HomeMy WebLinkAboutLinke to Commission Mayor Terms a � s
• DATE: May 11, 1993
MEMO TO: MV Charter Commission
FROM: Jerry Linke, Commissionmembej
SUBJECT: Mayors term of office /
I asked the League of Minnesota Cities [LMC] to provide me with
their current information on cities that changed the term of
office for the Mayors position. The list I received from them was
dated August 1, 1991 and did not include Blaine, so it is
incomplete. Blaine not only changed the Mayors term from 3 years
to 4, but changed the terms of office for their Councilmembers
from 2 to 4 years. This change was suggested and researched by
the Blaine Charter Commission, per Don Poss, the City Manager it
was a unanimous decision as they felt that the change would not
affect the accountability of the elected officials, but would
provide a continuity to the decision making process, and let the
elected officials have more time to accomplish what they were
elected to do. The residents of Blaine voted on this issue in the
November 1992 election, it passed 60% to 40%.
• The LMC list showed that 8 cities [East Grand Forks, Owatonna,
Fridley, Ortonville, Granite Falls, Wabasha, Hastings, & Brooklyn
Park] changed their City Charter, and 12 cities [Elbow Lake, Eden
Prairie, Maple Plain, Independence, Rockford Oakdale, Spring Lake
Park, Karlstad, St. Anthony, Woodbury Arden Hills, & St. Paul
Park] made Ordinance changes. Only the city of Lexington, by
Ordinance, changed the term of the Mayors office from 4 th 2
years. This list is only of the cities that changed the term of
office between about 1986 and the date of the letter, and does
not address the cities, such as Edina, that made the change in
the 70 's, or have always had 4 years as the term for the position
of Mayor.
One of the reasons that have been stated in opposition to the
change has to do with the idea that by keeping the Mayors office
every other year, the Mayor would be more easily held accountable
to the voting public. Since, per the charter, the Mayor has no
more or less authority that any other councilmember, why should
that office need any more accountability ? If the Mayors Office
is one that is to show and give the council leadership, would it
not be better to be able to have 4 years of continuous leadership
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instead of 2 ?
The feeling is that the city may end up with
a "bad" Mayor and be stuck with him/her for 4 years. One must
remember, a majority of the voters believed in that person and
therefor he/she has rightfully earned the right to be Mayor. It
[a 4 year term] may force the voters to take a longer look at the
candidates because if they vote in a "clunker" they will know
she/he will be there for 4 years.
As to the argument that a shorter term maintains the Charters
intent to establish a weak Mayor form of government, the term of
office has nothing to do with if the office of the Mayor is a
weak or strong one. The descriptive verbiage "weak" or "strong"
when talking about the office of Mayor has to do with the duties
of, not the term of the office. A "Weak Mayor" is one that has
• the same voting powers as any of the other councilmembers whereas
a "Strong Mayor" has veto power over the actions of the rest of
the council.
As the closing argument I submit [attached] the survey done in
1992 by Decision Resources Ltd. It stated " By a fifty-two to
thirty-nine percent division, residents favored this change" .
What I found interesting was that those that strongly supported
the change were those that plan to "stay in Mounds View for the
rest of their lives, senior couples, clerical-sales households,
and $50, 000-$62 ,500 yearly income households. " . Those that
strongly opposed the change were planning "to stay in Mounds View
over--ten-years,__18-24_-year_olds, and under $12 ,500 yearly income
households. " . I may be reading this information differently than
someone else but I feel that those residents that have lived here
a long time and plan to stay [this is also the group that stays
aware of the happenings at city hall] supports the change whereas
those that are new to the city and in their first home [I say
this because of the age and income] [also the group that is less
interested in the city] oppose the change.
It is for these reasons that I believe that the Mayors Office
should be 4 years like the rest of the council. Since this change
would mean that one year 2 Council positions would be up and 2
years later 2 Council and Mayor would be up for election, I
believe that the election with the Mayors race should be held on
• the non-presidential year election.
• Mayoral Term of Office:
Residents were asked:
Many suburban communities have
switched the length of term in
office for their Mayors from two
years to four years, the term of
other City Council members.
Would you favor or oppose chang-
• ing the term of the Mayor of Mounds
View from two years to four years?
• Do you feel strongly that way?
By a fifty-two percent to thirty-nine percent division, residents
favored this change:
STRONGLY FAVOR 24%
FAVOR 28%
OPPOSE 15%
STRONGLY OPPOSE 24%
DON'T KNOW/REFUSED 9%
• The change, itself, might prove to be a controversial issue,
though. Intense support and intense opposition was equal.
