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05-02-11 Charter Commission Regular MeetingCITY OF HOPKINS CHARTER COMMISSION AGENDA May 2, 2011 6:30 p.m. Raspberry Room - Hopkins City Hall 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting 4. Reports 5. Old Business 6. New Business • Charter Amendments 7. Adjournment ATTACHMENTS: • Charter Commission Roster • Minutes of the April 27, 2010 Charter Commission meeting • Charter Commission 2010 Annual Report • Proposed amendments to the City Charter CHARTER COMMISSION March 31, 2011 Name Term Expires Jannina Aristy 3/10/2012 Dorothy Boen 1/6/2011 David Day 1/6/2011 Liz Dorn 3/10/2012 Roger Gross 1/6/2011 Fran Hesch 6/16/2014 Karen Jensen 6/16/2014 Roger Johnson 5/5/2014 Steve Lewis 1/6/2011 Jerre Miller 9/26/2008 Emily Wallace-Jackson 3/5/2012 Chair: Emily Wallace-Jackson Vice-Chair: Karen Jensen Minutes of the Hopkins Charter Commission April 27, 2010 The Hopkins Charter Commission met on April 27. Present were Commission members Dorothy Boen, David Day, Roger Gross, Fran Hesch, Karen Jensen, Roger Johnson, Steve Lewis, and Emily Wallace-Jackson. The meeting was brought to order at 6:33 p.m. by the Chair of the Commission, Emily Wallace-Jackson. Approval of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting Commissioner Hesch moved and Commissioner Jensen seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the June 30, 2009 meeting. The motion was approved unanimously. Election of Officers Commissioner Lewis nominated Commissioner Wallace-Jackson for Chair and Commissioner Jensen for Vice-Chair. Commissioner Boen seconded the nomination. Commissioner Wallace-Jackson and Commissioner Jensen were reelected by a unanimous vote. Old Business Instant Runoff Elections Mr. Genellie provided an update on IRV in Minnesota. The City of Minneapolis conducted its November 2009 election using Ranked Choice Voting. This was done using hand counting due to the fact that there are no machines in Minnesota at this time which can handle RCV ballots. In St. Paul, voters, in the November 2009 election, approved the use Instant Runoff Voting for future elections. Several bills authorizing cities to use ranked choice voting were introduced in 2009. The legislature has taken no action on these bills in 2010. The consensus was that the Commission still favors ranked choice voting. Although at this time the Commission is reluctant to propose any ordinance which might require additional costs by the City. UNAPPROVED 2 The Commission also reiterated its position on the purchase of any new voting machines. Any new voting machines should be able to count ranked ballot voting ballots. Commissioner Hesch moved and Commissioner Gross seconded a motion to adjourn. The meeting adjourned by unanimous consent at 7:12 p.m. Hopkins Charter Commission Annual Report 2010 The Hopkins Charter Commission met on April 27. Commission members included: Jannina Aristy Dorothy Boen David Day Liz Dorn Roger Gross Fran Hesch Karen Jensen Roger Johnson Steve Lewis Jerre Miller Emily Wallace-Jackson Election of Officers Commissioner Wallace-Jackson was reelected as Chair and Commissioner Jensen was reelected as Vice-Chair. The Commission again discussed Instant Runoff Elections. Assistant City Manager Genellie provided an update on IRV in Minnesota. The City of Minneapolis conducted its November 2009 election using Ranked Choice Voting. In St. Paul, voters approved the use Instant Runoff Voting for future elections. Several bills authorizing cities to use ranked choice voting were introduced in 2009. The legislature took no action on these bills in 2010. The consensus was that the Commission still favors ranked choice voting. Although at this time the Commission is reluctant to propose any ordinance which might require additional costs by the City. The Commission also reiterated its position on the purchase of any new voting machines. Any new voting machines should be able to count ranked ballot voting ballots. \Charter Changes 2011.doc Department of Administration Memorandum To: Charter Commission From: Jim Genellie Date: March 31, 2011 Subject: 2011 Charter Amendments Staff is proposing two amendments to the Charter. They are essentially housekeeping amendments. Section 3.03, Subdivision 6. No ordinance or section thereof shall be amended or repealed except by ordinance, and every amendment or repeal shall refer to the ordinance so amended or repealed by title, date of passage and section number or numbers. All previous amendments must be consolidated in a rewording of the section amended each time that the section is changed. Section 3.03 requires that an ordinance be passed to amend an existing ordinance. Hopkins, like most cities, combines its ordinances into a City Code. Staff is proposing that language referencing