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Charter Commission July 25, 2013 Page 3 89 Ms. Bartell stated that included in the packet were amendments to the Charter. She explained \90 that the State and Federal election changes have affected the Charter. She stated that the 91 language in the Charter would not allow for filing for office within the necessary time and should 92 be considered for amendment. She referenced another time limit included in the Charter and 93 noted that this time limit would also conflict with the new changes made. She noted that this 94 information has been reviewed by the City Attorney and the Charter Commission Attorney, who 95 both recommend the amendment language suggested by the City Attorney with some minor 96 amendments suggested by the Charter Commission Attorney. She noted that the City Attorney 97 has not had time to review the suggestions made by the Charter Commission Attorney. 98 99 Commissioner Turcotte questioned why the time period was increased by an additional 40 days. 100 101 Ms. Bartell explained that the election date is a moving target, which is why the language was 102 proposed to be flexible. 103 104 Commissioner Trehus explained that although the election date is the same, the deadline for 105 absentee ballots has been moved up which is why this time period needs to reflect that change. 106 107 Ms. Bartell noted that this is not simply to meet the ballot requirements but also the Charter 108 language. She stated that the Charter amendments are done through ordinance and explained the 109 process that would need to be followed. She advised that if the Charter Commission "Th 0 recommended amendment through ordinance that would need to go before the Council and then -11 back to the Charter Commission. She explained that there would be additional time to gather .12 information during that process. 113 114 Commissioner Timm questioned if the City was due to hold an election this fall and when filing 115 would open. She questioned whether the timing for this item would affect the election. 116 117 Ms. Bartell noted that filing opens on July 30th and closes on August 13th. She advised that she 118 spoke with the City Attorney and was directed to follow State law for this election rather than the 119 Charter language. She explained that in the situation of special improvements and the process 120 needed to be followed it may not even be possible to follow the language in the Charter and 121 noted that it is recommended to amend those sections of the Charter to match the deadlines for 122 the ballot under State law. 123 124 Chair Lyden noted that the Charter Commission Attorney reviewed the information and did not 125 have any issues and believed the item to be more of a housekeeping item. 126 127 Ms. Bartell noted that an additional first reading of the ordinance may need to be held if the 128 additional language suggested by the Charter Commission Attorney is recommended by the 129 Commission. 130 31 Commissioner Trehus expressed confusion with why the additional language could not be added, 32 in his experience, he did not believe the additional language would require an additional reading. 433 3