Charter Commission

AGENDA January 1 2, 2017 Saratoga Springs Charter Review Commission City Council Room City Hall 7pm Invited : Ann Casey Bullock Jeff Altamari Gordon Boyd Laura Chodos Elio DelSette Matt Jones Pat Kane BK Keramati Robert (Rob) Kuczynski Mike Los Minita Sanghvi Barbara Thomas Robert Turner Devin Dal Pos Beth Wurtmann Attended: 7p Public Comment 7:15 Introductory Remarks by Bob Turner/Approval of Minutes 7:20 Discussion of Charter Provisions on City Council to include some or all of the following 1. City Council a. Council qualifications and compensation i. Member qualifications ii. Prohibitions iii. Vacancy and forfeiture of office iv. Council to be the judge of the qualifications of its members v. Council compensation: to be set in charter or to be set by council in budget b. Council representation and composition i. Number of members ii. Terms of office: number of years; staggered or concurrent iii. Nomination method iv. Election method: wards, at large, combination (if wards, method of districting and apportionment) v. Term Limits c. Council organization and procedures i. The presiding officer: election by voters at large or chosen by council, duties (voting power) ii. The council’s secretary, selection and duties iii. Time and place of regular meetings iv. Method of calling special meetings v. Meeting procedures 1. Public meetings 2. Council to establish rules of procedure 3. Voting, quorum, binding action requirements 9:00 p Adjourn Information to Review  Saratoga Springs  Model City Charter, National Civic League, 8th edition   Revising City Charters, Division of Local Government Services, New York State Department of State, h  Other city charters Mayor-Council o Cohoes, http://ecode360.com/9219006 o Albany, http://ecode360.com/12064948 o Canandaigua, https://law.resource.org/pub/us/code/city/ny/Canandaigua.html, o Oneonta, http://ecode360.com/12119253 o Syracuse, http://www.syrgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/City_Clerk/Content/CHARTE R%20OF%20THE%20CITY%20OF%20SYRACUSE--1960%20- %20With%20Watermark.pdf Academic Readings  The Faces of America’s City Councils, http://legistar.cityofmadison.com/attachments/deb39864-2716-4978-8fcf- 9b663e281f41.pdf  Serving on City Councils , http://legistar.cityofmadison.com/attachments/34854556- 816a-4c34-b199-7d82064b2e70.pdf  Sizing Up Local Legislatures http://ubwp.buffalo.edu/ubri/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2014/12/Sizing-Up-Local- Legislatures-Policy-Brief.pdf  The National League of Cities State of the Cities report - http://www.nlc.org/find-city-solutions/city-solutions-and-applied-research/state-of-the- cities-2015  James Svara, TWO DECADES OF CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN AMERICAN CITY COUNCILS http://www.skidmore.edu/~bturner/Svara%20citycouncilrpt.pdf