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CHM 11/04/2013 CITY OF FRIDLEY CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING November 4, 2013 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Nelson called the Charter Commission meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Commissioners Peter Borman, Gary Braam, Don Findell, Marion Flickinger, Carol Hoiby, Bill Holm, Ted Kranz, Rick Nelson, Barb Reiland, Pam Reynolds, and Richard Walch Members Absent: Commissioners Nancy Jorgenson, Novella Ollawore, Lois Scholzen, and Cindy Soule Others Present: Deb Skogen, City Clerk/Staff Liaison APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Borman MOVED and Commissioner Braam seconded a motion approving the meeting agenda. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON NELSON DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Holm MOVED and Commissioner Braam seconded a motion approving the Charter Commission meeting minutes of October 7, 2013. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON NELSON DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS A. Update on Ordinance Amending Chapters 7, 8, 11 and 12 Deb Skogen said the ordinance had been scheduled for its first reading that evening, however due to an th emergency and lack of a unanimous vote, the first reading had been tabled to November 18. B. Deb Skogen reviewed the information she received at the workshop on the Open Meeting Law. She will put together a brief summary and provide it with the next agenda packet. DISCUSSION OF CHAPTER 3 Chairperson Nelson thanked Commissioner Reynolds for asking the City Council about their rules and whether or not the ordinances should be read in full. It sparked some good discussion and is important to review the Charter and suggested changes where needed to comply with business practices of today. Commissioner Reynolds said she asked due to the ordinance the Council held on their salaries and benefits. She said she wanted to let the Council know she disagreed with the benefits they were receiving and that is when she asked the question about the procedures they were using. She said she received the 2006 rules that were put together by Bill Burns to use as a guide for Councilmembers Varichak and Saefke. Deb Skogen said after reviewing the memo from Mr. Burns and discussing it with the City Attorney, it was determined the City Council needed to provide rules and procedures for their use. The City Attorney was also Adopted 01/06/2014 CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF NOVEMBER 4, 2013 PAGE 2 recommending that this be done annually so they are on record as to what their rules are and they are available to the public. Commissioner Reynolds said at the annual meeting each year, other cities provide the procedures, rules and regulations and used Falcon Heights as an example. She said some of the minutes she reviewed said the city manager read the ordinance. Chairperson Nelson suggested amending the Charter to state the Council shall specify at its annual meeting the rules and procedures they will be using. He was not sure if they use Robert’s Rules or if they use their own rules. He felt they should be identified. Commissioner Reynolds said she had done some review on parliamentary procedures. She said most parliamentarians believe Roberts Rules of Order should be reserved for larger groups. She said the city attorney referenced some other procedures. Ms. Skogen suggested adding a line to Section 3.03 that would require the council to specify the rules they would be using annually at their first meeting in January. Commissioner Borman reviewed several examples from other cities that were provided. Commissioner Reiland said, even though they can determine their own rules, they should specify those rules so the citizens know what rules are being used. Commissioner Reynolds said Chapter 12 have miscellaneous provisions. Some cities have a list of what they specify at the annual meeting, like the official newspaper, depositories, etc. She said the Blaine and Columbia Height charters also specify it is done at an annual meeting. th Ms. Skogen said the first meeting of the year has to be held on or before January 9. She suggested making the change in the rules of quorum and procedure so you would only have to look in one place, rather than putting it in another chapter of the charter. Chairperson Nelson thought they should specify the rules, because when Commissioner Reynolds asked at the council meeting, nobody could answer the question. Commissioner Holm wondered what was being accomplished. He said there were tricks to Roberts Rules of Order. He said someone could make a motion not subject to discussion which could lead down a path no one wants and suggested being careful about what you are specifying. Commissioner Walch said if the rules weren’t specified, someone could just make it up. He thought it made sense to describe the type of rules being used. Commissioner Hoiby said they have been following the same rules through all of the years. Ms Skogen suggested the council adopt a resolution specifying the rules and order of business they will use for the year, that way it is on the record and easy to find and provides the council the ability to change the rules. Commissioner Reynolds said the 2006 rules prepared by Mr. Burns also stated the order of business and some of the motions that could be made. She said there were several other parliamentary procedures other than Roberts that could be used, as they were not as cumbersome and were easier to understand. Commissioner Kranz wondered if someone, whether it be council or the public, could filibuster or talk for a long time so business could not be conducted. Adopted 01/06/2014 CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF NOVEMBER 4, 2013 PAGE 3 Chairperson Nelson said they could identify how long a member of the public could address an issue, and require that once an individual has taken their time, they cannot speak again, for another 3 minutes, only after all of the other individuals have had an opportunity to address the council. Commissioner Reynolds said those would be rules of procedures. Commissioner Holm said if they chose to, they could adopt the rules specified in Mr. Burns memo of 2006. Ms. Skogen said the city attorney felt, based on her experience and what other cities do, that the council should adopt rules annually. Chairperson Nelson