SPECIAL

LEGISLATIVE, FINANCE, AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE

The Legislative, Finance, and Administration Committee meeting was held on March 3, 2008, at 5:05 p.m. with Chairman Slavin presiding. Members present were Mr. McGlumphy, Mr. Salters, Dr. Jones, and Mr. Shevock. Other members of Council present were Mr. Leary, Mrs. Russell, Mr. McGiffin, Mr. Hogan (arrived at 5:23 p.m.), Mr. Ruane, Council President Williams and Mayor Carey.

AGENDA ADDITIONS/DELETIONS

Mr. McGlumphy moved for approval of the agenda, seconded by Mr. Shevock and unanimously carried.

Review of 2005 Charter Review Committee Recommendations - Article II (Continued)

During their meeting of September 10, 2007, members approved the schedule to complete a comprehensive review of the 2005 Charter Review Committee Recommendations, including public hearings in each election district, over the next six (6) months. Members began their review during their meeting on October 8, 2007.

During their meeting of January 14, 2008, Mr. Slavin noted that members would continue their review of the 2005 Charter Review Committee Recommendation at “Section 13 - Filling Vacancies for Council or Mayor (Section 2.06 - Vacancies; Forfeiture of Office; Filling of Vacancies, Subsection (c) - Filling of Vacancies, Model City Charter)”. As scheduled, members continued consideration of the recommendations to Article II - Mayor and Council, of the Dover Charter, as follows:

Section 13 - Filling Vacancies for Council or Mayor (Section 2.06 - Vacancies; Forfeiture of Office; Filling of Vacancies, Subsection (c) - Filling of Vacancies, Model City Charter)

Based on the discussion, Mr. Slavin suggested that rather than selecting the language from the current City Charter or the Model City Charter, members formulate recommendations for staff to develop appropriate language.

Mr. Salters moved to recommend that when there is a single vacancy in excess of six (6) months in duration, a special election shall be held to fill the vacancy. The motion was seconded by Mr. Shevock and unanimously carried.

Mr. Salters moved to recommend that when there is a single vacancy less than six (6) months in duration, the office shall remain vacant. The motion was seconded by Mr. McGlumphy and unanimously carried.

With regards to those situations when the membership of the City Council is reduced to less than five (5) members, Mr. Slavin suggested that members recommend that language be included to authorize the remaining members (by a majority action) to appoint additional members to raise the membership to seven (7).

Council President Williams referred to the recent tragedy in Kirkwood, Missouri which resulted in the loss of several members of their Council. She suggested that members obtain information as to the action the City of Kirkwood took to fill those vacancies. Mr. Salters suggested that staff contact the National League of Cities to obtain assistance in this regard.

Mr. McGlumphy moved to recommend that if there is a need for a Special Election, Council has 30 days to call for a Special Election and if they fail to do so, a Special Election shall be called by the Election Board. The motion was seconded by Mr. Salters and unanimously carried.

Section 11 - Council to be Judge of Election Results and Qualification of Members (Section 2.07 - Judge of Qualifications, Model City Charter)

Mr. McGlumphy moved to recommend maintaining the language in Section 11 - Council to be Judge of Election Results and Qualification of Members, as stated in the current City Charter. The motion was seconded Dr. Jones.

Mr. Ruane noted that the Model City Charter also includes the handling of forfeitures and that although the current City Charter has a section to address forfeitures, it does not include language for handling of forfeitures. He suggested that since Section 2 focuses on election results, the references of the election be moved to the Article which addresses elections and that Section 2.07 be retained and retitled “Forfeiture of Office” and eliminate “of the election” in the first sentence. It was his feeling that there are two (2) distinct elements included in this Section.

The motion to recommend maintaining the language in Section 11 - Council to be Judge of Election Results and Qualification of Members, as stated in the current City Charter was unanimously carried.

Mr. Salters questioned if the Section should also include the Mayor.

Based on the discussion of members, Mr. Slavin suggested that the City Solicitor be requested to review Section 2.07 of the Model City Charter to determine if such language should be included in the City Charter.

Section 16, Clerk of Council (Section 2.08 - City Clerk, Model City Charter)

Mr. Hogan suggested a combination of the languages found in Section 16 of the City Charter and Section 2.08 of the Model City Charter.

Mr. McGlumphy moved to recommend including the language in Section 2.08 - City Clerk, as stated in the Model City Charter, rather than Section 16 of the City Charter, by amending the Section as follows: 1) eliminating “or the City Manager” in the first sentence; and 2) the addition of “or ordinance” after “charter” in the second sentence. The motion was seconded by Dr. Jones and unanimously carried.

Section 17, City Treasurer

It was noted that the Model City Charter does not provide a Section to address City Treasurer.

Mr. Ruane suggested that since the City Council recently changed the titled of City Treasurer to include Controller, the title throughout the section should read “City Controller/Treasurer”.

Mr. Salters moved to recommend including the language in Section 17 of the current City Charter with the amendment to replace “City Treasurer” with “City Controller/Treasurer”. The motion was seconded by Mr. McGlumphy and unanimously carried.

Section 39 - Investigations by Council (Section 2.09 - Investigations, Model City Charter)

Mr. McGiffin explained that the Model City Charter provides a penalty provision, which he felt would be worth considering. Responding to Council President Williams, Mr. McGiffin stated that a legislative body establishes the penalties for which the courts administer.

Mr. McGlumphy moved to recommend including the language in Section 2.09 - Investigations, as stated in the Model City Charter, with the following amendments: 1) addition of “officer, employee,” prior to “or agency” in the first sentence; 2) addition of “Class A” prior to “misdemeanor” in the second sentence; and 3) replace “a fine of... ...or both” with “existing State Law”at the end of the last sentence. The motion was seconded by Mr. Salters and unanimously carried.

Section 46 (Article IV - Financial Affairs) - Annual Audit (Section 2.10 - Independent Audit, Model City Charter)

It was noted that the topic of “Independent Audit” is included in the Financial Section of the Model City Charter. It was the consensus of members that it would be more appropriate to further consider this matter during the review of the Financial Management Article V (Section 5.11) of the Model City Charter.

Section 9 - Meetings of Mayor and Council-Generally (Section 2.11 - Procedure, Model City Charter)

Due to time constraints, Mr. Slavin stated that members will continue their review of the 2005 Charter Review Committee Recommendation at “Section 9 - Meetings of Mayor and Council-Generally (Section 2.11 - Procedure, Model City Charter)” during their next meeting.

Mr. Salters moved for adjournment, seconded by Mr. Shevock and unanimously carried.

Meeting Adjourned at 5:57 P.M.

                                                                                    Respectfully submitted,

                                                                                    Timothy A. Slavin

                                                                                    Chairman

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