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CHM 09/24/2007 - 29970CITY OF FRIDLEY CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING September 24, 2007 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Borman called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Peter Borman, Gary Braam, Carol Hoiby, Bill Holm, Ted Kranz, Kathleen Linder, Leslie Plummer, Pam Reynolds, Noel Ryan, and Lois Scholzen Members Absent: Don Findell, Craig Gordon, Nancy Jorgenson, and Cindy Soule Others Present: Deb Skogen, City Clerk/Staff Liaison 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Commissioner Braam MOVED and Commissioner Ryan seconded a motion to approve the agenda. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BORMAN DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 2. APPROVAL OF MAY 21, 2007, CHARTER COMMISSION MINUTES: Commissioner Braam MOVED and Commissioner Linder seconded a motion to approve the May 21, 2007, Charter Commission Minutes. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BORMAN DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Commissioner Reynolds MOVED and Commissioner Braam seconded a motion recommending the reappointment of Peter Borman to the Charter Commission. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHARIPERSON BORMAN DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 4. PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDMENT CHAPTERS 2 -4 Chairperson Borman said there were minor changes in Chapters 2 to 4 as discussed last spring. Commissioner Holm MOVED and Commissioner Braam seconded a motion to table the ordinance until after the special election as the changes were of little significance and there was already a charter amendment on the ballot. Commissioner Reynolds asked if the amendment would go on the ballot in 2008. Deb Skogen said an ordinance was one way to amend the charter and it would be recommended to the City Council for their adoption. If the ordinance was adopted, the public would have 60 days to submit a petition, if there was no petition, the ordinance would become affective after 90 days. If there was a petition, it would then go to the voters. Adopted October 22, 2007 CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 24, 2007 PAGE 2 Chairperson Borman said a lot of the changes had more to do with the ease of read Chapter 4 has a few more changes due to the changes in election law. Commissioner Kranz said the changes were of little importance versus the amendment before the voters this fall He felt in six months the election would be over and it might be a more appropriate time to recommend the changes to the City Council. Commissioner Reynolds felt the changes were minor or grammatical would most likely encounter no opposition. Chairperson Borman said while waiting six months, the Commission could continue their review of additional chapters of the Charter. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BORMAN DECLARE THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE ORDINANCE AMENDMENT WILL BE POSTPONED UNTIL THE MARCH, 2008, CHARTER MEETING. 5. DISCUSSION OF CHAPTER 5 Commissioner Braam asked if there were any concerns about Chapter 5 Commissioner Holm said he and Commissioner Findell worked on this Chapter when they first were appointed to the Charter Commission. He said it took one or two years to work on the chapter prior to the City Council adopting an ordinance amending Chapter 5 and was glad to see Commissioner Braam felt it did not appear to need any changes. Commissioner Reynolds wondered what the word pecuniary meant on page one in Section 5.02. Bill Holm thought it might be monetary or something similar. Deb Skogen will look up the definition and bring it to the next meeting. Commissioner Plummer wondered who verified if an individual was a registered voter when they sign a petition. Deb Skogen said she did by going on to the State Voter Registration System. Commissioner Plummer asked what happened if someone signed a petition who was not a registered voter. Deb Skogen said their signature would not be included in the number of signature needed for a sufficient petition. She said the City received a petition which had 326 signatures, of which 286 were found to be valid signatures; 214 signatures were needed to make it a sufficient petition. Valid means they were registered, active voters with the same name and address on the petition. Invalid signatures are individuals who are inactive in the State Voter Registration System, or are not registered with the same name or address listed on the petition. Commissioner Reynolds wondered how often the database was updated. Deb Skogen said it is updated daily. After an election, the individuals who registered on election day are entered and the county usually has until February to enter their names. At the end of February a purge is done of individuals who have not voted in four years. Chairperson Borman wondered if the dollar amount in Section 5.02 had significance. Deb Skogen was not sure what it was for and provided information on campaign financing. After further discussion it was determined it had to do with the committee circulating a petition and the dollar amount was small to allow the committee to make copies of the petition or information and to keep individuals from providing a monetary reward to individuals signing or circulating the petition.. Chairperson Borman wondered about the number of signatures needed and if it was a state requirement. Deb Skogen said it was different and set by City Charter. She explained the process of initiative, referendum and recall and the number of signatures