council in January. That document is viewable on the city website: https://www.cityofroseburg.org/storage/app/media/ADM/Elections%20Page/ROSEBURG%20CITY%20CHARTER%20WITH%20AMENDMENTS_TO%20VOTERS.pdf

City Manager Nikki Messenger shared her thoughts on the approval on Wednesday: “Thank you to the committee that spent a lot of time and thoughtful deliberation determining how to modernize our charter, and thank you to the voters for trusting their work”.

Changes by the council before adopting the resolution to put the measure on the ballot were:

*The committee recommended changing the mayor’s term to four years to match councilor terms. The council chose to leave the term as is, at two years.

*The committee recommended removing a residency requirement for the city manager. The council chose to amend the existing language giving the council discretion to waive the city manager residency requirement, on an individual basis, when they deem appropriate.

The release said most changes were made to modernize the Charter, make the language more straightforward and clearly define the city’s legal authority.

Official certified results on the measure will be available beginning on June 7th.

The updated City Charter will take effect on July 1st.