Charter Revision Commission Meetings

MINUTES Charter Revision Commission Meeting Wednesday, October 6, 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 Chairman Smith called a personal privilege and congratulated Paralegal/Board Clerk Cari Hanzel on her 18 year anniversary with the City of Sioux Falls. Chairman Smith called a personal privilege to wish Assistant City Clerk Tamara Jorgensen a Happy Birthday. 2. Approval of Minutes A. Wednesday, September 8, 2021 A motion was made by Commission Member Zylstra and seconded by Commission Member Hajek to approve the minutes with the following correction: In section 5, Open Discussion, change the last sentence in the first paragraph to read as follows: He also stated that he will not be bringing forward his recommendation during a mayoral election year. Voice vote to approve. 5 Yes: Dekkenga, Hajek, Long, Smith, Zylstra; 0 No: (None). Motion Passed. 3. Old Business A. List of Formal Recommendations for Revision 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). The spreadsheet for the formal recommendations for revisions to the Sioux Falls Charter - April 2022 Election was reviewed. Smith clarified that certain questions requiring further investigation and review, that were enumerated in the September 8, 2021 Minutes (copied below), were already addressed in Section 6.02 of the Charter. Smith requested a withdrawal of questions 2, 4, 6, and 8. Excerpt from September 8, 2021 Minutes: 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. Zylstra asked if there are written boundaries in the Charter right now vs. how many districts there are. He suggested keeping the suggestion open to review to see if there is a need to draw the boundaries into the Charter and asked if that is what people wish to happen or if they approve of this action. After discussion, it was determined that Formal Recommendations # 3, 4 and 5 on the spreadsheet, submitted by Scott Ehrisman, will be scheduled to be heard at the Charter Revision Commission on Wednesday, November 10, 2021. Those Recommendations are: #3 - Application for TIF will only be accepted for projects that will eliminate blight, build density in the core, and simultaneously provide affordable and workforce housing. Home rule charter allows the city to be stricter than state law. #4: General Public input will be at the beginning of EVERY city public meeting, including boards and commissions and will have a limit of 5 minutes per speaker and NO limit on the number of speakers EXCEPT at the discretion of the chair of the meeting; and, #5: Every director or department head must be a Sioux Falls resident, or become one within 30 days of hire/start date. Current directors are exempt. Only applies to new hires appointed by the Mayor and City Council. Formal Recommendation #2, submitted by Hajek will also be heard on Wednesday, November 10, 2021; Recommendation #2 deals with Council Members 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. Formal Recommendation #1, submitted by Mike Zitterich, will be scheduled to be heard on Wednesday, December 8, 2021; This Recommendation deals with city council composition/redistricting. Smith advised the public that the schedules can be changed if necessary at the request of the individuals that submitted the proposed changes. He requested that the submitters advise the Commission if the above schedules will not work for them. 4. New Business A. Charter Article IV - Departments, Offices, and Agencies Each of the following sections were announced by the Chair with no recommendations for proposed amendments by the Commission: Section 4.01, General provisions; Section 4.02, Personnel system; Section 4.03, Legal officer; and Section 4.04, Planning. Zylstra noted that Section 4.02, Personnel system, would be the section that could be reviewed in reference to Scott Ehrisman's request for a residency  requirement for City Directors or Director Head. Zylstra stated a single sentence addition to this section could be made similar to the following: In Subsection (a): "All officers, directors and heads of city departments referenced in 4.01 (b) must be or become within XX days (number to be determined later) of appointment a resident of the City of Sioux Falls". B. Charter Article V - Financial Procedures The following sections were announced by the Chair with no recommendations for proposed amendments by the Commission: Section 5.01, Fiscal year; Section 5.02, Submission of budget and budget message; Section 5.03, Budget message; Section 5.04, Budget, Section 5.05, City council action on budget; Section 5.06, Reserved; Section 5.07, Amendments after adoption; Section 5.08, Lapse of appropriations; Section 5.09, Administration of the budget; Section 5.10, Overspending of appropriations prohibited; Section 