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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-14-06 Minutes, Study CommissionMINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CITY OF BOZEMAN, MONTANA LOCAL GOVERNMENT STUDY COMMISSION March 14, 2006 The Study Commission met in special session in the Conference Room, Municipal Building, at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14, 2006. Present were Chair Loren Olsen, Marilou Turrentine, Brian Close, and Harold Fryslie. Also present was Secretary of the Study Commission Celeste Janssen. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Chair Loren Olsen. Minutes Brian Close motioned to accept the minutes of January 24, 2006 as amended. Marilou Turrentine seconded the motion. The minutes of January 24th passed unanimously. Brian Close motioned to accept the minutes of February 28th1 2006 as amended. Harold Fryslie seconded the motion. The minutes of February 28th passed unanimously. Marilou Turrentine motioned to accept the minutes of March 7, 2006 as amended. Brian Close seconded the motion. The minutes of March 7th passed unanimously. Public comment There was no public comment at the time. Timeline The Study Commission discussed scheduling and then set a timeline for the remainder of the year: 3/28/2006 Survey meeting with MSU. Outline draft report. 4/13/2006 Charter and report drafting 4/25/2006 Survey results back. Charter and report drafting 5/2/2006 Outstanding charter matters 5/16/2006 Draft tentative report 6/6/2006 Issue tentative report/public hearing (reserve Commission room) 6/20/2006 Public hearing (reserve Commission room) 7/11/2006 Meet to discuss public hearing results 7/18/2006 Public hearing (reserve Commission room) 8/8/2006 Final report and final charter 8/22/2006 Last minute details (meeting tentative) 8/24/2006 FINAL CHARTER TO SHELLEY VANCE TODAY MSU Survey Update Loren Olsen has not yet met with Professor Steve Swinford to discuss the survey. Discussion of Charter topics and language changes The Study Commission took a short break and reconvened at 7:59 pm. Brian Close presented his research on Section 2.12 Actions Requiring an Ordinance. The City Pagel of 3 Commission has done much by resolution (instead of ordinance) because there is no requirement to have two meetings. Mr. Close would like to encourage having the City Commission use more ordinances. As it stands, Section 2.12 is all blue (accepted) except for one sentence: "Adopt or amend an administrative code or establish, alter, or abolish any city department, office, or agency." Brian Close is comfortable with accepting or striking this sentence. Harold Fryslie asked if the City Manager has rearranged the city departments before. (One previous City Manager did rearrange police and fire departments). Mr. Fryslie thought that reorganization of city departments had been mentioned in the job description of the City Commission. A cross-reference to section 4.01 (a) does show that the City Commission has input on department reorganization. Harold Fryslie and Brian Close both agreed that this was inline with current practice. Loren Olsen said that he is okay with accepting the sentence. Brian Close moved that the Study Commission blue the entire section 2.12. Harold Fryslie clarified that the City Manager has the ability to reorganize departments. Loren Olsen seconded the motion. All Study Commissioners voted in favor of accepting (blueing) the section. Brian Close recommended eliminating Sections 2.14, 2.15 and 2.16 and adding a subparagraph under Section 2.13. Loren Olsen, Harold Fryslie, and Marilou Turrentine all voiced agreement with Mr. Close's proposal. Brian Close also suggested requiring the City Commission to put their administrative rules and municipal code on the web. Brian Close motioned to eliminate Sections 2.14, 2.15 and 2.16 and adopt the drafted language in 2.13, which includes electronically publishing ordinances, administrative regulations, resolutions, and the Bozeman Municipal Code. Loren Olsen asked about the impact of publishing all ordinances, administrative regulations, resolutions, and Bozeman Municipal Code. He said that if these documents were updated every week, he would vote against this motion. Brian Close assured him that the documents are not constantly being changed. Mr. Close also pointed out that publishing these documents on the website is a form of better communication between the City and its citizens. Brian Close also said that city resolutions are not at the library. Ordinances are not in the library until they are codified, which is every five years. Harold Fryslie seconded the motion. All Study Commissioners voted in favor of the motion. Brian Close presented on Section 4.07. Harold Fryslie moved that Study Commission strike the last sentence. Marilou Turrentine seconded the motion. Brian Close, Harold Fryslie, and Marilou Turrentine voted to strike the last sentence. Loren Olsen voted against striking the sentence. Brian Close moved to accept (blue) Section 4.07. Harold Fryslie seconded the motion. Brian Close, Harold Fryslie, and Marilou Turrentine voted to accept the section and Loren Olsen abstained. Section 6.01 Harold Fryslie moved to blue Section 6.01. Marilou Turrentine seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Section 6.02 was deleted, so Celeste Janssen updated the numbering in the charter. 6.04 became 6.03 (Initiatives, Citizen Referendums, and Recalls.) Brian Close spoke about different options that the Study Commission could pursue. He suggested an across the board drop of 5% on all of the current guidelines because there are already high hurdles. For citizen referendums and initiatives: instead of using 15% of the people who voted in the last general election, Montana requires 15% of the people who are registered to vote. For recalls: Montana currently requires 20% of Page 2 of 3 registered voters plus a legal basis for recall. Because Bozeman is a college town, we have at least 7,000 inactive voters that are still registered to vote. To collect 15% of registered voters, one must collect much more than 15% of the people who voted in the last election. Harold Fryslie doesn't want recalls really easy, but he thinks what Mr. Close has suggested is reasonable. He does want it to be easier for people to put things on the ballot (Initiatives). As for Citizen Referendums, Mr. Fryslie said isn't sure. He would not like to see people overruling the elected government body, but he does see how it could be good to have both at a consistent 10%. Loren Olsen wasn't sure what the public would think about this change. He suggested including this topic in the Study Commission's new citizen survey. Section 7.02 — Brian Close could find nothing in state law similar. He suggested giving both (a) and (b) to Paul Luwe. The Study Commission agreed that the Charter is at a stage where they would like Paul Luwe's input. Mr. Luwe should be informed that transition rule isn't set, nor is size of the commission, election of the mayor, and the section on initiatives, referendums, and recalls. Celeste Janssen was instructed to send out the timeline to everyone, and to also send the charter to Paul Luwe and Chris Kukulski. Marilou Turrentine asked if the Study Commission can have a facilitator at the public hearings this summer. Brian Close thought this was a great idea. Brian Close said that he will work up a memo to Paul Luwe, regarding 6.01 (b), ethics board issues, prohibitions and penalties (Section 7.02), and if the Study Commission can require a change in the charter that happens after 3 years. New business There was no new business at this time. Confirm date for next meeting March 28th 2006 at 7 pm in the Conference Room of the Municipal Building. Adjournment at 9:23 pm There being no further business at this time, it was moved by Harold Fryslie, seconded by Marilou Turrentine, that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried unanimously. LOREN OLSEN OLSEN, Chair ATTEST: CELESTE JANSSEN, Secretary of the Study Commission Page 3 of 3