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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOct 19, 2006, Charter Comm MinutesOFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE CHARTER COMMISSION THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2006 7:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY HALL Call to Order The meeting was called to order by President Mike Hartel at 7:05 p.m. Roll Call Members present: Bob Buboltz, Nicole Druckrey, Barb Gertsema, Mike Hartel, Jim Johnson, Nancy King, Katy Korday, Carolyn Laine (7:21 p.m.), Mike Patiuk, Lori Ritzko, Joe Sturdevant, Joseph Sturdevant, Dan Vogtman Members absent and unexcused: None Members absent and excused: Scott Kyseth The Charter Commission has fourteen members and one vacancy at this time. Council Liaison, Tami-Ericson Diehm, and City Attorney, Jim Hoeft, were not present. Also present: Carole Blowers, Recording Secretary Approval of Minutes of July 20, 2006: Motion by Commissioner Sturdevant, seconded by Commissioner Johnson, to approve the minutes of July 20, 2006. Motion passed unanimously. Old Business Discussion on Districts/Wards Before the presentation and discussion of the ballot question on wards and the addition of two councilmembers, President Mike Hartel thanked the members of the sub-committee for all their hard work on this issue. Those members are: Katy Korday (Chair), Mike Patiuk, Nicole Druckrey, Bob Buboltz, Jim Johnson, and Joe Sturdevant. President Hartel also thanked Carole Blowers, Recording Secretary for the commission, for all her hard work during the past several weeks regarding this issue as well. Commissioner Katy Korday, Chair of the Sub-Committee, reviewed information on the proposed amendment to the City Charter regarding the addition of two council members and creating four wards in the city. Commissioner Korday reiterated that we are a charter city, which means we are governed by a city chartersimilar to a constitution. The role of the Charter Commission is to keep the city charter up to date and to suggest changes to it. The reason this item is on the November 7t'` ballot is because the City Council was presented with an ordinance to create four wards and add two additional council members in June of 2006. Since they did not reach a unanimous decision to approve this ordinance, the Charter Commission voted to present the issue on the November ballot and let the voters decide. Commissioner Korday went on to discuss the current structure of our city council. Currently, the mayor serves atwo-year term at-large. Four council members serve afour-year term at large. The council Charter Commission October 19, 2006 Page 1 members' terms are staggered, so every two years there are two council seats up for election, in addition to the Mayor's seat. Throughout 2005, the Charter Commission studied the issue of whether changes to the current structure might encourage greater participation and interest by citizens in councilmember elections. This commission conducted an in-depth study, comparing cities of like size using information from the League of Minnesota Cities.. After this commission discussed this issue throughout 2005, in early 2006, this commission proposed the creation of a four ward system and adding two additional at-large council members. This commission discussed several options of how to create four wards in our city. One possible option was to use Central Avenue and 44t'` Avenue as the dividing lines to create four wards. If the ballot question passed in November, the actual borders of the wards would be decided upon by the City Council. The two council member seats to be added would be "at large". The terms of council members would remain at four years. The Mayor's term would remain at two years. Commissioner Korday then went on to discuss how this plan would be implemented if the ballot question passed in November. In November of 2008, each of the four wards would elect a council member in addition to the Mayor. At that time, two council members elected "at large" in November of 2006 would continue their 4 year terms unti12010. In 2010, the two at-large council seats and the Mayor will stand for election. Later elections will be staggered between the four ward seats and the two at-large seats, in addition to the Mayor. The ballot question language was then read: "Shall the home rule charter of the City of Columbia Heights be amended to establish a four ward, two at-large council member system of representation by creating two additional council member positions, with the transition schedule of one council member elected from each ward in 2008 and two council members elected at-large in 2010?" Several reasons to vote "yes" were then reviewed: • Council members from individual wards maybe in a position to have closer contact with their constituents and maybe more responsive to their needs. • Each ward of Columbia Heights would have an elected representative on the City Council, with the possibility of participation by a greater and diverse cross section of the population. • The following cities with populations like ours of 18,698 have wards: Hopkins (population 17,643), Ramsey (population 18,830), and West St. Paul (population 19,650). • Campaign costs for ward candidates maybe reduced, which may encourage more candidates to run for office. • Voters may have greater personal knowledge about the qualities of candidates from their wards, which may allow them to make a more informed choice at the polls. • Adding two additional "at large" council members, whose constituents are from the entire city, may counter possible ward divisiveness. • Each council member currently receives a salary of $7,800 per year, in addition to pension, health, and life insurance, and other benefits. Increasing representation on the city council by adding two "at large" council members may outweigh the increased cot of city governments. Several reasons to vote "no" were then reviewed: • Ward council members maybe encouraged to support their particular ward