HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-Misc notes for petitionOffices in Fifth Street Towers
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Minneapolis Minneapolis MN 55402-1299
Saint Paul (612) 337-9300 telephone
(612) 337-9310 fax
C H A R T E R E D St. cloud http://www.kennedy-graven.com
Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer
MEMORANDUM
DATE: September 19, 2023
TO: Nyle Zikmund, City Administrator
Rayla Ewald, Human Resources Director/City Clerk
FROM: Joseph L. Sathe, Assistant City Attorney
RE: Charter Amendment Petition Process and Review
This memorandum provides information on the process the city of Mounds View must follow because it
has received a citizen petition on September 7, 2023 (the "Petition") to amend the City Charter under
Minnesota Statutes, section 410.12, subdivision 1.
Petition Received by the City
The Petition was submitted to the City on September 7, 2023. The City provided the petitioners with
"receipt" of the Petition on September 12, 2023.
The Petition must first be submitted to the Charter Commission who then transmits the full petition to the
City Clerk. Therefore, the receipt of the Petition that was sent on September 12, 2023, is not the receipt of
filing that begins the 10-day review window, but instead is an acknowledgement of receiving the Petitionr'�3
I recommend that the City should send a letter to the petitioners explaining the procesSee Exhibit A.,�
Step 1: Charter Commission Recommendation
The Charter Commission is required to propose an amendment to the City Charter upon the petition of
voters equal in number to five percent of the total votes cast at the last previous state general election in the
city.' The total number of votes cast in the last general ection was 5048 votes cast in 2022 in Mounds
View. Five percent (5%) of 5048 is 252.4, meaning tha 253 ignatures are needed to meet the requirement
to submit a petition to amend the City Charter.
Proposed charter amendments must be submitted at least 17 weeks before the general election.' The next
general election is in November 2024.
The Charter Commission is considering the Petition on September 19, 2023 and should transmit the Petition
to the City Clerk/City Council soon thereafter. The proposed resolution for the Charter Commission
acknowledges that 279 of the Petition's lines have a signature attached and that the Charter Commission is
forwarding the Petition to the City Council in accordance with Minn. Stat. 410.12.
1 Minnesota Statutes, section 410.12, subdivision 1
z Id.
DOCSOPEN\MU210\4\901702.v lA-9/18/23
Exhibit B
Proposed Charter Amendment Petition Review Process
Staff must be able to determine compliance solely from the information provided on the face of the petition,
ensuring that each page complies with Minn. R. 8205.1010, subp 2:
/ a. A petition must be prepared on paper no larger than 8-1/2 inches wide and 14 inches long. The
signer's oath and the signature lines must be on the same side of the paper.
✓b. The language on the petition must be printed in no smaller than 10-point type.
v' c. Each petition page must have a short title describing the purpose of the petition.
V d. Each petition page must have a statement summarizing the purpose of the petition.
'/e. If the purpose of the petition is to put a question on the ballot, each petition page may have a
statement of 75 words or less summarizing the ballot question.
f. Each petition page must have a signer's oath in no smaller than 12-point bold type. If the form of
the signer's oath is not specified by statute, the following oath must be used: "I swear (or affirm)
that I know the contents and purpose of this petition and that I signed this petition only once and of
my own free will."
g. Each petition page must include the following statement immediately above the signature lines:
"All information must be filled in by person(s) signing the petition unless disability prevents the
person(s) from doing so."
h. Each petition page must have no more than ten signature lines. The signature lines must be
consecutively numbered. Each signature line must have space for the date of the signature; a
signature; and each signatory's year of birth; printed first, middle, and last name; and residence
address, municipality, and county.
Each petition page must include the following statement: "All information on this petition is subject
to public inspection."
Staff will count and consecutively number the pages of the petition. Staff will prepare a receipt. Staff will
issue the receipt to the person submitting the petition and/or a representative of the committee of petitioners,
and keep a copy with the petition. The receipt will contain the following information (Minn. R. 8205.1040,
subps 3, 4):
a. Name, address, phone number and email address of petitioner.
b. Type of petition.
c. Date the petition is submitted for inspection.
d. Date by which petition inspection will be completed; the verification of a petition must be
completed as soon as practicable but no later than ten working days after filing date.
