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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-07-21 CRC MINS - . . .-> MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION JULY 21, 1992 July 21, 1992 Council Conference Room 6:00 p.m. ----------------------------------------------------------------- MEMBERS PRESENT: Bob Campbell, Jack Blakely, Sharon Reid, Susan Fuller, Vickie Turner, and John Dorso MEMBERS ABSENT: Ted Hillock (excused) STAFF PRESENT: Assistant City Attorney Rudolf The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Campbell at 6:05 p.m. The roll was called and all members were present except Member Hillock who was excused for a business conflict (MSUC Fuller/Turner for Hillock excuse). MSC (Fuller/Dorso-Reid abstained because of absence) to approve the minutes of the Special Meeting of June 4, 1992. There were no comments from members of the public, but Mr. Rudolf presented a letter regarding staff reduction with regard to support for boards and commissions from Councilman Moore. Chairman Campbell indicated he would respond directly to Mr. Moore. Mr. Rudolf also reported that the Commission would not be participating in the process of preparing arguments for the proposed Charter amendments, but that the City Attorney's office would be preparing those for this election. Agenda Item 4A: section 300. Member Reid stated that the Charter had been in place for 45 years with no candidate's death and thought it was overkill to have the proposed provision. MSUC (Dorso/Fuller) to approve the proposed final language for new Subsection H to Section 300 of the Charter relating to death of a runoff candidate. Agenda Item 4B: Section 303. Mr. Rudolf presented Options 2 and 3 for the proposed amendment to the second paragraph of Charter Section 303 relating to the circumstances under which an absence by operation of law occurs on the Council. Option 1, the language in the agenda package has a vacancy occur upon absence from three consecutive regular meetings scheduled and held or any ten such meetings whether or not . Charter Review Commission 7/21/92 Minutes Page 2 consecutive within a twelve-month period. Option 2 changes the three consecutive meetings to four. Option 3 deletes the consecutive meeting provision entirely and only has a vacancy upon absence from ten regular meetings scheduled and held whether or not consecutive within a twelve-month period. . Members Blakely and Reid felt Option 3 was unacceptable, and did not want to give up the vacancy upon absence from any specified number of consecuti ve meetings. Member Blakely stated he was willing to forward both the original version and Option 2 to Council for their consideration. Member Reid stated that the original amendment to the section was based on the possible problem of an accidental vacancy over the holiday period when meetings were cancelled, and felt that the proposals were all unnecessary and the commission had strayed far from the original problem and cure for that problem. Member Dorso stated that the most recent incident of a near miss was with regard to Councilmember Grasser-Horton. MS (Campbell/Blakely) to recommend Option 2 (four consecutive absences) with a second preference recommendation for three consecutive absences, but not recommend Option 3. Member Campbell stated he thought it was a little more fair to have four unexcused absences before a vacancy occurred. The motion was amended by the maker, accepted by the second, approved 4-1 (Reid "no") to recommend to the City Council either the 3-10 or 4-10 proposal (Option 1 or Option 2) in that order of preference but to not recommend Option 3. Mr. Rudolf presented Options 2 and 3 with regard to the proposed language to amend the third paragraph of Section 303 relating to the procedure by which such a vacancy by operation of law would be declared and filled. Mr. Rudolf explained that the process for replacement of the vacant seat, in the event the vacancy was in the office of the Mayor, could potentially conflict with the term provisions in Section 900 of the Charter, and that Option 2 was an attempt to cure that, which ran into the same problem. Accordingly, Mr. Rudolf recommended that the Commission instead recommend Option 3 to the Council for placement on the ballot. Option 3 requires the Council to declare the vacancy as soon as practicable; use its best efforts in good faith to fill the vacancy by appointment within thirty days thereafter, or sooner if impasse is reached sooner; but makes no detailed provision for filling the vacancy depending on the nature of the vacancy other than the existing Charter requirement to fill the vacancy by election. . MSC (Fuller/Campbell), approved 4-1 Reid voting "no", to recommend Option 3 with regard to the third paragraph of Section 303 of the . . . Charter Review Commission 7/21/92 Minutes Page 3 Charter. Agenda Item 4C: Mr. Rudolf stated that there was "sort of" an option 2 with regard to Section 1009 relating to the letting of public works contracts. option 2 was the same as Attachment C in the agenda package except that in the third from the last paragraph, the phrase "time completion" in the first sentence was changed to "timely completion". with the exception of that minor revision, the other previously approved changes were again recommended. MSUC (Fuller/Reid) to recommend Council place the