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Charter Commission <br />Meeting Date: 04/19/2012 <br />By: Jo Thieling, Administrative Services <br />Title: <br />Update on Topics for Discussion <br />Background: <br />At the Charter Commission meeting of May 19, 2011, future topics for discussion were suggested. The purpose of <br />this case is to give the Commission an update of these items and to request prioritizing of same. <br />1) Review Sections 2.3 through 2.5 of the City's Charter: Those sections read as follows: <br />Section 2.3 Council Composition and Election. <br />5. 2. <br />2.3.1 Mayor and Council. The council shall be composed of the mayor, elected at- large, two councilmembers <br />elected at- large, and four councilmembers, each of whom shall be elected from a separate Ward as established or <br />amended pursuant to this charter. The mayor and councilmembers shall be qualified electors. Each councilmember <br />elected from a ward shall be a resident of the Ward, but a change in Ward boundaries does not disqualify a <br />councilmember from serving the remainder of a term. Except as hereinafter provided, councilmembers shall serve <br />for a term of four years and until a successor is elected and qualifies. The mayor shall serve for a term of four years <br />and until a successor is elected and qualifies. The elections for the mayor and councilmembers shall be held as <br />provided in Subsection 2.3.3. <br />2.3.2 Wards. The city shall be divided into four separate Wards. The boundaries of such Wards shall be determined <br />by ordinance based upon population as determined by the most recent federal decennial census and shall be as <br />equal in population as practicable and each Ward shall be composed of compact, contiguous territory. An ordinance <br />designating the boundaries of the City's election Wards shall be enacted within sixty days after the state legislature <br />has been redistricted or by May 10 in the year ending in two, whichever comes first. The Wards shall be designated <br />as ward numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. <br />2.3.3 Transition Schedule. <br />2.3.3.1 For the 2002 Citywide election only: <br />(1) Councilmembers elected in the year 2000 shall be assigned to the Ward in which he /she resides. <br />(2) Councilmembers from Ward Numbers 1 and 3 shall be elected. <br />(3) Two at -large councilmembers shall be elected, with the candidate receiving the highest number of votes serving <br />a four -year term and the candidate receiving the second highest number of votes serving a two -year term. <br />2.3.3.2 For the 2004 Citywide election only: <br />(1) Councilmembers from Ward Numbers 2 and 4 shall be elected. <br />(2) One at -large councilmember shall be elected to serve a four -year term. <br />(3) A mayor shall be elected. <br />2.3.3.3 Thereafter and commencing with the City wide election in 2006, there shall be biennial City wide elections <br />with councilmembers from Ward Numbers 1 and 3 and an at -large councilmember elected, and at the next City <br />wide election councilmembers from Ward Numbers 2 and 4, an at -large councilmember and a mayor shall be <br />elected. <br />Section 2.4 Incompatible Offices. No member of the council shall hold any paid municipal office or employment <br />through the city other than that to which elected. Further, until one year after the expiration of his/her term, no <br />mayor or councilmember shall be appointed or employed by the city in a compensated position which was created, <br />