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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuly 15, 2004, Charter MinutesCOLUMBIA HEIGHTS CHARTER COMMISSION MINUTES JULY 15, 2004 7:00 P.M. MURZYN HALL CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by President Hartel at 7:08 p.m. ROLL CALL Members present: Nicole Druckrey, Barb Gertsema, Mike Hartel, James Johnson, Nancy King, Scott Kyseth, Michael Patiuk, Clare Schmidt, Joe Sturdevant, Joseph Sturdevant, Dan Vogtman Members absent and excused: None Members absent and unexcused: John Banyard, Bob Buboltz, Kathleen Korday Current membership totals fourteen. An official letter of resignation from Charles Christopherson has been received. Mr. Christopherson has moved from Columbia Heights. Please note: Commissioner Banyard has now missed four consecutive meetings (unexcused), and per state statutes will be contacted about his intentions to remain on the cormnission. Also present: Jim Hoeft, City Attorney; Carole Blowers, Recording Secretary Council Liaison Bobby Williams was present at the meeting. New commissioners Kyseth, Johnson, and Sturdevant briefly introduced themselves to the other commission members. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Commissioner Drucla'ey, seconded by Commissioner Patiuk, to approve the minutes as presented for April 15, 2004. Motion passed unanimously. CORRE~SPONDENCE The Recording Secretary advised commission members that since our last meeting in April, she forwarded applications for appointment to this commission from Jim Johnson and Scott Kyseth, who were appointed. Joe Sturdevant was also appointed. President Hartel has been reappointed to another four year tenn. Oaths for all new members were taken and sent to the Chief Judge. All new members received welcome letters and packets. All current members received agenda packets last week. Charles Christopherson has officially resigned from the commission, as he has moved from the city. He will be contacted about receiving recognition for his two terms (eight years) of service at a city council meeting. Page 1 July 15, 2004 OLD BUSINESS Discussion of Chapter 2, Section 15, Official Bonds Mr. Hoeft explained, for the benefit of the new members, that the commission was reviewing the entire charter for any updating that should be done, and it was decided that this section needed some revisions. Mr. Hoeft also explained the procedure on proposed changes to the city charter. There are two readings at the commission level, and two readings at the city council level. The city council has the option of passing the proposed revisions unanimously or returning them to the commission for possible modifications. The Charter Commission can make modifications to the amendments or place the item on the ballot for the voters to decide. Mr. Hoeft has contacted Bill Elrite, Finance Director, as to what kind of fidelity bonds the city carries at this time. Mr. Elrite informed him that the city purchases a blanket fidelity bond for all city employees including elected officials (through our local insurance cameo and has done so for several years now. The Finance Director and City Manager are also covered for embezzlement. He also explained that the St. Paul Companies was our local insurance carrier for years, but we currently use the League of Minnesota Cities which has saved the city substantial amounts of money. He also explained that in the 1980's, the city was self-insured. The City Attorney reviewed the January 7, 2004, memo from the Finance Director to the Charter Commission members regarding this issue. Both the City Attorney and Finance Director agree that the city council should set the amount of bond required and the kind of bond by resolution. Mr. Hoeft provided commission members with proposed new wording for this part of the city charter which would satisfy the requirement for a fidelity bond and also satisfy state statutes. Mr. Hoeft explained that the state statutes basically state we have to have fidelity bonds for certain employees. The proposed new wording for Chapter 2, Section 15 (prepared by the City Attorney) includes wording to cover all city employees and is as follows: Section 15. OFFICIAL BONDS. By resolution, the council shall establish bonding and insurance requirements for all city employees as security for the faithful performance of their respective duties and the safekeeping of the public ftmds. Commissioner Votgrnan asked how many council members would have to pass this proposed change. The City Attorney stated it would take a simple majority. Commissioner Kyseth asked about the wording "shall" and if it should be "must". The City Attorney stated the word "shall" is correct, because they are required to do so. After discussion a motion was made by Commissioner Vogtman, seconded by Commissioner Johnson to approve the first reading on the proposed change to Section ! 5 as stated above. Motion passed unanimously. Discussion of Chapter 7, Section 72, Bonded Debt and Debt Limit The City Attorney went on to discuss this section of the city charter. Questions regarding keeping and/or revising this section of the charter came up in reviewing the entire charter. The City Attorney explained that this is a rather long and detailed section of the city charter which covers this subject. Mr. Hoeft also explained what this section means---when the city council wants to go out for bonding. It is a complex matter as far as calculating the percentage of tax capacity, and the city can bond based on the value of taxable property that the city is receiving. He compared our current wording of the first paragraph of this section with state statutes, and some parts of our current wording came right out of the statutes. It was Page 2 July 15, 2004 noted that there was a change to this section of the charter in 1994, and he feels the wording we presently have is just fine. The City Attorney did not prepare any new proposed language for tonight on this section. Council Liaison Williams had to leave the meeting at 7:50 p.m. Motion by Commissioner Vogtman, seconded by Joe Sturdevant to end the discussion on this section tonight. Motion passed unanimously. NEW BUSINESS None. NEXT MEETING DATE The next Charter Commission meeting will be October 21, 2004, at Murzyn Hall at 7 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Schmidt, seconded by Commissioner Sturdevant to adjourn the meeting at 8:08 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Carole J. Blowers Recording Secretary Page 3 July 15, 2004