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Commissioner Donovan stated that he understands how overwhelming this can be for the new <br />members. This does not mean that we are not satisfied with our current form of government. He <br />felt that probably the number of Councilmembers is the easiest question to consider. It is a big <br />step and the Charter Commission has taken a more reactive role in the past. It's true we have <br />never reached a closure on this because we are not sure this would give us a better government. <br />He noted it is difficult for people running for office to effectively campaign in Ramsey and reach <br />everyone. If we did go to a ward system, it would give campaigners a chance to hold down the <br />cost and also get to all the people in their ward. We have talked a lot about each of these issues. <br /> <br />Commissioner Childs inquired if that "closure" would come from a vote and will we ever get to <br />closure in this group. <br /> <br />Chairperson Kiefer stated we are not voting for any one of these three things. All we are voting <br />on is to put this in front of the voters. We will give the citizens the chance to voice their opinion. <br /> <br />Councilmember Connolly stated that when it was on the ballot to add two years to the Mayor <br />term, it sounded great. With that, however, you will have less of a turn over - the majority of the <br />Council should be up every two years. She wondered if anyone had given any thought to how <br />that would work. <br /> <br />Commissioner Childs agreed that Councilmember Connolly was right. He wondered if adding <br />more Council would make a difference. <br /> <br />Commissioner LaMere asked that the discussion relate to only one of the issues at a time. <br /> <br />Councihnember Hendriksen felt that extending the Mayor term to four years was a mistake <br />because there is not a majority turnover. We should look at a way to make sure every two years <br />the citizens have a right to vote approval or disapproval. In the past, he has always seen exact <br />language prepared to be placed on the ballot and he wondered if there has been any language <br />drafted. <br /> <br />Chairperson Kiefer answered no, not yet. <br /> <br />Councilmember Hendriksen asked if there will be exact language available for Council. <br /> <br />Chairperson Kiefer responded that the Commission has to determine if there is any interest in <br />moving forward, then we have to prepare the exact language. <br /> <br />Mr. Goodrich pointed out that the City can also have an advisory election. We have never had <br />that before but we could start the ballot question by saying "Shall we...". There has been some <br />discussion of why type of question it should be. <br /> <br />Chairperson Kiefer asked how to provide enough information to the public. He agreed that the <br />timing seems right but if we do it too quickly, we may find ourselves undoing it in the future. <br /> <br />Commissioner Henke commented on the new Mayor term being four years. <br /> <br />Charter Commission - September 6, 2000 <br /> Page 4 of 12 <br /> <br /> <br />