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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-23-1992 Mounds View Charter Commission Minutes September 23 , 1992 I. The meeting was called to order at 7: 36 p.m. by Chairperson Len Burgers at the Mounds View City Hall Council Chambers. II. Roll Call - Members Present Absent Virgil Beyer Lloyd Bardwell Len Burgers Sue Hankner Stan Haugen Bob Toborg Jim Kavanaugh Jerry Linke Dave Long Ed Trettel July Trude Daryl Turner Ray Vanderveer Arlene Werdien Joe Witzman Others Present Dave Kennedy Duane McCarty Samantha Orduno III. Approval of Minutes The minutes from the October 10, 1991 meeting were reviewed. No discrepancies were noted. Motion by E. Trettel, seconded by J. Linke to accept the minutes as written. Passed_unanimously. IV. Secretary J. Kavanaugh reminded Chairperson L. Burgers that as the Commission had not previously met during 1992 , there were three items of business which needed to be considered before the end of the year. He suggested that these items be identified before a discussion of the new agenda items, in the event this was the only meeting of the year. These items were: Expiration of Commission Member Terms 1992 Annual Report to the District Court 1993 Meeting Schedule 1 Samantha Orduno passed around copies of a letter dated September 21, 1992 from J. E. Gockowski - Court Administrator, indicating that the terms of seven Charter Commission Members will expire October 31, 1992 . These members are all eligible to serve a second term. These members are: Virgil Beyer Leonard Burgers Stanley Haugan James Kavanaugh Jerome Linke Edward Trettel Daryl Turner Note: Secretary J. Kavanaugh's records indicate that there are eight members whose terms will expire. It appears that Joseph Witzman should have been named on this list. S. Orduno indicated that each member whose term will expire must submit a letter to the District Court if he/she wishes to be reappointed. J. Kavanaugh requested that the City send a letter to each member whose term will expire notifying them of the proper procedure for reappointment or resignation. V. Chairperson Burgers related that the reason he called this meeting (this is an extraordinary meeting called in addition to the regularly scheduled meetings) was to consider recommendations from the City Council to change the City Charter. He referred to the "Recommended Charter Change" which had been mailed to each commission member. He then passed an agenda which he had constructed in an effort to consider the recommendations in groups of similar issues. At the request of the Chair, S. Or-dung--gave--a rationale-- --- ---- for the recommended changes. She related that these recommendations came from the Council and are an attempt to facilitate Charter language modification which would allow the Council to address three issues: 1. In view of the significant revenue shortage faced by the City, the Council is attempting to reduce costs without cutting critical services. By reducing the numbers of newsletters, the City can save $3 , 500 to $4, 000 for each newsletter not published. In the recent citizen survey, 92% favored this reduction to save money. 2 2. The Initiative and Referendum section of the Charter needs to be reviewed. A citizen's group recently petitioned to have an issue placed on the ballot for election, only to find it was not legal under the Charter. 3. Housekeeping Items - the Council has requested that the Commission revise language in several sections. They believe these revisions will improve the Charter and better serve the citizens/City. At this time during the meeting, commission members made comments and asked questions concerning the proposed reductions in the number of newsletters: E. Trettel believes that four per year may be significant but would want to review all options before a decision is made. He asked if a simplified version would be possible? Response: S. Orduno - certainly can consider options. August newsletter was a simplified version. Nothing prohibits that. To a certain extent, the newsletter has become, primarily, a Parks and Recreation bulletin. S. Haugen - How often is it necessary to publish Parks and Recreation information. Response: J. Linke - four times per year. J. Trude expressed concern about the proposed reduction. Believes it is very important that information be disseminated so that citizens can have input and not be left out. S. Haugen asked if $3 ,500 was the cost per issue? Response:-- S. Orduno -yes-. He said he agrees with J. Trude - suggested we keep six but use a simplified version. R. Vanderveer - asked if it would be feasible to sell advertising? Response: J. Linke and S. Orduno - Difficult to quality and appropriateness of ads. E. Trettel - Is it possible to reduce cost by having citizens pick up the bulletins rather than mail? Can they be published by other means such as Cable TV? 3 Response: J. Linke and S. Orduno - Information would not be disseminated if citizens had to pick them up. Cable TV is very expensive. J. Trude - I strongly object to reduction of information available to residents. E. Trettel - offered that it may be