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Commissioner Deemer stated that adding a preamble would have to be voted on by the residents. <br /> The Charter Commission could discuss further and if they desire, it could be placed on a ballot in <br /> the future. <br /> Upon request by Commissioner Sherman, City Attorney Goodrich reviewed the options for <br /> Charter amendments. <br /> Mr. Surma offered that another reason he wrote this preamble is that most people do not know <br /> where their rights come from and this is a subtle way of educating the public as to who they are <br /> and how they fit. He stated he has been in Ramsey for nine years and this is the first time he has <br /> had a sense of community. <br /> Chair Field stated he is all for pioneering efforts but added that he is aware that you have to have <br /> legalese with regard to definitions. <br /> Mr. Surma stated that he is not against all legalese but the Charter should be put into an article <br /> style format. <br /> Commissioner Bendtsen remarked that all these things mean something to Mr. Surma but they <br /> do not mean anything to him yet, noting that he was not sure what the highlighting or the notes <br /> meant. <br /> Mr. Surma responded that the notes were really for his own use and referred to the vagueness of <br /> how it was written. <br /> Commissioner Sherman commented that the Charter process was a citizen based process and <br /> over time, many amendments were driven by the citizens. <br /> City Administrator Ulrich stated that one specific section was 2.5, which deals with the vacancy <br /> of, for example, Councilmember Jeffrey — a Councilmember serving a ward and moving out of <br /> the ward. He agreed that the Charter language could be more clearly written. <br /> Mr. Goodrich commented that the main reason determination of residency is not "black and <br /> white" is due to state statute definitions — and we really cannot write a precise definition because <br /> of the Statute. <br /> Commissioner Niska agreed it is an issue and not one we can really fix. Section 2.5 is talking <br /> about non- residence in the City. We could look into the history and get a more definitive <br /> answer. This no- residence was written before wards were established so he felt that 2.5 should <br /> include non - residence in the ward in which you are elected to. He hoped we could get away <br /> from the discussion about Mr. Jeffrey and make it more for the future. <br /> Mr. Surma commented that this probably was written prior to the wards but at the time, he wrote <br /> the reamble, the City Council was trying to "kick Mr. Jeffrey out of his seat ". The only time <br /> P <br /> the Council should get involved is for a malfeasance. <br /> Charter Commission/ May 19, 2011 <br /> Page3of5 <br />