Knoxville’s proposed charter review has not been approved by the City Council, and no panel has been appointed. The Knoxville Focus reported that Councilmember Lynne Fugate expected the proposal to come before the council on an upcoming agenda. The charter has not had a comprehensive review since 1988, though it has been amended over time, according to the Focus.
What council would need to approve
The proposal reported by the Knoxville Focus calls for a 13-member panel: one appointee from each of the nine City Council members and four selected by the mayor. The city law director, city attorney and city recorder would take part without voting. Former Vice Mayor Bill Lyons said the appointments should produce a diverse panel; Fugate said representatives of any one district should not be able to dominate.
Under the proposal, the panel would have to begin work by April 1, 2027. It would hold four public meetings at different locations around the city and submit a report within 12 months of its first meeting. The plan also calls for a review every eight years. The report would include public input and could go to voters in the 2028 federal-state election, but only with council approval, the Focus reported.
A recent vote on a different charter issue
Knoxville’s 2024 ballot measure concerned city council election rules, not a comprehensive charter review. WBIR reported that Charter Amendment 2 failed, leaving district-limited voting as the fallback.
How a proposed amendment could reach voters
The Municipal Technical Advisory Service says the Tennessee Constitution provides three routes for proposing amendments to home-rule charters for voter consideration: an ordinance passed by the municipality’s governing body, a charter commission established by an act of the General Assembly and elected by voters, or a seven-member charter commission chosen at large. The proposed Knoxville review panel has not been adopted and would not itself amend the charter; under the plan reported by the Focus, its report could go to voters only with council approval.
Questions the review could take up
The panel’s eventual scope would depend on the process the council approves. City Recorder Will Johnson said organizations named in the charter, including KUB, would be invited to future meetings. He recommended leaving employee pensions out because a pension board already handles them. Former Vice Mayor Nick Pavlis said, according to the Focus, that including pensions in a charter update would be politically difficult and unfair.
Another issue raised by Doug Lloyd was whether people who own property in Knoxville but live elsewhere could serve on the panel. Under the Knox County Election Commission’s rules, some such owners may vote in city elections. Eligibility includes owning a fee-simple interest in a city property of at least 4,000 square feet and being registered to vote in Tennessee. The commission requires proof of ownership; no more than two qualified voters may register for a tract, and corporations cannot register.
The immediate decision is whether the council will establish the panel and make appointments. The Focus reported that Councilmember Nathan Honeycutt viewed a public process as a way to give the effort structure, while Fugate said the review should be placed on a future council agenda. Until the council acts, neither the panel nor a 2028 ballot question is settled.
