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CHA 03/18/2003 • TO: Charter Commission Members _ FROM: Deb Skogen, City Clerk and Staff Liaison ./ Date: March 5, 2003 CI1YOF Re: February Charter Commission Meeting FRIDLFY Tuesday, March 18, 2003 —7:00 p.m. Greetings, Please note that the meeting date for the March meeting was changed to Tuesday, February 18th. You will meet at 7:00 p.m. in meeting room 1 in the lower level. I'm looking for another staff person to help you that evening. In addition, please mark your calendars for a change in meeting date in April to the 29th. I will not be at the meeting this month, as I have a conference I will be attending. To confirm there will be a quorum on February 18th, please contact me no later than Monday, March 17th at (763) 572-3523 if you cannot attend the meeting so we may reschedule the meeting if necessary. Thank you for your cooperation. CITY OF FRIDLEY .-, CHARTER COMMISSION AGENDA TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2003 7:00 P.M. LOCATION: Fridley Municipal Center MEETING ROOM 1 (Lower Level) CALL TO ORDER: ROLL CALL: APPROVAL OF AGENDA: 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES February 18,2003 2. Administrative Matters '� A. Election of Officers B. Vacancy 3. Discussion of Charter Amendment—Chapter 7 4. Discussion of Mission Statement 5. Consideration of items for future discussion 6. Discussion of Glossary/Index 7. Adjournment Next regular meeting: Tuesday,April 29, 2003, at 7:00 p.m. in Meeting Room 1 in the Lower Level r-1 CITY OF FRIDLEY CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING February 18, 2003 CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Gordon called the Charter Commission meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. ROLL CALL Members Present: Anita Gerrety, Craig Gordon, Bill Holm, Janet Johnson, Nancy Jorgenson, Francis Van Dan, and Dale Warren Members Absent: Suzanne Alvite Warren, Don Findell, Char Fitzpatrick, Harry Heck, Deborah Monden, and Cindy Soule Others Present: Deb Skogen, City Clerk/Staff Liaison Tony Solgard, President, Fair Vote Minnesota APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Jorgenson MOVED and Commissioner D. Warren seconded a motion approving the February 18, 2003, Charter Commission agenda. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON GORDON DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE AGENDA WAS APPROVED. 1. Presentation of Instant Run-off Voting by Tony Solgard, Fair Vote Minnesota Chairperson Gordon introduced Tony Solgard, President of Fair Vote Minnesota. Mr. Solgard stated Fair Vote Minnesota was a non-profit organization working to educate voters about alternative voting methods. Mr. Solgard provided handouts, as shown in Attachments 1 and 2. Commissioner Jorgenson said if the city chose to adopt Instant Run-off Voting(IRV), they could only implement it at the city level for city elections. Ms. Skogen said there would be some expense to the city to purchase software or hardware upgrades for each AccuVote machine and that the city would have to pay additional dollars to Anoka County to program the machine and the ballot. Mr. Solgard said he had spoken with the Secretary of State's Director of Elections about the possibility of opening the state contract on election equipment to allow ranked voting. The Director said that he would be including the ability to vote by ranked ballot for the new contract. Commissioner Holm said there were people who would only vote for one person because they did not like the other candidates at all and wondered how that would work. Mr. Solgard said if a ballot was not ranked and if their vote was for a candidate who received the lowest vote totals, Charter Commission Meeting Minutes of February 18, 2003 Page 2 that candidate would be out and their vote would cease to be counted on the remaining candidates. Commissioner Van Dan talked about the history of the two party system in America and in Europe. Commissioner Van Dan felt there was no place for a third or fourth party system and that politicians did not understand how government worked. Chairperson Gordon asked if Fair Vote Minnesota was just run by volunteers. Mr. Solgard said it was a very small organization at this time that had a database of interested people they contact when they need help. He said if anyone was interested he would take their name and address to let them know in the future how they might help. Chairperson Gordon asked if there were any cities that were serious about this issue in Minnesota. Mr. Solgard said that the City of Duluth had been looking at the issue due to the interest in the Mayoral race but they are not ready to change. Commissioner D. Warren asked if IRV was a Minnesota or National movement and how long it had been an issue. Mr. Solgard stated Fair Vote Minnesota was not affiliated with a national organization at this time. He said that there was a pro-democracy movement around the world. He said European nations have used proportional representation for the past 100 years. He said some United States cities had also used a ranking or proportional system until the 1950's or 1960's when they were repealed. Mr. Solgard said the City of San Francisco, CA, had just implemented IRV for the city offices and that Cambridge, MA, continued to use proportional representation, which they had used for over 80 years. In addition, the State of Alaska held a statewide referendum on IRV, however the voters failed to ratify it. 2. Approval of Minutes Commissioner Gerrety MOVED and Commissioner Nielsen seconded a motion approving the January 21, 2003 Charter Commission minutes. