Agenda - Charter Commission - 04/27/2006

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CHARTER CASE # ~-~ CONSIDER CITY MANAGER FORM OF GOVERNMENT By: James E. Norman, City Administrator Background: Chairperson Vogt has requested this item be placed back on the Commission's agenda. The Charter Commission first began discussion of this item back in 1998. The Charter Commission discussed City Manager form of Government in 1998, 1999, and again in 2002 and 2005. The item was originally proposed by then Charter Commissioner Susan Anderson. It was reported by the City Administrator in January 1999, that a survey of 21 comparably based sized cities in the northwest quadrant of the metropolitan area found five cities with administrator form of government and 16 cities with the manager form of government. Staff provided a League of Minnesota Cities research memo that provided a description of the differences as revised in August 2000. A booklet dated April 2004 that explained the differences between the City Administrator and City Manager was distributed in January 2005. Rylee Retzer, a research attorney with the League of Minnesota Cities was at the January 2005 meeting and offered to put together some information relating to City Administrator/City Manager form of government. She reported to the Charter Commission that Kevin Frazell of the League of Minnesota Cities staff was extremely knowledgeable about this subject. Mr. Frazell was contacted and presented the Commission with information and provided a question and answer period at the April 2005 meeting. During that meeting, it was suggested that some members of the current Council may not have been privy to past discussions the Charter Commission has held regarding City Manager form of government. The information was to be forwarded to the City Council. The City Council discussed City Manager form of government during a work session held on October 4, 2005. All information that had been previously distributed to the Charter Commission, as well as the information provided by Mr. Frazell of the League of Minnesota Cities, was presented during the work session. There was a consensus of the City Council that as the City grows, the City Council would assume more of a policy role and the City Administrator role would move to a City Manager form of government. The Council was reminded that the City had recently initiated an organization study and the City Council directed staff to have the City Manager form of govemment issue forwarded to the consultant to include it in the organization study. The organization study should be completed sometime in May or June, 2006. Commission Action: Based upon discussion. Reviewed by: City Administrator Charter: 04/27/05