New York City residents won’t just be voting for their elected representatives in this November's general election — they’ll also be saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to proposals to amend the city charter, the living document that effectively serves as the city’s constitution.

Mayor Eric Adams assembled a charter revision commission that over the summer adopted five proposals, on topics ranging from sanitation issues to how the City Council passes public safety legislation. The commission remains at the center of a battle for influence within City Hall, but for now, its ballot measures are in the hands of everyday New Yorkers.

With early voting kicking off this Saturday, the measures will appear on the back of city residents’ ballots as Questions 2 to 6, preceded by a statewide ballot referendum known to its supporters as the New York Equal Rights Amendment. (More on that here.)

How will the charter amendment questions look on the back of ballots, and what will each of them do if passed? Whether you’re a charter revision wonk cruising for a refresher or are desperately Googling while at the polls, Gothamist has you covered with the basics.

Ballot Question 2: Cleaning public property

How the question will appear on your ballot:

This proposal would amend the City Charter to expand and clarify the Department of Sanitation’s power to clean streets and other City property and require disposal of waste in containers.

Voting ‘Yes’ will expand and clarify the Department of Sanitation’s power to clean streets and other City property and require disposal of waste in containers. Voting ‘No’ leaves laws unchanged.

What the amendment does:

This amendment gives the sanitation department the authority to clean all city-owned properties at the mayor’s discretion, including street medians and city highways. The agency would be given the power to enforce trash containerization, which it currently lacks in the charter.

Passing this measure would likewise expand the agency’s authority to enforce laws around street vendors — and issue fines — within parks and other city-owned spaces. Advocates have raised concerns that it would lead to crackdowns.

Sanitation officials have testified in support of the measure.

Ballot Question 3: Additional estimates of the cost of proposed laws and updates to budget deadlines

How the question will appear on your ballot:

This proposal would amend the City Charter to require fiscal analysis from the Council before hearings and votes on laws, authorize fiscal analysis from the mayor, and update budget deadlines.

Voting ‘Yes’ would amend the City Charter to require additional fiscal analysis prior to hearings and votes on local laws, and update budget deadlines. Voting ‘No’ leaves laws unchanged.

What the amendment does:

This is one of two proposals on deck that could fundamentally change how the City Council passes laws. Under Ballot Question 3, the Council would be required to estimate how much each bill would cost to implement — before calling a hearing or bringing the legislation to a full vote.

The measure would also mandate that the mayor’s office gets eight days' notice before a City Council hearing or vote, to allow additional time for the mayor’s Office of Management and Budget to produce its own, separate estimate. This could be waived at the mayor’s discretion.

Critics, including councilmembers, say this would bog down the lawmaking process. The proposal would also push back several deadlines in the city budget process.

Ballot Question 4: More notice and time before votes on public safety legislation

How the question will appear on your ballot:

This proposal would require additional public notice and time before the City Council votes on laws respecting the public safety operations of the police, correction or fire departments.

Voting ‘Yes’ will require additional notice and time before the Council votes on laws respecting public safety operations of the police, correction, or fire departments. Voting ‘No’ leaves laws unchanged.”

What the amendment does:

Like Question 3, this proposal would directly affect city lawmaking — specifically, legislation that affects the police, fire or correction departments’ “public safety operations,” per the amendment's language.

Before voting on a covered piece of legislation, the City Council would be required to give 30 days' notice to the mayor, relevant agency commissioners and the public. The mayor and affected agencies would be able to call additional hearings with the objective of gathering more public input. All of it could be waived at the mayor’s discretion.

The measure touches a sore spot for Adams and the Council, who tussled over criminal justice and public safety legislation this year.

Ballot Question 5: Capital planning

How the question will appear on your ballot:

This proposal would amend the City Charter to require more detail in the annual assessment of City facilities, mandate that facility needs inform capital planning, and update capital planning deadlines.

“Voting ‘Yes’ would require more detail when assessing maintenance needs of City facilities, mandate that facility needs inform capital planning, and update capital planning deadlines. Voting ‘No’ leaves laws unchanged.

What the amendment does:

This measure would make an annual rundown of city facilities include additional details on facility conditions and maintenance needs. The city's 10-year capital strategy, which outlines officials' plans for infrastructure projects over a decade, would be required to take so-called statement of needs into consideration.

City Comptroller Brad Lander has criticized the proposal as ineffective, saying the statement of needs grossly undercovers the city’s existing infrastructure. The proposal does not seek to broaden the scope of facilities included.

Ballot Question 6: Minority and women-owned business enterprises, film permits, and archive review boards

How the question will appear on your ballot:

This proposal would amend the City Charter to establish the Chief Business Diversity Officer, authorize the mayor to designate the office that issues film permits, and combine archive boards.

Voting ‘Yes’ would establish the CBDO to support MWBEs [minority and women-owned business enterprises], authorize the mayor to designate the office that issues film permits, and combine two boards. Voting ‘No’ leaves laws unchanged.

What the amendment does:

This measure would enshrine the role of the chief business diversity officer, an existing position created by Adams, into the City Charter. It would give the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment the authority to issue film permits, shifting it away from the Department of Small Business Services. And it would combine two charter-mandated boards related to the city archives into one.