Agenda - Charter Commission - 02/15/2001

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January 23, 2001 CHARTER AMENDMENT PETITION BY: William K. Goodrich, City Attorney Background: On January 23, 2001, the City Council was presented with a petition fi'om approximately 460 residents petitioning for an Amendment to the City Charter. Enclosed is a copy of one sheet of the petition. The procedure for charter amendments is governed by MS §410.12. The City Clerk had determined, as required by state law, that all sheets of the petition were properly attested and that the petition was signed by a sufficient number of voters (five percent of the votes cast at the last general election). The next requirement is for the City Council to schedule an election for the citizens to vote on whether or not to adopt the proposed amendment. This election must be scheduled within 90 days of the date the petition was presented to the governing body (the City Council). This would then require an election date on or before April 23, 2001. Staff recommend, s an election date of Tuesday, April 17, 2001. The obligation to schedule the election is a mandatory duty of the City Council, the only exception being if the Council finds that the proposed charter amendment is not authorized by state law or the constitution. At its February 13, 2001, meeting the City Council directed the City Attorney to review the Charter Petition for legality. The City Attorney will advise the Council of his findings at its February 27, 2001 regular meeting. Under the state statute, the charter commission has minimal duties with regard to a petition by the voters for a charter amendment. The only duty of any substance is in the event the proposed amendment contains more than 1,000 words. In that event, the charter commission is charged with the task of determining if the summary is sufficient to inform the signers of the petition as to what change in govermnent is sought to be accomplished with the amendment. In the present case, the petition is not in excess of 1,000 words and, therefore, a summary was not required. The statute further provides that "All the petitiofi papers for a proposed amendment shall be assembled and filed with the charter commission .... "Because the charter commission meets infrequently, and there is a necessity to schedule the election in a timely mm~qer, the City has taken the position that delivery of the proposed charter amendment at a City Council meeting is sufficient to commence the statutory process and time requirements. Attached for your information is a copy of the City Attorney's memorandum on the proposed charter amendment. Enclosure: Proposed Charter Amendment Petition City Attorney Memorandum dated January 31, 2001 Commission Action: No Action Required Charter: 02/15/01