Agenda - Charter Commission - 04/17/1997

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MEMORANDUM Date: April 16, 1997 Chm'ter Commission Members Jo Thieling RE: Linda Waite Smith, Administrative Services Manage~d~_. Charter Commission Terms of Office 'l~)~cl'e has been some confusion about which Charter Commissioners are eligible for reappointment when their terms expire May 12, 1997. I spoke with Tim Sime, Law Clerk for Chief Judge Gary Meyer of the Tenth Judicial District. He said that people who are appointed to complete the unexpired terms of someone else are still entitled to serve two '~.%'m..year terms of their own. .As the attached chart shows, Dennis Donovan and Richard Netzloff were originally appointed to fill unexpired terms. Therefore, on May 12, 1997, they will be completing their first full terms and are eligible for a second term if they are willing to serve. TI'mm has also been confusion about whether Charter Commissioners are eligible to .:'eceive the stipend ($25 per meeting) given to members of other City commissions. The question was raised last July but the City Attorney's memo didn't make it into the right hands. The failure in communication resulted in checks being issued for the last Charter Commission meeting. State statute clearly states that members can't be compensated for ~heir service, so checks will not be issued in the future. The City Administrator suggests ~ha~ rather than returning the checks, commissioners donate a like sum to charity in the City's name. Finally, there have been questions about whether someone who serves on a City commission is eligible to serve on the Charter Commission as well. Again, state statute clearly says that someone cannot be denied an appointment to a Charter Commission l)¢canse they serve in another elected or appointed capacity, unless it's judiciary. _k!oi)ctk:lly, this clears up a number of questions. I'll be at your April 17 meeting in case thc're are others.