Oceanside

The Oceanside City Council agreed Wednesday to put a measure on the November ballot asking voters whether the city should adopt a municipal charter that would significantly alter the political makeup of the city.

Under the charter, Oceanside’s five-member City Council would be replaced by a governing body composed of seven representatives, four of them elected by district.

The mayor would become a full-time post, but would not enjoy any special privileges such as being able to veto council actions. The charter also calls for the hiring of an auditor and a budget analyst to help the city steer a sensible fiscal course.

Approval of the charter, on a 3-2 vote by the council, comes more than 22 months after a 15-member committee began studying the issue. Councilmen Walter Gilbert and Ted Marioncelli voted in opposition to putting the proposal on the ballot, saying a shake-up in the city’s political structure is not needed.