# Civic Assembly to present charter, pay recommendations to Council  
**Published:** 2026-04-27T11:00:04.000Z  
**Source:** [CivicLex](https://news.civiclex.org/civic-assembly-to-present-recommendations-on-charter-review-council-pay/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/civic-assembly-to-present-charter-pay-recommendations-to-council

LEXINGTON, Ky. — [Lexington's first Civic Assembly will present its recommendations on council compensation and charter review](https://news.civiclex.org/civic-assembly-to-present-recommendations-on-charter-review-council-pay/) to the General Government and Planning Committee on Tuesday, marking a pivotal moment for a grassroots civic engagement initiative that could reshape how the city governs itself.

[The CivicLex](https://civiclex.org/civic-assembly)-organized assembly of 36 randomly selected residents deliberated for seven sessions in March on how the city's foundational charter should be regularly reviewed and whether council members' current compensation reflects the demands of the position. Each of the group's three recommendations secured 84-88% approval among members, exceeding the 70% threshold required by the assembly's own rules.

[The assembly is recommending council members' annual salaries be increased to $59,987—the average annual wage in Lexington according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics—with annual adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index.](https://news.civiclex.org/civic-assembly-to-present-recommendations-on-charter-review-council-pay/) [The increase would be implemented in 2031 if approved by voters.](https://news.civiclex.org/civic-assembly-to-present-recommendations-on-charter-review-council-pay/) The recommendation comes as [council has experienced significant turnover, with some members citing compensation as a factor in their departures.](https://www.wuky.org/wuky-news/2026-03-10/should-lexington-regularly-review-its-city-county-constitution-a-community-assembly-is-thinking-it-over)

[For charter review, the assembly proposed that the city's charter be reviewed every eight years with structured timelines and mandatory public input requirements. A standing committee would advise and form a commission of 36 residents selected by representative lottery.](https://news.civiclex.org/civic-assembly-to-present-recommendations-on-charter-review-council-pay/) [The assembly also recommended that the charter be amended to mandate publicly viewable attendance and accountability expectations for council members.](https://news.civiclex.org/civic-assembly-to-present-recommendations-on-charter-review-council-pay/)

[The Tuesday meeting at 1 p.m. in the Council Chamber will give councilmembers their first formal opportunity to review the recommendations.](https://news.civiclex.org/civic-assembly-to-present-recommendations-on-charter-review-council-pay/) [Local voters could get a chance to weigh in on the group's recommendations later this year if council agrees to place them on the ballot.](https://news.civiclex.org/civic-assembly-to-present-recommendations-on-charter-review-council-pay/) Any changes to Lexington's charter must be approved by voters through a ballot referendum, which explains why the final decision now rests with the Urban County Council.

The Civic Assembly represents an unusual approach to urban governance. [CivicLex is the first civic assembly in the United States to be fully locally run and organized,](https://civiclex.org/civic-assembly) distinguishing Lexington's experiment from similar efforts elsewhere in the country. The assembly's work was funded entirely by CivicLex without city government resources.

## Sources

- [CivicLex](https://news.civiclex.org/civic-assembly-to-present-recommendations-on-charter-review-council-pay/)
- [CivicLex main page about the Civic Assembly](https://civiclex.org/civic-assembly)
- [WUKY reporting on council turnover and compensation issues](https://www.wuky.org/wuky-news/2026-03-10/should-lexington-regularly-review-its-city-county-constitution-a-community-assembly-is-thinking-it-over)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from CivicLex, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://news.civiclex.org/civic-assembly-to-present-recommendations-on-charter-review-council-pay/.