Agenda - Charter Commission - 11/17/2021

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Commissioner Anderson commented that she believed the intent of the amendment was to limit the amount of franchise fees that could be charged, rather than not allowing them at all. Chairperson Field stated that the amendment as proposed would limit the increase in costs that results for a utility company to implement its service, which would be negligible. Commissioner Anderson believed that the intent was to ensure that the franchise fees would only be used for improving roads and to have additional controls. Chairperson Field stated that the amendment would match the actual expense for a utility company to implement their service, rather than allowing the City to raise revenue through that purpose. City Administrator Ulrich stated that other options were discussed with the Charter Commission five or six years ago to make the Charter more consistent with the ordinance, to use that method for only road funding and with caps but that did not move forward. Commissioner Sivertson stated that in those discussions it was determined that the Charter cannot engage in budget issues and that is why the discussion ended. Chairperson Field called for votes on the motion to approve the amendment to Section 10.4 of the Charter, which adds the phrase "except that any franchise fees imposed under State Statute must be limited to defray an actual increased municipal costs accrued as a result of utility operations and may not be used to generate revenue." A roll call vote was performed: Commissioner Bendtsen aye Commissioner Sivertsen aye Commissioner Deemer nay Commissioner Leistico nay Commissioner Fuhreck nay Commissioner Anderson nay Commissioner Moore nay Chairperson Field aye Motion failed. 5.5 Review Amendments to Chapter 4 of the Charter — Nominations and Elections to be in Conformity with State Law Chairperson Field reviewed the staff report noting that the purpose of the case is review Chapter 4 of the Charter, Nominations and Elections, to conform with State law. A lengthy discussion ensued when the Commission discussed the topic at the February and October 2019 meetings and a consensus of the Commission was reached. The City Attorney was asked to revise Chapter 4 of the City's Charter to remove the language conflicting with State law, remove duplicative language, remove the need for primaries — with one option to remove primaries all together and another to Charter Commission/ August 27, 2020 Page 8 of 11