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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-2-7 City Attorney Letter to Commission re Charter IssuesSJR-209854v1 MU210-4 SCOTT J. RIGGS Attorney at Law Direct Dial (612) 337-9260 Email: sriggs@kennedy-graven.com February 7, 2002 Jonathan J. Thomas, Chair Mounds View Charter Commission 2401 Highway 10 Mounds View, MN 55112 RE: Various City of Mounds View Charter Issues Dear Jonathan: The following are my observations, comments and suggestions regarding the Mounds View City Charter and Mounds View Charter Commission issues for which you have requested my review. The information is based upon my initial review of Minnesota case law, statutes, opinions of the Minnesota attorney general, discussions with various attorneys that work with city charters and charter commissions, as well as our conversations regarding these matters. The observations, comments and suggestions are provided as an initial step in assisting the Charter Commission and the City of Mounds View in a review of the Mounds View Charter and any further action the Commissioners or City may desire to pursue. I will also be forwarding a copy of this correspondence to the City Clerk/Administrator for discussion and comment from the Mounds View City Council. Section 10 of the Charter and Section 11 of the Charter. I have made an initial review of both of these chapters, as well as a review of how other city charters and charter commissions have addressed provisions such as these, which are largely supplanted by state statute. Prior to suggesting specific language for each of these chapters, I recommend a detailed review and comparison of these chapters to state statutes to determine if any elements of these chapters should be retained. I am aware of another charter commission that has conducted such and exercise and found it rather enlightening as to potential revisions. While I could provide sample language from some of the charters I have reviewed, I do not believe this would provide you with the most useful information regarding these issues. Please let me know how you would like to proceed regarding these two chapters. Jonathan Thomas February 7, 2002 Page 2 SJR-209854v1 MU210-4 Section 5.08 of the Charter—Recall. As you may recall, Sections 5.05 and 5.07 of the Charter were recently revised by ordinance to make these Charter provisions consistent with Minnesota court interpretations of the applicability of initiative and referendum charter sections. Likewise, footnote language was added to Charter Section 4.02, subdivision 2 as to the unconstitutional and unenforceable nature of terms limits. It appears that similar clarification is now being suggested for Section 5.08 as to recall of elected officers. My initial suggestion is that all references to recall authority in Chapter 5 of the Charter be entirely removed, rather than including a footnote similar to the language accompanying Charter Section 4.02, subdivision 2. This suggestion is made because nothing is gained by retaining the recall provision in the Charter beyond the authority that already exists in the Minnesota Constitution. If instead a footnote is desired, one similar to the term limit footnote, referencing the Minnesota case of Jacobsen v. Nagel, 96 N.W.2d 569 (Minn. 1959), should be included. As was the case for the initiative and referendum charter provisions, a recommendation from the Charter Commission for revising this Charter section by ordinance would seem to be the most expedient and cost effective method to clarify this section. I suggest raising this matter with the City Council to determine the viability of this revision. Section 12.13 of the Charter—Newsletter. Section 12.13 of the Charter contains language not generally found in the other city charters that I have reviewed or discussed with others. Such provisions as to administrative functions might be considered beyond the generally organic nature of a charter, which is in essence the constitution of the City. The newsletter provision, while a laudable administrative function of the City, is generally that, an administrative function that has been set forth in detail in the Charter, but is left to the discretion of the governing body. While most likely being very difficult to enforce in the event no newsletter is actually published, if a newsletter is published six times a year by the City of Mounds View, this Charter provision is satisfied. You had requested a suggestion as to how Section 12.13 might be interpreted, or how some parameters/guidelines might be utilized by the City as to the content to be contained in the newsletter. Such a request, which is a policy rather than legal question, is probably better addressed directly to the City Council. However, it should be pointed out that a newsletter generally cannot be used as a lobbying statement of the City or a commission (the city has some commissions that have some authority autonomous from that of the City Council, e.g., Economic Development Authority, Police Civil Service Commission, Charter Commission), however, it certainly can, within reason, be a useful tool for providing information to the public. Cost issues and limited space obviously preclude the inclusion and the conveying of every bit of information that passes through City offices and departments; this is a budgeting constraint the City must deal with in modifying or adopting a policy for materials to be included within the newsletter. Jonathan Thomas February 7, 2002 Page 3 SJR-209854v1 MU210-4 Section 6.02, subdivision 3 of the Charter—Reports. I am in receipt of the Charter Commission’s January 10, 2001, correspondence regarding Section 6.02, subd. 3 of the Charter. I will forward a copy of this correspondence with this letter to the City Clerk-Administrator for possible further direction from the City Council as to this matter. As I previously noted, the above discussion constitutes my initial comments on these various issues involving the Mounds View City Charter. As a follow-up to these initial comments, I would suggest a meeting between members of the Charter Commission and the City Council to continue the open dialogue between both entities, review of the Charter’s various provisions and possible amendments, and to foster a continued, solid working relationship between the Charter Commission and City Council on the various issues that have been raised, or may be reviewed in the future. Please feel free to contact me to discuss these matters further. Very truly yours, KENNEDY & GRAVEN, CHARTERED Scott J. Riggs Mounds View City Attorney SJR:jms cc: Kathleen Miller