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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012May10CharterCommMinutesMINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING OF CHARTER COMMISSION THURSDAY, i 2012 7:00 CONFERENCE CITY HALL ROOM I Call to Order The meeting was called to order by President Steve Smith at 7:05 p.m. Roll Call Members present: Matt Abel, Lee Bak, Roger Johnson, Nancy King, Carolyn Laine, Michael Patiuk, Greg Sloat, Steve Smith, Charles Tyler, and Tim Utz Members absent and excused: Jeff Diehm Members absent and unexcused: Nick Jentsch, Katherine Pepple, Nick Rivers, Rachel Schwankl Also present: Patty Muscovitz, City Clerk The City Attorney and the Council Liaison were not in attendance. Approval of Charter Commission Minutes of April 19, 2012 Tim Utz asked that his yes vote be recorded on page two of the minutes as below in bold: Motion was made by Commissioner Abel, seconded by Commissioner Johnson to approve the first reading of the proposed ordinance regarding Chapter 4, as stated above, and to hold a second reading at a special meeting in May. Motion passed, 8 yes, 2 no; Commissioner Sloat requested his no vote be recorded. Commissioner Utz requested his yes vote be recorded. Correspondence The Recording Secretary reported that the only significant correspondence since last meeting was communications between Rachel Schwankl and her regarding the end of her appointment and when recognition would be given at a city council meeting. This will be discussed further in the meeting. Old Business - None New Business Second Reading of Proposed Ordinance Amending Chapter 4, Nominations and Elections, of the City Charter The Charter Commission held its first reading on this proposed amendment on April 19, 2012. The proposed ordinance calls for the addition of the following language as a new Section 33: Section 33. WRITE -IN CANDIDATES. A write -in candidate who wants their write -in votes to be counted in the general election must file a written request with the City Clerk no later than seven (7) days before the general election. All write -in votes cast for candidates who have not filed a written request to have these votes counted shall be treated collectively as votes for a single candidate. Motion by Matt Abel, seconded by Charles Tyler, to approve the second reading of the proposed amendment as stated above. Discussion followed. Tim Utz asked for clarification on if this is a home rule charter amendment or an amendment to the charter. The City Clerk explained that this amendment must be passed by a majority of the Charter Commission members and then it is forwarded to the City Council in ordinance form. The City council must approve it unanimously on the first and second readings, and then it takes effect in ninety days. If the City Council does not approve the amendment, the Charter Commission has the option to put the item on the ballot. The City Clerk said that if the council does not unanimously approve this amendment, she would not bring it back to the Charter Commission to have it placed on the ballot. The City Clerk stated that she had copies of the forms that the county, state, and federal uses that people are required to complete seven days before an election if they want their votes as a write -in candidate to count. She also discussed the 2012 League of Minnesota cities policy highlights on this issue. Lee Bak stated that he had a conversation with the City Clerk from the City of Blaine regarding this amendment. (Note: Our amendment came from their amendment.) Lee stated that Blaine got their wording from the City of St. Paul. Lee stated that he was told by the City Clerk of Blaine that if the number of write in votes (for one person) exceeds the top votes received by a candidate, the write -in votes must be for someone who is registered or they do not count. If it is a registered write -in candidate, then their votes would be counted regardless because of the fact they are registered with the city at least 7 days prior to the election. The same question was asked by one of our councilmembers and was told the same thing: "even if someone gets more write -ins than a regular candidate, their votes won't count unless they are registered." All other write -ins are considered one vote and since none of them a registered, they don't count anyway. Matt Abel stated that when this amendment was discussed last month, he questioned whether or not this proposed wording could be misinterpreted. The City Clerk stated that our city attorney's opinion is that if there was a majority of votes as write -in candidates, even if they had not registered, individual votes would have to be counted individually, and if an individual write -in candidate who had not registered had more votes than a declared candidate on the ballot, that write -in candidate could and would win the election. Greg Sloat stated that considering the time that might be spent on counting write -in votes (possibly a half hour after polls close), it really isn't that much additional time for the judges. The City Clerk stated that a half hour or so plus the 15 hours they have already put in. Mr. Sloat stated that people know this when they sign up to be an election judge. He also questioned why we are trying to get this passed so soon. The City Clerk stated that it was started so there was time for the commission's two readings, plus two readings from the City Council, and then it would take effect in 90 days from the second reading of the council —in time for the general election for 2012. Motion was made to call the question. Motion passed unanimously to call the question. Motion to approve the second reading of the proposed amendment as written above passed 8 yes, 2 no. Commissioners Utz and Sloat asked that their no votes be recorded as such for this motion. Revision to Rules of Procedure —Items #14 & 19 President Smith stated that in our Rules of Procedure, #14 and 419 are duplicative regarding the statements about quorum. We should either delete #14 and replace it with the wording from #19; or #19 could become # 14; or we could leave # 14 and omit the first sentence of # 19. Motion was made by Charles Tyler, seconded by Carolyn Laine, to omit the first sentence of #19 only. Motion passed unanimously. Status of Membership As stated earlier, Rachel Schwankl has advised the Recording Secretary that she will not be asking to be reappointed to another four year term. Rachel's recognition as an outgoing commissioner will be held at the June 11 Council meeting, at the beginning of the meeting. Everyone is welcome to attend; especially the President. The Recording Secretary stated that she will put on the cable and city website that we have an opening. She was asked where most members find out about the vacancies. She stated she does not know for sure, but some members offered that they saw openings advertised in the city newsletter and /or local newspaper. Other New Business - None Adjournment Motion was made and seconded to adjourn at 7:36 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Carole J. Blowers, Recording Secretary