Auburn voters should approve an updated and improved city charter during Tuesday’s election.

Never to be confused with light reading, the new version of the city’s charter is better organized, uses less jargon and is significantly more accessible to a reader not versed in the inner workings of municipal government than its predecessor.

The Charter Commission, under the leadership of Chairman John Cleveland, has done an admirable job with its revision.

One of the most noteworthy changes will require voters to approve of city borrowing in excess of 9 percent of the budget. It’s a good move for two reasons: It limits the amount of indebtedness city councilors can agree to without active community support, and it sets the borrowing threshold based on the budget, which means the amount will be self-adjusting as the city changes.

It also gives the council the authority to adjust the salary for the mayor. The old charter sets the salary at $4,000, which is to be paid quarterly. It’s a pitiful sum for a job with so much responsibility. The council should have the authority to change it and, if necessary, defend its action to a skeptical public.

The new charter also gives the council the authority to waive the residency requirement for city manager and requires greater cooperation between the council and the School Committee on financial audits, capital projects budgeting and adopting a purchasing policy.

One element of the new charter is troubling. It would move the election for municipal office from even-numbered to odd-number years. Off-year elections, the thinking goes, would allow voters to pay greater attention to local campaigns without the glut of information from national and state races. Our concern, however, is that the elections won’t capture the interest of voters or candidates and could become less competitive. Look at Lewiston’s municipal elections this year. Most candidates stand unopposed; others have only token opposition.

This concern, however, does not outweigh the other improvements made in the charter.

The Auburn Charter Commission was given a difficult job – the first complete revision of the charter in 15 years. The commission has done a good job. It has listened to residents, negotiated with stakeholders and modernized the document that sets the ground rules for city government.

The new charter won’t bridge the divisions that have erupted in city government in recent years. It won’t magically ease tensions between the School Committee and the City Council. But it will make government more responsive to voters. The new charter should be approved.