as opposed to the city as a whole, and this could foster divisive competition between wards for limited financial resources. • Politically active or special interest groups maybe overrepresented by targeting certain wards. • Columbia Heights has a small geographic area (3.4 square miles) compared to cities of similar Charter Commission October 19, 2006 Page 2 population that have wards, and therefore establishing wards in Columbia Heights may not be necessary or practicable. • Under the current system, all four council members represent all residents in the city. Under the ward system, citizens in one ward would have no vote for three representatives serving on their city council. • Some wards may find difficulty fielding qualified and interested candidates, and voters may find they would rather support a candidate in another ward. • Each council member currently receives a salary of $7,800 per year, in addition to pension, health, and life insurance, and other benefits. Adding two "at large" council members increases the costs of city government. Commissioner Korday encouraged the public to get out and vote on November 7t'`. Polls ar eopen from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. She also advised that you can go to: http://pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us to locate your precinct. After the presentation of the issue, several Charter Commission members spoke about various aspects of it. Commissioner Korday discussed the cost of adding the additional council members. She stated that our council members are paid $7,800 a year, plus they have the opportunity for other benefits amounting to $620/month. President Hartel stated that there was an article in the Sun Focus Newspaper last week about the cost of extra representation which reiterated which Commissioner Korday just stated. Fridley was the only city locally that offers fringe benefits to their councilmembers, and they have the ward system, stated Commissioner Sturdevant. Commissioner Vogtman questioned whether the $7,800 a year included the benefits, to which he learned, it did not. Commissioner Patiuk stated that the two at-large council members would look after the city's interest as a whole, as well as all the council members, no matter what district they were representing. Commissioner King stated that the Mayor and council members represent the whole city. President Hartel stated the wards would be decided by the City Council. After the next census, the City Council would be bond to look at the ward boundaries again. Commissioner Johnson stated that our population is becoming more diverse. He cited some voting information from the 2004 election and where most of the voters turned out (what side of Central Avenue). He went to state that with additional councilmembers, everyone will be represented, and more people would be apt to vote-vote for someone they want. Commissioner Laine stated the city has different levels of economy. We have the new Huset Park development and we need to spur some new people to vote. She also stated that the President changed his mind about adding two new council members because of the value of the salary and benefits. This is the cost of additional representation. President Hartel reiterated that he was in favor of this change throughout the process. The commission decided to go ahead and put this on the ballot. The City Council voted it down. He decided two additional councilmembers would not be necessary. He still remains in favor of the ward system, but not to add two additional council members. Commissioner Buboltz stated that not all council members take the benefits. President Hartel asked if there were any questions from the floor. There were none. He stated that there will be an insert in the Northeaster Newspaper and each household will be getting the information next week. He reminded everyone to get out and vote on November 7t'`. The City Council did not want to make this decision. It is important enough that they wanted it to go before the citizens in November! Charter Commission October 19, 2006 Page 3 Commissioner Laine stated that not voting on the ballot question at all means a NO vote. She also stated that times are changing. Columbia Heights is an attractive and vital place Commissioner Vogtman wondered why the City Council did not approve the four ward system and adding two additional council members. President Hartel stated that the city council did not agree on this issue. It is a big change for the city, and it was too important an issue for them to decide. Commissioner Korday stated that Ramsey, North St. Paul, Hastings, So. St. Paul, Champlin, and Crystal all have ward systems and they are of comparable size to Columbia Heights. Commissioner Sturdevant stated that the current council all lives east of Central Avenue; two members live one house apart from each other. Having wards forces people to run from "their area", not just from one sector. Having the two at-large council members increases wide participation. Commissioner Johnson agreed that forces representation from all areas. Commissioner King stated that the current council members and current system have done a wonderful job. Again, President Hartel stated that there will be an insert in the Northeaster Newspaper next week. He thanked Commissioner Sturdevant for taking them down to the newspaper office. Motion by Commissioner Vogtman, seconded by Commissioner Sturdevant to end discussion on the ballot question. Motion passed unanimously. New Business President Hartel stated that if members had any new business, it should be brought up at the January, 2007, meeting. Next Meeting Date The next regular meeting of the Charter Commission will be Thursday, January 18, 2007, at 7 p.m. in the Gauvitte Room at Murzyn Hall. Adjournment Motion by Commissioner Buboltz, seconded by Commissioner Sturdevant, to adjourn the meeting at 7:40 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Carole J. Blowers, Recording Secretary Charter Commission October 19, 2006 Page 4