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<br />City Attorney Goodrich replied that it had nothing to do with voting or not voting and <br />opined that the intent was to state that the liaison did not have any rights as far as <br />administering the city, e.g., police and fire, supervising, or clerking. <br /> <br />Motion by Commissioner McKinney and seconded by Commissioner Deemer to add a <br />provision to Section 2.5 of the Charter which states: "the appointed liaison person shall <br />involve no administrative function." <br /> <br />Discussion <br /> <br />Chairperson LaMere stated there are some terms of art that may not be fully defined or <br />understood by all and asked if the term "liaison" is used in any other sense in the Charter. <br /> <br />City Attorney Goodrich replied the term is not presently contained in the Charter. <br /> <br />Commissioner McKinney stated the liaison will have no administrative function and <br />inclusion of this statement seems to work in this particular section. <br /> <br />Chairperson LaMere stated this Section clearly states that the councilmember proposed to <br />serve as liaison shall have only one vote and did not feel further clarification was <br />necessary. <br /> <br />Motion failed. Voting Yes: Commissioners McKinney and Deemer. Voting No: <br />Chairperson LaMere, Commissioners Bergfalk, Cleveland, Frederick, and Sherman. <br />Absent: Commissioners Erickson and Simenson. <br /> <br />Section 4.5.5 Office Vacancy when less than eight weeks prior to primary election <br /> <br />City Attorney Goodrich presented additional minor revisions to Section 4.5.5 based on <br />additional research conducted following the April 17th Charter Commission meeting, as <br />well as a copy of Article VII, Elective Franchise, from the Constitution. He stated he also <br />contacted the Attorney General's office to discuss the issue of whether an elected <br />councilmember can legally be seated immediately after the November election. He <br />reported the Attorney General prepared an opinion in 1999 for a statutory city and in that <br />case, a person resigned and the council appointed somebody for the November election, <br />followed by the election, and the question posed was whether the person who was <br />appointed and elected could take office right after the election. He stated the Attorney <br />General opined that in the case .of filling a vacancy, the time of commencement of filling <br />an office is not an issue and the person could take office when she or he has received a <br />certificate of election. He stated he did not know of any contrary law and the Deputy <br />Attorney General he spoke with indicated he could not see any reason why the City of <br />Ramsey could not do this. He noted he does not have a formal legal opinion from the <br />Attorney General on this matter. <br /> <br />Charter Commission/June 12,2008 <br />Page 3 of5 <br />