08-04-14 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Search

WS — Item #4 WORK SESSION STAFF REPORT Work Session Item No. 4 Date: August 4, 2014 To: City Council From: Michael Grochala, Community Development Director Re: Charter Amendment — Chapter 8, Public Improvements Background On March 10, 2014 the City Council took action to approve the first readings of Ordinance No. 03 -14 and 04 -14 amending Section 8 of the City Charter regarding Public Improvements. The ordinances were forwarded to the Charter Commission for review. The Charter Commission upon receipt of the ordinances passed a resolution to extend their review period to 150 days. That period ends on August 11, 2014. Concurrently with this process the City Council proceeded with the adoption of a 5 Year Street Reconstruction Plan. As discussed in Work Session Item No. 3, a petition was subsequently received requesting that the authorization to issue bonds for the reconstruction plan be placed on the 2015 ballot for consideration by the voters. If the City Council chooses to place the Street Reconstruction Plan bond issuance on the ballot it may want to consider not placing a Charter Amendment question on the ballot. In the event that the City Council does want to place an amendment on the ballot than a decision will need to be made on which amendment is submitted for consideration. The following is a brief recap of the proposed ordinance amendments. Amendment Option 1 (Ordinance 03 -14) Amendment Option 1 is generally consistent with the amendment placed before voters in 2012. The following changes have been incorporated: 1. Clarifies language regarding benefiting properties to address concerns over area assessments. 2. Changes the percentage of signatures needed to require an election from 12% to 5 %. 3. Changes the period of time for residents to submit a petition for an election from 30 days to 45 days. 4. Retains language from current charter regarding Assessment for Services. 5. Retains language from current charter regarding Charter exempt areas. The following is a brief summary of the major elements of Amendment Option 1: 1. Section 8.01, Subd. 1 defines local improvements as any public improvement financed in whole or in part from special assessments. Projects that are not financed using special