Agenda - Council - 02/13/1996 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I I I REPORT FROM THE CHARTER COMMISSION By: Ryan R. Schroeder, City Administrator Background: The Charter Commission conducted a regular meeting on Thursday, February 1, 1996. is a smmnm'y of their meeting. 1) Review Annual Letter to Judge Gibbs CASE Following I I I I State Statutes mandates that the Charter Commission submit an annual report, in the form of a letter, to Judge James D. Gibbs of the Tenth Judicial District. Such letter was drafted for the Charter review, approved,, and sent to Judge Gibbs. No action by Council is required. 2) Review Ordinance Amending Mayor's Terms The Charter Commission is recommending that Council introduce, and finally adopt, an ordinance that would amend Chapter 2 of the City Charter dealing with the Mayor/Council terms. The amendment would state that commencing with the election year 2000, the Mayor's term shall be lengthened from two years to four years. Council action on this item was dealt with in a separate case on this agenda. 3) Appointment of Chair and Vice-Chair For your information, Bernie Steffen was appointed as the Chairperson for the Charter Commission and Jay Swokowski was appointed as the Vice-Chairperson. No Council action is necessary. 4) Interview Candidate for Charter Vacancy The Charter Commission interviewed Ms. Judy Roff and recommended her appointment to the Charter Commission. She was also recently seated on the Economic Development Commission. Action on this item was dealt with in a separate case on this agenda. 5) Review Findings of Fact for Public Improvement Petition Process As a result of the petition process for public improvements in Haubrich Addition, Councilmember Zimmerman asked 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% of the benefitting property owners are in favor of it. The Charter Commission met on November 30, 1995, and reviewed the current requirements of the City Charter. After some discussion, it was determined that 50/50 is the most equitable, that there haven't been that many problems with the current process to date, that 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 we already are. City Staff drafted a findings of fact/resolution for the Charter Commission to adopt, which they did on February 1, 1996. The minutes from the November 30, 1995 meeting, and the resolution are enclosed for your review. No action from Council is necessary. Reviewed by: City Administrator CC: 02/13/96 /jmt