5.2.
Charter Commission
- Meeting Date:
- 10/17/2019
- By:
- Jo Thieling, Administrative Services
Information
Title:
Review Proposed Amendments to Chapter 4 of the City's Charter, titled Nominations and Elections
Purpose/Background:
Purpose: To review draft amendments to Chapter 4 of the City's Charter. As stated during a previous discussion, there are portions of the chapter that must be amended to comply with State law, and portions that may be amended, such as duplicative language that is not providing any benefit to the City.
Background: State Legislation setting uniform election dates for special elections prompted a complete review of Chapter 4, Nominations and Elections, of the City's Charter. The current Charter language is not entirely consistent with State law and causes problems in administering City elections. Many sections of this chapter are preempted by State law.
The Charter Commission met in February of this year and received information with regard to what must be amended to comply with State law, and what else could be amended to make administering elections, especially special elections, more straight forward and timely.
A lengthy discussion ensued and a consensus of the Commission was reached. The City Attorney was asked to revise Chapter 4 of the City's Charter to remove the language conflicting with State law, remove duplicative language; remove the need for primaries, with one option to remove primaries all together and another option to remove primaries for special elections, clean up the language regarding advisory elections, with an option to remove advisory elections all together and another option to state that advisory elections can only occur with general elections. Regarding Section 4.5.4, an option should be brought back to remove that section which would default to State law, and another option cleaning up the language and allowing appointment for terms of only less than 365 days.
Background: State Legislation setting uniform election dates for special elections prompted a complete review of Chapter 4, Nominations and Elections, of the City's Charter. The current Charter language is not entirely consistent with State law and causes problems in administering City elections. Many sections of this chapter are preempted by State law.
The Charter Commission met in February of this year and received information with regard to what must be amended to comply with State law, and what else could be amended to make administering elections, especially special elections, more straight forward and timely.
A lengthy discussion ensued and a consensus of the Commission was reached. The City Attorney was asked to revise Chapter 4 of the City's Charter to remove the language conflicting with State law, remove duplicative language; remove the need for primaries, with one option to remove primaries all together and another option to remove primaries for special elections, clean up the language regarding advisory elections, with an option to remove advisory elections all together and another option to state that advisory elections can only occur with general elections. Regarding Section 4.5.4, an option should be brought back to remove that section which would default to State law, and another option cleaning up the language and allowing appointment for terms of only less than 365 days.
Notification:
The meeting notice was posted on the City's Public notices Board as well as on the City's website.
Observations/Alternatives:
The existing Chapter 4 was modified by the City Attorney's office. Those modifications include some alternatives for amendments to Chapter 4. A redline and clean version of the Chapter are attached to this case. Attorney Langel will be present to lead discussion relating to the new language and the alternatives.
Funding Source:
N/A
Recommendation:
Staff recommends the Charter Commission review the proposed language changes and provide direction on the final language to be adopted.
Action:
Motion to recommend the amendments be forwarded to the City Council for discussion pursuant to Minnesota Statutes § 410.12, subd. 7.
Attachments
Form Review
| Inbox | Reviewed By | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Kurt Ulrich | Kurt Ulrich | 10/10/2019 02:56 PM |
- Form Started By:
- Jo Thieling
- Started On:
- 09/26/2019 05:29 PM
- Final Approval Date:
- 10/10/2019