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON GORDON DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MINUTES WERE APPROVED. 3. Administrative Matters A. Report of Nominating Committee Chairperson Gordon reviewed the report of the Nominating Committee: Chair: Don Findell Vice Chair: Nancy Jorgenson Secretary: Deborah Monden The Commissioners briefly discussed the procedure for the election at the annual meeting in March. Charter Commission Meeting Minutes of February 18, 2003 Page 3 Commissioner Holm MOVED and Commissioner D. Warren seconded a motion to accept the report of the Nominating Committee. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON GORDON DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE REPORT WAS ACCEPTED. B. Vacancy Chairperson Gordon requested Commissioners to forward names of people who might be interested in serving on the Charter Commission to Ms. Skogen so applications could be mailed for them to complete and return. Chairperson Gordon said Carol Hoiby was interested and he had asked her to submit a letter of interest. When letter is received, an application will be mailed. Ms. Skogen was asked to contact the Focus about placing information on the vacancy in the paper and to place the vacancy on the web and cable. Chairperson Gordon asked if the city would pay for mailing a letter about the vacancy to other city organizations letting them know about the vacancy. Ms. Skogen said yes. Commissioner Johnson asked about the survey and wondered whether or not the City Manager would make a presentation to the Charter Commission again. Chairperson Gordon said he could ask the City Manager if he could make a presentation at the April 29th meeting. Commissioner Van Dan thanked Ms. Skogen for placing the meeting date and time on the outside of the envelope as a reminder. 4. Adjournment Commissioner Holm MOVED and Commissioner D. Warren seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON GORDON DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 8:26 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Debra A. Skogen, Staff Liaison Deborah Monden, Secretary 4ficchnt,e4 / Alternative Voting Systems Making Democracy Work Even Better FairVote Minnesota +'Research Tony Solg'ard sEducation =►board member P"• Public policy for fairer elections Definitions voting system: rules that determine how voters vote and how winners are chosen winner take all: voting system where voters vote for as many candidates as can be elected;those with the most votes win,all others lose first past the post: form of winner take all election system in which there is one winner 1 What's wrong with the winner-take-all system? ='Dilemma:conscience v.lesser of two evils rrNo right to representation r."No choice"elections rvMajority rule? 'Zero sum game(I win,you lose) 'Accountable to whom? ''Voters'rational apathy What are the alternatives and why are they better? ==Instant Run-off Voting for executive offices r'Proportional(or"Full")Representation for legislative bodies Instant Run-off Voting for executive offices =•Goal:assure majority rule ID Bob Lund '•Voters rank candidates in order ❑ Jan Fria of choice ="Count first choices ❑ Willie cast for each candidate ❑ Rosa Sams 2 Instant Run-off Voting for executive offices wCandidate with fewest first choice votes is eliminated Dad Fla IMO AIM 14 11 9 6 Instant Run-off Voting for executive offices Candidate with fewest first choice votes is eliminated—those votes go to candidates listed as second choice on each ballot Lod Fritz Ban Slip 14 11 9 6 17 13 10 Instant Run-off Voting for executive offices zwProcess continues until one candidate wins with majority of votes Iasi l 14 11 9 6 ±$ {1 17 13 10 19 21 /"'N 3 Advantages of Instant Run-off Voting r►Assures majority rule M'Provides greater choice for voters iPromotes better campaigns wEliminates"conscience v.lesser-of-two- evils"dilemma Proportional Representation for legislative bodies 'Goal:every vote should help elect someone 'Uses multi-winner districts,not single-winner districts Advantages of Proportional Representation 'All advantages of Instant Run-off Voting— plus: ►Represents all voters—not just largest group rwMakes all elections competitive iHolds officeholders accountable to voters, not monied interests Makes voting as