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CHM 02/21/1974 • CHARTER COMMISSION Summary of Discussion with Virgil Herrick There was no formal meeting on February _21, 1974 because of a lack of quorum. The following is a summary of the discussion held with the City Attorney. Ole Bjerkesett asked Mr. Herrick how he felt about the City setting up their own legal department and library? Mr. Herrick said that they could have one attorney paying. a minimum salary of $25,000 a year with little or no experience. A library would have to have the space of approximately 1,000 feet. They would need 5,000 to 10,000 dollars to begin with. Jackie Johnson said that Bloomington has four attorneys and two legal secretaries and their City Attorney is appointed by the City Manager. Ole Bjerkesett asked if it would be better if the City Manager made a request for a City Attorney. Mr. Herrick said he did not know. Mr. Ash asked approximately how much time was required for litigation? Mr. Herrick said anywhere from 30 to 100 hours a month, depending on the amount of work. Normally, it is around 40 hours a month. He said that 60 percent of the gross income goes for expenses. Mr. McPherson asked if there was ever occasion to consult a consultant? Mr. Herrick said he hadn' t since he was the City Attorney. Mr. Bjerkesett asked if the Council would anticipate the consultant fees? Mr. Herrick said they probably would want to do that. Mr. McPherson asked how much time is spent on expertees? Mr. Herrick said that was a difficult question to answer. Jackie Johnson asked_ if it was difficult to keep up with the changes in the law? Mr. Herrick felt that was the need for specialized attorneys so they can be competent within One or two areas. The cost of hiring a lawyer would be high, but they could possibly get a University law graduate for $15,000 with no experience. If they wanted to hire a person with 5 years experience, he could start at $25,000. The following are comments made by Virgil Herrick after checking through the Fridley Charter. SECTION 2.01 COUNCIL-MANAGER PLAN No suggestion to improve it, but could be explained in more detail. Term of Mayor and Councilmen, Pg. 7 "The term of Mayor and of each councilman would begin on the first Monday after the first Tuesday in the month of January." They have not been following this procedure in the past. Does not know if it should be changed, would like to bring it to the Charter's attention. Page 2 SECTION 2.04 DISQUALIFICATION FOR APPOINTIVE OFFICE "And until one year after the expiration of his term as Mayor or Councilman, no former member shall be appointed to any paid office or employment under the City." The language of the Charter could be changed. "or conviction of a_ felony." Mr. Herrick said that if a person convicted of a felony had paid his pardon, then he felt he was entitled to be elected. SECTION 2.06 & 2.06A Both sections are not very current and could possibly be taken out. SECTION 2.07 THE MAYOR "In time of public danger or emergency he may, with the council's consent, take command of the police, maintain order aad enforce the law'." Would give carfeul consideration before declaring an emergency. SECTION 3.01 COUNCIL MEETINGS "On the first Monday after the first Tuesday in January following a regular municipal election, the Council shall meet at the City Hall at the usual time for the holding of Council meetings ." Present practice has not been following that. Language of the Charter could be changed. SECTION 4.03 PRIMARY ELECTIONS "The Council, may, whenever three or more candidates have filed for any citywide office, or for councilman of any ward, or wards, provide through • ordinance or resolution for primary election to be held, citywide or in any particular ward, or wards, and such primary election shall be held on a date not less than (14) days prior to the general election." Mr. Bjerkesett stated that they are planning to make a motion changing the wording. Mrs. Collins said many of the Charters have eliminated that section entirely. SECTION 4.04 SPECIAL ELECTIONS There should be a definition of what "special elections" are. SECTION 4.06 NOMINATIONS BY PETITION Requirement of 10 electors is not really necessary. Some require more. Mr. McPherson said that some only require 5 electors. • Page 3 CHAPTER 5 Mr. Herrick said that Chapter 5 might be an area where the Charter would like to appoint a subcommittee. SECTION 6.01 THE CITY MANAGER "He shall be a citizen of the United States." It was Mr. Herrick's belief that if a well qualified individual outside the U.S. could hold public office, then they should be entitled to do so. But he must also be sworn in to