Home Rule Study Commission

Home Rule Study Commission Borough of Greenville Minutes of the Meeting held August 22, 2019 - 7:00 PM Greenville Senior Center 1. Call to Order Paul Miller, Commission Chairman 2. Pledge of Allegiance – Steve Williams 3. Roll Call: Paul Hamill Hal Johnson Martha Johnson Paul Miller Casey Shilling - absent Steve Thompson Steve Williams Also present: Jasson Urey, Lawrence Keller, Linda Zuschlag, Rosalynn Reagle, Angela Giadina, Kelly Lema, Linda Alcorn, Joyce Ammons, Tracy Beil, Amber White, Dane S. Claussen; Caleb Stright, Record-Argus 4. Public Comments: None 5. Minutes: Casey made a motion to accept the July 31, 2019 minutes as presented and Paul H. offered a second. Motion carried 7-0. 6. Old Business: The commission reviewed the final list of issues that needed to be addressed while operating as the “Committee of the Whole”. A motion was made by Steve W. to accept Dr. Hirt’s wording of the last sentence of the preamble. Casey offered a second. The motion carried 7-0. A motion was made by Casey to accept Article One of the draft as written. Steve W. offered a second, motion carried 7-0. A motion was made by Steve W. to accept Article Two as written. Paul Hamill offered a second, motion carried 7-0. A motion was made by Hal to accept Article three as written. The motion died for lack of a second. A motion was made by Paul H. to leave the mayor’s position as a separate position from council. The motion died for lack of a second. A motion was made by Hal to add the following as section 3.9, bumping 3.9-3.16 up a number. ”Treasurer. (a) Treasurer. The Town Council shall designate a treasurer, who shall be responsible for the receipt and disbursement of funds in accordance with the actions of council. (b) Bond. The treasurer shall be bonded. (c) Town Manager as Treasurer. The Town Manager may be designated the Treasurer and hold both positions unless Council determines it requires two separate positions. In that case, the Treasurer shall report to and be a subordinate of the Town Manager.” Casey offered a second. The secretary called a vote and the motion passed 7-0. A motion was made by Steve W. to reword 3.13 (c) to read “Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, every adopted ordinance (with the exception of fiscal matters) shall become effective….”Paul H. offered a second. The secretary called a vote and the motion carried 7-0. A motion was made by Casey to accept Article Three as amended. Steve T. offered a second. The secretary called an individual vote and the motion carried 7-0. A motion was made by Steve W. to remove the last three sentences from section 4.2. Steve T. offered a second. The secretary called an individual vote and the motion failed 3-4 with Paul M., Steve T., Hal, and Casey opposed . A motion was made by Steve T. to accept Article Four as amended. Casey offered a second, motion carried 7-0. A motion was made by Steve W. to accept Section Five as written. Hal offered a second and the motion carried 7-0. A motion was made by Steve W. to accept Section Six as written. Steve T.offered a second and the motion carried 7-0. A motion was made by Casey to accept Section Seven as written. Steve W.offered a second and the motion carried 7-0. A motion was made by Martha to remove the word “citizen” from section 8.3 (b -1). Paul H. offered a second and motion carried 7-0. A motion was made by Casey to accept Section Eight as written. Steve T. offered a second and the motion carried 7-0. A motion was made by Hal to rewrite section 9.1 to read: “No earlier than January 1, 2021, amendments to this Charter may be submitted to the registered voters of the town by a majority of councilmembers plus one vote of all councilmembers and, upon petitions signed by 10 percent of the registered voters of the town proposing an amendment, shall be submitted to the voters by Council. If any amendment is approved by a majority of those voting on the amendment, it shall become a part of the Charter of the town, except that if two or more inconsistent amendments on the same subject are submitted at the same election and each is approved, only the amendment receiving the largest affirmative vote shall become a part of the Charter. An amendment once adopted cannot be amended again for five years. A copy of the Charter or any amendment shall be certified to the secretary of state within 30 days after its adoption by the registered voters.” Martha offered a second. The secretary called a vote and the motion passed 4-3 with Steve W., Casey and Paul M. opposed. A motion was made by Hal to accept Article Nine as amended. Paul H. offered a second. The secretary called a vote and the motion passed 4-3 with Steve W., Casey and Paul M. opposed.  Steve W. made a motion to amend Section 10.4 (a) to read “Except as noted below, on January 1, 2020, all provisions of Articles One, Two, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten, along with all their sections and sub-sections, will become effective immediately. Article Three, section 3.1 and sections 3.3(b) through 3.17 inclusive will also immediately become effective. Section 3.17(c) becomes effective January 1, 2021. The remaining sections of the charter will become effective January 1, 2022.” Martha offered a second. The secretary called a vote and the motion carried 7-0. A motion was made by Steve W. to accept Article Ten as amended. Paul H. offered a second. The secretary called a vote and the motion carried 7-0. A motion was made by Paul H. to accept the entire draft as the Committee of the Whole. Hal offered a second. The secretary called a vote and the motion carried 7-0. A motion was made by Paul H. to disband the Committee of the Whole. Casey offered a second. The secretary called a vote and the motion carried 7-0. A motion was made by Paul H. that the commission should adopt the charter as presented. Hal offered a second. The secretary called a vote and the motion passed 7-0. 7. New Business: A motion was made by Hal to accept the ballot question as presented. Paul H. offered a second and the motion passed 7-0. The commission was informed that they will need to sign an authorization sheet in the presence of a notary. Jasson will send out the details. 8. Public Comments Linda Zuschlag stated that as a council member she appreciates the work of the commission Tracy Beil thanked the group for their research and thoughtfulness and that she knows that no decision was made lightly. Paul Miller told the members of the public that we are still a commission until the election in November and will be willing to talk to groups about the charter. 9. Good of the Order: Paul H.: Thanked the commission and stated that he thought it was a good charter overall. He thanked Jasson for going above and beyond for the commission. Steve T: Enjoyed his time on the commission and feels we had a good cross section of representation Casey: Excited for the future, sees potential, learned a great deal, hopes the voters will say yes Martha: Learned a great deal, appreciated the gentlemen she worked alongside, is excited about what may be around the corner Hal: has wanted Home Rule for Greenville for a long time and noted that HR is not the solution but a part and that the public is also a part of the solution Steve Williams: Appreciates the time Caleb spent reporting on the progress and also acknowledged Dr. Keller’s role  Paul M.: Noted Hal was the only commissioner with perfect attendance, thanked Martha, Larry, Jasson and Caleb, noted that while we disagreed on some points we worked together to create a charter we could all approve. 10. Adjournment Steve W. made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Steve T. offered a second. Motion carried 7-0 and the meeting adjourned at 9:07 PM. Respectfully submitted, Martha C. Johnson, Commission Secretary /Treasurer