Charter Revision Commission Meetings

MINUTES Charter Revision Commission Meeting Wednesday, September 8, 2021 at 4:00 PM Carnegie Town Hall, 235 West 10th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57104 1. Call To Order Commission Members Present: Catherine Dekkenga, Anne Hajek, Lawrence Long, Justin Smith, Carl Zylstra Commission Members Absent: None Commission Chair Smith called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. 2. Approval of Minutes A. Wednesday, August 11, 2021 A motion was made by Commission Member Long and seconded by Commission Member Hajek to approve the minutes with the following amendment: under Item 5A (New Business), change February 8, 2021 to February 8, 2022. Voice vote to approve. 5 Yes: Dekkenga, Hajek, Long, Smith, Zylstra; 0 No: (None). Motion Passed. 3. New Business A. Charter Article I - Powers of the City Each of the following sections were announced by the Chair with no recommendations for proposed amendments by the Commission: Section 1.01, Powers of the city; Section 1.02, Construction; Section 1.03, Intergovernmental relations; Section 1.04, Limitations; and Section 1.05, New taxes. B. Charter Article II - City Council The following sections were announced by the Chair: Section 2.01, General powers and duties: Section 2.02, Composition, eligibility, election, and terms; Section 2.03, Mayor; Section 2.04, Compensation; expenses; Section 2.05, Prohibitions; Section 2.06, Vacancies; forfeiture of office; filling of vacancies; Section 2.07, Judge of qualifications; Section 2.08, City clerk; Section 2.09, Investigations; Section 2.10, Independent audit; Section 2.11, Procedure; Section 2.12, Action requiring an ordinance; Section 2.13, Ordinances in general; and Section 2.14 , Updating the Code of Ordinances. Discussion was held regarding the amount of time necessary between when a Council Member has held office and when they are eligible to run again. Term limits were clarified by the City Attorney. Clarification was also received regarding the regulations for holding a City Office or City employment after a member has been off of the Council for the mandated two year timeframe. A Council Member can run for the Mayoral position after their term is completed because the Mayoral position is not an appointed position. Discussion was held regarding the job duties and functions for the City Clerk's position. There was a concern raised about the position description being 'too open ended'. The City Attorney explained the access to employee job descriptions and the City Clerk's position relating to interaction and direction from the City Council. Commissioner Hajek requested that the City Attorney add to the future meetings spreadsheet the topic of a Council Member being able to provide their resignation for a future date enabling them to run for another office while they are a sitting City Council Member. This topic will be added and reviewed at a future meeting. Commissioner Zylstra discussed the distribution of power between the Mayor and the City Council Member positions. He noted that the past writers of the Charter stated they used deliberate verbiage in drafting the Charter to ensure a balance of aggressive leadership by the Mayor combined with reflective consideration of the Council. Zylstra noted that the Charter Revision Commission needs to ensure this balance is maintained when determining future proposed revisions. B. 1) Formal Recommendation #1 by Mike Zitterich: City Council Composition Zitterich thanked the Commission for allowing him to speak today regarding his amendments. His amendments concern the following sections: Section 2.02, Composition, eligibility, election and terms; Section 6.02, Council districts: adjustment of districts and Section 9.05, Schedules. Discussion was held regarding adding additional Council Member districts based on population increases. It was noted that the population of Sioux Falls has increased significantly since the Charter was originally written. The Commission discussed if changing the number of Council Members to an odd number would mean that the Mayor no longer has to break a tie, since conceivably there would not be a tie with an uneven amount of members. Redistricting information will be added to the listing for future meetings with the following subjects requiring further review: 1) What is the census data for Sioux Falls (by decade) since the Charter was first adopted; 2) How would the process work for redistricting the City Council and amending the City Charter; 3) How do other cities handle this issue; 4) How to add new districts based on population; 5) Why were three At-Large council seats written in the Charter vs. doing everything based by district; 6) Are there state laws that would limit or set authority of the City in regards to redistricting, or changing types of memberships on the Council; 7) Why was the Council number limited to 8 Members; and 8) What would be the population number required to redistrict the City.  The Commission thanked Zitterich for his participation and for being so organized with his documentation. C. Charter Article III - Mayor Each of the following sections were announced by the Chair with no recommendations for proposed amendments by the Commission: Section 3.01, Executive power; Section 3.02, Election and qualifications of mayor; Section 3.03, Mayor's duties and responsibility; and Section 3.04, Mayor's power to veto legislation. D. Other Proposals Submitted in Advance of this Meeting Unrelated to the Articles Under Consideration Above There were no other proposals submitted. Commissioner Zylstra noted that there were several items presented by Zitterich that should be considered at a future Agenda. Smith agreed and noted that Zitterich's items for Sections 2.02, 6.02 and 9.05 would all be added to the listing for future review and discussion. E. List of Formal Recommendations for Revisions to the Sioux Falls Charter to be Maintained. (The Items on this list will be addressed at a future meeting and will be placed on the relevant Agenda at that time). As noted in Minutes Item 3B and Item 3D. 4. Public Input Scott Ehrisman spoke about proposed changes to the TIF process, the movement of Public Input on the agenda, and city employees living within the city limits. David Zokaites spoke in support of Scott Ehrisman's TIF proposal. 5. Open Discussion Commissioner Zylstra stated that the Commission is responsible for keeping the Charter up to date with ongoing changes to the City. He noted that he may be bringing forward in future years the need to review how we compensate our elected officials given the significant change in the City's population since the Charter was written. He also stated that he will not be bringing forward his recommendation during a mayoral election year. Commissioner Hajek asked the legal department to review Section 6.02 regarding council districts and adjustment of districts. She noted that the City does have a separated Commission for reviewing and acting on districting changes and she wants legal advice to determine if the Charter Revision Commission would be overstepping their bounds as there is already a Commission in place for that purpose. She stated that part of Zitterich's proposals might be better served going before the Districting Commission instead, as they also include a public vetting process, voting, etc.  City Attorney Kooistra reminded the Commission of the process for Public Input and the need for items to be listed on the Agenda for discussion or voting purposes. He stated there may be a need to reschedule future meetings to earlier in the day to allow for additional time. 6. Adjournment A motion was made by Commission Member Hajek and seconded by Commission Member Long to adjourn the meeting at 5:28 p.m. Voice vote to adjourn. 5 Yes: Dekkenga, Hajek, Long, Smith, Zylstra; 0 No: (None). Motion Passed. Tamara Jorgensen, MMC, City Clerk Future Charter Revision Commission Meeting(s): October 6, 2021 – Articles IV – VI November 10, 2021 – Articles VII – IX December 8, 2021 All meetings at 4 p.m. in Carnegie Town Hall