meaningful,effective and worthwhile as possible 4 How can I learn more about alternative election systems? Call on FairVote FairVote Minnesota Minnesota as a PO Box 19440 resource Minneapolis MN 55419 •speakers bureau tel 612-724-5540 •study circles info@aFairVoteMN.org •public policy www.FairVoteMN.org •information resources /"•■ 5 ilittd1m eta, FairVote News Volume 4 Number 2 Fall 2002 Instant Runoff Voting can give us It's 'No Contest' once ma'ori rule in a 4-party state again in legislative tY � tY elections First published in the Saint Paul calling for a second runoff election he results of over half of state Pioneer Press, September 19, 2002 between the top two vote-getters in legislative races are a foregone Republican, Democrat, Green, the event that no candidate received a conclusion. That is the finding and Independence—voters are majority of the vote in the first elec- of FairVote Minnesota's newly loving the choices available to tion. While assuring that the winner released No-Contest Elections"'2002. them this campaign season. But what Would be chosen by a majority of The inaugural No-Contest about majority rule? those who turned out to vote in the Elections"' report, published in You might recall that Jesse second election, a runoff would be a November 1999, introduced political Ventura was elected governor with costly and logistically difficult under competitiveness as a criterion for the only 37 percent of the vote. The rest taking. Of even greater concern, the redistricting process. The administra- of the statewide constitutional officers results would be less than satisfying. tion of Governor Jesse Ventura took First, in places that use a second were elected in 1998 with less than a up the cause and set up a measure of majority of the vote as well. This runoff election, turnout falls dramati competitiveness by which various dis- cally in the second election, as voters year's election, most notably the gov- tricting plans could be measured. 'a"�rnor's race, looks like it will yield lose interest in coming back to the Today, the public can go to state GIS polls after their preferred candidates similar results. websites and find assessments of the Then there's the so-called `spoiler' are eliminated. competitiveness of the various dis- problem—when like-minded voters Second, longer campaign seasons tricting plans offered by legislators divide themselves between two or mean greater costs for campaigns as and the Ventura administration. This more candidates. They say Ross Perot well as for the administration of addi kind of accountability to the public tional elections. spoiled the election for the elder over the redistricting process was not George Bush in 1992 and that Ralph Third, when the field is reduced even imaginable when FairVote Nader did the same Al Gore in to two candidates, the potential is me for Minnesota's original report came out. 2000. This year e nesota, with present for the mud to start flying. Much has changed since then. Fourth, cutting the field immedi- Tim Penny coming up the middle in According to the new analysis, the governor's race it is hard to tell ately to two candidates in a runoff the court panel that issued the final . who might spoil whose chances. election may.be too abrupt. France's legislative district map appears to Already, there have been voices 4-Party State to page 2 have considered competitiveness as a criterion when drawing the new boundaries. That's because the num- Vermont AFL-CIO calls for IRV in state elections ber of competitive seats, districts in From the Center for Voting and joined a range of groups in calling for which no party clearly dominates, has gone up from one-third of the total to Democracy adopting this important election 44 percent in the House and 45 per n September 2002 the AFL-CIO, reform, including the Vermont chap- Vermont State Labor Council con- , ters of the League of Women Voters, No Contest Elections to page 4 vention adopted a resolution Common Cause, the State Grange, the endorsing instant runoff voting for all Older Women's League, the Vermont statewide elections. The resolution Public Interest Research Group, and Inside was brought to the state convention the National Association of University 4 the Champlain Valley and Women, as well as many elected lead- .4 Alaska IRV defeat 2 Washington & Orange Counties ers including Governor Howard .4 Alliances Forming 3 Central Labor Councils, AFL-CIO, Dean, Secretary of State Deborah which had each adopted the same res Markowitz, U.S. Congressman Bernie .' Legal Groundwork for IRV 4 olution previously. The AFL-CIO Sanders and others.' rat I Vote N u I all 20112 Alaska IRV ballot measure defeated n the first ever statewide ballot the charge counted as a strike against education and use in nongovernmen measure for Instant Runoff Voting, IRV among voters who had little tal elections as important preparatory proponents came up short August opportunity to become acquainted steps for successful