Agenda - Charter Commission - 02/02/2023

Home

that discussion were included in the materials for this meeting. He noted that it seemed the Council was not comfortable eliminating primaries whereas the Commission supported elimination of primaries because of the cost and burden on staff. Commissioner May provided input on a previous primary election experience which triggered a second primary election and additional expense for the City. The Commission discussed the difference between a referendum and an advisory election question. The Commission discussed narrowing the discussion by removing the two options that include advisory elections. Commissioner Fuhreck commented that he would not be opposed to leaving the option for an advisory election in conjunction with a regular election. He used the example of franchise fees and noted that perhaps the Council wanted to use that tool to gauge public opinion on that topic. Commissioner May noted the poor turnout that typically occurs for a special election and stated that it would perhaps be better to use alternate means to gauge resident opinion. The Commission noted other means that have been used to poll the community on topics. A suggestion was made to allow advisory election questions, but only during a regular municipal election. Chairperson Field stated that it seems there is momentum towards option one for 4.4. Motion by Commissioner Deemer, seconded by Commissioner Moore, to approve option one for 4.4. Further discussion: Commissioner Rusert stated that she does not see how an advisory election would be helpful as there would not be sufficient background information and the question can be worded to provide the desired outcome. A Commissioner asked what would be a special election outside of the Council. City Attorney Knaak provided additional details on the types of items that could be considered in special election. The Commission discussed the different methods in which the Charter can be amended. Motion Carried. Voting Yes: Chairperson Field, Commissioners Moore, Bendtsen, Deemer, Fuhreck, Leistico, and May. Voting No: Commissioner Rusert. Absent: Commissioner Anderson. Chairperson Field moved to 4.5 noting that there are many different options to consider and provided an overview. A member of the Commission suggested identifying the goal and objective and then finding the option that would best fit with that. The consensus of the Commission in regard to the objectives was that a Council position should not be allowed to remain vacant for a long period of time. The Commission discussed whether to allow appointment to a vacant position. City Attorney Knaak noted that sometimes the vacancy is in the position of Mayor and/or City Council. He noted that if the vacancy is in the position of Mayor there may be multiple members of the Council interested but there may also be interest from an outside party. He stated that the Charter Commission/ October 26, 2022 Page 4 of 8