Agenda - Charter Commission - 04/17/1997

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residents who are affected by the change. There are a couple of different ways to do a mailing. One way - probably the least amount of work and the least cost to the City, would be postcards from the County. The cost is 24 cents per card - that's printed, mailed, etc. Another way to notify residents is with a letter, from the City of Ramsey, explaining about the change and informing them of their new polling place. A suggestion was to have the back of the letter be a map showing the precinct lines. Labels would be obtained from the State of Minnesota for these letters and there is a cost for this service also. The letter would be more of a "personal" communication than the postcard and would offer more explanation of what was happening and why. Anoka County would notify the Post Office ahead of time when to expect either the postcards or the letters, as that allows for quicker turnaround time for address changes, etc. Another cost to consider is the purchase of extra voting equipment for an additional precinct. To set up a precinct now, today, would cost a minimum of $8,000 for just equipment, plus it has been suggested by the County that when we have six or more precincts, it may make sense to have an extra accu-vote machine on hand in case one would "go down" on election day. The cost for this is $6,000. To staffa precinct with 10 election judges would be another cost estimated at $2,500 for a primary and general election in one year, plus the training. Ramsey's City Charter contains the following language, with regard to precincts: Chapter 3, Section 3.2.2. "The precinct boundaries shall correspond to those adopted and revised periodically by council. There shall be three (3) precincts and they shall approximate each other in population." We currently have five precincts, however, they are numbered with "a" and "b" to adhere to this section. The Commission may wish to discuss amending this to a different number or deleting the portion relating to a number at all. Following discussion at the February meeting, the Commission members present asked that the maps include information such as where current Councilmembers live, where the past Councilmembers lived, and where the 1996 Mayor/Council candidates live. The Commission also requested that the MUSA line be drawn/shown on the map. These new maps are included in your agenda packet. Please bring them with you to the meeting. Commission Action: Based upon discussion. Reviewed by: City Administrator Ch after: 04/17/97 ~j'o/Cou~cit/Commissions/C/~arter/] 997/,4pril