adoption for pub- 27, as Alaska voters turned their with the concept. lic elections. Implementing alternative thumbs down on Ballot Measure 1 by Perhaps the greatest strike against voting methods in home rule localities a 64 percent to 36 percent margin. the ballot measure was that it became is also an important preliminary to Opponents prevailed with arguments tainted by partisanship. Conservatives statewide adoption. that IRV is not easy to grasp and largely lined up for it, while liberals One bright spot in the Alaska there had not been enough public mostly took up defensive positions campaign was the endorsement and education and debate on the proposal. against it. What should have been support from Senator John McCain, The current system is good enough, regarded as a good government a leading national political figure. according to the opponents, who reform was taken captive by partisan Look for more leadership from him found no compelling need for IRV. forces, undercutting trust in the cen- on this subject in the future. You can There were also specious claims tral purpose of the reform proposal. hear his recorded message to Alaska that by allowing voters to rank candi- The Alaska result is in some ways voters and follow other links to infor- dates, IRV violates the one-person, an affirmation of the nonpartisan mation on this story at one-vote principle. Though not true educational mission of FairVote ww.FairVoteMN.org.d and in fact refuted by courts of law, Minnesota, which has urged public 4-Party State from page 1 Rank candidates in order of Count voters' presidential election earlier this year is preference—your first choice First Choices a case in point. The voters in the cen- and your runoff choices /'• ter-left of the political spectrum cumulatively had 40 percent of the 1st 2nd 3rd 4th �" Recount Y P choice choice choice choice Does one vote but were divided among several Pat Buchanan ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ all ballots candidate candidates, including Prime Minister George Bush ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ have a Lionel Jospin. This resulted in an Al Gore ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ extreme right-wing, anti immigrant Majority? Eliminate last place candidate,Jean-Marie le Pen, advanc- Ralph Nader ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ `� candidate ing to the runoff with just 17 percent YES of the vote. He was defeated in the runoff by the conservative President In each round,your ballot counts for your Jacques Chirac. But voters were favorite candidate who is still in the race. denied a choice between Chirac and Winner! From the Center for Voting and Democracy his true rival,Jospin. Better results Count finished would be gained by having a series of - runoff elections, each time eliminating the last place candidate until only two preferred candidate. On the same bal- Already used for decades in candidates remained. Of course, hold- lot, the voter also indicates which of Australia and Ireland, Instant Runoff ing a series of elections would be the other candidates would be pre- Voting was chosen by the voters of completely impractical. ferred in the event of a runoff. In San Francisco this past March for that The good news is there is a way to other words, the voter ranks the can- city's elections. There's also been get majority rule without the problems didates in order of preference. When strong interest in Instant Runoff associated with runoff elections. In the votes are counted and no candi- Voting in other multi-party states such fact, a series of runoffs can be count- date has received a majority of,the as Vermont and New Mexico. ed, and the wishes of a real majority votes, the candidate with the fewest Minnesotans have shown that can he discovered, on just one ballot. votes is eliminated. Votes cast for that they like meaningful choices. Instant ^It's called Instant Runoff Voting and candidate are then given to the next Runoff Voting can preserve those it's gaining support around the coun- runoff candidate listed on each ballot. choices while making sure the majori- try. Here's how it works. The votes are then recounted. The ty chooses the winners of our elec- With Instant Runoff Voting, a process is repeated until one candidate tions. It's time to give Instant Runoff voter casts a single vote for his or her has received a majority of the votes. Voting a closer look.,, 1.111 211(12 FairVote Ncit' Organizational Alliances formed to promote endorsers sought • • • • for li resolutions accountability, participation po cY airVote Minnesota has joined Youth Vote F't airVote Minnesota is inviting Youth Vote is a national coalition two coalitions whose purposes organizations in the state to are to achieve greater accounta- 13 organizations represented on endorse three public policy reso- bility from elected officials and its board and another 80 national lutions. This is part of the ongoing increased