said the council shall annually specify by resolution what rules they are adopting and using for the year. The Commissioners agreed to amend Section 3.03 of the charter as follows: “The Council shall determine and specify by resolution at the first regular meeting of the year its own rules and order of business and shall keep a journal of its proceedings.” Commissioner Holm liked the Columbia Heights language, others liked the Blaine language in Section 3.04 related to ordinances, resolutions and motions. Columbia Heights language allows for the reading to be waived with 4/5 vote, but the ordinances has be in the record in full. Blaine allowed for someone to have it read. Commissioner Reynolds said that could be done under Roberts Rules of Order. Commissioner Reynolds says our Charter says they have to read it in full. Chairperson Nelson thought the language should be changed based on their practice. The Commissioners discussed language from other city charters. Commissioner Holm there could be a 45 page ordinance and wondered what reading the ordinance out loud at a meeting really accomplished. It would be better to have a written copy to provide if someone had questions. Commissioner Reynolds felt there were very few people who go online to view the agenda before the meeting or will ask when the council adopted something they didn’t know about. She said if she attended the meeting, but had not read the ordinance, she would be speaking in the dark about it, but also understood if they were reading it out loud she would probably not understand it either. Chairperson Nelson said you should bring it up at the public hearing and not at the readings. Ms. Skogen said not all ordinances receive public hearings because the code does not require it. Chairperson Nelson wondered what the purpose of the reading was. He wondered if people have a chance to change the language or amend it between readings. Commissioner Walch wondered what the individuals thought about when putting the language together. Ms. Skogen said there may not have been as much communication and people may not have been educated as well as they are today and so they had to read it out loud. She said the way people communicate today is different. Commissioner Reynolds said because the minutes are the official record and it is not read into the minutes, is it official. Ms. Skogen said a copy of each ordinance is in an ordinance book which is part of the official record and is permanent. Adopted 01/06/2014 CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF NOVEMBER 4, 2013 PAGE 4 Chairperson Nelson wondered if they should state that the resolution and ordinances are part of a separate journal that may be kept separate from the minutes. Commissioner Borman wondered if he gave a January 15, 1982 council date you could pull up that meeting and find all of the related information. Ms. Skogen said when scanning in the documentation, there was not a lot of information stored from the agenda books, but you would have a record of the minutes, resolutions and ordinances in their respective books. She said more information is provided in the agenda books today, but you still would refer to the official copy of the minute, resolution and ordinance books. She said Section 3.07 requires the city clerk to keep an ordinance book for that purpose. Commissioner Reynolds said in some of the meeting minutes she found some of the ordinances were read, but if it was not changed, it was not read the second time. Ms. Skogen suggested putting together a comparison chart, or they could suggest a change. She said if they were looking at changing reading of ordinances, they should also look at resolutions as they are required to be read in full as well and the language should be consistent. Need a motion to waive the reading and order the adoption of, with the language, vs they will just be available in writing, vs Blaine if a citizen wants to pull it and it can be read in its entirety. Commissioner Walch liked the Blaine language because it didn’t require the council to waive the reading like the Columbia Heights language did, unless one individual councilmember or member of the public wanted to read it. In addition, the ordinance could only be read once. The commissioners suggested the following language to reflect the Blaine language. “Except as otherwise provided in the Charter, all legislation shall be by ordinance. Every ordinance and resolution shall be presented in writing and shall not be read in full, unless requested by a councilmember or a Fridley resident, at the meeting in which it is introduced before the vote is taken thereon. All administrative business may be transacted by ordinary motion….” Commissioner Holm wondered what to do about the language in Section 3.05 where it is stated “readings in full”. Ms. Skogen said she did not know why the word “read” or “reading” is used and talked about how the legislature conducts its business. She did not know if there was a legal basis to use the words or if a different word like present or presentation could be used. The Commissioners requested Ms. Skogen do some research to find out definitions. Commissioner Borman asked if reading mean it had to be read out loud or does reading mean it is being presented? Chairperson Nelson wondered why three individuals, other than the mayor would sign the documents. Ms. Skogen suggested changing that to mayor pro tem, as that is the term used in Section 2.03.1 and it would make it more consistent. The commissioners agreed and the language recommended is: “Every ordinance passed by the Council shall be signed by the Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem, or by three (3) other members of the Council, and attested by the City Clerk, published and recorded.” Adopted 01/06/2014 CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF NOVEMBER 4, 2013 PAGE 5 FUTURE MEETING TOPICS Discussion of Chapter 3 Look at Chapter 1 Update on Chapters 7-12 Adopted 01/06/2014 CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF NOVEMBER 4, 2013 PAGE 6 ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Holm MOVED and Commissioner Kranz seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON NELSON DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 8:34 P.M. Respectfully submitted, ________________________ ________________________ Debra A. Skogen, Commissioner Donald Findell, Secretary City Clerk/Staff Liaison Adopted 01/06/2014