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Commissioner Anderson asked why the City is left to wait until August for the next City <br /> Councilmember to be elected. <br /> City Clerk Thieling stated that if the Charter were amended to follow State language the City <br /> could have possibly met the February date, but would certainly have hit the April date. <br /> Chairperson Field asked how the City has a Charter section that conflicts to this level with the <br /> State law. <br /> City Attorney Langel stated that he was unsure when the provision was added. He stated that <br /> State election law is changed on a fairly frequent basis and a lot of the Charters have not been <br /> modified along with those changes, which creates these conflicting issues. He stated that the <br /> options would be to remove primaries entirely or at least remove the need for primaries in special <br /> elections. He stated that he would also recommend streamlining the language to simplify and <br /> remove conflicting language. <br /> Commissioner Anderson stated that currently there is a provision within the Charter which <br /> requires a special election when a Councilmember moves. <br /> City Attorney Langel stated that there is language within State law that specifies when a special <br /> election must be held, dependent upon the length of the remaining term, otherwise appointment <br /> could be made to fill the vacancy. He continued to review sections of Chapter 4, highlighting <br /> language which he would recommend removing because it is unnecessary, duplicative, or <br /> conflicting with State law. He stated that the goal would be to streamline the language and <br /> process without taking anything substantive away from the City. He explained that things are <br /> easier if everyone is on the same page, rather than having five different cities with five different <br /> election processes. He noted that it is easier for City staff to use the resource of Anoka County, <br /> if they are talking about the same processes. <br /> Chairperson Field stated that it seems that there are three categories for the proposed changes to <br /> the Charter which would be duplicative language, language that conflicts with the State law, and <br /> areas of discretion. He asked City Attorney Langel to identify which category the proposed <br /> changes fall within. <br /> City Attorney Langel continued to review the sections of Chapter 4, identifying whether the <br /> proposed change would be duplicative, conflicting with State law, or an area of discretion. <br /> Chairperson Field stated that section 4.4 contains both special and advisory elections, noting that <br /> while special elections are a required element, advisory elections are not necessary. He <br /> commented that there seem to be faults in an advisory election as that would simply be equal to a <br /> public polling. <br /> Commissioner Leistico asked if an advisory election would be combined with a general election <br /> or whether that would be similar to a special election process, as that would make a difference in <br /> the cost and effort. <br /> Charter Commission/February 13, 2019 <br /> Page 4 of 11 <br />