voter turnout, particularly organizational members. The coali- effort to build a base of support for among young adults. non aims to 1) increase political and adoption of better voting systems by civic participation among young peo- state and local governments. If you are Minnesotans for Fair And Clean ple, 2) build inclusive, accountable, associated with an organization that Elections and responsive government, and 3) may be interested in promoting better Minnesotans for Fair And Clean increase public awareness of the value democracy,please bring these resolu- Elections (FACE) is a coalition of over of participation in democracy through tions to the attention of the leadership 60 organizations, led by League of the electoral process. The state level of that organization and ask for the Women Voters of Minnesota, coalition includes organizations repre- organization's endorsement. Contact Common Cause Minnesota, and senting students, African-Americans, FairVote Minnesota if you know of an Minnesota Alliance for Progressive women, and others. organization that endorses any of the Action. The coalition calls for cam- In both cases, the FairVote resolutions. They are as follows: paign finance reform by 1) creating a Minnesota board saw these efforts as system of public financing for cam consistent with the organization's Instant Runoff Voting g paigns 2) limiting soft money contri vision for better democracy. Runoff Voting solves the y `spoiler' problem,assures majority rule, butions to political parties, and 3) Involvement in these coalitions will and maximizes problem, voter assures majority in providing campaigns with funds to expand FairVote Minnesota's out- and to independent expenditures. reach and establish or strengthen rela- �choosing the winner in multi-candidate The intent is to curb undue influence elections and should be adopted for tionships with organizations that have of special interests and put a lid on a common vision for greater account- electing single-winner offices such as the growth of campaign expenditures. ability and increased participation. mayor,governor, and president to The Minnesota effort was inspired by Links to both coalitions can be found replace the familiar-but-flawed First similar initiatives which succeeded in Past The Post voting system. at www.FairVoteMN.org.1 Maine and Arizona. Proportional Representation Proportional representation voting systems assure that to the greatest extent National Association of Secretaries possible every voter helps elect a repre- sentative,promoting accountability, of State hears pitch for IRV more substantive discourse,and higher voter turnout,and should be adopted ermont Secretary of State Earlier this year, a past president for multi-winner elections(e.g.city of the National Association of councils,state legislatures,Congress) to Deborah Markowitz made a replace the familiar-but-flawed First Past case for Instant Runoff Voting Secretaries of State, Sharon Priest, the P to her colleagues at a July 28, 2002 current Secretary of State of The Post voting system. meeting in Rhode Island of the Arkansas, called for Instant Runoff Voting Equipment Flexibility National Association of Secretaries of Voting for some elections in her state To be used with better voting State. FairVote Minnesota board chair (see http://www.fairvotemn.org for a methods (e.g. Instant Runoff Voting, Tony Solgard was part of the team link to the report). In most states, the various forms of proportional repre- from the Center for Voting and Secretary of State is the chief election sentation), voting equipment must Democracy that contributed to the official of the state. This kind of have the flexibility to process a vari- presentation. A PowerPoint slide activity at their national association ety of ballot types, including vote-for- show that accompanied Secretary meeting and independently by a past one, vote-for-up-to-x, ranked choice, Markowitz' remarks can be Viewed at president of the association is a sign "-"Nand cumulative ballot types. All new http://vermont-elections.org/elec- of the increasing receptivity to Instant voting equipment purchased or certi- tionsl/iry/. Secretary Markowitz Runoff Voting by the nation's top fied for purchase in the state should reported that election officials from election officials.,./ have the flexibility to process each of several other states requested copies these ballot types. of the slide show. lairVote News Fall 2002 No Contest Elections from page 1 House Elections Thank you! cent in the Senate. As a result, the voters will have more control over the Safe GOP Senate Elections hanks to the following individ- outcome of this November's elections. Not called 34% uals and organizations for their But the flip side is that over half 44% Safe GOP ' financial support since the last (-45%ed the seats-55 percent in the Senate and Safe Da 33% newsletter: 56 percent in the House—remain `safe' 22% Diane Steen-Hinderlie, Gabe for one party or the