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<br /> <br />Item No: 3 <br />Meeting Date: October 6, 2014 <br />Type of Business: Work Session <br /> <br />City of Mounds View Staff Report <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />To: Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From: James Ericson, City Administrator <br />Item Title/Subject: Joint Meeting with the Charter Commission <br /> <br /> <br />Introduction: <br /> <br />Through the Mayor, the City Council has expressed a desire to meet with the Charter Commission to discuss membership levels in light of the low number of appointed participants. Members <br /> apply to and are appointed by the Ramsey County District Court, however there haven’t been any applicants in some time for County consideration. The intent of the joint meeting is <br /> to address the existing membership deficiency and to formulate appropriate strategies. <br /> <br /> <br />Discussion: <br /> <br />The Charter Commission is authorized to have eleven members, however their number has dropped to five, often with only three members attending a meeting. It has been suggested that <br /> a Charter Commission, not unlike a City Council, needs to operate at full capacity, with a quorum assuming full capacity (in other words, six members.) <br /> <br />Both the City Council and the Charter Commission have announced the openings during their respective meetings; and despite advertisements in the newspapers, on the Cable TV channel <br /> and the website, residents are not lining up to volunteer their time on the Commission. Staff has also been in communication with the District Court regarding the declining membership <br /> and asked if perhaps they had any pending applications (no) and if they had any recommendations to address the declining membership. The Court declined to provide any suggestions, <br /> indicating that it was not their role to do so. <br /> <br />Recommendation: <br /> <br />Staff recommends the Council discuss the issue of membership with the Charter Commission and determine what actions, if any, can be taken to address the deficiency. <br /> <br />Respectfully submitted, <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />________________________ <br />James Ericson <br />City Administrator