Update 3:45 p.m. Feb. 11: Because of the snow, the Martinsville City Council meeting has been rescheduled for 5 p.m. Feb. 18 at the city’s municipal building. The story has been updated to reflect the new date.
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Martinsville councilors will convene at 5 p.m. Feb. 18 at the city’s municipal building to establish a new committee tasked with streamlining the city’s charter.
Currently referred to as the Charter Review Committee, city councilors will appoint members from throughout Martinsville. Council members will be asked to make one appointment to the committee.
Their job is to go over the city’s charter and recommend to the council which updates need revisions and which don’t.
Commission members will have decades’ worth of material to go over. Martinsville was established as a town in 1873 and created its own charter in 1928.
The current charter was created in 1950 and has undergone 18 amendments. These amendments were made in 1954, 1956, 1958, 1962, 1968, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1998, 2008, 2011 and 2024.
City officials anticipate the need for further amendments in the near future, with at least one planned for later this year.
“To support the effort, staff will also work with legal counsel to identify any legal changes that may be necessary to ensure compliance with Virginia Law,” reads information from city staff.
Once formed, the committee will operate for a fixed period.
Councilors will also receive a briefing on the city’s outside agencies.
Outside agencies are typically nonprofits and other organizations that get part or a substantial amount of their funding from the city. Churches and veteran organizations can also be considered outside agencies.
Outside agencies apply for funding for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1 of each year. Outside agencies applying for city funding are applying for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
The deadline for applications was Jan. 31.
