[Adopted 10-22-2025 by L.L. No. 6-2025; repassed 11-3-2025]
A. 
The Kingston Charter Review Commission ("the Commission," or "CRC") is hereby created to oversee and administer a review of the Charter for the City of Kingston in accordance with Part 2 of Article 4 of the Municipal Home Rule Law.
B. 
The Commission shall be comprised of 18 members, designated and appointed as follows:
(1) 
Three members shall be named by the Mayor.
(2) 
Three members shall be named by the Common Council.
(a) 
Council members will submit applications of prospective members who have agreed to serve on the Commission. If there are more than three applications, the Council will vote to reduce the number of its recommended members to three. Each of the three must receive a super majority of the vote (i.e., a total of six). If the Council cannot fill its allotment of three members, then the vacancies will be filled through the sortition process described below in Subsection B(3).
(3) 
To ensure that the CRC represents the wide diversity of City residents and to create a democratically inclusive body, 12 members and two alternates shall be selected through sortition (a total of 14 persons) in the following manner:
(a) 
Communications (including postal cards to a significant portion of City residents, notice via social media, notice via the Engage Kingston website, and any other appropriate manners) will alert residents to the formation of the CRC and call for applications. Applications will include both relevant questions for establishing a person's interest and qualifications as well as a resume of any pertinent experience.
(b) 
A qualified service provider, to be determined by the Common Council, will use a standard sortition process to find 12 members for the CRC. (This number of 12 may be higher if the Council is unable to fulfill its obligation of finding three members.) The members chosen through this process must reflect the diversity of the City of Kingston along its multiple dimensions.
(c) 
The alternates shall serve only in the case that a member of the CRC leaves the commission on a permanent basis.
(4) 
The appointment of Commission members is intended to be nonpartisan. Residency within the City of Kingston is required to be eligible for appointment. Council members will not be required to recommend only residents of their Ward. No person shall be disqualified to serve as a member, employee or consultant of the Commission by reason of holding any other public office or employment, nor shall be/she forfeit any such office or employment by reason of his/her appointment hereunder, notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local law, ordinance or City Charter.
C. 
The terms of office of the members of the Commission shall expire on the day of the election at which the any proposed new Charter or Charter amendments prepared by the Commission are submitted to the qualified electors of the City, or on November 3, 2027, if no such issues are determined to be necessary by the CRC.
A. 
The Charter Commission created hereby shall review Kingston's entire Charter and prepare a draft of any proposed changes to the Charter, should a simple majority of CRC members find such changes to be advisable. The Commission may decide to make no changes whatsoever. If this is the case, the CRC shall provide a report to the public explaining its rationale. If the Commission shall propose to make one or more amendments, it shall make a report to the public, accompanying its proposal, in which it shall detail its rationale for the proposed change(s). The proposed Charter or such amendments may contain such provisions or effect such results as may be made or effected by local law under the provisions of the Municipal Home Rule Law, and, subject to the provisions of Paragraph (c) of Subdivision 4 of § 10 thereof, may contain any provisions of the existing Charter deemed necessary to make a complete Charter or appropriate amendments to the existing Charter, with such changes in the headings and in the numbering of the titles, articles, chapters, sections and subdivisions wherein such provisions are found in the existing Charter as may be deemed appropriate to correlate and coordinate them with the other provisions in the proposed revised Charter and with such changes in the text of such provisions as may be deemed desirable to clarify the meaning of such provisions, and to vest in any of the officers of the City provided for in the proposed new or revised Charter any power or authority contained in such provisions.
B. 
Such revised Charter or amendments shall be completed and filed in the office of the City Clerk in time for submission to the electors not later than the general election to be held November 3, 2027. The Charter Commission shall provide for the publication or other publicity in respect to the provisions of the proposed Charter or amendments as it may deem proper, and for submission thereof to the electors of the City at a general or special election held not earlier than 60 days after the filing thereof in the office of the City Clerk and not later than the next general election which does not occur within the said 60 days; provided, however, that if such general election occurs within 90 days after the said filing, the proposed Charter or amendments shall be submitted at such general election. At such election, if a proposed significantly revised Charter is submitted as a single proposal, there shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the City the question: "Shall the revised City Charter proposed by the City Charter Commission be adopted?" The Commission may submit amendments or alternative provisions to supersede designated portions of a proposed Charter or amendment if adopted. In such case the Charter Commission shall prescribe the form of the questions to be submitted, which shall be such as to clearly indicate the effect of their approval. The CRC may submit separate proposals for approval in a public vote. In such case the Charter Commission shall propose the form of the questions to be submitted, which shall be such as to clearly indicate the effect of their approval. The Common Council shall have the final approval of the wording of any proposals to be put before the voters.
C. 
No provision for the election of any elective officers by any system of proportional representation shall become effective under the provisions of this section unless a definite question with respect to the adoption of such system for the election of such officers shall have been submitted as a separate question and separately approved at the same election by the affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified electors voting thereon.
D. 
If any question submitted by the Charter Commission receives the affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified electors of the City voting thereon, the proposal submitted thereby shall take effect as specified therein and the amended Charter shall become operative as prescribed therein; except that if there is a conflict between the provisions of two or more proposals approved by the electors at the same election, the proposal receiving the largest number of affirmative votes shall prevail to the extent of such conflict.
E. 
At any election at which any question or questions shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the City by a Charter Commission pursuant to this section or within 60 days thereafter, no other question or questions shall be submitted except by another Charter Commission if such other question or questions involve or relate directly or indirectly to the adoption of a new City Charter, the amendment of a City Charter, Charter review, the establishment of a Commission to draft a new or revised City Charter, or the functions, powers or duties of any elective officer of the City, except as provided in Subsection G of this section.
F. 
While a Charter Commission is in existence under the provisions of this section, the local legislative body shall not submit to the electors any of the questions specified in Subsection E except as provided in Subsection G of this section.
G. 
If a proposed local law submitted pursuant to § 37 of the Municipal Home Rule Law would under the provisions of such section be submitted at a general election at which a question or questions submitted by a Charter Commission are to be voted on, such local law shall not be submitted at such election but shall be submitted at the general election in the year following, regardless of other questions which may be voted on at the latter election and notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this title.
The Charter Commission created hereby shall also be subject to the following provisions:
A. 
The Commission shall conduct regular public hearings. It shall conduct such public hearings at such times and at such places within the City as it shall deem necessary. The Commission shall also have power to conduct private hearings, take testimony, subpoena witnesses and require the production of books, papers and records. The Commission shall prepare a preliminary draft of its recommendations for public comment and discussion on or about February 3, 2027.