5.11, Capital program; Section 5.12, City council action on capital program; and Section 5.13, Public records. Dekkenga asked for clarification regarding the publishing requirement found in Section 5.05, (a). Dekkenga asked if only publishing in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader was sufficient, noting that not everyone reads the Sioux Falls Argus Leader and also noting possible language barriers. Smith responded with detailed specifics regarding South Dakota State law on publications and noted that the present method of publication in the Argus Leader is well within the legal specifications for publication. He also noted that South Dakota State law indicates that English is the official language of the State of South Dakota. City Attorney Stacy Kooistra added that if there are bilingual concerns, the Human Relations Commission can assist with communication concerns. Zylstra stated that he has reviewed the videos of previous Charter Revision Commission meetings. He noted in 2019, July, that he asked if this was the most updated form of communication within the City. Discussion was held in the past as to whether or not the Sioux Falls Shopping News was more commonly read vs. the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. At that time, the response from the City Attorney was that they would look into this issue. Smith provided an update that at the 2020 Legislative Session, there was a proposal to amend state law to include publications in the Sioux Falls Shopping News and this was strongly defeated in its first committee hearing of the bill. Smith also stated that most newspapers in South Dakota post their information on their websites including agendas, minutes, notices, etc. that are readily available to the public. Discussion was held regarding the types of information that is posted on the City's website. C. Charter Article VI - Elections The following sections were announced by the Chair with no recommendations for proposed amendments by the Commission: Section 6.01, City elections; Section 6.02, Council districts: adjustment of districts; Section 6.03, Initiative and referendum. Smith noted that proposals made by Zitterich would be in reference to Section 6.02, Council districts: adjustment of districts.  Zylstra addressed Section 6.03, Initiative and referendum, stating that the people have the right use the powers of initiative and referendum to modify the Charter. D. Other Proposals Submitted in Advance of this Meeting Unrelated to the Articles Under Consideration Above There were none. 5. Public Input Mike Zitterich spoke about the population variances in City Council Districts for 19 cities. He highlighted Sioux Falls, SD, Des Moines, IA, and Rockford, IL for comparison purposes. He also reviewed the Current Precinct Boundaries and 2020 Census Populations - Option C11 map from the Districting Commission. Zitterich talked about adding the following sentence to Section 5.05, City Council Action on Budget under subsection (c) adoption: change the last sentence to read: If the city council fails to adopt the budget by this date, within ten (10) days, the city council shall return to the mayor a detailed list of ten items that should be added or removed from the proposed budget, and the mayor shall submit to the city council a list of ten items that should be added or removed from the proposed budget. Ten days after that deadline, the mayor plus two city council members shall call forth a Special Council Meeting to discuss the changes to be made to the budget in order to pass the annual appropriation budget. If the two sides cannot agree to an appropriation budget by joint resolution, the last agreed prior budget shall remain in full effect for next twelve months. Smith asked Zitterich if he wanted the final notation added to the proposed amendments. Zitterich stated he wanted it for discussion purposes. Discussion followed. Zylstra requested that this proposal be added to the spreadsheet for consideration in the future as Item Number Six (6). 6. Open Discussion Zylstra stated he has reviewed previous videos for the Charter Revision Commission meetings and noted the amount of time spent on last month's meeting and previous meetings (July, 2019). He noted concerns about the length of time being used for these meetings and suggested that the meetings start at 3:30 p.m. vs. 4:00 p.m. After discussion, the Commission decided to start the November 10, 2021, Charter Revision Commission meeting at 3:30 p.m. 7. Adjournment A motion was made by Commission Member Dekkenga and seconded by Commission Member Long to adjourn the meeting at 4:35 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): November 10, 2021, AT 3:30 p.m.; December 8, 2021 All meetings at Carnegie Town Hall