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City Attorney Langel explained that Special Elections include candidates for offices, bond <br />elections, referendum of recall or any election that does not occur on the general election date. <br />An Advisory Election is a type of Special Election. <br />Chairperson Field asked how long the City has had this election in the Code. <br />City Clerk Thieling stated the Section was amended in 2000 but she was not sure when it was <br />originally implemented. <br />Commissioner Deemer stated that 99% of the past Special Elections in Ramsey were Charter <br />Amendments. <br />Commissioner Anderson stated that in the past, the City was being run by Charter Amendments <br />and Special Elections. <br />Commissioner Sivertson asked about the language of Option 4, stating a Special and Advisory <br />Election will only be held on a general election. <br />City Attorney Langel stated a Special Election can occur on a General Election and if so, can <br />save time and money. <br />City Attorney outlined the 4 options presented in Section 4.4. <br />Commissioner Sivertson asked if the City doesn't use Advisory Elections, can the City use a <br />mailing survey to get opinions. <br />City Clerk Thieling stated the City has done that in the past and has placed inserts in the Ramsey <br />Resident. <br />Chairperson Field asked if there were statistics as to what method was the most effective. <br />City Clerk Thieling stated the City has that data but she did not have it available at this time. <br />Chairperson Field stated that if the Commission did not want Advisory Elections, then Options 1 <br />or 4 were available. <br />Commissioner Leistico asked when an Advisory Election was last used. <br />City Clerk Thieling could not recall the year, however, she stated it was done at the same time as <br />the General Election. <br />Chairperson Field stated that prior to technology an Advisory Election was a way to get the <br />opinion of the voters, but now there are many other ways to get that information. <br />Commissioner Deemer asked what the cost differential between an election and a mailer would <br />be. <br />Charter Commission/ October 17, 2019 <br />Page 5 of 10 <br />