Agenda - Charter Commission - 01/08/2002 - Memorandum

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-4- some of those who petitioned for the appointment of the charter commission. From these persons they should learn what the public is expecting of the charter commission. Why was the charter commission appointed? Why .are the people dissatisfied with their existing city government? How much of the existing set-up needs to be changed, i.e~ must there_b~ a complete reorgan- ization or can the existing one be included in the charter with only minor- modifications? What must the new charter contain in order to win the support of the voters? Much of this information the committee members will get easily by private consultations, each member interviewing a select few° In addition, a widely advertised public meeting should be arranged for in which the various views can be presented. (2) The quest of the committee should not end after getting local opinion. A few selected members should find out, by a short, intensive study, just what sort of city government the community has, what its various departments and officers are and what they do, how much the government costs the people in comparison with the cost of neighboring towns, how much the taxpayers are getting for their expenditures as compared to others, what the real defects in the local system are, and so on. It may prove, on investigation, that the public opinion is "barking up the wrong tree," and that what really ails the local government is something entirely different from what the people think. (3) The committee should also look into the history and literature of American municipal-progress to ascertain what forward steps the cities in this and other states have taken, and what the national leaders in municipal reform think about the various proposed cures for the ills of municipal government. To summarize this section, this committee should diagnose the local situation as fully and as carefully as time will permit and should get some ideas concerning the probable remedies. It will then be in a position to submit -to the next meeting of the entire commission a report as to what work the commission should undertake, whether a complete new charter or merely some amendments to the old, of what nature the new charter or amended charter should be and what committees will be necessary to carry out the work. Expe~ .charter advice° The making of a city charter is a complex and difficult matter requiring special skill.' The laws of Minnesota are rather liberal as to the amount which may be spent by the charter commission in its work. In first class cities up.to $10,000 may be expended and in all other cities the limit is $1,500. These amounts the city is obligated to pay, but both these limits may be exceeded if the council so authorizes. In addition, charter commission expenditures (which, of course, are paid by the council) are not subject to statutory or charter budgetary limitations. A tsx to pay these expenses is within the statutory restriction that the city's total taxes, with certain exceptions and offsets, may not be more than six percent more than the previous levy, but such a tax is outside other statutory or charter limits. (u.s. There are not many skilled charter draftsmen in the entire country. Never- theless, a charter commission should get a little preliminary advice from some person with skill in these matters as to what should go into a charter and should also, before proposing a charter, submit its draft to some impartial expert for final criticism. The League of Minnesota Municipalities, 300