uphold the laws of the United States. The City had a contract with the previous City Manager and has e contract with: the present City Manager. SECTION 6.05 PURCHASES AND CONTRACTS SECTION 6.06 CONTRACTS, HOW LET • • Should be• updated or taken out entirely. SECTION 7.02 POWER OF TAXATION _Definition should be made of what "special taxes" consists of. Mr. Herrick suggested consulting Marvin Brunsell in answering some of the questions. SECTION 12.07 VACATION OF STREETS . In addition to this, utility easements could be added. These are some of the-suggestions Mr. Herrick had in checking through the Charter. He said the Charter members could gather their questions they had and send them to him, and he would try to get more information. Some of the questions were difficult to answer without some research. • They discussed Section 5.02, Expenditures by Petitioners. The change in Section 4.03, Primary Elections would be moved upon at the next meeting. Attached is the information that Jackie Johnson received when talking with the various legal departments in other Cities. sm • TO: The Charter Commission FROM: Jacqueline Johnson DATE: February 19, 1974 SUBJECT: Section 6.04 Subordinate Officers of the City I had limited time to compile this information; however, based on the Communities I was able to contact, the conclusions are as follows: Bloomington, Coon Rapids, and Minnetonka have separate legal departments. Minnetonka and Coon Rapids promised me additional information. The City Clerk at Minnetonka was supposed to call me and the secretary in the City Managers office was going to send me addditional information. Mr. Shuck, the Finance Director from Bloomington not only sent detailed financial information but also a copy of their City Charter with an offer to assist us in anyway possible . St. Louis Park had a legal department and found it more economical to hire the use of an outside firm. Anoka and Fridley's City Attorney is appointed directly by the City Council. White Bear Lake, Robbinsdale, St. Louis Park, and Richfield's City Attorney is first recommended by the City .Manager with the final appointment made by the City Council. The Village Manager of Maplewood appoints their City Attorney with their Council's approval. Both Coon Rapids and Bloomington's City Attorney is appointed by the City Manager with the Council's final approval. I found out today that Blaine's City Attorney is appointed by the City Manager. The City Manager may get the approval from the City Council, but it is not required. The comment from Blaine was that it was most important for the City Manager to have a good working relationship with the City Attorney for they have daily contacts. • • • February 19, 1974 • TO: The Charter Commission FROM: Jacqueline Johnson, Member of the Fridley Charter Commission SUBJECT: Section 6.04 Subordinate Officers of the City • In response to the various letters received by the Charter Commission to the method of the selection of the legal officer of our city I called various communities in the metropolitan area to find out what they were doing and their general comments. The first part of this report will be the portions of the letters received that apply to this subject and the second part will be my findings. The .League of Women Voters of Fridley's letter of May.31, 1973: "The focus of our League inquiry concerning the City Charter to date has been on the legal officer of the city. The model charter in section 4.03 states that the "legal officer of the city be appointed by the city manager." Fridley's charter states that the council shall appoint the legal officer. In our study we found that often city managers appoint the city attorney with approval of the council. Whether selected by the manager or by the manager with council approval, the office of city attorney is less political. The change in power structure of the City Council can result in the ever revolving change of attorney. This turn-over is costly and can be detrimental to the political process.'