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DOCSOPEN\MU210\4\901702.v 1 A-9/ 18/23
s
Reviewing Petition
1. Reviewers will use a current voter list review signatures and information provided to determine
sufficiency of each signature. Reviewers will maintain an inspection log to record information on
rejected signatures.
2. Staff will review whether the signatures on a petition can be counted based on basic criteria, including
that signers should be both eligible and registered to vote if the petition requires that the signers be
eligible and registered to vote for the candidate or ballot question that is the subject of the petition
(Minn. R. 8205.1030, subp 2):
a. Staff ensure the signer's printed name is legible and the signature is in ink.
3
cq,0�d b. Staff check the year of birth to ensure that each signer is at least 18 years of age. The year of birth
provided on the petition must be an exact match with the year of birth provided in the voter record.
c. The address provided by the signer on the petition must match the address in the voter record. 3.
2. Staff will make a small `x' mark next to the signature line number for each line that does not have the
information required. On an inspection log, staff will note the page and line number of any signatures
not counted and detail the reason.
3. For each page of the petition, staff will count the number of signature lines that meet the legal criteria;
they will write this number on the lower right-hand corner of the petition form. Staff will periodically
add the numbers of sufficient signatures together to see how close the petition is to the threshold of
signatures needed.
4. If the minimum number of valid signatures required has been verified, the inspection process can stop.
(Minn. R. 8205.1050, subp 2.)
5. Staff complete the petition inspection form, stating whether the petition is "sufficient" or "insufficient."
6. Staff will store the inspected petition with the archived master list which was used to inspect the
petition. The petition, the master list and the inspection log are all available for public inspection.
7. If the petition i sufficient tall will n petitioner and the appropriate governingbody. If the petition
is ins icient, st�f" will notify_ only_ the�etitioner, including a report that describes the page, line
number he signaturesnot cpu[itedsn, staff will include the date y w is anti#t[iial
signatures can be submitted for inspection, if permitted by law. - — -
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Step 2: City Clerk Verification (Ip days)
Once the Petition is transmitted from the Charter Commission to the City Clerk/City Council, the City Clerk
then has 10 days to verify the petition. There is some ambiguity as to whether the 10-day timeline begins
when the City Clerk receives the petition or when the petition is presented to the City Council at a City
Council meeting. To avoid a claim that the City did not handle the Petition properly, the City should begin
`! the 10-day timeline once the Petition is transmitted to the City Clerk from the Charter Commission,
The Clerk must verify whether each paper of the Petition is properly attested and whether the Petition is
signed by a sufficient number of voters.' This process also includes verification of whether the Petition
meets the requirement established by the Minnesota Secretary of State in Minnesota Rules, section 8205.
The City Clerk should utilize the process outlined in Exhibit B, which is taken almost directly from the
process used by the Ramsey County Election's Office. Linked here.
Step 3: Certification to the City Council
Once the City Clerk examines the petition, she must certify the results to the City Council.
If the City Clerk is able to complete the review process by September 25, 2023, it would then be convenient
to include the result of the City Clerk's review at that meeting. If the City Clerk needs more time, then the
City Council may want to call a special meeting to receive the results of the City Clerk's review.
Determination of Insufficiency
If the City Clerk determines the Petition is sufficient then review of the sufficiency of the signatures on the
Petition is over. If the City Clerk determines the Petition is insufficient, she must at once notify the
petitioners that the Petition is insufficient and provide a certificate setting forth the particulars of why the
Petition is deficient.
A determination of insufficiency starts a new 10-day timeframe during which the petitioners may
supplement the Petition with additional signature pages. If the petitioners submit additional signature pages,
the City Clerk has five days to examine the supplemental information and determine whether it is sufficient.
If the City Clerk determines the amended Petition is still insufficient, then the Clerk must notify the
petitioners of such insufficiency and no further action is required. However, please note that a final
determination of insufficiency does not prohibit a new petition on the same topic to be submitted.
Exhibit A: Letter to Petitioners
Exhibit B: Review Process
3 Minn. Stat. 410.12, subd. 3
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