May 3 Election: Zachary voters to decide on charter changes for city leadership and operations
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Zachary voters will decide on Saturday whether to adopt the first update to the city's Home Rule Charter in 15 years.
The charter serves as the city's guiding legal document, outlining how the government is structured and operates. According to the City of Zachary, the proposed updates aim to improve clarity, efficiency, and continuity in city leadership.
The proposed changes affect multiple areas of government, including:
Council qualifications and vacancies: Clarifies residency rules for council members and adds automatic forfeiture if qualifications are no longer met.
Council meetings: Shifts the responsibility of running meetings to the mayor pro tempore instead of the mayor.
Mayoral absence: Establishes a formal line of succession if the mayor is temporarily unavailable or disabled.
Elected official compensation: Clarifies how pay is set and adjusted for the mayor, police chief, and council members.
City administration: States that department heads no longer need to live in Zachary and defines responsibilities for the chief administrative and financial officers.
Police Department: Confirms the police chief also serves as city marshal and can appoint a deputy marshal.
Budget process: Reduces the mayor's budget proposal window from 60 to 45 days and sets a fallback plan if no budget is adopted.
City bonds: Requires a majority council vote before the city can issue bonds or incur debt.
Voters can review the full amended charter here.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 3. Voters not in the military or overseas have until 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 2 to return absentee ballots to the Registrar of Voters' Office.
Find polling locations and other voter resources here.
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May 3 Election: Zachary voters to decide on charter changes for city leadership and operations
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