possible to reduce the number of newsletters to four if the Commission specified items for which a newsletter is necessary. L. Burgers - If we reduce the number of newsletters to four, timing may be a problem. If there is information which must be disseminated and does not coincide with newsletter publication schedules. Would there be money for an additional publication. Response: J. Linke, yes. R. Vanderveer - Try four for two years. If that isn't sufficient, we can come back. E. Trettel - I would be comfortable with four if there was conspicuous notice in the newsletter to look for additional information in the newspaper and a disclaimer that there may be additional information in the newspaper. At this time (8: 04 p.m. ) Chairperson Burgers suggested that we discontinue the discussion and ask Mr. Kennedy to address the Commission. David Kennedy related that he had been asked to attend this meeting by S. Orduno to discuss Charter issues. He informed the Commission that he is an attorney with the law firm of Holmes and Graven. This is the same firm from which our City Attorney is hired. He indicated that local government is his specialty and that he has extensive experience working on City Charters and City finance. Mr. Kennedy suggested that there are several principles he believes are helpful in considering a Charter: 1. Keep it as simple as possible - the U. S. Constitution is 1/10 as big as our Charter. Draw the power simply. Leave the implementation to legislation. 2 . Drop the things you can't do such as the issuance of Emerging Debt Certificates. 3 . Drop things covered by State Law such as special assessments. State law is specific and has been tested in 4 the Courts. The procedures are well defined. 4. Omit things that can be handled administratively by ordinance. 5. Keep the language simple and plain. Use declarative sentences so that people can read it. Keep the "language" gender neutral. 6. Apply the "what if test" . What if this happens - will the Charter cover it? 7. Don't dwell on the past. Look to the future. In reviewing this Charter, Mr. Kennedy found that there are some problems in Chapter 5 - Initiative, Referendum and Recall. Recall as specified in 5. 08 doesn't work. The Supreme Court has ruled that an elected official can only be removed for malfeasance. Initiative and Referendum - (5. 05 and 5. 07) indicates that any measure is subject to this process. The Supreme Court has said no. This would be chaotic and could bring government to a halt. The only things subject to Initiative and Referendum are "legislative acts" - things that must be done by ordinance. Policies and resolutions are not subject to this process. Mr. Kennedy noted what he perceived to be problems in the other sections as well. Section 4 . 04 - Special and Advisory Elections except for Elected Office. He believes this is the only Charter in the state that has this provision. Section 4 . 05 - Vacancy of Municipal Elected Office. He finds this section very hard to follow. If her were to offer a suggestion to clarify the newsletter issue, he would keep itsimple. He -would-recommendtheCharter be amended to require that: "The City Council must publish newsletters to inform the public" and leave the implementation to the Council. Mr. Kennedy indicated that there are three ways to amend the Charter: 1. Initiative of the Charter Commission 2 . Initiative of the City Council 3 . Initiative of the Voters 5 He recommends that the Charter Commission make recommendations to the Council. If the Council agrees by unanimous vote, there is a 90 day waiting period. If there is a petition, an election would have to be held. At this time a discussion was held to determine what the Commission should do at this time. D. McCarty - offered that things do change but suggested that we consider trying to locate the original commission members and hold a concurrent session to learn the rationale for constructing the Charter the way it was done. J. Trude and E. Trettel - commented that it was a shocking revelation that the Referendum provision could not be used as evidenced by the Greenfield Wetlands Group attempts. J. Kavanaugh - recommended that the Commission not do anything at this time, but draft proposed changes and seek public reaction A. Werdien - feels strongly that the Charter is satisfactory the way it is and should not be revised. S. Haugen - suggested we ask Mr. Kennedy to prepare a draft and bring it back to the Commission. J. Linke - agreed with Stan. R. Vanderveer - recommended that we have Mr. Kennedy review the Charter to see where it is in conflict with State Law. It is the consensus of the Commission that they are not prepared to make recommendations for revision at this time. Motion by J. Linke, seconded by S. Haugen to have Mr. Kennedy review the Charter to look for provisions which are in conflict with State Law and report back tot he Commission. Passed unanimously. - Next meeting: -Ttu-r-sday,- November- 12,-1992, -7: 00---p.m. ,_-_Council_ Chambers. Motion by V. Beyer, second by J. Linke to adjourn. Passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 10: 08 p.m. J. L. Kavanaugh, Secretary 6