the City Code be added to Section 3.03. In addition, Section 3.03 currently requires that the ordinance or section being amended shall be referred to by "title, date of passage, and section number or numbers." Since the City Code is a compilation of all the ordinances, a given section may have been amended a number of times by a variety of ordinances. It is difficult to pick out a single "date of passage." Simply using the title and section numbers will make it clear as to what part of the code is being amended or repealed. Staff is proposing the following changes for Section 3.03: Subdivision 6. No section of the City Code or city ordinance or section thereof shall be amended or repealed except by ordinance, and every amendment or repeal shall refer to the section or ordinance so amended or repealed by title, date of passage and section number or numbers. All previous amendments must be consolidated in a rewording of the section amended each time that the section is changed. Section 4.02. CANDIDATES. Subdivision 1. A candidate for a city office shall file an affidavit not more than 70 days and not less than 56 days before the municipal general election with the City Clerk, or application on behalf of any qualified voter of the City whom they desire to be a candidate may be made as per Chapter 205, MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS, of the Minnesota State Statutes. In either case, the filing fee shall be $5.00. Such affidavit or application shall state that the candidate is a qualified voter of the City of Hopkins, and name the office for which she or he is a candidate. \Charter Changes 2011.doc Department of Administration Section 4.02 spells out how someone becomes a candidate for city office. It also establishes the filing period by stating how many days prior to the election an affidavit will be accepted. The state of Minnesota changed the filing dates in 2010 to accommodate the federal requirements to mail absentee ballots 45 days prior to the election. Rather than amend the Charter to adopt the new timelines, staff proposes deleting this language. Section 4.03 of the Charter applies general election laws to Hopkins unless there is different language in the Charter. By deleting the filing period in the Charter, the City's filing period will automatically match that required by the State of Minnesota. Staff is proposing the following changes for Section 4.02: Section 4.02. CANDIDATES. Subdivision 1. A candidate for a city office shall file an affidavit not more than 70 days and not less than 56 days before the municipal general election with the City Clerk, or application on behalf of any qualified voter of the City whom they desire to be a candidate may be made as per Chapter 205, MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS, of the Minnesota State Statutes. In either case, the filing fee shall be $5.00. Such affidavit or application shall state that the candidate is a qualified voter of the City of Hopkins, and name the office for which she or he is a candidate. The normal process used by the Commission to amend the Charter requires two Charter Commission meetings. At the first meeting the proposed amendments are brought forward. Assuming that the Commission wishes to proceed with the amendments a draft ordinance and resolution will be prepared for a second meeting of the Commission. Approval of the resolution will forward the proposed ordinance to the City Council. The Council authorizes a public hearing on the ordinance. All five Council Members are required to vote in favor of the ordinance in order for it to become effective. A chart of this process is attached. First Charter Commission Meeting: Charter amendments are considered Second Charter Commission Meeting: Approve Resolution recommending that the City Council adopt ordinance amending the Charter Ordinance Amending City Charter Charter Commission Resolution City Council approves Resolution: accepting Ordinance authorizing publication ordering public hearing (within 30 days of receiving Commission recommendation) City Council Resolution Public Hearing at City Council meeting (Must be held at least 2 weeks but less than 1 month from date of publication) City Council approves Ordinance 1st & 2nd Reading Approval must take place within 1month of the public hearing (Must be approved by all 5 Council Members) Petition requesting referendum on the ordinance filed with the City Clerk within 60 days of publication. Ordinance published in official city newspaper Yes Yes Ordinance will not take effect until approved by the voters Ordinance takes effect 90 days after publication Process for Amending the Charter according to MN Statute, Section 410.12 No No Ordinance returned to Charter Commission Ordinance is published in the official newspaper