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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-12-1992 Mounds View Charter Commission Minutes November 12 , 1992 I . Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Chair Len Burgers at 7 : 10 pm, in the Mounds View City Council Chambers . Due to the initial absence of the regular secretary , Julie Trude was appointed as acting secretary for the meeting . II . Roll Call Present : Virgil Beyer , Len Burgers , Lloyd Bardwell , Stan Haugen, Jim Kavanaugh, Jerry Linke, Dave Long , Bob Toborg , Julie Trude, Ray Vandeveer , Arlene Werdien. Absent : Sue Hankner , Darryl Turner , Ed Trettel , Joe Witzman . Also present : David Kennedy , Attorney for the Commission III . Approval of Minutes The Chair noted a few minor corrections required in the minutes of the meeting of Sep . 23, 1992 . A motion was made by J . Linke to approve the minutes as amended , seconded by V. Beyer , passed unanimously . IV. Expiration of Commission Member terms J . Linke , L. Burgers and V. Beyer announced that they had already submitted letters requesting reappointment to the commission. S . Haugen and ( later ) J . Kavanaugh noted they would not be seeking reappointment . Discussion was held regarding the fact that several members were now meeting after their terms had expir-ed and no action had yet been taken regarding their reappointment by the Chief Judge of Ramsey County . It was noted for the record that the practice has been to allow members to sit until replaced or reappointed. V. Annual Report The Chair noted a report for 1992 should be filed by Secr . Kavanaugh prior to Dec. 31 , 1992 . It was also determined that any filing of minutes would have to wait until the end of December , pending approval of minutes for the remaining meetings . Mounds View Charter Commission Minutes November 12 , 1992 Page 2 VI . Meeting Schedule for 1993 Unless other meetings are required for consideration of pending or other changes necessary to the existing charter , the annual meeting for the Charter Commission was set for Thursday, Sept . 16 , 1993. Motion by B. Toborg to approve , second by V. Beyer ; motion passed unanimously. VII . By-Laws The existence of a set of by-laws for the commission was questioned and B. Toborg noted that he may have a copy of these . D. Kennedy stated he would be willing to send sample copies of by-laws for the Chair to review and the Commission to consider . D. Kennedy noted that our Charter requires that we operate under a set of by-laws . VIII . Charter Amendments Chair L. Burgers noted that at the prior meeting [Sep . 23 , 1992] the Commission had directed D. Kennedy to review the existing Charter for items conflicting with state and other statutes . The resulting memorandum [attached] addresses these items , although not all of the subjects initially raised by the City Council . The Chair also noted that the Charter should be simple enough to be understood by everyone and not mired in legal jargon. Still , the Charter must comply with state and national statutes . D. Long -- why did D. Kennedy ' s memorandum not address all the issues in the memo from the City Clerk? Mr . Kennedy understood he was to deal with the legal issues primarily , and/or those which were discussed the most at the previous meeting . R. Vandeveer -- had Mr . Kennedy reviewed the Charter for conflicts with state law? Kennedy responded that he did more than that because of our discussions but that he did cover legal conflicts , which were minimal . Mounds View Charter Commission Minutes November 12 , 1992 Page 3 The process to act on Mr . Kennedy ' s proposed amendments to the charter were discussed, and J . Linke recommended we discuss each proposal as it was presented. J. Trude -- should there be references to Minnesota statutes without appending them to the charter for citizens using the Charter? Mr . Kennedy suggested that there would be too much to add if this were done . L. Burgers stated that citizens should be able to research cited statutes on their own, and that references to specific statutes would lead to obsolescence . J. Trude expressed the opinion that this issue was best considered as it came up in the proposed amendments . R. Vandeveer asked if this would be the appropriate time for the Commission to seek public opinion about the proposed amendments . Mr . Kennedy noted that a public hearing would occur following published notice of the recommended amendments , if they were to be adopted by ordinance . With this method of changing the charter , the council would then need to unanimously vote to amend the charter , by ordinance . Mr . Kennedy further explained the three methods used to amend charters : 1 ) The people can petition for changes and the proposal would go on a ballot ; 2 ) The City Council can propose changes that would be put on the ballot ; 3) The Charter Commission can recommend