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Mayor Jerry Linke and City Councilmembers September 7, 1994 Page 3 Because this issue has not yet been addressed by any Minnesota appellate court, it is my opinion that the question of whether a charter city can impose term limits for members of its elective body is not "manifestly" unconstitutional. The options that are available to the City Council are as follows: 1. Choose not to fix the form of the ballot for the proposed charter amendment on the grounds that the attorney general and the Charter Commission's attorney have concluded that such an amendment is invalid; or 2. Fix the form of the ballot for the proposed charter amendment. If the proposed amendment fails, the issue as to its constitutionality becomes moot. If the City Council chooses to fix the form of the ballot for the proposed charter amendment, I recommend that the City Council ask the Charter Commission to address the following issues to clarify the proposed amendment: 1. The proposed charter amendment states that "no person may file to be a candidate." On its face, the amendment would not prevent a person from conducting a write-in candidacy. The question I have is why did the Charter Commission use the phrase "file to be a candidate" as opposed to the phrase "serve a term"? 2. The proposed charter amendment deals with total terms, not consecutive terms. Was this the Charter Commission's intent? 3. The proposed charter amendment states that a person cannot serve "more than eight total years in the office of Mayor or eight total years in the office of City Council." Was the intent of this provision to allow a person to serve eight years as mayor and eight years as a councilmember? 4. Does the eight-year limitation include time that a person might have served as an appointed member of the City Council? I would be happy to address any additional questions you have on this issue. Sincerely, A J es . Thomson JJT:jes cc: Samantha Orduno JJT75668 MU125-11