final proposed charter, chair jake allen's letter, annotations

8/14/2019 Final proposed charter, Chair Jake Allen's letter, annotations

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AGENDA ITEM NO. 8.1

CITY OF ELK GROVE

CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT

AGENDA TITLE: Receive Charter Commission final report

and proposed charter language; provide

direction asdeemed appropriateMEETING DATE: January 13, 2010

PREPARED BY:ON BEHALF OF:

SusanJ.Blackston, City ClerkJakeAUen,CharterCommissiol1 Chair ·

RECOMMENDED.ACTION:Receive Elk Grove Charter Commission final report and proposed cnarterlanguage; provide direction as deemed appropriate~

... - - - - - .. ...BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

At its lleéting of December 9, 2009, theCityCounciI directed the Charter

. . . l. . . .... .Commission to submit its final proposal for the Elk Grove Charter onJanuciry13, 2010 following Which the Charter Commission would disband.

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Phone: 916.683.7111

Eve 916.691.2001Web: www.elkgrovecity.org ELC1TKY OF Gruo~

8380 Laguna Palms Way, Suite 200

Elk Grove, California 95758- PROUD HERITAGE. BRIGHT FUTURE.-

January 6, 2010

Elk Grove City Council8401 Laguna Palms WayElk Grove, CA 95758

Dear Mayor Scherman and Members of the City Council:

The opportunity to work on the Charter Commission has been a great experience.Myself, and the fellow Commissioners, have all volunteered our time and talents to be a

part of making our community a better place. The face of the Commission has changedover time, but with each loss we seemed to find a new voice that helped to add to thefinished product. The Commission's scope was defined and redefined, yet theCommission always kept the goal in sight. Through it all the Commission pulledtogether and came up with a great final product.

The City staff has been nothing less than wonderful during the run of the Commission.On behalf of myself and the fellow Commissioners I want to thank and praise the staff

for their diligence, professionalism, and most of all, patience. It has been a realpleasure to work with such wonderful people.

When the charter process began, we were given an outline that spread our objectives



for the burden put on staff the Commission changed. I personally have asked allmembers ofthe staff if, since the time that the issue was first brought up by the Council,there has been any additional burden on staff - with a resounding "no" as the answer.This is yet another issue that has been confusing to the public and, therefore, isaddressed here.

All of that said, the Commission, in its final meetings, all shared one common messagethat we had heard from the public. The one uniting factor amongst all groups was thatthe charter was too long. So we dramatically shortened the charter to reflect the oneunifying voice from the community. In the end, the charter is a simple document thatreflects community input.

Again, from myself and the rest of the Commissioners, we want to thank the CityCouncil, City staff and all of the public that did participate. I personally want to thankand acknowledge my fellow Commissioners for their hard work and professionalism.

Respectfully submitted,

lsI Jake Allen,Chairman of the Elk Grove Charter Commission

Enclosure: Exhibit A - Annotations to Revised City Charier



Exhibit A - Anotations to Revised City Charter

1. Section 2.01(A)(I). "From" district changed to "By" district. Advantages to "by" outweighthe disadvantages - lowers cost of elections; encourages Council to be more attentive theirdistrict's unique needs; "fiefdom" argument not convincing as no one Council Member can holdup entire CounciL. Increases the pool of potential City Council candidates.

Passed by 5 to 2 vote- Commissioners Johnson and Sendejas-Lopez voting for "from" district

2. Section 2.02. Language changes to this section were done in light of repeated public demandby the citizens of the city for brevity in the Charter.

Commission unanimously approved changes.

3. Section 2.03. Language changes to this section were done in light of repeated public demandby the citizens of the city for brevity in the Charter.


4. Section 2.04(C). Personal notice provision added to avoid a situation of a sick or bed riddenCouncil Member from being voted off the Council - so long as absent Councilman gives noticeof his impending absence, he can't be removed by the CounciL.

Changes approved by Commission 6 to 1. DosReis disapproved of the "personal notice" safeharbor for absentee Councilman - the thought being missing 4 consecutive meetings alone issuffcient grounds to be removed from the Council, notice notwithstanding.

5. Section 3.01. Section reviewed by Commission and unchanged.



9. Section 4.03. Language changes to this section were done in light of repeated public demand

by the citizens of the city for brevity in the Charter. Commission sought fuher verbiagereduction but on the advice ofthe City Attorney, the majority ofthe "laundry list" of authorityshould remain in the Charter as protection against future legal issues


10. Section 4.04. Language changes to this section were done in light of repeated publicdemand by the citizens of the city for brevity in the Charter.


11. Former Article VI. (Financial Procedures - Public Works). Aricle deleted in itsentirety. Language changes to this section were done in light of repeated public demand by the

citizens of the city for brevity in the Charer. Moreover, it was the opinion of the Commission

that the Charter was too important to the City to risk the possibilty of it failng to gainacceptance simply by inclusion of this extremely contentious topic. The topic of this sectioncould added by Council through ordinance at a later date once the Charter has been enacted.

Commission approved of the changes 6 to i. Mireski made a motion to replace curent Charterlanguage with express language that City would follow general law with regard to public worksprojects - the motion died for lack of a second.

12. Article V. Language changes to this section were done in light of repeated public demand

by the citizens of the city for brevity in the Charter.




2. If this Charter is adopted by the electors of the City, the Councilmember

for District Six shall be elected in 2012 and have an initial term of two (2)years. Thereafter, the term shall be four (4) years.

B. Voting. A candidate who receives a majority (greater than 50%) of all votes castat the primary election immediately preceding the general election shall beelected. When no candidate is so elected, the two candidates who received thehighest number of votes shall be the candidates at the general municipal

election. Any ties in voting shall be settled by the casting of lots under thesupervision of, and in such manner and place, as determined by the City Clerk.

C. Term. The term of office shall be four (4) years. Alternatively, and successively,odd numbered districts shall be filled at one general municipal election and evennumbered districts at the next such election. The term of a Councilmember shallcommence on the first meeting in December after the election results for theNovember General Election have been certified. The Councilmember shall serveuntil a successor qualifies.

D. Powers. All powers, rights and privileges of the City shall be vested in the CityCouncil, subject to the provisions of the Charter and to the Constitution of theState of California.

Section 2.02. MAYOR.

A. Election and Term. The Mayor shall be elected by voters of the City at large. Theterm of office shall be four (4) years. The office of Mayor shall be included at ageneral municipal election at the same time as those Councilmembers in oddnumbered districts.



C. Absences from four (4) consecutive regularly scheduled meetings withoutpersonal notice. Vacancy under these circumstances shall be found only ifdetermined by a two-thirds vote of the members of the City Council at a regularmeeting of the City Council where discussion and deliberation of the vacancy isproperly placed on an agenda.

ARTICLE II. ELECTIONS

Section 3.01. ELECTION PROCEDURES.

Unless otherwise provided by this Charter or by ordinance, all elections shall be held inaccordance with the provisions of the State Elections Code for the holding of municipal

elections.

A. Special Elections. The City Council may call special elections for such purposesas the City Council may prescribe. A special election may be held on any datespecified by the City CounciL.

B. Initiative, Referendum and RecalL. The electors of the City reserve to themselvesthe powers of initiative and referendum and the recall of elective officers, to beexercised in the manner prescribed by the State Elections Code.

Section 3.02. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION ON CITY DISTRICTS; DUTIES.

There shall be established an Independent Commission on City Districts whose function shallbe to recommend to the Council the districts from which Council members shall be elected.

ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS OF THE CITY.

Section 4.01 COUNCIL-MANAGER FORM OF GOVERNMENT.



B. Prepare the budget annually and submit it to the City Council and be responsiblefor its administration after adoption.

C./ .

Prepare and submit to the City Council asof the end of the fiscal year a completereport on the finances and administrative activities of the City for the precedingyear.

D. Keep the City Council advised of the financial condition and future needs of theCity and make such recommendations as may seem appropriate.

