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Charter Commission <br />November 15, 2007 <br />Page 5 <br />APPROVED <br />,^ <br />177 Commissioner Bor asked how the current Charter reads with respect to maintenance. <br />178 <br />179 Commissioner Trehus stated the current policy is not to assess for anything short of <br />180 reconstruction or utility improvements and it does not go to a referendum. <br />181 <br />182 Commissioner Bor asked if the Commission wants the Charter to differentiate between <br />183 maintenance, to outline how maintenance is funded. <br />184 <br />185 It was the consensus of the Commission to include maintenance in the proposed Charter <br />186 amendment. <br />187 <br />188 Commissioner Bor stated she would like the amendment to state that roads are maintained <br />189 through the general fund. She stated if it is determined that a particular road needs to be <br />190 reconstructed, the City would be required to go through the process outlined in the Charter <br />191 amendment. <br />192 <br />193 Chair Duffy asked the Commissioners for input regarding reconstruction. <br />194 <br />195 Commissioner Stockman Maher stated the referendum issue is a hot button topic that is <br />196 ultimately intended to give citizens their rights; at the same time, it is important not to give voters <br />197 too many choices. She stated residents are concerned about any type of work that would require <br />98 raising taxes. <br />199 <br />200 There was considerable discussion regarding a referendum requirement for reconstruction. <br />201 <br />202 <br />203 <br />204 Further Discussion <br />205 Commissioner Dahl stated she felt there should be some limit placed on reconstruction. <br />206 <br />207 Chair Duffy stated that Section 8.09 is intended to address this concern, requiring a petition with <br />208 signatures of 12% of the number of votes cast for mayor in the last mayoral election to trigger a <br />209 referendum. She indicated that based on this year's mayoral election, a petition would require <br />210 approximately 250 signatures. <br />211 <br />212 Commissioner Trehus stated the required number of signatures will vary widely from year to year <br />213 based on voter turn -out. He added the norm has been approximately 70% turn -out versus this <br />214 year's 21%; as a result, a petition for a referendum would require approximately 900 signatures <br />215 with a 70% turn -out. <br />216 <br />217 Commissioner Carlson respectfully disagreed, stating that the 2005 election had 4,300 votes cast <br />218 in the mayoral election. <br />220 Chair Duffy asked if the Commissioners felt the 12% requirement was too high or too low. <br />5 <br />