After a decadelong absence, a 13-person panel charged with proposing ballot amendments to potentially change the City and County of Honolulu’s constitution officially convened Monday.

In doing so, the newly sworn Honolulu City Charter Commission formally starts its term of service through the end of 2026.

The commissioners — six appointed by the mayor, six by the City Council and one appointed by the mayor and approved by the Council — are now expected to offer “proposed amendments” for voter approval to the Revised City Charter of Honolulu.

The commissioners include:

>> Jacob Aki — a senior public affairs manager with Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.

>> Davin Aoyagi — a manager at San Francisco-based peer-to-peer car-sharing company Turo Inc.

>> Cedric Duarte — a communications specialist with the marketing firm The Kalaimoku Group.

>> Gerald “Trey” Gordner — a data scientist and housing researcher at University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, or UHERO.

>> Brandon Marc Higa — an attorney and lecturer at the William S. Richardson School of Law.

>> Diane Kawauchi — a retired lawyer formerly employed by the city Department of the Corporation Counsel.

>> Jacce Mikulanec — a director at The Queen’s Health Systems.

>> Scott Power — president of Oahu Mortuary.

>> Sandra Simms — a retired District and Circuit Court judge.

>> Summer Sylva — an attorney and policy adviser for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

>> Dawn Szewczyk — civil engineer at HDR Engineering Inc.

>> April Woofter — chief operating officer at the Fertility Institute of Hawaii.

>> Sommerset Yamamoto — a senior project manager at Kamehameha Schools.

The City Charter establishes the principles by which the city government operates.

The Charter also requires that every 10 years, the mayor and Council appoint a commission to review the Charter and submit proposed amendments to Oahu voters. If approved, those questions will be placed on the November 2026 general election ballot for voter consideration, the city said.

The Charter Commission — with a term that runs through December 2026 — has until August 2026 to offer those ballot amendments, the city said.

In 2016 a prior Charter Commission proposed 20 amendments for voter approval — most of which passed during that November’s general election.

Among them, voters favored the creation of an Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency.

Voters also approved of the creation of the city Department of Land Management responsible for the protection, development and management of city lands. That department, under Mayor Rick Blangi­ardi’s administration and as stated in the mayor’s State of the City address on March 18, is now being eyed for a reorganization and is slated to be merged with the Mayor’s Office of Housing.

Also in 2016, the prior Charter Commission requested voters consider a proposal to allow those holding elective city offices — including the mayor and Council, which serve no more than two consecutive four-year terms — be allowed to serve three consecutive terms of four years each.

To that request, nearly 60% of voters rejected the idea — versus 34% in favor — to allow the city’s elected leaders to remain in office for up to 12 years.

On Monday the new commissioners took their respective oaths of office a few minutes before the group’s meeting began. Once started, commissioner Szewczyk led the brief meeting as acting chair. Two members — Aki and Duarte — were absent.

Blangiardi offered welcoming remarks to the panel.

“We’re really excited about the potential of the Charter Commission and the timeliness of it,” he said. “I’m glad that it’s happening on our watch, if you will.”

But at Monday’s meeting, too, Council Chair Tommy Waters suggested some Charter amendments that failed at the ballot box over a decade ago could, in some instances, return for further commission scrutiny.

“You get to decide the roles and duties of the City Council, the mayor and every single department. You can decide what our job is,” he told commissioners. “Of course, you have to get approved by the voters, but for us, as elected officials, it takes four years just for us to learn how to do this job.”

“By the time our term is up, we just got the job going, and I’m sure the mayor and other elected officials will tell you that that’s not enough time,” said Waters. “So, something to consider: term limits.”

He noted possible changes might be considered to the Honolulu Police Commission, tasked with hiring and firing the city’s police chief.

“You can also decide how our police chief is chosen,” Waters told the panel, “or how the police chief is punished, even.”

“You’d be surprised to know that there is no mechanism for the police chief to be punished. The police chief decides for him or herself what that punishment should be, which has never been taken care of,” he added.

Waters claimed the commission also could tackle how the city might generate more revenue — possibly by reorganizing existing city agencies or creating new ones.

The commission held no discussion on these or other matters. No one from the public spoke at the meeting. A future Charter Commission meeting is not yet scheduled.