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Home My WebLink About04-27-1993 e ti MOUNDS VIEW CHARTER COMMISSION MINUTES APRIL 27, 1993 CALL TO ORDER • The meeting was called to order by Secretary Julie Trude at 7:05 p.m. in the Mounds View City Hall. The Secretary was appointed pro tern Chair due to the absence of the Chair and Vice Chair. Duane McCarty was elected as the Recording Secretary for the meeting. II. ROLL CALL Present: Uoyd Bardwell, Virgil Beyer, Jerry Linke, Duane McCarty, Pat Rickaby, Laurie Schley, Bob Toborg, Julie Trude, Ray Vanderveer and Ruth White Absent: Len Burgers (excused), Sue Hankner (excused), Dave Long, Richard Oman (excused) and Arlene Werdien. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Laurie Schley moved, Ray Vanderveer seconded, to approve the minutes of the March 23, 1993 meeting as presented. Passed unanimously. IV. CHAIR'S REPORT Julie Trude distributed the draft proposals of Chapter 2, as prepared by Len Burgers, and Chapter 12, as prepared by Pat Rickaby. Len Burgers' memo directed commissioners to make comments and corrections on the drafts and return them to the authors for revision. Chair Trude asked Pat Rickaby to describe what had been learned about proposed state legislation to limit local authority over elections. Pat Rickaby distributed several handouts on S. F. 1512 and H.F. 323 and a letter she had drafted for the commission ;noting objections to the proposed law. The commissioners discussed t3 p issues. Then, Laurie Schley moved, Jerry Linke seconded, to approve frit letter prepared by Pat Rickaby as the Charter Commission's official communication on the proposed legislation, passed unanimously. The letter was signed by the members in attendance. Pat Rickaby was authorized to distribute the letter to the state legislators. A copy of the letter is attached to the Minutes. V. NEW BUSINESS - REVIEW OF "SET ASIDES" Section 2.03 - 2 Year Vs. 4 Year - Mayor A lengthy discussion of the pros and cons of changing the Mayor's term from a 2 year term to a 4 year term was held. These comments were stated: (1) The Council rotates every two years, there's the possibility of changing the Council majority every two years. (2) Campaigning every two years causes the Mayor to keep in touch with and remain responsive to the electorate. (3) There's not enough reason to change the Charter; a conservative attitude towards change is prudent. (4) A shorter term maintains the Charter's intent to establish a weak Mayor form of government. (5) .If the electorate makes a bad decision, the community can get relief in two years. Advantages of 4-Year Mayor: (1) A 4-year Mayor has more time to accomplish an agenda. A 2-year Mayor spends nearly half of his/her term campaigning which makes it more difficult to complete long-term projects. (2) Less time and money need to be devoted to campaigning. (3) More continuity - a Mayor needs time to develop a leadership role and a term shorter than the Councilmembers makes this difficult. (4) Other cities have changed from 2-year to 4-year terms including Blaine. (5) A Mayor keeps in touch with constituents by being involved in the community, not by campaigning. No consensus was reached by the Commission. Approximately equal numbers of commissioners preferred a two-year Mayor and a four-year Mayor, or remained undecided. Ray Vanderveer moved, Jerry Linke seconded, to table the discussion on the 2-year vs. 4-year Mayor issue until the next meeting. Passed unanimously. Section 3.02 Liaison assignments. The Commission decided, after a full discussion of the issues, to make no change to this section of the Charter. Section 3.05 Ordinance Effective Date/3.07 Ordinance Publication The Commission decided that the Charter provides sufficient opportunity for public notice and feedback under Sections 3.05 and 3.07 of the Charter. The consensus was to make no change in either of these sections. Section 3.11 Scheduled Review of Ordinances. The wording and exact requirements of this section, specifically the first sentence were hotly debated at length. No consensus could be reached to: (a) make no change, (b) lengthen the time parameters for ordinance review, (c) adopt the Model Charter's wording, or (d) eliminate the words "at least once" in the first sentence. Several commissioners requested the League of Cities be contacted by Julie Trude to determine whether the first sentence mandates a comprehensive ordinance and resolution review every two years. The discussion was postponed until this information could be obtained. VI. AGENDA FOR NEXT MEETING, MAY 11, 1993 • The Agenda for the next scheduled meeting, to be held on May 11, 1993 at 7:00 p.m. was determined as follows: AGENDA 1. Review Chapter 4 Set Asides 2. Discuss 2-Year vs. 4-Year Mayor Term 3. Discuss Section 3.11, Scheduled Ordinance Review VII. ADJOURNMENT Upon the motion of Bob Toborg, seconded by Ray Vanderveer, the Commission voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Julie Trude Secretary (Assisted by Duane McCarty)