. William Nee, Councilman, City of Fridley in his letter of July 30, 1973 supports the League's findings and makes the following statement: "While I myself do not advocate any .revisions in the Charter at this time, I am prepared to support those items offered in the League's letter." James P. Hill, Acting City Manager's letter of July 17, 1973 to Gerald Davis, City Manager suggests: "In addition to the Charter Commission's recommendations, I would add, • The City Attorney and City Prosecutor shall be appointed by the City Manager. This will be a change from the current Charter which states that the City Attorney shall be appointed by the Council. As it • currently stands, the City Charter appears to be in conflict with the concept of Council-Manager governments. Tim Dreider, Councilman, City of Fridley in his letter of August 2, 1973 makes the following recommendation: 'Referring to the part stating that the City Attorney shall be appointed by the Council, it would be my feeling that the City Attorney should be appointed by the City- Manager. The basis for this opinion is that I believe the City Manager has to have complete control of the administration in order to perform his function and carry out the policies the Council dictates to him. The City Attorney's position is one that is part of the administrative procedure of the City , and also it is one in which the • City Manager, I feel, is in the best position to judge the activities of the City Attorney and grade his performance. Also, it is very difficult for the City Council to evaluate ones performance' based upon their day to day relationship. I feel there are many different cases within the City that take different expertise in the legal field, and the City Manager -2- February 19, 1974 ' TO: The Charter Commission FROM: Jacqueline Johnson SUBJECT: Section 6.04 Subordinate Officers of the City may want to, as part of the administrative procedure, contract a particular firm which is more expertise in a certain field. For example, if one needs an expert in zoning law, he may have to go to a different attorney' s firm, or if he needs an attorney that is versed in prosecutions, or whatever the case may be, if it is • under the City Manager he has a little more latitude• as far as implementing a lot of the policies that the Council hands down.' The next part of this report will be the findings from the telephone survey. Richfield - 869-7521 Population Approximately 47,500 I•s. .Anderson, secretary to the city manager said the attorney is appointed by the Council. He is considered a city employee, on the city payroll with . a small salary plus use-fee. He writes all their city contracts, ordinances etc. They have had the same city attorney for twenty years and have been satisfied with their arrangement. The attorney is a resident of Richfield with his law offices downtown Minneapolis. The legal budget for this year is .348,000 that includes salary, travel, subscriptions etc. The $48,000 is an approximate figure. Richfield's city attorney is Clayton Lefever. Maplewood - 777-8131 Population Approx. 25,222 Mr. Michael Miller, Village Manager said .their city attorney is appointed . by the Village Manager with council approval. The city contracts him on a per hour basis, part time. Their attorney is Don Lais who has been with Maplewood for four years. Their approx. budget is $30,000. Coon Rapids - 755-2880 Population Approx. 30,000 The secretary to Mr. Cottingham, City Manager said Coon Rapids has had a legal department since 1969. They hired. Ron Erickson. The department has four employees; city attorney, assistant attorney, law clerk and secretary. The City Manager still appoints the attorney. He does it with the Council's approval. The secretary didn't have any financial figures or cost for me but she promised to send me additional information that I have not received as yet. City of Anoka - 421-6630 Population Approx. 14,474 The city attorney is appointed by the City Council on a part time basis with a salary of approx. $13, 165 per year. The salary is determined by the city manager. They have had the same city attorney for about ten years. Comments: °`there were times he wished they had a separate legal department for they don't always have the service at the time they need it resulting in delays. City of Blaine - 734-6700 Population Approx. 26,000 The acting city m-in,.ger wasn't sure whether .',he attorney was appointed • by the Council with the managers approval. He was going to call me back when he found out for sure. He said the attorney was on a retainer fee and their approx. budget was 036,000 which included everything even • -3- February 19, 1974 TO: The Charter Commission • FROM: Jacqueline Johnson SUBJECT: Section 6.04 Subordinate Officers of the City court costs. 'hite Bear Lake - 429-5367 Population Approx. 24,261 Idr. Bernard, City Manager said their City Attorney was appointed by the • City Council. The City Manager made the recommendations to the Council. . He said their city attorney was on a $700 per month retainer and the prosecuting attorney on a $575 per month retainer with another $5000 for public defender. Their approx. total legal expense would be $20,300. Their city attorney is hired on a part time basis. Robbinsdale - 537-4534 Population Approx. 