that the City Council amend the Charter by adopting an ordinance . The text of the amendments would then be published , a public hearing held and the council would have to pass the ordinance unanimously . Finally , the changes would be held in abeyance for 90 days . Within the first 60 days of this period, if 2% of the registered voter population in the City petition to put the amendments on a ballot , then the City must do so . If no petition is brought forth , the changes would go into effect after the 90 day waiting period . (This is the method Mr . Kennedy believed appropriate for the passage of any non-controversial Charter changes . ) Mounds View Charter Commission Minutes November 12 , 1992 Page 4 Further discussion wa held regarding why changes , such as the removal of Recall from the Charter , were noted in the memo from Mr . Kennedy . Mr . Kennedy stated that the Minnesota Supreme court ruled that citizens cannot recall elected officials simply because they are unhappy with that official ' s performance . An elected official can only be removed (other than by general election) due to malfeasance or non-feasance . In the case of a felony conviction, forfeiture of office is automatic. R. Vandeveer said he had heard comments from the public that there appears to be a conflict of interest , when the same legal firm is representing both the City and the Charter Commission. This seemed especially touchy since the City attorney had told the citizens responsible for the recent petition that the petition was invalid, and now the same firm is recommending substantial changes to the section dealing with Referendum, Recall and Initiative. In follow-up, R. Vandeveer asked if the Commission could form a group to research whether another attorney should be consulted for a second opinion on the proposed changes to the Charter . Mr . Kennedy then requested the Commission specifically appoint him as their attorney before he continued advising them. No action was taken at this meeting regarding this matter . J . Trude noted that the Commission had specifically authorized Mr . Kennedy to review the Charter for provision in conflict with state law and report back at this meeting . Trude further suggested the Commission receive his report and then determine whether to continue using his services . A consensus developed that a subcommittee , headed by R. Vandeveer , research whether a second attorney ' s opinion would be appropriate , and develop a listing from the League of Cities and other sources . J . Trude and V . Beyer volunteered to serve with Vandeveer on this subcommittee and report back at the next meeting . Mounds View Charter Commission Minutes November 12 , 1992 Page 5 J . Trude inquired who had drafted the Charter and if it was possible to consult the drafters . J . Linke stated that Mark Karney and Dick Meyers drafted the original Charter , but that Mr . Meyers is now retired . L. Burgers noted that in light of the present situation and prior input from original charter members , it should not be necessary to meet with these people except on possible individual items in question. He felt that the present Commission should not try to push the decisions off on someone else and that we should be able to make the necessary decisions . Mr . Kennedy did not see a conflict of interest . He noted that his expertise was in municipal law and he has worked with the League of Cities (LOC) , and helped draft the charter for the city of Crystal . He explained that the Commission could request further annotation of his recommendations and comments to assist the commission in its decision making process . He referred the Commission to the Model Charter by the LOC as an example. Mr . Kennedy clarified that he saw the Charter Commission as his client , not the city . Further , he directed the Commission to do as they chose with his recommendations . Overall , the Commission saw no problem with the quality of Mr . Kennedy ' s work or his credentials . Some members stated their concerns were with maintaining a positive , independent image with the public , which seems to require some separation from the City Council and the City staff . Several members expressed interest in obtaining copies of the LOC' s Model Charter . Chair Burgers offered to obtain these . IX. Memorandum from D. Kennedy [Holmes & Graven , Attorneys at Law] The Chair requested Mr . Kennedy proceed with his report [attached to these minutes ] . Additional comments regarding each item are noted here. Mounds View Charter Commission Minutes November 12 , 1992 Page 6 Item 1 , Par . 2 . 06 , Subd . 1 - Functions of Mayor J . Linke noted he recommended this change because it better reflects the mayor ' s job. An informal consensus was achieved on this recommendation , as written . Item 2 , Par . 3. 