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<br />Item No: 1 <br />Meeting Date: May 3, 2010 <br />Type of Business: Work Session <br />Administrator Review : ____ <br />City of Mounds View Staff Report <br />To: Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From: James Ericson, Clerk - Administrator <br />Item Title/Subject: Joint Meeting with the Charter Commission Regarding <br />Chapter 8 <br />Introduction: <br /> <br />The Charter Commission has been discussing potential changes to the Charter in Chapter <br />8 relative to Special Assessments and Local Improvements. The Commission feels that <br />the Chapter no longer functions as it was originally drafted and requires substantial <br />revisions to re-establish mechanisms to petition against a city project. <br /> <br />Discussion: <br /> <br />Members of the Commission have stated that since the City has found a way to pay for the <br />street improvement program through methods OTHER than special assessments, the <br />street projects are longer “petitionable” and thus the Charter needs to be rewritten to allow <br />for this to occur. In addition, the Commission believes that the scope of the Charter should <br />be expanded to allow residents to petition for projects REGARDLESS of whether <br />assessments are used. Staff asserts that Chapter 8 works as it was originally intended and <br />that there is no need to rewrite the chapter or enhance the scope of the rights afforded to <br />the residents. The Commission feels that the “project by assessment” financing <br />methodology will never be used again, which is not true. While the City has been fortunate <br />to be able to finance the present street program without assessments, the financing is one- <br />time only money and future reconstruction projects would likely necessitate direct <br />assessments. It would seem unnecessary to revise the Charter because seven projects <br />have been financed without assessments. <br /> <br />Recommendation: <br /> <br />Discuss with the Charter Commission its proposal to rewrite Chapter 8 to allow residents to <br />petition AGAINST projects regardless of whether special assessments are used and to <br />expand the Charter to allow residents the right to petition FOR projects regardless of <br />whether special assessments are used. <br /> <br />Respectfully submitted, <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />________________________ <br />James Ericson <br />Clerk – Administrator <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />