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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEugeneStaffS000807E ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Work Session: Charge to Proposed Citizen Charter Review Committee and Appointment Process for the Proposed Committee Meeting Date: August 7, 2000 Agenda Item Number: E Department: City Managers Office Staff Contact: Mary Walston = www.ci.eugene.or.us Contact Telephone Number: 682-5406 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY This item is on the City Council agenda to secure agreement on the charge to the proposed citizen charter review committee, a time line for the committee, and the recruitment, selection and appointment process for the committee. BACKGROUND Council Action History The 1999-2000 council goals include an action priority to authorize/appoint charter review A commission. In September 1999, the City Council approved a motion to place a charter amendment on @ the May 2000 ballot calling for compensation for the mayor and city council and to appoint a committee to draft a charter amendment for review and referral by the council. The committee did complete its work and the council did place the measure on the May 2000 ballot. The charter amendment to compensate the mayor and councilor was approved by the voters of Eugene. The City Council has discussed several other issues related to charter review during the past year. During those discussions, several councilors expressed an interest in a larger review of the charter, not just compensation, city-wide vote for all councilors, ward reconfiguration, contracts and several other items. At the request of several councilors, this work session has been scheduled to discern what topics related to charter review, if any, exist among members of the council and what type of process should be developed to undertake a review of the Charter. On June 21, 2000 the City Council held an initial discussion of issues related to a review of the charter. The Council also discussed various options for citizen involvement including the formation and selection of a citizen committee. Policy Issues There are no policy issues specifically related to the charge of the committee or the selection of the committee itself. The process of charter review, of course, has a number of broad policy implications including the form of government and the power and authority of the mayor and council. G:\RECORDER\CHARTER REVIEW\EUGENESTAFFS000807E.DOC Other Background Information The Eugene Charter was last revised in 1976. There have been four amendments to the Charter approved since 1976. The work which preceded the 1976 Charter was initiated in September 1973 by then City Manager Hugh McKinley. At the time, the council considered revising the Charter adopted in 1905 or developing an entirely new Charter. The council opted for the new charter and directed the City Manager to begin the project. The project team was led by the City Attorneys Office; a citizen committee was = also appointed. Together, the two groups developed a new charter which was distributed to all Eugene households in September of 1976. Voters approved the new charter in November 1976. Information from the League of Oregon Cities (LOC) indicates that only two cities in Oregon in the recent past have undertaken major charter review processes. Given that there is not a great deal of current research or information on this process, it may be helpful to contact the International City Managers Association (ICMA) for models of city charters. Timing The item itself is not time-sensitive. However, a revision of the charter must be placed before the voters of the City of Eugene and therefore there is a need at some point to be cognizant of the election time lines. OPTIONS At the work session on June 21, 2000 the Council discussed sections of the Charter which were thought to be in need of review. While there were a variety of suggestions, there was no clear consensus. There was general support of the current council/manager form of government by the majority of the council, with the caveat that the authority of the mayor, council and manager within that form, were topics for study by the committee. If Council agrees that it wishes to retain the current council/manager form, then the length and expense of the charter review process can be reduced significantly thus allowing the committee to focus on specific issues in the current charter. It should be noted here that resources have not been specifically allocated for this committee and it may be necessary to seek contingency funds should the committee ask for extensive study, consultants or wide and far reaching public processes. Council may wish to further define the charge to the committee by specifically listing those sections of the charter to be reviewed. This would in effect create a work plan and time line for the committee and may, to a certain extent shape the recruitment and selection of members of the citizen committee. , With regard to the citizen committee, it was suggested at the June 21 work session that a general recruitment occur in the near future. The Mayor, Council and Councilor-Elect Bettman would then nominate two persons each from this general pool of applicants and from this Council would select members of the committee, with the number of committee members being eight to ten. Council may wish to select this option or may wish to conduct a more targeted specific recruitment of applicants for slots, such as former members of the council, persons with extensive legal and/or governmental background, or persons from certain civic groups. G:\RECORDER\CHARTER REVIEW\EUGENESTAFFS000807E.DOC STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the council/manager form of government be excluded as a review option by the citizen committee. Further, that the citizen committee be asked to review specific sections of the Charter as discussed at the June 21, 2000. Staff recommends that a targeted recruitment be undertaken, that is to create a certain number of slots A@ for members of the committee who can provide background or experiences which could contribute greatly to the work of committee. Suggestions for slots include former city councilors, former mayors, practicing or retired attorneys who have administrative and/or governmental law backgrounds, civic groups such at the League of Women voters or the City Club, a neighborhood representative, a member of a one of the standing advisory committees to the council, a representative from a specific interest group such as the Chamber of Commerce or the Homebuilders Association, a grass roots organization A such as the Friends of Eugene, and active or retired educators specializing in public administration, law or political science. A certain number of slots would be at large positions and no specific criteria would A@ be applied. Staff recommends that the total number of persons on the committee be set at nine which is a large enough number to provide a diverse representation, but small enough to be manageable. Staff recommends that Council set a time line for the committee which targets the May 2002 primary election for any charter amendments to be placed on the ballot. The committees work should = completed by the end of the calendar year 2001 in order for the City Council to review the committees = recommendation and decide if it will be placed on the ballot, (the deadline for submitting ballot items is approximately 60 days before the election). Further, the committee should provide written quarterly reports to the City Council stemming from a work plan developed by the committee within 60 days of being appointed. SUGGESTED MOTION Move to create a nine-member citizen committee to undertake a review of the Eugene City Charter specifically concerning the following as identified by members of the Council: a)Chapter III, Sections 5, 6, and 8 (wards and elections by wards) b)Chapter III, Section 14 (conflicts of interest) c)Chapter IV, Section 16 (the role of the City Manager) d)Chapter VI, Section 24 (filling vacancies) e)Chapter X, Section 44, (Eugene Water and Electric Board functions, membership) f)chapters and sections in need of housekeeping, specifically Section 42 (Skinner Butte war A@ memorial) and Section 51 (tax by specific years), Section 54 (Toxics-Right to Know). Should the committee find it necessary or desirable to engage in a larger review of the charter a request must be made of the Council to revise the charge and task of the committee. Move to assign specific slots for the members of the committee which includes the following: ? one former city councilor or mayor ? one practicing or retired attorney who has administrative and/or governmental law backgrounds ? one representative from a civic group such at the League of Women voters or the City Club ? one city neighborhood group representative ? one member from one of the standing advisory committees to the council ? one representative from a specific interest group such as the Chamber of Commerce or the G:\RECORDER\CHARTER REVIEW\EUGENESTAFFS000807E.DOC Homebuilders Association ? one representative from a grass roots organization such as the Friends of Eugene A@ ? one active or retired educators specializing in public administration, law or political science ? one at large position. A@ Move to set the following time line for the citizen committee process: 1.recruitment begins not later than September 1, 2000; 2.recruitment ends by September 30, 2000; 3.the mayor, members of the council and the councilor elect submit two nominees each from the applicant pool not later than November 15, 2000; 4.the selection and appointment by the Council (which may include interviews of the applicants) of members of the committee occurs not later than December 15, 2000; 5.the committee holds an initial meeting not later than January 15, 2001; 6.the committee provides written quarterly reports to the City Council during its tenure; 7.the final report of the committee is provide to the City Council not later than December 31, 2001. ATTACHMENTS A.Excerpt from the June 21, 2000 Council Meeting Minutes FOR MORE INFORMATION Staff Contact: Mary Walston Telephone: 682-5406 Staff E-Mail: mary.f.walston@ci.eugene.or.us G:\RECORDER\CHARTER REVIEW\EUGENESTAFFS000807E.DOC