July 8 Draft Letter_to_Judge_regarding_Charter_Commission Brian Amundsen

Home Browse Search

In the fall of 2016, two more Commission members were added bringing the total to 5. In 2017, the Commission again changed its bylaws further reducing its membership from 11 to 9 members. Through extensive efforts by Council and City staff, the Commission achieved 8 members at the end of 2018. In January of 2019, the Commission achieved a full complement of members, and for the first time in more than a decade, had a full Commission present for its 2019 meetings. Unfortunately, with the resignation of Chair Reyes-Johnson and the pending resignations of two more Commission members, the Commission will once again revert to times past. Included with this correspondence is the unapproved minutes of the most recent Commission meeting; however, if so inclined, the video is available on the City’s web page at https://webstreaming.ctv15 .org/viewer.php?streamid=3589. The video arguably provides a more descriptive display of body language, voice modulation, and inflection of Commission members. The combination of this Commission membership turnover, when combined with a focus on minutia, extreme formality, and substantive resistance to change/suggestions by Mr. Amundsen as well as repeated rejection of City Attorney advice, has/will have a compound negative impact. Attached is a document illustrating the current Commission membership revealing most members abundant with minimal service. Effective public policy adoption and Charter updates simply fail as meetings are monopolized by reliving the previous Commission meetings. By way of example, the annual reports submitted to the Court pursuant to Minnesota Statutes reveal that the Commission spent 8-plus years (69 meetings) discussing issues related to revising Chapter 8 of the Charter. The attached flow chart produced by the Commission for Chapter 8 illustrates both the minutia as well as the failure to create a Charter that is simple to read and easy to understand. Similarly, but less egregious, was the recent Commission task of reviewing Chapter 4 of the Charter (special election if a vacancy occurs) which traversed an 18-plus month journey (this review and proposed language revision is ongoing). In both cases, Council had advocated for a “simplification” of Charter language as a component of the Commission’s work product. The dysfunction of the Charter Commission for more than a decade continues to prohibit the Council and the City from realizing the necessary contributions of the Commission and the willing members that have stepped forward to serve the community. The Council’s analysis, observations, review and discussions lead it to the unfortunate but necessary conclusion that the removal of Mr. Amundsen is necessary for the success of the Commission and the City. The consequences of failing to take this action will result in a continuation of past Commission practice and dysfunction. The most recent events involving the Commission provide extreme clarity on this point. The situation if further exacerbated as Mr. Amundsen has stated to City Administrator Zikmund that he has “hidden or ulterior” motives with him former vowing to watch his every move. Thus, in conjunction with the indifference towards advice from the City Attorney (who is council to the Commission) the relationship with City Staff is something less than desirable. In closing, the Mounds View City Council has minimal desire to cast deleterious aspersions a long serving individual of the community and prefers to focus on the viability of a functioning Charter Commission body. The City’s Planning and Zoning Commission, Parks, Recreation and Forestry Commission, and Economic Development Commission all operate with stability, a high degree of functionality and productivity. This is critical to good government and policy making. Attached to this correspondence please find the following: