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DOCSOPEN\MU210\4\780657.v4-2/17/22 Kennedy Fifth Street Towers 150 South Fifth Street, Suite 700 Minneapolis MN 55402-1299 (612) 337-9300 telephone (612) 337-9310 fax http://www.kennedy-graven.com Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer Graven C H A R T E R E D MEMORANDUM DATE: February 17, 2022 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members CC: Nyle Zikmund, City Administrator Rayla Ewald, Human Resource Director/City Clerk FROM: Scott J. Riggs, City Attorney Joseph L. Sathe, Assistant City Attorney RE: Update Regarding Charter Amendment Petition Process and Review This memorandum is being provided to the City Council in response to City staff’s request for an update to the process and any changes to the process regarding a charter amendment proposed under Minnesota Statutes, section 410.12. The City received a letter on February 14, 2022 from attorney Jack Y. Perry representing Brian and Valerie Amundsen (“Petitioners”) asserting that the City has not followed the process for reviewing petitions submitted under Minnesota Statutes, Section 410.12, subdivision 7 (“Perry Letter”). I. Background A detailed document outlining the history and background of the charter amendment process was prepared by City Administrator Nyle Zikmund and is attached to this memorandum as Exhibit A. The City is the ultimate determiner of the sufficiency of the petition under Minnesota Statutes. The City also relies on the election expertise of Ramsey County and has consulted with appropriate County officials in reviewing the submitted petition. Ramsey County also does provide guidance to potential petitioners,1 and there is evidence of extensive interaction by Petitioners with County election staff.2 The City did in fact take the necessary steps required by Minnesota Statutes and Minnesota Rules in previously determining the insufficiency of the petition submitted by Petitioners on January 25, 2022. As was succinctly stated in the notice certificate previously provided by the City Clerk, the petition failed to meet the requisite requirements of Minnesota Rules Chapter 8205 and Minnesota Statutes, Section 410.12 as to form. Both of these provisions note certain requirements that must be contained in a submitted petition. The County also reached this same conclusion and previously provided notice of such conclusion 1 Petitioners also have extensive resources available to them to draft a sufficient petition and are publicly available on the Ramsey County website: ramseycounty.us/residents/elections-voting/information-reference/petitions. 2 Petitioners claim to have reached out to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office when putting together the petition. The Secretary of State’s office confirmed that in any conversation about the applicability of Minnesota Rules or Minnesota Statutes to any petition, the caller is provided with information referencing publicly available documents. Offices in Minneapolis Saint Paul St. Cloud &