Agenda - Council - 06/23/2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CC Regular Session 7. 10. Meeting Date: 06/23/2020 By: Colleen Lasher, Administrative Services Information Title: Adopt Resolution #20-134 Accepting Resignation of the Ward 1 Council Member, Declaring a Vacancy in the Office of Council Member Ward 1 and Calling for a Special Election to Fill the Vacancy. Purpose/Background: Purpose: To accept the resignation of Council Member Nadine Heinrich, declare a vacancy in her Ward 1 seat, call for and schedule a Special Election. Background: Council Member Nadine Heinrich, who represents the City in Ward 1, has notified the City of her intent to resign her City Council seat effective July 14, 2020. Pursuant to the City's Charter, Section 2.5, a vacancy on the Council exists upon receiving a resignation in writing. The Charter provides that upon a vacancy, the Council shall publicly declare the vacancy to exist. Adopting the attached resolution will affirm that action. Section 4.5 of the Charter directs how vacancies on the City Council are filled. If there are 365 days, or more, remaining in the term of the vacated office, a special election is required to fill that vacancy. The Charter speaks about having to hold the election within a certain time period, however, in 2018, new State legislation was adopted creating uniform election dates. Therefore, a special election held in a City must be held on one of the following dates: • The second Tuesday in February • The second Tuesday in April • The second Tuesday in May • The second Tuesday in August • The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November • On another date if the special election is held in response to an emergency or disaster. The legislation states that a home rule charter city must not designate additional dates in its charter. Therefore, to fill the vacancy caused by Council Member Heinrich's resignation, while allowing time for the Primary Election to occur, if necessary, and allowing all statutory timelines without compressing any periods - such as the filing period, etc., the first authorized date for the special election would be February 9, 2021. Staff has attached a calendar/timeline for Council infoiination. The Resolution attached for Council action takes care of the following mandatory actions: Accepting the resignation, publicly declaring the vacancy, and calling for/scheduling a Special Election. Notification: Following the adoption of Resolution #20-134 this evening, staff will publish notices of the special election as well as a candidate filing notice in the City's official newspaper, according to the Statutory timelines. As you are aware, the City's official newspaper is the Anoka County Union/Herald. The candidate filing period has to be published, at a minimum of 14 days prior to the start of filing - publications are on Fridays. Filing would begin Tuesday, July 28, 2020 and close on Tuesday, August 11, 2020. Statutes allows for two days following the close of filing for candidate withdrawal. That period ends on Thursday, August 13,