Hermiston City Council to decide about charter recommendations

By Terry Murry on Tuesday, May 26th, 2026 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

HERMISTON – The Hermiston City Council will review and discuss potential updates to the Hermiston City Charter during its meeting this evening (Tuesday) at 7 p.m. The regular council meeting was moved due to Monday being Memorial Day.

The council will decide which recommendations made by the Hermiston Charter Review Committee will be put before voters in the November general election. The recommendations made are:

Elections and Candidates

Move specific ward boundaries out of the Charter and instead require the City Council to adopt boundaries by ordinance to keep populations balanced.
Change how ward councilors are elected so they are chosen only by voters within their respective wards.

City Council Roles

Transition the municipal court judge position from elected by the public to appointed by the City Council.
Select the City Council president annually instead of every other year.

City Manager Responsibilities

Allow newly hired city managers up to 12 months to establish residency within the city.
Clarify that the city manager oversees the day-to-day supervision of the city attorney.

City Charter Maintenance

Require a formal Charter review at least once every 10 years.
Update language to better align with the League of Oregon Cities Model Charter.

In addition to the above, the council has asked staff to review a potential amendment that would establish term limits for local elected officials. The city examined policies in 45 Oregon communities, and found 35 have no term limits. The remaining 10 have limits ranging from two to five terms.

The meeting is at 7 p.m. today (Tuesday) at Hermiston City Hall. It will be streamed on Hermiston’s YouTube channel.

File photo of Hermiston City Council