Minutes - Council - 02/27/2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Gamec stated that if people want to present a petition they should hire their own Attorney to review the document. Councilmember Hendriksen stated that the Citizens are in charge of the City not the Council. Whether the City Attorney reviews the petition before the signatures are collected or after it does not cost the City anything. He would say that it would cost the City less because it would reduce the amount of time staff has to spend on petitions that are re-submitted. Councilmember Zimmerman stated that ultimately the voters are going to decide this issue and for that reason it does make sense to have the City Attorney review the petition prior to circulation. Councilmember Kurak stated that she cannot agree with that, because residents bringing forward a charter amendment have to do so on their own behalf. Councilmember Hendriksen replied that they are not asking the City Attorney to create the petition, they are only asking him to determine if the petition is manifestly unconstitutional. Councilmember Hendriksen stated that the City has builders who hire architects who turn plans over to City Engineers to receive their opinion and use resources of the City to determine how it looks. In this situation the City Attorney will review the petition one way or another and include the time of the City Clerk. He stated that he is disappointed that he found out what the City Attorney's ruling was when he opened his packet. Motion by Mayor Gamec, seconded by Councilmember Kurak, to temporarily deny the authority of the City Attorney to review any petitions presented by a petitioning group, until the City receives an opinion from Kennedy and Graven regarding the matter. Further discussion: Councilmember Hendriksen stated that having the City Attorney review a petition prior to its circulation does not change the position the City Attorney was in during the meeting. Eventually the City Attorney will have to make a ruling as to whether or not the petition is manifestly unconstitutional. The only thing Kennedy and Graven could do is give an opinion whether or not it is legal. Mr. Hendriksen inquired if the City Attorney felt it was necessary to receive an opinion from Kennedy and Graven. City Attorney Goodrich replied that they would not be able to give a legal opinion, but could give the Council input on conflict of interest. He stated that the Council needs to decide if they want to use City funds to view outside petitions. Councilmember Hendriksen replied that ultimately the City Attorney will be reviewing the petition anyway so do they want to save the costs of having the City Clerk evaluate the sufficiency of the petition each time it is submitted. Mayor Gamec suggested referring the issue back to the Charter Commission. Councilmember Anderson inquired if the petitioning group could challenge the City Attorney's legal opinion. City Attorney Goodrich replied yes, explaining that the group could challenge his opinion in court. Councilmember Hendriksen questioned the difference between manifestly unconstitutional and bad law. City Attorney City Council/February 27, 2001 Page 18 of 23