Agenda - Charter Commission - 02/20/1997

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February 20, 1997 The Honorable Gary Meyer Chief Judge Tenth Judicial District Wright County Courthouse 10 Second Street NW - Room 201 Elk River, Minnesota 55330 RE: City of Ramsey, Anoka County, Minnesota Charter Commission Annual Report Dear Judge Meyer: In accordance with Minnesota Statute 410.05, the following is an annual report reflecting the activities of the City of Ramsey Charter Commission during 1996. The Commission met on the following dates: February 1, 1996 April 18, 1996 July 18, 1996 October 10, 1996. At the February meeting, Charter reviewed an ordinance amending the Mayor's term. A couple members of the Council were present to offer input. The Commission approved a motion to amend the language in Chapter 2 of the Ramsey City Charter entitled "Form of Government", Section 2.3, by adding: Commencing with Election year 2000, the Mayor's term will be lengthened from two years to four years. They voted to forward this to Council for introduction and scheduling of a public hearing. Another item discussed at that meeting was the findings of fact for public improvement petition process. The City Council had directed that the Charter Commission review whether or not Chapter 8 of the City Charter should be amended to prohibit Council from ordering a public improvement project unless more than 50 percent of the benefitting property owners are in favor of it. The Commission determined that 50/50 is the most equitable, there hasn't been that many problems with the current process to date, it is appropriate for Council to be the decision maker in tie situations, and it is not necessary to be more rigorous than State Statutes than the City already is. The Charter Commission has been discussing the amendments process and the possible problems created by allowing amendments of the Charter by residents, without any checks, etc. It was reported that the League of Minnesota Cities is reviewing this process but that they have not taken a formal position on it. This will be an item of further discussion for the Ramsey Charter Commission.