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DOCSOPEN\MU210\4\902996.v2-9/19/23 <br />Kennedy Fifth Street Towers <br />150 South Fifth Street, Suite 700 <br />Minneapolis MN 55402-1299 <br /> (612) 337-9300 telephone <br />(612) 337-9310 fax <br />http://www.kennedy-graven.com <br /> Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer <br /> Graven <br />C H A R T E R E D <br /> MEMORANDUM <br /> DATE: September 19, 2023 <br /> TO: Chair Russell Warren and Charter Commission Members <br /> FROM: Joseph L. Sathe, Legal Counsel <br /> RE: Petition to Amend City Charter <br />This memorandum provides information on the responsibilities of the Mounds View Charter Commission <br />in handling a citizen petition that was submitted on September 7, 2023 (the “Petition”) to amend the City <br />Charter under Minnesota Statutes, section 410.12. The Petition is included as part of Exhibit A. <br />The two sections of Minn. Stat. 410.12 that convey the Commission’s responsibilities are as follows: <br />“The charter commission may propose amendments to such charter and shall do so upon the <br />petition of voters equal in number to five percent of the total votes cast at the last previous <br />state general election in the city.”1 <br />“All petition papers for a proposed amendment shall be assembled and filed with the <br />charter commission as one instrument. Within ten days after such petition is transmitted <br />to the city council, the city clerk shall determine whether each paper of the petition is <br />property attested and whether the petition is signed by a sufficient number of voters.” 2 <br />Therefore, the Charter Commission’s responsibility is to propose the charter amendment detailed in the <br />Petition and transmit the Petition to the City Council. <br />Number of Signatures Required <br />5048 votes were cast in Mounds View in 2022, which was the last general election in the City. Five percent <br />of 5048 is 252.4, meaning that 253 signatures are needed to submit a petition to amend the Charter. <br />It appears as though 279 of the Petition lines have a signature and therefore the Charter Commission must <br />transmit the Petition to the City Council. Exhibit B is an unofficial version of the Petition with line numbers. <br />Resolution and Recommendation <br />The resolution that is attached as Exhibit A acknowledges that the Charter Commission has counted the <br />number of signatures on the Petition and is proposing that the Charter be amended pursuant to the Petition. <br />This action does not confirm the signatures are valid and is simply sending the Petition to the City Clerk <br />and the City Council in accordance with the statutory process. <br />The Commission could choose to forgo the resolution and transmit the Petition by motion only. <br /> <br />1 Minnesota Statutes, section 410.12, subdivision 1. <br />2 Minnesota Statutes, section 410.12, subdivision 3. <br />Offices in <br />Minneapolis <br />Saint Paul <br />St. Cloud <br />&