Staunton City Council will conduct up to three forums - September 28

Staunton City Council will conduct up to three forums around the city to gather citizen input on a proposal to shift city elections to coincide with state and federal elections. The Staunton Electoral Board has asked City Council to consider such a change to save money and to potentially increase voter involvement in local elections.



City elections are currently held in May. The proposed change would schedule them to occur with the general election in November.



Since changing dates for elections is a significant step for the city, the members of City Council want to hear from city residents before taking action.



The public forums on election dates will be held:



* 7 p.m. Monday, October 1 in the Lee High School cafeteria, and
* 7 p.m. Monday, October 22 in the Shelburne Middle School cafeteria



A third forum may be scheduled later. Members of City Council will be present at all forums and any resident of the City of Staunton is invited to attend and speak to the subject. Residents may also submit their opinions by mailing them to: Election Date, City Council Clerk, P O Box 58, Staunton, VA 24402, or by emailing them to customer_relations@ci.staunton.va.us. Please include your name and address with any submittal.



Although City Council may change the date of elections by ordinance, such action would have to occur before the end of this calendar year in order for the change to be effective with scheduled 2008 elections.



We would appreciate your assistance in publicizing these forums.



Doug Cochran APR

Customer Relations

City of Staunton