Amendment to City Charter 10/13/92

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CASE AMENDMENT TO CITY CHARTER By William K. Goodrich, City Attorney Backgrouiid: At its AuguSt 27, 1992 meeting the Charter Commission recommended an Amend~en~ to Chapter 8 of the City Charter. This chapter is titled ".I~bl~c Improvements and Special Assessments". The proposed amendmen~ iq an attempt to better organize the City's procedures and polic~eslrelating to special assessment projects. The proposal would re~ui~e that all city special assessment projects be conducte~ p~rsuant to Chapter 429 of the State Statutes. This is a significant improvement for the City's bond issues as it will enable bo~d 6ounsel to issue more positive opinions as to the legal procedures ~sed in the City's special assessment projects. This may translate in the future to higher bond ratings. The amendment does maintain the 60 day waiting period and petition~g~tprocess which gives residents the ability to stop a project ,t~e~ disapprove. No City ~eferendum on a charter amendment is necessary where the amendmen~i~recommended by the Charter Commission and passed by the City Council as an Ordinance. However, a public hearing on the proposed ~me~dment is required prior to ordinance passage. It is possible lun~er state law, for residents to petition for a referendu~.~ b~tween the period of time when the ordinance is passed and it be~om~es effective. The followin~ items are enclosed for your review: a) i Proposed Ordinance Amending Chapter 8 of City Charter b) ' Present City Code Chapter 8 RecommendatiOn: The charter ~ommission and City Staff recommend that the proposed ordinance!be! introduced and that a public hearing before the City Council oD the Ordinance be scheduled. CounCil! Action: MotiOn to: IntrOdu~e Ordinance 92- amending t~e City Charter, Chapterl 8, and schedule a public hearing on the proposed ordihance for October 13, 1992 at 7:30 p.m. Review Checklist: City Administrator City Finance Officer