Minutes - Council - 02/22/2022 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Charter Commission Chair Fields clarified his earlier statements by saying if the Charter Commission originates an amendment and sends it to the Council, it is dead on arrival because there is a Councilmember sitting on the Charter Commission and is double dipping. He’s able to make his arguments at the Charter Commission level and vote and then come back to the Council and vote because it requires a unanimous vote. That Councilmember can torpedo it with just his own vote. He stated it raises a legal question if it allows for abstentions or absence. He thought he read that there are other ways for it be approved and one way would include a city-wide vote by residents. City Attorney Knaak replied he agreed that is correct. City Administrator Ulrich commented he concurred and as he understood the process, the Council could draft and approve a Charter Amendment, send it to the Charter Commission, and then get it back to vote on unanimously. Councilmember Musgrove commented that is one point that needs to be addressed, the other is the ordinance to make the process fair and provide equal opportunity for all residents regarding elections and appointments. She felt it was frustrating and destroys the confidence of the public. She stated that her questions to the City get shared but other members aren’t shared. Administrative Services Director Lasher commented that she agrees there is a fair process. She stated she is the City Clerk as well as the HR Manager. The problem that started with this particular recruitment, is that she made a mistake in that it should have been published in the November/December issue of the Ramsey Resident. She stated if it was published, then there would have been no deadline, it would have been open until filled and the people that would have applied would have. She admitted she made a mistake. She stated it went in the January/ February issue. There is a 60 day rule of appointing Charter Commissioners. She stated it was put on the st website that the Charter applications would close on January 21. She felt that three weeks in the Ramsey Resident, with the approval of City Administrator Ulrich, was making the best of a mistake. She also pointed out that board, commission, and Charter Commission recruitments run on a different schedule. When Communications Coordinator Thorstad stated she has posts planned for January 10, January 24, February 7, and February 21, 2022 those were posts scheduled for regular boards and commission recruitments because those begin April 1, 2022. She apologized for her mistake and stated she didn’t mean to cut off the applicant pool. She cited statistics on the number of applicants in prior years being typically one or two, but this year there were six so this is the most applicants that has been seen in 11 or 12 years. She reviewed the timeline stating it was advertised in the Anoka Union Herald on November 19, 2021 with the first application being received on November 25, 2021. Ads were posted on QCTV, the Ramsey Community sign, and in the January/February edition of the Ramsey Resident. She stated she needed to get the applications to the judge for the 60-day window. Mayor Kuzma asked, now that Councilmember Woestehoff is appointed to the Charter Commission, if the only way for him not to participate as a member is if he were to resign. City Council / February 22, 2022 Page 27 of 34