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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-16-2026 Charter Commission Packet ATTENDANCE INFORMATION FOR THE PUBLIC Members of the public who wish to attend may do so in-person. For questions, please call the Administration Department at 763-706-3610. Call to Order Roll Call/Status of Membership Approval of Agenda Approval of Minutes 2. January 15, 2026 Meeting Minutes Correspondence Old Business 3. Mayoral term of office, second hearing New Business 4. Motion to shorten timeline for council to appoint for a vacancy Adjournment Please email President Laine at carolynlaine@gmail.com if you cannot attend. Auxiliary aids or other accommodations for individuals with disabilities are available upon request when the request is made at least 72 hours in advance. Please contact Administration at 763-706-3610 to make arrangements. CHARTER COMMISSION Columbia Heights City Hall, 3989 Central Ave NE, Shared Vision Thursday, April 16, 2026 x 7:00 PM AGENDA Call to Order Roll Call/Status of Membership Members present: Matt Abel, Kathy Ahlers, Wolid Ahmed, Larry Betzold, Bill Hugo, Leo James, Veronica Johnson, Carolyn Laine, Julie Rose, Frost Simula, Gregory Sloat, Marsha Stroik, Sue Wiseman Members absent (excused): Ben Harris; (unexcused): Christine Brown Also present: City Attorney Travis Lutz, City Manager Aaron Chirpich, Council Liaison Justice Spriggs Approval of Agenda Motion to approve by Ahlers, second by Betzold Motion passes Approval of Minutes 1. October 16, 2025 Meeting Minutes Motion to approve by Wiseman, second by Sloat Motion passes Election of Officers 2. President, Vice-President, and Secretary President: Laine Nomination by Wiseman, second by Stroik Motion passes Vice President: Simula Self-nomination by Simula, second by Wiseman Motion passes Secretary: Wiseman Nomination by Laine, second by Ahlers Motion passes Correspondence (None) CHARTER COMMISSION Columbia Heights City Hall, 3989 Central Ave NE, Shared Vision Thursday, January 15, 2026 7:00 PM DRAFT MINUTES Old Business 3. Second Hearing on change to mayoral control over police Roll call vote: Ayes (11): Ahlers, Ahmed, Betzold, Hugo, Johnson, James, Laine, Rose, Simula, Stroik, Wiseman Nays (2): Abel, Sloat Second hearing passes. 4. Motion on mayoral term of office President Laine proposed returning the mayor’s term to four years in alignment with similar charter cities in Minnesota, and noted the advantages of such a change. A 2023 memorandum from outgoing City Manager Kelly Bourgeois also recommended changing the mayor’s term to four years for continuity, efficiency, and stability in working with city staff and the public at large. The proposal included the following changes: Section 7. ELECTIVE OFFICES. The four council members and the Mayor shall serve for a term of four years and until their successors are elected and qualified. The Mayor shall serve for a term of two years and until a successor is elected and qualified. Motion to approve by Laine, second by Rose Roll call vote: Ayes (8): Betzold, Hugo, Johnson, James, Laine, Rose, Simula, Wiseman Nays (3): Abel, Sloat, Stroik Abstain (2): Ahlers, Ahmed First hearing passes. New Business 5. Approval of Annual Report Motion to approve by Johnson, second by James Motion passes. 6. Short discussions: no action to be taken. ● Commission working procedures, including parliamentary procedure, length of meeting time, and frequency of meetings ● Action previously taken on shortening timeline for council to appoint ● Utilizing city technology and services to record the meeting, take minutes, and generate agendas Adjournment Motion to adjourn by Abel, second by Betzold Meeting adjourns at 7:36pm Motion to shorten the timeline for filling a vacancy on council Chapter 2, Section 9 Section 9. VACANCIES IN THE COUNCIL. A vacancy in the council shall be deemed to exist in case of the failure of any person elected thereto to qualify on or before the date of the second regular meeting of the new council, or by reason of the death, resignation, removal from office, cessation as a resident of the city, continuous absence from the city for more than three months, conviction of a felony of any such person whether before or after qualification, the failure of any council member without good cause to perform any of the duties of membership in the council for a period of three months or for any other cause as may be provided for in Minnesota Statutes, as amended. In each such case, at the next regular meeting following receipt of notice by the council of one of the foregoing conditions, the council shall by resolution declare such vacancy to exist unless further investigation is required. Notice of said vacancy shall be posted at city hall for a period of two (2) weeks from the date of the adoption of the resolution declaring said vacancy. Notice shall also be publishedposted in a designated city newspaperpublication for a period of two (2) weeks as soon as possible after the date of the adoption of said resolution, with the publication being completed no later than thirty (30) days from said date. Applications shall be sought and accepted from individuals interested in filling the vacancy, which applications shall be submitted to city hall, to the attention of the City Clerk, within 45 days from the date of said resolution. At its option, Tthe council shallmay interview each of the applicants within 30 days from the close of the application period, and shall conduct said interviews in an agreed upon uniform manner as a council. After said 30 day period, tThe council shall make its appointment from the pool of applicants within 15forty-five (45) days of the vacancy resolution, whether done so at a regular council meeting or a special meeting. If the council fails to make the appointment within the forty- five (45) days, or, if before the end of the forty_five (45) days, votes three times on the appointment and is unable to fill the vacancy, the mayor must, within fifteen (15) days, appoint a person from the remaining applicants under consideration to fill the vacancy. The individuals so appointed shall fill said vacancy until the next regular municipal election, when the office shall be filled for the unexpired term by an eligible person elected at large in the manner hereinafter set forth; provided, however, that if a vacancy is declared by resolution after March 31st in the year of a regular municipal election, then the appointment process as set forth herein shall not take effect and any such vacancy shall continue to exist until said election, at which time the vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term by an eligible person elected at large in the manner hereinafter provided. Rationale This shortens the process to appoint from 90-105 days down to 45 days, shortening the time that city business is conducted by only a 4-member council. It is rare to have a council vacancy, but when it happens, 1) At the next regular meeting, the Council officially declares a vacancy, 2) Notification of the vacancy is immediately posted at city hall and in the designated publication, 3) Same as now, applications are received at city hall, 4) The council may choose to do interviews in a manner they agree upon, 5) Within 45 days of when the vacancy was declared, the council will vote and decide on an appointee, 6) IF they can’t (if they are locked 2-2 for repeated votes), the mayor will have 15 days to appoint from the remaining applicants. Some wonder about the mayor appointing (from the applicants left under consideration) if the council is deadlocked. First of all, we would be negligent if we didn’t provide a way for an even number of people to break a deadlock. We must put something in to solve that possible problem. Secondly, there are 854 cities in MN. 747 of them do it by the mayor breaking a deadlock (because that is what statutory cities must do by law). 1/7th of the cities in MN are Charter cities (107), and each of them decide how to handle this problem, many of them using the mayor to break a deadlock. Mounds View, Bloomington, and Richfield are examples of charter cities that use the mayor to bread a tie. Approximately 95% of MN cities use the mayor to break a deadlock in appointing. This passed a first hearing in April 2022 unanimously. It passed the second hearing in July 2022 almost unanimously (1 vote shy). Side note: the mayor seat has different rules (Section 10 of charter). A vacancy there is always filled by a special election.