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CHA 03/22/2010 ,.� TO: Charter Commission Members _ FROM: Deb Skogen, City Clerk Cindy Soule, Charter Commission Chair Date: March 19, 2010 CITY OF FRIDLEY Re: March 22, 2010 Charter Meeting The next Charter Commission meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 22, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in Meeting Room 1 in the lower level of City Hall. In order to ensure a quorum, remember, the Charter Commission policy requires a member to call or e-mail me before 8:00 a.m. Monday, March 29th, as to whether or not they plan on attending the meeting. Please remember to call or e-mail me by Monday morning at (763) 572- 3523 or e-mail at skogend @ci.fridley.mn.us whether or not you will be attending the meeting. If there will not be a quorum, those Commissioners who called will receive a phone call notifying them there will not a quorum and the meeting will be cancelled. A notice will then be placed on the door of the cancellation of the meeting for those commissioners who did not call, but came to the meeting. Unfortunately, I have been unable to complete the minutes as our schedules have been very busy between our annual records clean-up days, license renewals and elections. I apologize. If I finish them on Monday, I will e-mail a copy to those of you have e-mail, otherwise they will be available at the meeting on Monday evening. In addition, I did not include Chapter 5 of the Charter yet pertaining to Initiative, Referendum and Recall for specific number of dates because the legislative changes are not yet complete for some of this information. I did prepare Chapter 7 as you amended it and Chapter 4 based on the new legislation that was just adopted and approved. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. CITY OF FRIDLEY CHARTER COMMISSION AGENDA MONDAY MARCH 22, 2010 AT 7:00 P.M. LOCATION: Fridley Municipal Center Meeting Room 1, Lower Level 1. CALL TO ORDER: 2. ROLL CALL: 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES February 22,2010 (to be provided at the meeting) 5. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS n A. Election of Officers B. Vote on By-Laws amendment 6. DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 7 See 2010 Holm Amendment 7. DISCUSSION OF CHAPTER 4—ELECTIONS Proposed Ordinance Prepared by Staff 8. DISCUSSION OF FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 9. ADJOURNMENT NEXT MEETING MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2010, IN MEETING ROOM 1 IN THE LOWER LEVEL CONFERENCE ROOM i•-■ CITY OF FRIDLEY CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING February 22,2010 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Soule called the Charter Commission meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Commissioners Peter Borman,Gary Braam,Marion Flickinger,Carol Hoiby,Bill Holm, Rick Nelson,Pam Reynolds,Noel Ryan and Cindy Soule Members Absent: Commissioners Don Findell,Nancy Jorgenson,Ted Kranz,Lois Scholzen and Keith Shaw Others Present: Deb Skogen,City Clerk and Cindy Ruschy, Staff Liaison APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner MOVED and Commissioner seconded a motion approving the meeting agenda. UPON A VOICE VOTE,ALL VOTING AYE,CHAIRPERSON SOULE DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner MOVED and Commissioner seconded a motion approving the Charter Commission meeting minutes of January 25,2010. UPON A VOICE VOTE,ALL VOTING AYE,CHAIRPERSON SOULE DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS A. Report of Nominating Committee Commissioner Hoiby reviewed the Nominating Committee Report making the recommendation that Cindy Soule serve as Chairperson,Rick Nelson serve as Vice Chair and Carol Hoiby serve as secretary for the year 2010-11. The actual election will take place at the March meeting. B. Review of By-Laws Amendment Chairperson Soule viewed the 2010 proposed by-law amendment. The vote on this amendment will take place at the March meeting. C. Reappointment of Commissioners Commissioner Holm MOVED and Commissioner Hoiby seconded a motion to recommend the reappointment of Commissioners Flickinger,Kranz and Ryan to serve an additional four year term and to submit their names to the Chief Judge upon the approval of Commissioner Kranz electing to serve an additional term. n UPON A VOICE VOTE,ALL VOTING AYE,CHAIRPERSON SOULE DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF FEBRUARY 22,2010 PAGE 2 DISCUSSION OF CHAPTER 7—HOLM AMENDMENT The Commission discussed the proposed amendments to Chapter 7. Commissioner Reynolds did not want to see recycling taken out of fees because the original petitioners for this language meant to include