needed for each action versus a charter amendment which requirements were set by state statute. Adopted October 22, 2007 CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 24, 2007 PAGE 3 Chairperson Holm felt under the Referendum section there should be a section pertaining to a charter amendment similar to the initiative section. Commissioner Kranz wondered about all of the different numbers, i.e., 49 days, 60 days, 25 %, 10 %, 2 %, and 15 %, which were confusing if you are not familiar with the language. Deb Skogen said the Charter should be amended where ever it states 49 days to 53 days because state law has changed since 2000 which requires the city to notify the county not less than 53 days prior to every municipal election. Those changes would appear in Sections 5.07, 5.14, and 5.19. Bill Holm said the logic in recalling an elected official should require a larger percentage of people signing the petition to avoid subjecting elected officials being recalled by a small minority as that individual was theoretically voted in by a majority of the voters. He said in the case of an initiative where voters may want to see something enacted requires a lower standard with 10 %. Commissioner Kranz wondered what this year's special election would cost. Deb Skogen said it would cost about $15,000.00. She was trying to keep staffing costs down by having a paper ballot and scheduling 6 judges in each precinct. She said the City is required by state law to have all precincts open, unlike school districts that can combine. Commissioner Hoiby said the school board was the only thing on the ballot for November 6"'. Deb Skogen said yes, that was correct. The School Districts (11, 14 and 16) had adopted their resolutions declaring the polling locations in August, prior to the city receiving the referendum petition, which is why the City declared a different date for the election, as the school districts would have had to adopted a new resolution and notify all of the voters in the City of the change in their polling location. The City felt it would be easier this way and it would keep the costs down. Bill Holm MOVED and Commissioner Braam seconded a motion to amend Chapter 5 as follows: Section 5.14 FILING OF REFERENDUM PETITIONS FOR CHARTER AMENDMENTS The requirements for the purpose of petitioning for a referendum repealing a charter amendment are set forth in Minnesota Statutes. and renumber each section thereafter. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BORMAN DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The Commission further discussed the word pecuniary. Commissioner Holm felt the intent of the language did not include legal expenses and that pecuniary or otherwise was to cover copying or printing costs of the petition. In 1959 the amount was not to exceed $50 and in 1974 it was changed to $200. Commissioner Braam suggested changing the sentence to separate legal advice from other expenses. Chairperson Borman wondered why there was a dollar limit in the charter for circulating a petition. He understood they could not hire people to circulate the petition, but why was there a limit? Commissioner Holm said the language could be changed to, "from incurring an expenses related to stationery, copying, printing, and notary fees without a dollar amount because you have then identified those are the only expenses they could incur. Deb Skogen said without some type of limit, someone might print up a brochure to hand out when they were circulating the petition which would cost more money. Adopted October 22, 2007 CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 24, 2007 PAGE 4 Commissioner Reynolds wondered if the first sentence of Section 5.02 could be split up as it appeared to wander or go on and on. It was determined to change it as follows: "...with the circulation thereof. btA This shall not prevent the committee from paying for legal advice; and from incurring..." Chairperson Borman continued to ask why you can't spend more than x amount of dollars if they would be circulating a petition and they want supporting materials to be provided. Commissioner Holm said, for example, if he wanted to initiate an ordinance requiring the City to spend additional money for something, and that if he and his committee wanted to spend $50,000 to flood the city to get people to sign the petition, it would be okay if there was no limit set in the Charter. Commissioner Braam said what if garbage hauler XYZ wanted the city to adopt an organized garbage collection allowing only one hauler and spent $50,000 on brochures to accompany the people coming to the doors. He said the money would be well spent to become the only garbage company in the city. He said the way it was currently written prohibited that kind of conduct. Everyone agreed the charter's intent would prohibit that behavior. Commissioner Hoiby wanted to know if the dollar amount should remain the same or change. Commissioner Braam said it could be increased somewhat, but it shouldn't be taken out, that the intent was to prevent a lobbying effort during circulation of the petition. The Commissioners agreed and determined the fee would remain the same. 6. DISCUSSION OF FUTURE ITEMS The Commission would continue to discuss Chapter 5 and begin Chapter 6 at the next meeting. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Holm MOVED and Commissioner Braam seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BORMAN DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 8:04 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Debra A. Skogen, City Clerk/Staff Liaison Carol Hoiby, Secretary Adopted October 22, 2007