LANCASTER, Pa. — Voters in the city of Lancaster will vote on significant changes to the city's governing structure on Election Day in November.
The city's Home Rule Charter will be voted on after it was approved by the Home Rule Study Commission earlier in August.
The charter would reorganize the city government and would allow the city council to forego a current cap on local income tax mandated by state law.
The city currently can only raise revenue through property taxes, and members of the Commission say this change would allow the city to make taxation more equitable as opposed to taxing everyone the same rate through property taxes.
"It'll put the burden of taxation on those best able to pay, and it'll provide some relief to people who are least able to pay," said Commission member John McGann.
Other provisions in the charter include allowing the mayor to introduce the budget in October, one month earlier than is currently the law, and requiring her to give quarterly budget updates.
It would also create a new city ethics commission and allow citizens to put initiatives on the ballot as referendums or onto the city council agenda.
The Commission did not vote to divvy up the city council by districts, choosing to keep each seat elected city-wide. That has drawn the ire of some residents and officials who say that certain parts of the city, including the southeast section, are underrepresented.
"I feel like the city council members elected at-large can and should serve all residents, and not just the residents in one particular part of the city," McGann said. "There's a lot of very valuable improvements in our charter. I think that a lot of these are done to give the residents and the citizens a greater voice in how city government works for them."
The vote will happen on Election Day, which takes place Nov. 5.