them. She suggested the City turn recycling back to Anoka County. Commissioner Borman didn't understand why the City couldn't charge the actual cost for the service because this service was mandated by the State. He suggested turning recycling back to the citizens and letting them pay for it individually from their garbage service. He said he was tired of big government and wanted to know what kind of controls Commissioner Reynolds wanted to place on the City Commissioner Reynolds said she did not think the City was required to provide recycling services;and that the County does not have a program. Commissioner Holm said it is the same argument as the water and sewer and the voters said not to make changes. He said while recycling was a big industry,the cost fluctuates and the citizens should pay the cost. Commissioner Reynolds said the contract offers profit sharing and that single store—no rebates would cost more money. Deb Skogen asked Commissioner Reynolds if the language were changed to omit recycling from fees if a referendum petition would again be circulated. Commissioner Reynolds said yes,if additional fees were created. Commissioner Nelson said without taking recycling fees,the city could not recoup recycling fees. Commissioner Holm thought the City would have to go to the voters. Commissioner Hoiby said this was their city and they needed to support their city. Commissioner Holm said some people did not want to support the city. Commissioner Ryan wanted to know who"these people"were—and why they want to run the city. The Commissioners discussed the volatility of recycling products;that the prices charged can change daily to weekly to monthly;and that there are warehouses full of paper stock. They then briefly discussed how many people they thought recycling in the City. Commissioner Flickinger said recycling fees were not an issue 10 years ago. Chairperson Soule suggested going through the amendment section by section. Commissioner Hoiby MOVED and Commissioner Nelson seconded a motion to review each proposal separately. UPON A VOICE VOTE,THE MOTION PASSED 7-1-1 WITH COMMISSIONER HOLM VOTING NAY AND COMMISSIONER REYNOLDS ABSTAINING. Commissioner Holm MOVED and Commissioner Braam seconded a motion to revise Section 7.02.2.D.back to 51% of the votes cast rather than a majority of the votes cast. UPON A VOICE VOTE,THE MOTION PASSED 7-2 WITH COMMISSIONERS BORMAN AND RYAN VOTING NO. CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF FEBRUARY 22,2010 PAGE 3 Commissioner Reynolds MOVED and Commissioner Holm seconded a motion to keep recycling fees in Section I"N 7.02.3.A and to remove recycling fees in Section 7.02.3.B or for clarification purposes to make no changes in these two sections. Commissioner Holm said while he would prefer to remove recycling from fees,he could compromise and leave it in because of the additional 2%allowed in Section 7.02.1.that it can add. Commissioner Ryan said she did not see where the Commission was compromising. UPON A VOICE VOTE,THE MOTION PASSED 5 TO 4 WITH COMMISSIONERS RYAN,NELSON,HOIBY AND BORMAN VOTING NAY. Commissioner Holm MOVED and Commissioner Braam seconded a motion changing Section 7.02.3.D.4 from majority of the votes to 51%of the votes. UPON A VOICE VOTE,THE MOTION PASSED 7-2 WITH COMMISSIONERS RYAN AND BORMAN VOTING NAY. Commissioner Nelson MOVED and Commissioner Braam seconded a motion that Section 7.02.4 be moved from Section 7.02.3 UPON A VOICE VOTE,THE MOTION PASSED 8-1 WITH COMMISSIONER BORMAN ABSTAINING. Commissioner Borman would like to see this amendment come back for more review. DISCUSSION OF CHAPTERS 4 AND 5 PERTAINING TO ELECTIONS Deb Skogen reviewed the legislative changes that are occurring and that the State Primary has been changed from September to August. She said the Commission should review these sections of the Charter based on the changes, but that the changes may not be complete until the end of April or beginning of May. Commissioner Borman MOVED and Commissioner Holm seconded a motion tabling the discussion of Chapters 4 and 5 until staff was informed as to the changes. UPON A VOICE VOTE,THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Nelson MOVED and Commissioner Ryan seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE,ALL VOTING AYE,CHAIRPERSON SOULE DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 8:10 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Debra A. Skogen, Carol Hoiby, Secretary City Clerk/Staff Liaison 2010 Proposed By-Laws Amendment That the Charter Commission By-Laws be amended as follows: VII. VOTING A. A majority vote of members present shall be sufficient to pass motions and resolutions except as provided elsewhere. B. There shall be no secret votes, other than contested election(s) of officers. •'• February 16, 2010 Charter Commission Nominating Committee Report Chairperson Soule appointed Commissioner Carol Hoiby to serve as the Nominating Committee Chair and Commissioners Braam and Ryan to serve as members on the Nominating Committee on January 25, 2010. The Nominating Committee met and offers the following nominations to serve as the 2009-10 Charter Commission Officers: Chair Cindy Soule Vice Chair Rick Nelson Secretary Carol Hoiby All three members have agreed to serve if elected. n 2010 Amendment (C)(2) (Holm Amendment) Ordinance No. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 7.02 OF THE FRIDLEY CITY CHARTER WHEREAS,the City of Fridley, Minnesota,under the powers vested in it under Minnesota Statutes Section 410 and its own City Charter,has the power to amend its Charter, and WHEREAS, after review and consent of the Charter Commission, the City Council has determined the current language of the charter related to restrictions on the tax levy and fee restrictions may cause deep and significant harm to the finances of the City and that a change in charter language is necessary to mitigate future harm from being caused by the charter to the City's finances. IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED THAT THE CHARTER BE AMENDED AS FOLLOWS: FRIDLEY CITY CHARTER CHAPTER 7. TAXATION AND FINANCES. Section 7.02. POWER OF TAXATION. 1. The City shall have, in addition to the powers by this Charter expressly o liedly granted or implied, all the powers to raise money by taxation pursuant to the laws of the State which are applicable to cities of the class of which it may be a member from time to time, n provided that the amount of taxes levied against real and personal property within the City for general City purposes shall not exceed the lesser of the following formulas; either the prior year tax levy dollar amount increased by a maximum of 5% or CPI (Consumer Price Index)plus 2%. The CPI shall be the 12 month average of the most recently published data for all Urban Consumers in the Minneapolis, St. Paul metropolitan area, as defined by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. in dollars, a tax levy that is greater than the prior year tax levy increased by an inflationary index, or 5%, whichever is least. Paul metropolitan area. (Ref. Ord. 592, 1102 and 11/7/00 Amendment) Nothing in this provision shall be construed to impair any general obligation the City may have in support of otherwise lawful indebtedness or similar obligation supported by the full faith and credit of the City, provided, however, that long-term, general obligation indebtedness shall not be used for the purpose of funding the routine and daily business operations of the City. (Ref Ord 1152) 2. The City Council may also levy a tax in--any year against real and personal property within the City in addition to said limit as defined in paragraph 1 provided the Council shall: A. Adopt a resolution declaring the necessity for an additional tax levy and specifying the purposes for which such additional tax levy is required. B. Hold a public hearing pursuant to three (3) weeks' published notice in the official Ordinance No. Page 2 newspaper of the City setting forth the contents of the resolution described in Subdivision A. C. Adopt after such public hearing a resolution by an affirmative vote of a least four(4) members of the Council which resolution provides for such levy. shall be presented as a clear and concise 'plain language' ballot question at the next regular municipal election. (Ref. Ord. 592, 1102 and 11/7/00 Amendment) The additional tax levy shall take effect if approved by 51%of the votes cast on that ballot question. 51%of the votes cast at said election are in favor of its adoption. 3. Creation of any new fees or increases in existing fees Any other fees created, or increased beyond the limits set forth in subsection 7.02.1, shall require voter approval as stipulated in this subsection 2. A. For the purposes of this subsection, "fees" includes sales and use taxes,recycling-fees, gas and electric franchise fees and any other fee that produces a tax burden or direct financial obligation for all property owners and/or residents of Fridley. (Ref Ord 1152) B. For the purposes of this subsection,the term "fees" does not include: Utility charges, recycling fees, Parks and Recreation Department participation fees, charges for photo- copying, sales of municipal liquor store products, or civil and criminal fines and other charges collected in cases of restitution or violation of law or contract. The term"fees" also does not include rental housing fees,building permit fees, liquor license fees,the