other. The original Safe DF� Ormsby, Patti Hurd, Lisa Disch, report pointed out several problems 22% Mark V. Anderson & Sysliene S with noncompetitive elections. Turpin, Pat McGowan &Jack • A principle of democracy is that Brondum, George S Pillsbury, Ken voters should determine the outcome leaving most voters feel like politics is Reine, Morgan Soderberg, Dave of elections. not about issues that affect them. Stack, Dwayne & Denine Voegeli, • Officials elected from noncom- • Taken together, these effects of Allan G. Bostlemann, Doret M petitive districts are not structurally noncompetitive elections reduce voter Burnett & Meridyth S Burnett,Joe accountable to their constituents and turnout. Peschek, Diane J Peterson & Dave can become unresponsive to the inter- Returning to the 2002 edition are Crawford, Robert Rafn, Kurt Allen, ests of the voters. popular features from the inaugural Steve Anderson, Trisha Garness, • Political power is tied to geog- report, including the Top Ten Eleanor &John Yackel, Midwest raphy, penalizing competitive areas Untouchables' (a list of legislators most Democracy Center,John Helmeke, and the state as a whole. likely to retain their seats), a list of the Joseph Schwartzberg, Harlan & • The state becomes Balkanized most vulnerable legislators,and the Margaret Smith,Jack Uldrich, Ken into political regions where one party districts in which the Independence Bearman & Karla Larsen, Martha has no motivation to consider the Party would be most likely to affect Easton, Clark Rieke, Dean & Carol interests of areas dominated by the the results of the election. Rudie, Cam Gordon, Brian Melendez, rival party. The report is available on the David Shove,Tony & Karen Solgard, • The real campaign is directed FairVote Minnesota website Alan R Anderson,Jim Cousins, toward swing voters in swing districts, www.fairvotemn.org. Californians for Election Reform, Barry Hanson, Louise Bouta, Richard Reisdor#,and Russ Peterson&Beth Analysis lays legal foundation for IRV & STV Bartz. Anew study of state election law said it appeared to him that state law FairVote News will provide local activists with prohibited cities from adopting a the legal basis they need to ranked ballot or any ballot that did is published by FairVote Minnesota, work for Instant Runoff Voting or not adhere to generic statutory guide- a tax-exempt charitable Single Transferable Vote in their cities. lines to `vote for one.' Reform efforts organization It was written by FairVote Minnesota were blocked once again. Board of Directors chair Tony Solgard and attor- Attorney Paul Landskroener ana Tony Solg6rd,Chair lyzed the constitutional and statutory Carol Rudie,Vice Chair ze ney Paul Landskroener in response to Y Ken Bearman,Secretary-Treasurer legal hurdles placed in front of elec- questions. The highlights of the inves- Patti Hurd tion reform activists by city charter tigation included the discovery that Brian Melendez commissions or their attorneys. the Supreme Court decision not only David Shove In Minneapolis,the charter corn- did not apply to Instant Runoff Voting Jack Uldrich mission's attorney brought a 1915 or Single Transferable Vote, but that Minnesota Supreme Court decision to both statutes and the court's decision the commission's attention.As the com- are quite favorable for the right of FairVote mission read the decision, it appeared to home rule cities to adopt an alterna- MINNESOTA find preferential voting systems to he tive constitutional voting system. PO Box 19440 unconstitutional.This reading of the The findings are reported in an g Minneapolis MN 55419-0440 decision stymied reformers'efforts to article that appears in the October Phone: (612) 7221-5540 bring their Single Transferable Vote pro- issue of Bench & Bar of Minnesota, Email: info@FairVoteMN.org posal to the ballot. the Minnesota State Bar Association's p Web:www.FairVoteMN.org A statutory barrier to Instant official publication. A link to the on Copyright©2002 by FairVote Minnesota. Runoff Voting was erected in line version of the article can be All rights reserved. Roseville. The commission's attorney found at www.fairvotemn.org..%l/ -1 JANET L. JOHNSON 1579 BRIARDALE ROAD FRIDLEY, MINNESOTA 55432 February 4, 2003 Deb Skogen, City Clerk/Staff Liaison City of Fridley City Hall Fridley,Minnesota 55432 RE: Nominations for Officers of the Charter Commission Dear Deb, This is to inform you that the Nominating Committee for Officers of the City of Fridley Charter Commission have agreed to nominate the following individuals for the following positions: CHAIR: Don Findell VICE-CHAIR: Nancy Jorgenson SECRETARY: Deb Monden The Nominating Committee consisted of: Char Fitzpatrick,Anita Gerrety, and myself, Jan Johnson. As Chair of this Nominating Committee I contacted the above three individuals and all three agreed to accept the nomination. Deb, if you want me to send a letter to all Charter Commission members I will do that, just let me know the timelines. Thanks, Jan