Know Your Local Government

Know your Local Government

Welcome to Newberg! Cities are each unique in how they govern. Newberg was incorporated February 21, 1889. This was repealed 4 years later. The City’s second incorporation was February 10, 1893. Newberg’s form of government is by Charter. This is the City’s founding document.

Charter: 
The Charter outlines the powers of the City. This includes the authority the Council has over 3 areas:

• Legislative
• Administrative
• Quasi-Judicial

It covers several subjects: Council, Elections, Appointive Officers, Personnel, Public Improvements & Miscellaneous.
See below for Charter.

Legislative:
The Legislative function of the City is spelled out in ordinances. These are laws compiled in a book called the Municipal Code. This has all of the current laws in one place. The Code has 12 titles. Each has several chapters. Three titles are reserved for future use.

Title 1 – General
Title 2 – Administration & Personnel
Title 3 – Revenue & Finance
Title 5 – Business Licenses & Regulations
Title 6 – Animals
Title 8 – Health & Safety
Title 9 – Public Peace, Morals & Welfare
Title 10 – Vehicles & Traffic
Title 12 – Streets & Sidewalks
Title 13 – Public Utilities & Services
Title 14 – Building & Construction
Title 15 – Development Code
See below for link to Newberg Municipal Code.

Administrative Authority:
The Council makes administrative decisions in Resolutions or sometimes by motion. These items can vary from awarding contracts of $50,000 or more to policy issues such as public records requests or business items such as appointing committee members.

Quasi-Judicial Authority:
The Council can use an instrument called orders to make quasi-judicial decisions. These are infrequent but include items such as land use, nuisance abatement, and historic landmark designations.

Appointive Officers:
The City Council’s main focus is to set policy. It employs 3 officers to carry out the day-to-day business of the City and manage its operations. The City Manager oversees administration, the City Attorney serves as the chief legal officer, and the Municipal Judge handles the City’s Municipal Court. See organizational chart below.

How Meetings Work:
The Council makes decisions and does research during meetings. The setup is outlined in the Council Rules. The Council meets on the first and third Mondays of the month. A Work Session is held at 6:00 p.m. followed by a Business Session at 7:00 p.m. Only presentations and discussions are held during Work Sessions. The Council makes its decisions during Business Sessions. Material for the meeting is published in an agenda and packet usually 1 week ahead of the meeting. See Council Rules below.

Council Calendar:
A number of factors determine what items go before the City Council. They serve as half of the Budget Committee, the Contract Review Board, and hear certain land use cases from the Planning Commission. These are known as Type III Procedure – Quasi-Judicial, and Type IV- Legislative Hearing. Definitions are in Title 15, Page 24.1 of the Code. The Council also recognizes community groups and citizens at its meetings.

The City Recorder maintains a Forward Looking Calendar of upcoming meetings and the items scheduled for discussion or decisions. This changes frequently.

Council Conduct:
The Council is bound by its own code of conduct in the Council Rules. They are subject to other laws and regulations including the Oregon Public Records and Meetings Law, and the Oregon Government Ethics Commission.

Public Participation:
All meetings are open to the public except for Executive Sessions, which are exempt by certain statutes. The Council allows public comments during Business Sessions. Emails or letters can also be sent directly to the Council or the City Recorder who enters it into the record. People can also participate by volunteering for a committee.

Boards, Committees & Commissions:
The City Council has several committees that help carry out the work of the City. This includes what are known as standing committees, and ad-hoc committees. Standing committees are established by Ordinance or Resolution and are permanent. Ad Hoc committees are short-term boards dealing with specific issues. Budget Committee is established by Oregon law.

Standing Committees include:

• Budget Committee – established by Oregon Budget Law.
• Public Library Board – established by Ordinance 2481.
• Citizens Rate Review Committee – established by Ordinances 2418 and 2585.
• Planning Commission – established by Ordinances 1718 and 2325.
• Traffic Safety Commission – established by Ordinances 2427 and 2743.
• Historic Preservation Commission – established by Ordinance 2764.
• Affordable Housing Commission – established by Resolutions 2988 and 3202.

More information on standing committees can be found in the Municipal Code in Chapter 2: Administration and Personnel. For current ad hoc committees go to the Serve on a City Committee or Commission web page. For current committee meetings, go to the Agendas & Minutes web page.

The League of Oregon Cities has webinars on the functions of local government at 
https://www.orcities.org/education/training/elected-essentials

This web page authored by City Recorder Sue Ryan. For more information on city government, contact the City Recorder at sue.ryan@newbergoregon.gov or (503) 537-1283.