Whether or not to abolish the ward election system is among four charter amendment issues to be decided by Carlisle voters on Nov. 6.

The seven-member council consists of a directly-elected mayor, three ward representatives and three at-large representatives. Residents in each ward currently vote on the mayor, three at-large representatives and their ward representative. Passage of this charter amendment would eliminate ward representation.

“The advantage that the (Charter Review Commission) noted was that everyone would be able to vote on all candidates,” Village Manager Sherry Callahan said of the nine-member review commission.

There are approximately 1,600 residents in each ward.

In their research of eight other area village and city charters, the commission found that only two other municipalities were divided into wards, and both were much larger than Carlisle.

Callahan said the commission members “felt” that wards can be divisive in a smaller community and that a town the size of Carlisle would be best served by council members who are supported by a majority of all the electorate and who support actions that are more universal instead of those focused on a specific, smaller geographic area.

The proposed amendment would also change the language for eligibility by requiring each member of council to have been a resident and qualified elector of Carlisle for at least one continuous year prior to election.

Another charter amendment, if approved, will change language regarding the filling of vacancies on council.

The new language would define the term majority to mean “a number greater than one half” of the remaining council members when it comes to voting on filling a vacancy. It would also change the allotted time council has to fill that vacancy from 30 to 60 days.

Of the remaining charter amendments, one deals with defining what ordinances and resolutions are and changing the requirement that ordinances be read on just two occasions and that resolutions be read only once. The other one would establish that the Charter Review Commission, as part of its duties, review salaries of the mayor and council members every five years.

“Defining ordinances and resolutions will help streamline our day-to-day operations,” said Callahan, referring specifically to the need to expedite routine purchases, temporary proposals and contracts that currently require three separate readings by council.

“It is a lot to have on the ballot, but we hope each resident reads the newsletter we sent out or watches the video on Carlisle TV to become informed on all the issues before they vote,” said Callahan.