Tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room of the Hudson Area Library, Hudson residents will have a chance to meet the team that brought the charter change proposal forward, ask questions, and discuss the proposal with friends, neighbors, and elected officials.
The folks who have worked for three years to craft this initiative have provided this information in advance of tomorrow's meeting. I am flattered it includes a link to a Gossips post.
What is the initiative about? This is a citizens' initiative to change Hudson's form of governance from a Mayoral/Council model to a City Manager/Council model, introducing professionally trained and experienced management of the City. The City Manager/Council form of government has been successful in many cities throughout the US for over 100 years. Currently, one-fourth of the cities in New York State have this form of governance.
Why need for change? In addition to several points made in the FAQs, a compelling example of the need for change is Hudson's annual budget. The Common Council recently passed Hudson's 2025 annual budget, again raising the budget by approximately $1 million. Since 2020, Hudson's annual budget has increased $1 million yearly, from $14.9 million in 2020 to $19.7 million in 2025. That's a 32% increase in 5 years!
Compared to the 62 cities in NY state, Hudson ranks #6 in highest per capita budget cost at $3,413 per person, and #1 in total cost and per capita cost compared to the 10 NY cities with populations less than 10,000 (our per capita costs are over $1,000 higher per person with the #2!).
Click HERE for an informal benchmarking study submitted to the Common Council by a concerned citizen.
Click HERE for a Gossips article on this initiative.
Click HERE to access the Citizens' Initiative for Charter Change website, including information about the change, proposed draft changes to the existing City Charter, and FAQs.
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