05 - Procedures on Ordinances Mr . Kennedy ' s only change was to add "members present . " Although a council would save time if a majority could dispense with the reading , this is not a common practice. Mr . Kennedy also deleted the requirement that each ordinance be limited to one subject because "one subject" can be difficult to interpret . J . Linke asked if the Council could move the passing of an ordinance and dispense with its reading all in one motion. Mr . Kennedy responded that these items needed to be addressed in separate motions . J . Linke then noted that the City has followed the "one subject" rule but could perhaps run into problems when, for example , an entire zoning code is put into one ordinance . Item 3, Par . - Procedures on Resolutions No comments . Item 4 , Par . 3 . 11 - Revision & Codification of Ordinances Mr . Kennedy modified this section because our Charter covers more than most charters by requiring resolutions be indexed and reviewed every two years . Further , the City Code should always be current and the resolution automatically indexed by the City Clerk . J . Linke noted that our city has not followed this charter requirement because it was too cumbersome and expensive . Mounds View Charter Commission Minutes November 12 , 1992 Page 7 Item 5 , Par . 4 . 02 - Filing for Office Mr . Kennedy revised this section to conform with state law. Some concern over the need for a citizen to do considerable research on various statutes was noted, but it was further noted that the City Manager has adequate information for any individual seeking election . Also , references in the Charter to any statutes would render the Charter obsolete in a short time , since these statute numbers change frequently . Item 6 , Par . 4 . 04 - Special Elections Mr . Kennedy believed the Commission could discuss this provision further . The problem he found with these elections is they are not binding on the council and are expensive. Surveys are a cheaper alternative to gather information . Item 7 , Par . 7 . 06 - Council Action on Budget Mr . Kennedy revised this provision to conform with Minnesota ' s Truth- In-Taxation law. Mr . Kennedy also recommended the Commission eliminate publication of the estimated budget in the City newsletter because state law requires its publication elsewhere . As written, this recommendation appears to meet the Council ' s criteria also . Item 8 , Par . 7 . 10 - City Indebtedness Mr . Kennedy suggested deleting the publication requirement . Following a discussion by the Commission on the matter , Mr . Kennedy noted that state law has notification provision which vary with the type of public finance projects the City undertakes . He further recommended the Commission delete Par . 7 . 12 [Emergency Debt Certificates ] because these are not used by cities . Mounds View Charter Commission Minutes November 12 , 1992 Page 8 Item 9 , Par . 8 . 02 - Public Improvements and Special Assessments Mr . Kennedy strongly recommended the Commission adopt this amendment granting the Council the option to finance public improvements under state law. He emphasized that state law has been tested in court and proven, thus is more likely to result in marketable bonds . There was some concern about inconsistencies with the Charter provisions . Item 10 , Par . 5 . 01 - Initiative , Referendum and Recall Mr . Kennedy ' s suggested amendments would limit the use of initiative ( I ) and Referendum (R) to ordinances only . Further , he suggested restricting the use of I & R regarding ordinances involving City finances where he believed their use probably would not be legal . He noted that under state case law, only legislative matters are subject to I & R. Mr . Kennedy suggested deleting the recall provision from the Charter , stating the it does not accomplish what the voters would want : removal of unwanted officials . The Minnesota Supreme Court has limited its use , and most modern charters ( including the LOC Model Charter ) do not use it . By state law, officials are automatically removed if convicted of a felony . [The City Charter addresses Vacancies under Par . 2 . 05 . ] B. Toborg asked if we could act on any of these changes tonight and whether there could be some immediate cost savings to the City. J . Linke noted that only the newsletter changes would result in any cost savings , but that no benefit would be realized from prompt action . A consensus developed that further discussion on Mr . Kennedy ' s memo should be postponed until the next meeting . This would provide Commission members the opportunity to consider the evening ' s discussion, and allow the subcommittee to research other legal avenues . Mounds View Charter Commission Minutes November 12 , 1992 Page 9 X. Next Meeting : December 1 , 1992 , 7 pm, Council Chambers . B. Toborg moved for adjournment , seconded by V. Beyer , and passed unanimously . The meeting was adjourned at 9 : 30 pm. Respectfully Submitted, Julie Trude , Acting Secretary