Agenda - Charter Commission - 12/05/2006

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Background: COUNCIL - MANAGER PLAN CONSIDER AMENDING SECTIONS 2 AND 4 OF THE CITY'S CHARTER IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT A COUNCIL— MANAGER PLAN OF CITY GOVERNMENT AND ESTABLISH A DIFFERENT PROCEDURE FOR FILLING COUNCIL VACANCIES By: James E. Norman, City Administrator and William K. Goodrich, City Attorney COUNCIL VACANCY AMENDMENT CASE # The Charter Commission has discussed at various meetings the establishment of a Council- Manager form of government for the City's form of government. Currently the City's form of government is the Mayor - Council Plan. Commission members will recall that on April 21, 2005 the Commission received a presentation from Kevin Frazell of the League of Cities relating to this topic. Members may want to review the Commission's April 21, 2005 minutes regarding this topic as well as the minutes from April 27, 2006 at which time this topic was again discussed. The City Council recently discussed this issue at a work session and expressed an interest in having the Charter Commission review the subject again and make a recommendation for amendment to approve the Council- Manager Plan. Charter Commission has also been discussing for sometime an amendment to Section 4.5 of the Charter which relates to the procedure to fill a vacancy on the City Council. The current City Council has expressed an interest in amending the Charter by eliminating the need for special elections to fill vacancies. Essentially, the proposed amendment would require that vacancies be filled at the next regular municipal election as opposed to the current Charter provision requiring a special election if a vacancy occurs and there are 365 days or more remaining in the term of the vacated office. The Charter Commission most recently discussed this subject at your April 27, 2006 meeting. It would be helpful to review those minutes for the discussion. As with the above amendment, the City Council has expressed an interest in seeing this subject move forward. Enclosure: Proposed new Ordinance amending Sections 2 and 4 of City Charter. Excerpts from Minutes of City Charter meeting, January 20, 2005, April 21, 2005 and April 27, 2006. Commission Action: Based on Commission discussion. Reviewed by: City Attorney City Administrator Charter: 12/05/06