HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 19, 2007, Charter Comm MinutesOFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE CHARTER COMMISSION THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2007 7:00 P.M. GAUVITTE ROOM MURZYN HALL Call to Order The meeting was called to order by President Mike Hartel at 7:15 p.m. Roll Call Members present: Bob Buboltz, Barb Gertsema, Mike Hartel, Jim Johnson, Katy Korday, Scott Kyseth, Mike Patiuk, Lori Ritzko, Joe Sturdevant, Joseph Sturdevant, Dan Vogtman Members absent and excused: Nancy King Members absent and unexcused: Carolyn Laine Council Liaison for 2007, Tami-Ericson Diehm, was present. Carole Blowers, Recording Secretary was present. Jim Hoeft, City Attorney, was present. Approval of Minutes of January 18, 2007: The Recording Secretary stated she inadvertently omitted Dan Vogtman's name in the minutes for an excused absence on January 18, 2007. Motion by Commissioner Buboltz, seconded by Commissioner Johnson, to approve the minutes with this correction for the January 18, 2007, meeting. Motion passed unanimously. A lengthy discussion ensued about certain issues regarding the ballot question voted on in November of 2006, pertaining to wards such as what was done and what things would be confronted if this issue is raised again. More details of this conversation can be found under "Old Business". Correspondence The Recording Secretary advised that since the January meeting, the 2006 Charter Commission's Annual Report as approved at the January, 2007, meeting was forwarded to the City Clerk and the Chief Judge. She also contacted the City Attorney regarding the request of the commission for a review of the charter, section by section, and asked him for information to be prepared for the commissioners for this meeting. Status of Membership The Charter Commission still has two vacancies. The Recording Secretary was not aware of any applications pending at this time. Charter Commission April 19, 2007 Page 1 Slips were passed out to members who were absent in January to verify their current phone and e-mail addresses for the Recording Secretary. Old Business Annual Board/Commission Dinner The annual board/commission recognition dinner was held on Thursday, March 29, 2007, at Murzyn Hall. President Hartel, on behalf of the entire commission, thanked the city council for a very nice event and dinner. Further Discussion on Ballot Question from November, 2006, General Election Further discussion on the Charter Commission ballot question onwards from November, 2006, was brought forward. Commissioner Korday questioned why the cablecasting of our public hearing was pulled. The City Attorney stated the city has no legal obligation to run it. President Hartel stated that there were a couple of inaccuracies in the information presented at that public hearing, and he was asked to make corrections to the information before it was run. He stated that after the corrections were made, he was unaware that it was pulled. Commissioner Patiuk stated that whether the public hearing contained right or wrong information, it should have been run. Obviously at city council public hearings, there is information stated that is not always correct, but it is still run. Commissioner Patiuk stated he had a problem with the City Manager making a last minute change to our flyer that went out in the newspaper to the residents without approval from the sub- committee. Commissioner Korday stated that she just wanted to make it clear to the entire commission what obstacles will be faced if this issue is raised again, and wanted to know if the City Attorney would be available for questions if they arose again. She stated she never actually spoke with the City Attorney about questions she had during this past amendment process, but perhaps he left her a message. She also stated that much work was done by the sub-committee members, and the vote was quite favorable, even though it did not pass by the voters. (Note: The official votes against the ballot question in the November, 2006, general election were 3, 892; the official votes for the ballot question in the November, 2006, general election were 2,621; and there were 812 blank votes.) Commissioner Korday talked about the limited amount of money the commission had to work with this issue and wondered if anything was going to be done about increasing that amount. President Hartel stated that State Representative Carolyn Laine is working on that issue. He also stated that the ballot question and request for additional funds to educate the public was under a lot of scrutiny. He stated the council did not agree with the change, and we were informed of this right from the start. If this issue is raised again and the group worked in a timely and organized fashion, the information could get out in the utility bills. City Council Liaison Tami Ericson- Diehm stated that Charter Commission members could have come to city council meetings and voiced their opinions on this subject as a "resident'. Commissioner Johnson expressed interest in bringing this issue to the voters again in the 2008 election. President Hartel stated the citizens voted it down, and we should leave it alone for a while. Commissioner Johnson stated that we now know what the pitfalls would be, and we should have more monies available. The City Attorney stated that the city council has no obligation to assist us in changing the charter in any way. If they agree with a proposed change to the charter, they would be more receptive with notification of information to the citizens. He stated that Commissioner Patiuk and he had many conversations and e-mails Charter Commission April 19, 2007 Page 2 over the ballot question. Commissioner Patiuk confirmed that. Commissioner Korday stated that the sub-committee worked hard to get the information out to the citizens, keeping in mind it had to be neutral and approved by the City Attorney. She stated if we are going to work on this issue again in the future, we should have a plan on how we are going to present this information to the public. The Charter Commission sub-committee had to remain neutral in the information distributed. Commissioner Patiuk stated the City Manager had changed some wording at the last moment in the "cons" area of the information the subcommittee put together to go out to the public, which the City Attorney approved. The City Attorney stated if the council is not receptive to any change the Charter Commission proposes, we can take it to the voters. Members can use their own personal monies by forming a citizen group to advocate for or against a proposed ballot question, acting as a citizen. Letters to the editor cannot indicate that you are a member of the Charter Commission, but can present personal views as a citizen. President Hartel stated the commission had to remain neutral on the subject on anything that went out on the subject. The City Attorney stated the city council had to remain neutral on the language for the ballot question. New Business Review of the City Charter by the City Attorney At the last Charter Commission meeting, President Hartel asked the commission members to start looking over the Charter as a whole. He personally has been approached about changing the Mayor's term from two years to four years. Other commissioners previously brought up the city councilmembers' pension and benefits. A previous chart indicating what sections of the City Charter are overridden by state statutes were provided to members present this evening. The City Attorney started discussion on the City Charter by giving a brief overview of the purpose of the charter and the difference between a statutory city and a charter city. Also, he explained that a Plan A charter city has a City Administrator, and a Plan B charter city has a City Manager. Then he began by reviewing each section of Chapter 1 and Chapter 2: • In particular, in Chapter 2, Section 7, under statutory cities, the council consists of one mayor and four to six councilpersons. Councilmen should be changed to councilperson. Under our charter, the council consists of one mayor and four councilpersons. • In Chapter 2, Section 9, there are more specifics in our charter as to how a council vacancy is filled. • In Chapter 2, Section 10, this section regarding PERA for Police and Fire should be reviewed and possibly modified. • In Chapter 2, Section 11, the City Manager is appointed by the Council at will. (It should also be noted here that with our city charter, the City Manager does not manage the Police Department.) • In Chapter 2, Section 13, the amounts mentioned are outdated. The City Attorney stated it should be changed so that the amounts are set by ordinance. It was noted that changes to salary for the council are not effective until after the next municipal election. • In Chapter 2, Section 15, the City Manager's bond is for $5,000. Discussion on each chapter and section will continue at the next Charter Commission meeting. Charter Commission April 19, 2007 Page 3 Next Meeting Date The next regular Charter Commission meeting date is July 19, 2007, at 7 p.m. at Murzyn Hall. Continuation of review of the entire charter will be an agenda item. Adjournment Motion by Commissioner Sturdevant, seconded by Commissioner Sturdevant, to adjourn the meeting at 8:18 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Carole J. Blowers, Recording Secretary Charter Commission April 19, 2007 Page 4