proposed changes to Charter section 1009, as amended, (Option 2) to the Council for placement on the ballot. Agenda Item 4D: Section 600. Mr. Rudolf reviewed the staff report (Attachment D-2 to the agenda package), noting that the previously discussed and approved language exempting advisory groups whose memberships consisted solely of governmental officers and employees would not work to exclude such bodies as the Interagency Water Task Force, because that body had a citizen member in addition to the public officers or employees. Accordingly, Option 2 was distributed and discussed, changing the last sentence exception to "advisory groups the majority whose members are elected officers and/or employees of the City and/or any officers and/or employees of other governmental entities". Member Reid pointed out that both Attachment D-1 (Option 1) and Option 2 for Section 600 included reference to the term "chairman", rather than the gender-neutral term "chairperson". MSUC (Reid/Fuller) to recommend Option 2 to the Council with the substitution of "chairperson" for "chairman". There was further Commission discussion of the staff report regarding the existence of commissions, councils, committees and task forces which were not formally recognized in the Municipal Code as was apparently required by the Charter. It appeared that the past practice of the City was to treat boards, commissions, committees, task forces and/or other advisory groups, by whatever name, as if they were covered by the Charter language, but there were 9 or 10 groups, (without dealing with committees or advisory bodies to the Mayor and/or individual members of the Council rather than the full Council) which were not established in the Municipal Code. . . . Charter Review Commission 7/21/92 Minutes Page 4 Member Reid suggested that a "sunset" provision would require the Council to consider the potential duration of every advisory body at the time of its creation, and thus make the Council more aware of the potential staff time and cost involved in dealing with the new advisory body. MSUC (Reid/Turner) to add a sunset provision to Option 2 for Section 600 which would have a Charter requirement that each ordinance creating an advisory body contain a sunset provision which would specify when, in the Council's determination, such body would cease to exist unless its existence was extended by Council ordinance. Agenda Item 4E: Commission Report to Council. Section 602. Mr. Rudolf presented Option 2 relating to appointments, terms and vacancies of boards and commissions. Mr. Rudolf explained that the changes from the previously approved proposed change for Section 602 were grammatical, only dealing with reducing the repeated usage of the phrase "boards or commissions" throughout the text, since the effect of the amendment to section 600 would be to have the Charter provisions apply to boards, commissions and committees. Accordingly, Option 2 replaced the specific language with generic reference to "bodies", but did not affect the original purpose of the amendment to allow service of an initial term to a new commission for two years or less to be disregarded for the purposes of the two term limit for service on boards and commissions. The proposed language changes were accepted without formal motion. There were no other comments regarding the proposed Commission Report to Council, other than one typographical error pointed out by Member Dorso. Agenda Item 4F: Annual Report. The Commission's proposed annual report for signature by the chairperson was next discussed. Member Fuller stated she no longer thought the idea of a Council workshop on boards and commissions was necessary or desirable, but would like the Council to have the information with regard to the existence of committees, councils, task forces and boards which were not established by ordinance in the Municipal Code. Mr. Rudolf suggested that could be done by the addition of one sentence at the end of the report under "Commission's Comments" stating that Mr. Rudolf's staff report to . . . Charter Review Commission 7/21/92 Minutes Page 5 the Commission was attached to the Commissions's annual report for the Council's information. Mr. Rudolf also indicated he could work with the City Manager to develop and present to the City Council a proposed Council policy with regard to the formation of committees, boards, commissions, task forces, and other advisory groups, however named. Commissioners Comments: Chairperson Campbell reported that his term and the term of Member Blakely had expired but stated that they both probably would be reappointed by the City Council that night. He requested that the staff place on the agenda for the next meeting of the Commission, along with any other business required, the annual election of officers required by the Charter. Member Fuller requested that the members of the Commission be provided with a list of all members of the Commission setting forth their telephone numbers, addresses and the date on which their terms would expire. Mr. Rudolf inquired whether any of the members of the Commission objected to that information being provided to the other members, and they all indicated that there was no objection. There being no further business, the Chairperson adjourned the meeting at 7:29 p.m. J},l ~y ,vi D. Richard RUdOlf~ Secretary - C:\crc\7-21min