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Lexington's Civic Assembly recommendations set for first hearing

Josh James/WUKY

The recommendations produced by Lexington's first Civic Assembly are slated to go before the city council next week.

The Civic Assembly, a representative group of community volunteers, convened for a series of meetings two months ago to examine the city's charter.

The first recommendation called for an increase in council member pay — moving it up to nearly $60,000, the average annual wage in Lexington according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"Assembly members cited a need to broaden the type of people who can run for local office, making it more possible to not have to have an outside job, and they wanted elections to be more competitive," CivicLex Executive Director Richard Young explained after the recommendations were finalized.

A supermajority of the assembly also recommended that the city charter be amended to mandate that council create publicly viewable attendance and accountability expectations for council members and that the charter itself be reviewed every eight years.

Those ideas will be heard during next Tuesday's council work session.