City Charter Commission

AGENDA City Charter Commission Meeting 5:30 PM - Thursday, January 23, 2025 City Hall Council Chambers Page 1. ROLL CALL 2. ELECTION OF OFFICERS 2.1. Elect Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary for 2025 2023-2024 Officers:  Chair - Duane Hensel  Vice-Chair - Rick Jensen  Secretary - Mike Wise 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 3.1. Approval of the City Charter Commission meeting minutes dated February 22, 2-4 2024. City Charter Commission - 22 Feb 2024 - Minutes - Pdf 4. NEW BUSINESS 4.1. City Attorney will present overview of Commission duties and procedures under MN State law. 4.2. Initial consideration of potential Charter amendments 5-6  Section 32. Vacancies - How Created. Council vacancies and what items may disqualify a candidate Ordinance No 2024-085 Section 22 Boards, Commissions & Depts Ord Amendment (for cc introduction) 040224 4.3. Establish Meeting Schedule 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS 6. ADJOURNMENT Page 1 of 6  MINUTES City Charter Commission Meeting 5:00 PM - Thursday, February 22, 2024 City Hall Council Chambers The City Charter Commission of the City of New Ulm was called to order on Thursday, February 22, 2024, at 5:00 PM, in the City Hall Council Chambers, with the following members present: PRESENT: EXCUSED: 1 ROLL CALL Commissioners: Mike Wise Dave Christian Linda Heine Duane Hansel Les Schultz William Swan Rick Jensen Dr. John Brownfield Staff: Chris Dalton Nicole Jorgensen Robert Scott 2 APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) Approval of the City Charter Commission meeting minutes dated January 25, 2024 Les Schultz made a motion to approve the minutes of the January 25, 2024 meeting. The motion was seconded by Linda Heine and passed unanimously by a vote of all Commissioners in attendance. 3 OLD BUSINESS a) Motion to approve the draft charter amendment to Section 22. Boards, Commissions, and Departments of the City Charter and recommend the city council enact the proposed charter amendment by ordinance. Chris Dalton explained this is a simple language change. The Police and Fire Departments were removed from the section because they are addressed in other sections of the Charter. The Board of Health was left in. Page 1 of 3 Page 2 of 6  Les Schultz made a motion to approve the draft charter amendment to Section 22. Boards, Commissions, and Departments of the City Charter and recommend the city council enact the proposed charter amendment by ordinance. The motion was seconded by Mike Wise and passed unanimously by a vote of all Commissioners in attendance. b) Motion to approve the draft charter amendment to Section 32. Vacancies - How Created of the City Charter and recommend the city council enact the proposed charter amendment by ordinance. Chris Dalton explained this section was originally brought to attention to add other reasons to create vacancies on Council but Attorney Robert Scott proposed new language that refers to State Statute. Duane Hansel asked about the removal of the language regarding the requirement for councilors to live in the Ward they service. Robert Scott explained there is a state statute that allows a Councilor to complete their term if they move out of their ward midterm and the statute would overrule any such language in the Charter. Rick Jensen made a motion to approve the draft charter amendment to Section 32. Vacancies - How Created of the City Charter and recommend the city council enact the proposed charter amendment by ordinance. The motion was seconded by William Swan and passed unanimously by a vote of all Commissioners in attendance. c) Motion to approve the draft charter amendment to Section 75. City Manager - Powers and Duties of the City Charter and recommend the city council enact the proposed charter amendment by ordinance. Chris Dalton explained the positions that will need to be approved by City Council include the Human Resources Director, City Engineer, and Finance Director. The Police Chief and Fire Chief were removed from this section because their process is addressed in other sections of the Charter. Linda Heine made a motion to approve the draft charter amendment to Section 75. City Manager - Powers and Duties of the City Charter and recommend the city council enact the proposed charter amendment by ordinance. The motion was seconded by Dave Christian and passed unanimously by a vote of all Commissioners in attendance. 4 ANNOUNCEMENTS Chris Dalton stated that a doodle poll will be sent in November or December to schedule a meeting for January of 2025. Commissioners asked about the remaining process for the current proposed changes. Robert Scott explained that the City Council and Mayor will all need to vote unanimously to approve all of the proposed changes. Chris Dalton suggested the commissioners review the sections of the Charter regarding the Public Utilities in preparation for the meetings in 2025. Linda Heine asked about changes to Boards and Commissions. Chris Dalton explained that the City Council will be having work sessions to discuss the Boards and Commissions Page 2 of 3 Page 3 of 6  and invited the Charter Commissioners to attend. 5 ADJOURNMENT Adjourned at 4:10 p.m. Board Chair Finance Director Page 3 of 3 Page 4 of 6  ORDINANCE NO. 2024-085 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF NEW ULM WHEREAS, Pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 410.12, subd. 7, the Charter Commission for the City of New Ulm convened on February 22, 2024, and at such meeting recommended that the City Council of the City of New Ulm enact a charter amendment by ordinance pursuant to which Section 22 of the New Ulm Charter be amended to remove the Fire Department and Police Department from the list of departments that the charter mandates; and WHEREAS, the Charter Commission voted at its February 22, 2024, meeting to forward all recommended amendments together to the City Council, and the City Council received the above-mentioned recommendation of the Charter Commission at the City Council’s April 2, 2024, regular meeting. NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY OF NEW ULM HEREBY ORDAINS: SECTION 1. That the City Charter for the City of New Ulm, Section 22, Boards, Commissions, and Departments, is hereby amended as follows (new material is underlined; deleted material is lined out; sections and subsections which are not proposed to be amended are omitted): Section 22. Boards, Commissions, and Departments In addition to the elective officials of the City, there shall be a Board of Health, a Public Utilities Commission, a Human Rights Commission, and a Police Commission, the duties, powers, and form of organization of which shall be as defined herein. There shall also be the following Departments: Fire Department, Police Department, Engineering Department, Human Resources Department and Financial Departments. The City Council may establish by ordinance such additional departments, boards and commissions as it deems appropriate. SECTION 2. Pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 410.12, subd. 7, this ordinance shall be effective 90 days after its adoption and publication. Page 5 of 6 Adopted by the City Council of the City of New Ulm, Minnesota, this _____ day of _______________, 2024. ____________________________________ Andrea S. Boettger Council President ATTEST: __________________________________ Chris Dalton City Manager Approved by the Mayor of the City of New Ulm this _____ day of ______________, 2024. ____________________________________ Kathleen L. Backer Mayor 2 Page 6 of 6