This change was "strongly favored" by those planning to stay
in Mounds View for the rest of their lives, senior couples,
Clerical-Sales households, and $50, 000-$62 , 500 yearly income
households. It was "favored" by less than two year residents,
- those planning to stay 3-5 years in the future, and 55-64 year
olds. The term change was "strongly opposed" by those planning
to stay in Mounds View over ten years, 18-24 year olds, and under
$12,500 yearly income households.
The City may wish to proceed with this charter change;
however, an aggressive information campaign should be undertaken
in order to better inform the electorate.
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3490 Lesingtnn Avenue North
I Id I I"'— St Paul,MN 55126
ague of Minnesota Cities (612)4904600
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Toa S3I .LI a MN 30 3t1JV3 'I * WaS T : EO E6 ' TT 'SO
_._ 375A
• a, Gen`1 & Spec. Memo
183 University Ave.East
St.Paul,MN 55101-2528
&ague of Minnesota Cities (612)227-5600(FAX:221-0986)
August 1, 1.991 CITIES CHANGING MAYOR'S TERM FROM NO TO FOUR YEARS
Sharon Hills
Assistant City Attorney
City of Apple Valley
Dear Ms. Hills:
I am writing in response to your recent inquiry. You had asked for a
list of cities that have changed the mayor's term of office from two
years to four. Our office has received queries from cities on the
procedure that is involved in making such a change. The cities of
Hallock, Tracy, Falcon Heights, and. St. Paul have made such queries.
I also searched through back issues of "Minnesota Cities' and
following is a list of cities (from the Municipal Activities column)
that reportedly have changed the length of the mayor's term:
East Grand Forks--adopted a charter amendment changing term
from two to four years (January 1991 Minnesota Cities)
Lexington--ordinance changing mayor's term from four years
111to two (February 1991 Minnesota Cities)
Winona--adopted a charter amendment changing elections from
odd to even years (this has the result of extending a
term) They are considering legthening the term
(April 1991 Minnesota Cities)
Elbow Lake---ordinance changing mayor's term from two years to
four (June 1991 Minnesota Cities) •
Owatonna--adopted a charter amendment to change term from two
to four. years (May 1990 Minnesota Cities)
Blaine--rejected a charter amendment to change length of term
(July 1990 Minnesota Cities)
Fridley--adopted. a charter amendment to change term from three
years to four (March 1989MinnesotaCities)
ortonville--adopted a charter amendment to extend length of term
to four years (September 1989 Minnesota Cities)
Eden Prairie--ordinance changing term length from two to four
years (November 1989 Minnesota Cities)
Sauk Center-abandoned charter (this may have resulted in a
change of the length of the mayor's term)
Granite Falls--adopted a charter amendment to increase term to
three years (January 1988 Minnesota Cities)
Maple Plain--ordinance changing term length from two to four
years (August 1988 Minnesota Cities)
Independence and Rockford enacted ordinances changing the
length of term from two to four years
(August 1987 Minnesota Cities)
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Wabasha--adopted a charter amendment changing term from two
to four years (December 1987 Minnesota Cities)
Oakdale--ordinance changing term length from two to four years
• (February 1986 Minnesota Cities)
Anoka--amended charter to change elections from odd to even
years (this may have resulted in a change of term length)
(March 1986 Minnesota Cities)
Hastings--adopted a charter amendment to extend length of term
from two to four years (September 1986 Minnesota Cities)
Spring Lake Park, Karlstad, St. Anthoney all enacted ordinances
changing from a two year mayor term to a four year one
(October 1986 Minnesota Cities)
Brooklyn Park--adopted a charter amendment changing term to four
years (October 1986 Minnesota Cities)
Woodbury, Arden Hills, arid St. Paul Park all enacted ordinances
changing from a two year mayor term to a four year one
(December 1986 Minnesota Cities)
In the last year or so, there was also some concern in the city of
Plymouth regarding a change in the length of the elected officials
terms as a result of changing from an odd to even (or perhaps it was
even to odd) election year. As a result, an amendment was made to MS
205. 07, subd. 3 that might be of interest to you. It can be found in
Chapter 227, sec. 20 of the 77th Legislature (I have included a copy) .
Last, I have enclosed some sample ordinances from file 180K (from the
cities of Woodbury, Shafer, Edina, and Eden Prairie) that change the
length of the mayor's term.
• I hope that . these materials will prove helpful. You might also try
contacting the Secretary of State Elections Office for a more
comprehensive list of cities that have changed the length of terms.
Sincerely,
Theresia Perry
Research Assistant
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