Lafayette Council Ponders "God" and Charter City Status Monday

If you think City Council meetings are boring, long-winded affairs with agendas laden with the mundane, think again. Especially so in Lafayette this week as the council weighs testimony on the proposed adoption of a city charter, allowances for increased senior housing and whether or not god should have a place in civic offices.

The council convenes at 7:00 p.m. Monday in the Lafayette Library Learning Center, and if the buzz Lamorinda Patch has been picking up about city charter status is any indication, it could be an interesting night.  Throw in a request for a decision on whether the national motto "In God We Trust" should be displayed in council chambers or at City Hall and you've got an agenda with potential.

Lafayette has been pursuing charter city status for some time in an effort to achieve autonomy and free itself of what many city leaders regard as undue control and revenue raiding by Sacramento. Proponents says a city charter would make it easier for civic leaders to pass initiatives, such as a proposed real estate transfer tax, to help fill city coffers and to provide essential services.

With charter status, Lafayette's civic leaders could outflank restrictions imposed on "general law" cities and levy taxes such as the transfer tax without the two-thirds vote by citizens that is currently required.

The council hopes to put the matter on the ballot for a decision by voters during the Nov. 2 general municipal election. Opposition to the idea has so far been limited to posts here at Lamorinda Patch and in letters to local newspapers, but that is expected to organize and increase as the question takes on shape.

In Orinda, a similar drive for a transfer tax was put off indefinitely at a council meeting last month. Civic leaders say the issue of declining revenues in the face of mounting costs for maintaining infrastructure will not go away, and the proposal could come back to the council again soon.

Along with a potential change to their structure and powers, the Lafayette council on Monday will evaluate creation of a new residential use category for creation of senior residential housing developments, as well as a request from a Bakersfield council member asking Lafayette to "promote patriotism" and display the motto "In God We Trust" at city offices.

Although supporters say the move has never been legally challenged, it has come into question, with some cities choosing to defer and avoid the request entirely to "avoid offending people and maybe ending up in court."  The Colusa City Council recently denied councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan's request for that reason.

Others, of course, have been angered by the fact that the presence of our national motto in city hall would stir any controversy at all. Any way you look at it, local government has its moments – and it appears Lafayette is no exception.