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Item No: 05 Meeting Date: 01/12/04 Type of Business: CA • City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Kurt Ulrich, City Administrator Item Title/Subject: Charter Commission Outstanding Issues There are several outstanding issues in regard to the Charter Commission for Council consideration: 1) At the November 24, 2003 Council meeting there were several questions in regard to current structure of the Charter Commission and whether they have been properly conducting business. For example, was any business conducted without a quorum and was the change in membership from 15 to 11 members done properly? In response to these issues, the Chair of the Charter Commission, Jonathan Thomas, has submitted a response that is attached. Also, Duane McCarty has written that, he"personally wrote the petition for appointment of a Charter Commission . . ."and that it"did not include a specific number of Commission members to be appointed. . ." The City Attorney has advised that without information establishing a • specific number of members, the judge may establish the Commission with 7 to 15 members, as provided by State statute. The Attorney also advises that the Commission itself may determine what constitutes a quorum for its meetings. Scott Riggs is drafting a written response outlining his position that will be distributed at the work session. 2) Two Charter Commission Resolutions were presented for Council Consideration at the November 24, 2003 Council meeting. Action on these items was postponed until the above issue was reviewed. If the Council agrees with the proposed amendments, staff may be directed to prepare the proper ordinance amendments for Council consideration. Proposed revisions to the Charter are to sections 2.06, 4.05, 9.01, and section 5 in its entirety (see attached). The City Attorney has expressed concern about the recall language in Section 5 due to recent court decisions. 3) Also included is a letter from the Charter Commission dated May 8, 2003 (see attached) in regard to the existence of an appointed commission (i.e., the Police Civil Service Commission)that serves an administrative role. The Charter Commission requested that the Council take action to correct the apparent conflict with the Charter via a code amendment or abolishment of the Police Civil Service Commission. 111