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MURFREESBORO – The terms for serving on town council and as mayor of Murfreesboro may change from two years to four years.

That’s the proposal Murfreesboro Town Council is considering. A public hearing was held during their meeting on Tuesday, May 20 to gather feedback from citizens on the proposal, which would require an amendment to the town’s charter.

Currently, the mayor’s seat and all five council seats are up for election every two years. The next municipal election will be later this year, in November.

The proposal would switch all the seats to four-year terms, but stagger them out so that not every seat is up for election at the same time.

In the upcoming November 2025 election, the three candidates who receive the most votes for town council will be elected to serve a four-year term. Of the remaining council candidates, the next two with the highest number of votes will fill the other two seats for a two-year term. The mayor will also be elected for a two-year term in November 2025.

During the next municipal election in November 2027, those two council seats will be up for election along with the mayor’s seat. The winners in that election will then serve a four-year term.

Only one citizen chose to speak during the public hearing, and he simply asked why the town wanted to make this change.

Mayor Hal Thomas noted that many other local municipalities made the switch to staggered four-year terms a long time ago.

Town Attorney Cecelia Jones also explained that four-year terms make it easier for long-term strategic planning for town projects.

“If you have two-year terms, you get elected and then you basically start campaigning again. The idea is to allow people who are elected to actually be able to work on long-term projects,” she said.

Jones also said that staggered terms prevent the possibility of the entire board and mayor being replaced during one election. Continuity, she stressed, makes things a little bit easier on town staff and citizens.

“It takes a little bit of time… as new council members can attest… to get used to how the board operates, and what’s allowed and what’s not allowed,” Jones added.

Mayor Thomas called for more citizen comments, but no one else opted to speak. The council then closed the public hearing.

Jones said the ordinance with the proposed charter changes will be presented to the council for a vote during their next meeting on June 17.