Johnson, Chair Nominating Committee cc: Char Fitzpatrick Anita Gerrety City Clerk's Office Date Received , ;4'5-03 Forward to Phet;tr, C 7nirnzLG/PO Copy to PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT—FRIDLEY CHARTER CONMIISSION Section 7.15. BONDED DEBT AND DEBT LLMIT. In addition to all the powers in respect to borrowing and the issuance of bonds and other obligations for the payment of money specifically or impliedly granted by this Charter, and any amendments thereto, the City shall have all the powers in reference to these subject matters granted to cities of its same class by the laws of the State of Minnesota in force from time to time. The City shall have the power to issue and sell its bonds to the State of Minnesota and to comply with all provisions of law relative to loans to municipalities from the permanent State funds. The City shall also have such powers as are necessary to obtain loans or funds from the Government of the United States and any of its instrumentalities or from the State of Minnesota or any of its instrumentalities, and to comply with all provisions of law relative to obtaining such loans or funds. 2. The Council by a vote of at least four (4) of its members may authorize the issuance of the bonds to provide funds for any public purpose not prohibited by law, or may in its discretion, by a majority vote of all of its members submit to the electorate propositions for the issuance of such bonds. When such a proposition is submitted to the electorate, no bonds or other term obligations of the City may be issued except pursuant to a favorabl, vote of a majority of those voting on the proposition of their issuance. By the proceedings for the issuance of any bonds, by the terms of the bonds and by agreements with the purchasers of bonds, they may be made special in character and limited in their payment to earnings or to part earnings and part tax funds. To the extent that they are thus payable out of earnings or other than tax funds, sueli bonds shall not be paid out of taxes. The total beaded net debt of the City at the any time shall not exceed4ee pew 2% of the market value of the taxable property therein, or the limit authorized by State law for cities of the same class, whichever is the greater, but in computing the total bonded debt, certificates of indebtedness, bonds, warrants or other obligations issued before or after adoption of this Charter shall not be included or counted if(1) held in a debt service sing fund maintained by the City; or(2) issued for the acquisition, equipment, purchase, construction, maintenance, extension, enlargement or improvement of street railways, communication lines, water, lighting, heat and power plants, or either, or any other public convenience from which a revenue is or may be derived, owned and operated by the City, or the acquisition of property needed in connection therewith,or for the construction of public drainage ditches, storm and sanitary sewers, or for the acquisition of lands for streets, parks, or other public improvements or for the improvement thereof, to the extent that they are payable from the proceeds of assessments levied upon property especially benefited by such improvements; or(3) issued for the creation of maintenance of a permanent improvement revolving fund; or (4) for the purpose of anticipating the collection of general taxes for the year in which issued. (Ref. Ord. 857) Working Glossary Charter An instrument in writing creating and defining the franchises of a city, education institution or corporation. Or A document defining, describing the powers the freeholders grant their government. Defining and regulating relations between government and the governed,the rights and powers of the principles. Charter Commission Discretionary Funds Eminent Domain The power to take private property for public use by a state, municipality, or private person or corporation authorized to exercise functions of public character, following just compensation to the owner of that property Or The power to take private property for public use by a state, municipality, or private person or corporation authorized to exercise functions of public character, following the payment of compensation to the owner of that property Informality Initiative An action by the voters to petition the city council to enact a new ordinance or to repeal an existing ordinance. Non-discretionary Funds Recall An action by the voters to remove an elected municipal official from office. Such action begins by petitioning the City Council alleging malfeasance or nonfeasance in office. Referendum An action by the voters to petition the city council to stop an ordinance from becoming effective, thereby allowing the city council to reconsider and repeal the ordinance or submit it to the voters at the next regular election. n Sinking Fund or Money set aside in a special account for the purpose of redeeming or "debt reserve fund" retiring bonds. Suspense Fund