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RESPONSE TO CHARTER COMMISSION CHAPTERS 4.4 Gordon Ziebarth While reading chapters 4-12 the thought occured to me that the Charter Commission may be attempting to do what researchers in medicine occasionally are accused of doing, finding or prescribing a cure for no known_ My point is that I see chapter 4 including additions and radical departures from state statutes, model charter and at least a dozen charters from cities in MIIOTA. I am not suggesting that commission members don't have reasons for doing this, but I am suggesting that where radical departures exist between the proposed charter another sources mentioned above that we examine the long range effects upon the community and its future. We must also take into consideration the additional time and cost of staff in relationship to the return on our investments of this staff time. Specifically, there are reasons why we post elections as we do and it is my opinion that we do a better job than state statutes suggest and also a more effective job than this proposal suggests. I think that this chapter can be written according to the model charter and we can continue to post at city hall on our sign, in the newspaper and in newsletters to all residents of the city. I also suggest that the Charter Commission reexamine the state statutes for reasons for gassumption of duties until January 1. I know of no reasons for this drastic change. Section 4.02. Use what most other cities with charters use or state state statutes. I'm curious, why 37 to 30 days? Section 4.03. I suggest using state stautes, they allow for more time and in the past this time has been valuable because of the difficulty in getting community members involved for both primary and general elections. o$lj Toallow up to ten days before elections might cause problems. Section 4.04. Best section to include. State statutes are very specific on elections and I think it is the most valuable source of information. I suggest we rely upon it more heavily. Section 4 O5 Use state statutes. It not only handles canvassing but �� also contested elections.