Charter City Initiative
Public Hearing No. 2
JULY 7 , 2026
1 Today’s Presentation Topics
2 Overview of the City Council’s First Public Hearing
Overview of City Council Direction
Overview of First Public Hearing
• On June 2nd, the City Council received a staff presentation on :
• City Council Charter Initiative, Work Plan, and Timeline • Current City of Fremont Governance Structure
• General Law City and Charter City Overview
• Form of Government Overview
• City Council Appointment Authority Overview
• City Council Compensation and Staffing Overview
• Charter Advisory Committee (CAC) Recommendations
• Fiscal Impacts
3 Overview of First Public Hearing
The City Council considered the CAC recommendations on the following Work Plan topics:
4 Governance Structure:
• Form of Government
• Council Authority
• Meeting Structure
• Council Voting
Executive Roles:
• Executive Authority
• Appointment
Authority
Term Limits:
• Council Term Limits
• Mayor Term Limits
Council Compensation
and Office Support:
• Council Salary
• Staffing Options
• Budget Considerations
Overview of First Public Hearing
5 Description Cost
The estimated cost to place a proposed City Charter on
the November 2026 ballot
$610,690 - $854,966
(one-time)
Total annual cost (estimate) of total compensation for the Mayor and Councilmembers, reflecting a half-time HBA
scenario
$364,672 per year*
Total annual cost (estimate) of 1.5 employees directly
supporting the Mayor and Councilmembers $253,655 per year* Fiscal Impact of the Charter Initiative:
*The net increase to the City’s annual, ongoing General Fund expenditure is estimated to be $328,214.
Overview of City Council Direction
The City Council directed staff to implement the following revisions to the draft charter:
• Authorize the Mayor to add items to City Council meeting agendas • Authorize the City Council to appoint (or termination) its support staff • Authorize the City Council to develop a process for filling City Council vacancies based upon voting results.
• Authorize the City Attorney to appoint and remove employees of the City Attorney's Office.
6 Overview of City Council Direction
The City Council also emphasized certain high-level objectives with the Charter initiative, including:
• The principles of transparency and accountability as a primary motivation for pursuing a City Charter.
• Clarification that the City Charter does not contemplate a real property transfer tax.
• Clarification for the public that, if adopted, any future amendments to a City Charter would require voter approval during an election. 7 Next Steps
8 Receive the staff report.
Conduct a second public hearing.
Provide direction to staff on the proposed city charter language, including whether the City Council approves the proposed City Charter language for the November 2026 ballot.