01-11-2007 Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Search

Charter Commission January 11, 2007 Page 6 Not approved by Charter Commission (1-17-2008) to want to dialogue with Council but not the Commission. Mr. Thomas answered he went to visit them. Commissioner Storberg inquired if any mailings were distributed. Mr. Thomas responded that there were no mailings; however, a statement was made and were replayed several times a week. As a result, 78% of the voters were in favor of the amendment, which was more than voted for the mayor. Ms. Thomas stated Council was financially very supportive of the limitations. It was an eight-year process to have it come together. Mr. Thomas stated taxes were not raised more than 5% per year. Commissioner Trehus asked for clarification. Mr. Thomas answered the lesser of the consumer price index, and was explained in three pages. It was the most difficult part in the Charter, but it was not the most important accomplishment. The most important accomplishment was the rest of chapter 7 that was clarified so that anyone could understand the process. Chair Warren inquired if they ever had difficulty with accessing City staff. Mr. Thomas admitted the tension was high when he began on the Commission. With the election of a new mayor, there was a fresh start. It took time to change the environment. Ms. Thomas stated at that time there was a new mayor and new City Attorney. Mr. Thomas added that some Commissioners would work with the mayor, but they were outnumbered. Ms. Thomas noted that the term for mayor was only two years. Mr. Thomas indicated there were originally 15 members on the Charter Commission, now there were only six members because many resigned. Commissioner Dahl inquired if the success rate was attributed to televising the meetings. Mr. Thomas answered that the impact of the meetings being televised was very small because less than 50% of the residents had cable. Commissioner Dahl questioned the guests concerning the impact of web streaming. The Charter Commission was not on the web as yet. Mr. Thomas responded it was on during the recent past, but they were in the process. He explained that five years ago they had joint meetings with Council to identify concerns that they could agree on. It was apparent that staff had concerns dating back 15 years that had not been addressed. Those were the first the Commission worked on. The second category was to identify things to be done, and define a process to go to voters for the decision. The third category was the concerns that were too much work, such as the system of taxation, upgrading chapter 7, chapter 5 referendums and recall.