extension or transfer of cable television service authority to additional service providers for which fees are already being charged, fees for the operation of junk yards, annual license fees for the operation of pawn shops and other regulated business,and any other charge for services,including health and safety related Code enforcement, and other goods, services or materials routinely provided by the City to its citizens or other members of the public which, by law, must be limited to the actual cost of the service being provided. The term"fees" shall not include any special assessments made under Minnesota Statutes Section 429. (Ref Ord 1152) C. D--For the purposes of this subsection, "city" includes the city itself and all its departments and agencies that are organized to exercise the "Powers of the City" as defined in Chapter 1 of this Charter. "City" shall not include any body of government owing its existence to separate constitutional or statutory authority outside of the Charter,regardless of whether that other body of government has jurisdiction or performs duties and services within the boundaries of the City. (Ref Ord 1152) D. To establish a new fee or increase an existing fee as required by this subsection,the City Council shall: 1) Adopt a resolution declaring the need for the new fee or increase in an existing fee and the purposes for which the new fee is required. 2) Hold a public hearing pursuant to three(3)weeks notice published in the official 2 Ordinance No. Page 3 newspaper of the City, setting forth the contents of the resolution. 3) After such public hearing,adopt a resolution by an affirmative vote of at least four(4)members of the Council which shall be presented as a clear and concise "plain language"ballot question at the next regular municipal election. 4) The new fee or increase in existing fee shall take effect if approved by 51%of the votes cast on that ballot question. .3.E. 4. For the purpose of addressing natural disasters this subsection does not apply to any specific emergency measure authorized in Chapter 7, Section .08 (7.08). PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FRIDLEY THIS DAY OF , 2010. Scott J. Lund, Mayor ATTEST: Debra A. Skogen, city Clerk n Public Hearing: First Reading: Second Reading: Publication: 3 ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 4 OF THE FRIDLEY CITY CHARTER PERTAINING TO PRIMARY ELECTIONS The Fridley Charter Commission and City Council of the City of Fridley hereby finds, after review, examination and recommendation of staff, that the Fridley City Charter be hereby amended as follows: FRIDLEY CITY CHARTER CHAPTER 4. NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS Section 4.03. PRIMARY ELECTIONS. - .. - - - _ . -- . tThere shall be a primary election, on the date established by Minnesota State Law,for the selection of two (2)nominees for each elective office at the regular municipal election, unless only two (2) nominees file for each elective office. Primary municipal elections shall be held every even numbered year, if necessary. Section 4.08. CANVASS OF ELECTIONS AND TAKING OF OFFICE. If more than two candidates filed for office, the Council shall must meet and canvass the primary election returns within-two-(-2) on the third calendar days after any primary election. The two candidates for each office who receive the highest number of votes shall be nominees for the office named. Their names shall be certified by the city clerk to the county auditor who shall place them on the municipal general election ballot without partisan designation. The Council shall meet and canvas the general (regular) election or special election returns within seven (7) between the third and 10th calendar days after any regular or special election, shall make full declaration of the results, and file a statement thereof with the City Clerk. Said statement shall be made a part of the minutes. This statement shall include: (a) the total number of good ballots cast; (b) the total number of spoiled or defective ballots; (c) the vote for each candidate, with a declaration of those who are elected; (d)a true copy of the ballots used; (e)the names of the judges of election; and(f) such other information as may seem pertinent. The City Clerk shall forthwith notify all persons elected of the fact of their election, and the persons elected shall take office at the time provided for by Section 3.01, upon taking, subscribing and filing with the City Clerk the required oath of office. (Ref. Ord. 1252) PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FRIDLEY THIS DAY OF 201_. SCOTT J. LUND, MAYOR ATTEST: DEBRA A. SKOGEN, CITY CLERK Public Hearing: First Reading: Second Reading: Published: