Folsom’s proposed charter amendments hit campaign finance, city council salaries
Folsom residents could see a number of charter amendments on the ballot this November, but the proposals must first go through the Folsom City Council.
The 2026 Ad Hoc Charter Review Committee approved eight charter amendments, and the City Council is expected to discuss the potential changes at its upcoming meeting, according to the meeting agenda. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
A city charter acts as the municipality’s constitution. The eight proposed changes are:
- Changing language to reflect the city’s district-based elections rather than at-large elections.
- Reducing City Council term limits to three four-year terms, down from four terms.
- Adding an automatic annual salary adjustment for City Council members, capped at 3% annually.
- Eliminating the requirement for voter approval before selling, contracting out or franchising city services to non-governmental entities.
- Adjusting the organizational structure to require the city attorney to report to the City Council rather than the city manager.
- Removing language stating city boards and commissions are only advisory to the City Council, allowing the council to assign responsibilities to those groups by ordinance.
- Removing language regarding the transition of elected officials from 1990.
- Increasing the campaign contribution limit to $750 from $150.
The Charter Review Committee also discussed the possibility of having a directly elected mayor. Folsom’s City Council currently selects its mayor annually from among its members. That proposal did not advance to the City Council, according to the meeting packet.
Council members will decide which charter amendments to place before voters in November.
It is expected to cost between $8,500 and $9,000 to place each ballot measure on the November 2026 election ballot, according to the meeting packet.
The 2026 Ad Hoc Charter Review Committee consists of Mayor Justin Raithel, Vice Mayor Anna Rohrbough and members Bill Romanelli, Tom Aceituno, Glenn Fait, Justin Hurst and Ken Payne. The group met five times between March and May 4.
City Manager Bryan Whitemyer served as a nonvoting committee member, and interim City Attorney Sari Dierking provided legal counsel.