E. Make investigations into the affairs of the City, or any department or divisionthereof, or any contract, or the proper performance of any obligation to the City.

F. Submit to the City Council at each meeting for its approval, the list of all claimsand bills approved for payment.

G. Perform such other duties as may be prescribed by this Charter or required bythe City Council, not inconsistent with this Charter.

Section 4.03 CITY ATTORNEY.

There shall be a City Attorney with the authority and responsibility to:

A. Represent and advise the City Council and all City officers in all matters of lawpertaining to their offices;

B. The City Council shall have control of all legal business and proceedings andmay employ other attorneys to take charge of any litigation or matter or to assistthe City Attorney therein;

C Approve the form of all bonds given to and all contracts made by the City



Section 4.04 CITY CLERK.

The City Clerk shall exercise all duties required by state law and shall perform such other dutiesconsistent with this charter as may be required by action of the City CounciL. The City Clerkshall appoint all other members of the department.

Section 4.05 APPOINTING AUTHORITY.

The City Council shall appoint and affix the compensation for the City Manager, City Attorneyand City Clerk who shall serve at the pleasure of the City Council and may be removed by

motion of the City Council adopted by majority vote.

All other officers and department heads of the City shall be appointed by the City Manager andshall serve at the pleasure of the City Manager at compensation fixed by the City CounciL.

ARTICLE V. GENERAL PROVISIONS

The City Council shall cause this Charter to be reviewed at least every twenty five (25) years byan independent, duly-appointed citizen commission.

ARTICLE Vi. CHARTER AMENDMENT

Amendments to this Charter shall be approved by a majority of the electors of the City at aregularly scheduled election as set by state law, but may be framed and proposed:

A. How Amended. In the manner provided by law by any of the following:

1. Ordinance of the City Council containing the full text of the proposedamendment;

2. A report with specific full text as prepared by a duly convened Charter



ARTICLE VII. TRANSITION/SEVERABILITY

All City ordinances, resolutions, orders and regulations which are in force when this Charterbecomes fully effective are repealed to the extent that they are inconsistent or interfere with theeffective operation of this Charter or of ordinances adopted pursuant thereto.

A. Inconsistent Acts. To the extent that the constitution and laws of the State permit,all laws relating to or affecting this City or its agencies, officers or employeeswhich are in force when this Charter becomes fully effective are superseded tothe extent that they are inconsistent or interfere with the effective operation of

this Charter or of ordinances or resolutions adopted pursuant thereto.

B. Severabilty of Provisions. If any provision of this Charter is held to be invalid, theother provisions of the Charter shall not be affected thereby. If the application ofthe Charter or any of its provisions to any person or circumstance is held invalid,the application of the Charter and its provisions or circumstances shall not beaffected thereby.

Section 7.01 TRANSITION OF CURRENT ELECTED OFFICIALS.

At the time of the adoption of this Charter those persons serving in elected office shall continueto serve until the end of the term for which they have been elected, and until their successorshave been elected and qualified.

Section 7.02 CONTINUITY OF LAWS, OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.

The City shall continue to own, possess and control all rights and property of every kind andnature owned, possessed or controlled by it on the effective date of this Charter, and shall besubject to all its debts, obligations and liabilities.



EXHIBIT C

ELK GROVE CHARTER- Timeline of Events

June 17, 2008throughJune 16,2009September 10, 2008 .'December 10,2008

March 11, 2009June 24, 2009

Page 1of2



Charter Commission to submit final report and charter to the City' Council. forconsiderationasa council-sponsored initiative.

Suggested meeting date for City Council to consider placement of the Elk GroveCharter on the June 8, 2010 PrimaryElection ballot or provideotherdirection.

Note: February 1 0, 2010 is the last regular meeting ofthe City Cbuncil priortothe Sacramento County Registrar of Voters administrative deadline (112 daysprior) for submitting measures to be placed on.the June 8, 2010 Primary Electionballot. .

final proposed charter, chair jake allen's letter, annotations

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