For four years, Burlington city councilors failed to reach consensus on police oversight. But this summer, Democrats and Progressives finally agreed on a proposal — and now they're asking voters to weigh in. The question, on the November ballot, is whether to grant more power to the existing police commission, including the ability to convene a new, independent panel to review cases of officer misconduct. The measure would require changing the city's charter and would ultimately have to be approved by the legislature. It's the third effort to enshrine greater police oversight in the city's charter since 2020, when Burlington — and the rest of the nation — reckoned with racial justice and policing after Minneapolis police officers murdered George Floyd on camera. "It's important that we settle this question," City Council President Ben Traverse (D-Ward 5) said. "I'm hoping that we settle it with this proposal." Despite widespread support from elected officials, the ballot item faces opposition from Burlington police, including Chief Jon Murad, who say the proposal is overkill and would harm ongoing efforts to restaff the shorthanded department. Adopting the model would be akin to "using snow tires in Florida," Murad said during a discussion on Town Meeting TV last month, later adding, "What we have right now is a system that works." It's one of two items on the ballot in Burlington this fall. The second asks voters to approve a $20 million bond for the Burlington Electric Department to use for "net zero energy and grid reliability projects." Ratepayers would eventually contribute to repay the bond, but it is expected to tamp down rate increases in the short term. Efforts to increase police oversight began in earnest in 2019 after two excessive-force lawsuits were filed against Burlington. Both have since been settled. Another suit, filed early this year, is pending. In 2020, council Progressives led the charge to create an "independent community control board" whose members would have had the power to hire and fire cops, including the chief. Law enforcement officers, and their family members, would have been barred from serving on the panel. The council approved the measure in December 2020, but former mayor Miro Weinberger vetoed the proposal. It resurfaced in 2023 when a group of activists petitioned to place a near-identical measure on the Town Meeting Day ballot. Weinberger formed a political action committee to defeat the item, and Democratic…