17,000 Robbinsdale's City Attorney is recommended by the City Manager with the final approval of the City Council. Their legal expense budget for the year is approximately • 19,000. St. Louis Park - 920-3000 Population Approx. 51,000 Er. Cherches, City Manager said the city manager recommends the city attorney with the final appointment being made by the City Council. Formerly they had a legal department; however, they found with the ever • • changing laws and the expertise needed for current municipal problems, they could save money by hiring an outside firm to take care of their legal affairs. Five years ago they appointed Wayne Popham- as their city attorney. Er. Popham is a partner of the firm Popham, I :ik,- Schnobrich, Kaufman & Doty, Ltd. The city then has access to about 35 lawyers by using a large firm and they represent the Transit Commission plus other communities. If the city manager needs advice, he gets his information within a short tine. There are five attorneys familiar with St. Louis Park problems. The city manager said that they save money from the expertise alone by hiring a specialist, not a generalist. Also before when they had their legal department the public was always coring in for advice from the City- Attorney. The upkeep of the law library with all the charging laws was a fantastic expense to keep up with all she memberships, subscriptions plus the constant changes with labor laws etc. Er. Popham is on a retainer. He is paid $2400 per"month for attending all the council meetings, special meetings and other legal expenses; however if he has to go to court and St. Louis Park is sued, the city- pays him the Hennepin County Bar rate. St. Louis Park also has a consulting firm who just handle the prosecutions, the firm is on a $1000 per month retainer. The legal expense is approximately . 28,800 for the law fir;- plus $12,000 for the • consulting firm or a total of $40,800 plus expense of going to court if sued. He said he could not recall losing a case the last four years whereas before they lost many cases. hen they had their department they would have to call in extra help whenever they were busy. I.Sr. Cherches could see many advantages with their current arrangement over their past. Bloomington - 881-5811 Population Approx. 88,000 • Bloomington has a separate legal department with six employees. Four attorneys and two legal secretaries. The City Attorney is appointed by the City 14anager -4- February 19, 1974 TO: The Charter Commission F R0 : Jacqueline Johnson SUBJECT: Section 6.01 Subordinate Officers of the City with approval of the City Council. The various staff attorneys are employed as any other employee of the City, through the Personnel Department. Es'. Duane Shuck, Director of Finance kindly sent me their city charter along with their 1974 budgets for the various activities that make up their legal department. He also said that if I had any further questions to contact him again and he •would be happy to assist me in any way possible. FRIDLEY - 560-3450 Population Approx. 30,000 r idley's City Attorney is appointed by he Council. The Charter Commission legal expense to date figure in the amount of $27,698.06 is taken from a financial report dated December 31, 1972. It is only a approximate estimate at this time. • • • • • • • • • • 11F.. ,C:y ceT i ? i CITY OF BLOOMINGTON iLu]]fl1ftL __I,_ OLD SHAKOPEE ROAD AT PENN • BLOOMINGTON,MINN.55th February 14, 1974 Mrs. Jackie Johnson 1415 Trollhagen Drive Minneapolis, Minnesota 55421 Dear Mrs. Johnson: Enclosed is a copy of the Home Rule Charter for the City of Bloomington. Also enclosed are the 1974 line item budgets for the various activities that make up our legal department. The City Attorney is appointed by the City Manager with approval of the City Council. The various staff attorneys are employed as any other employee of the City, through the Personnel Dept. If you have further questions, please contact me again and I will be happy to assist in any way possible. Sincerely, CITY OF BLOOMINGTON Duane C. Shuck Director of Finance Enclosures DCS/lh • Y CHARTER COMMISSION CHAPTERS 1, 2, & 3 Jack Kirkham 430 67th Way 560-3681 Jerry Ratcliffe 7350 Memory Lane 786-2142 CHAPTERS 4 & 5 • Ole Bjerkesett 100 N. E 63 Way 560-3639 Edythe Collins 6854 Channel Road 784-9626 Clifford Ash 460 Rice Creek Blvd. 784-5564 CHAPTERS 6 & 7 Jackie Johnson 1415 Trollhaugen Drive Roy McPherson • 5808 Tennison Drive 788-2440 Harry Crowder 146 N. E. 63 Way 560-5821 CHAPTERS 8, 9, & 10 Robert O'Neill 861 Rice Creek Terrace 560-5587 Herb Bacon 159 Logan Parkway 784-7806 Elaine Knoff 6776 7th Street N. E. 560-1938 CHAPTERS 11 & 12 Peg McChesney 541 67th Avenue N. E. 560-1938 • • r-