Taneytown residents vote to amend the city's charter

More than 1,000 Taneytown residents voted in the city's special election on Tuesday, Nov. 15, with 565 voting successfully to amend the city's charter and to allow elected officials to be removed from office under certain circumstances.Of the 1,025 residents who voted, 460 opposed the change.The special election was held after the Taneytown City Council approved a resolution April 11 that outlined the process to remove an elected official from office. The special election on the measure was prompted by a petition signed by at least 20 percent of the city's registered voters.The exact wording of the question was: &quot;On whether to amend the City Charter to allow elected officials to be removed from office for three unexcused consecutive meeting absences; for violations of criminal law, Federal or State law, County codes, the City's Ethics Ordinance, or provisions of the City Charter and Code; by recall election by the voters of the City of Taneytown.&quot;While standing in line, most voters who were asked for comment on the special election refused. Those who did comment said they wanted their voices to be heard.Taneytown resident Alan Billings said &quot;voting is a civic duty.&quot;&quot;I always vote,&quot; said Billings, who declined to say how he was going to vote. &quot;This is about something they skipped over when they wrote the charter … It's about the basic ways they operate.&quot;Phillip Lamirande, of Taneytown, said he voted against the amendment.&quot;I think an elected official should be able to serve out their term,&quot; Lamirande said. &quot;Disagreement is part of our democratic society. If we don't have disagreements we'll all be under one rule.&quot;From left, Christopher Trump, Katherine Adelaide, Jackie Jones and Fairy Flickinger hand out information for and against the proposed charter amendment outside the Taneytown Police Department during Taneytown's special election Tuesday evening, Nov. 15, 2016.Of the city's 4,460 registered voters, 22.98 percent voted in the special election; 973 voted during special election and 52 cast absentee ballots.According to Jim Peck, Maryland Municipal League's director of research, 35 Maryland municipalities have recall provisions in their charter. Taneytown will now be the 36th.michel.elben@carrollcountytimes.com410-857-7873twitter.com/MichelElben

Taneytown residents vote to amend the city's charter

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