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HomeMy WebLinkAbout015 - 02/04/1997 - SUBMITTING PROPOSED AMENDMENTS OF THE CITY CHARTER PERTAINING TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO A VOTE OF THE R ORDINANCE NO. 15, 1997 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS SUBMITTING PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLES I AND II OF THE CITY CHARTER, PERTAINING TO THE CITY COUNCIL, TO A VOTE OF THE REGISTERED ELECTORS OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS WHEREAS,Article IV, Section 8 of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins provides that the Charter may be amended as provided by the laws of the State of Colorado; and WHEREAS, Section 31-2-210, C.R.S.,provides that Charter amendments may be initiated by the adoption of an ordinance by the Council submitting a proposed amendment to a vote of the registered electors of the City of Fort Collins; and WHEREAS, on November 21, 1995,the City Council adopted Resolution 95-161 creating a Charter Review Committee (the "Committee") and authorizing the Committee to undertake a comprehensive review of the City Charter and to recommend any amendments thereto that the Committee believed to be in the best interests of the City; and WHEREAS, after conducting such review, the Committee has recommended certain amendments to Articles I and II of the City Charter pertaining to the qualifications of councilmembers,the methods for challenging councilmember qualifications, and redistricting; and WHEREAS,the City Council believes that the foregoing proposed amendments,as modified by the City Council, should be submitted to the registered electors of the City so that the voters may determine whether such amendments are in the best interests of the City. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the following proposed changes to Articles I and II of the City Charter shall be submitted to the registered voters of the City as "Proposed Charter Amendment No. 8" at the next regular municipal election to be held on April 8, 1997: (a) That Article I, Section 2 of the City Charter be amended to read as follows: ARTICLE I. FORM OF GOVERNMENT, POWERS, SEAL Section 2. Form of government. The municipal government provided by this Charter shall be known as the "Council-Manager government." Pursuant to its provisions and subject only to the limitations and exceptions imposed by the state Constitution and by this Charter, all powers of the city shall be vested in an elective Council, hereinafter referred to as "the Council." All powers of the City of Fort Collins shall be exercised in the manner prescribed by this Charter or, if the manner be not therein prescribed, then in such manner as may be prescribed by ordinance. (b) That Article II of the City Charter is amended to read as follows: ARTICLE II. CITY COUNCIL Section 1. Membership; terms. (a) Composition of Council. The Council shall consist of seven (7) members,including a Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, elected as provided in this Article. (b) Method of election. The Mayor shall be nominated and elected from the city at large. The remaining six (6) members shall be nominated and elected by Districts. The election of District Councilmembers shall alternate between the election of representatives for Council Districts 1, 3 and 5 and the election of representatives for Council Districts 2, 4 and 6. (c) Redistricting. The city shall be divided into six (6) Districts, each representing one (1) contiguous, reasonably compact unit. The Districts shall be numbered consecutively in a clockwise fashion beginning with the northeast District, which shall be District 1. The Council shall provide by ordinance for the giving of notice of any redistricting proceedings and the manner of protesting such proceedings. (d) Formula for redistricting. No later than one hundred and eighty(180) days before each regular biennial election, the City Clerk shall determine if the number of registered electors in the District containing the lowest number of registered electors is less than eighty-five (85) percent of the number of registered electors in the District containing the highest number. If so, the City Clerk shall recommend to the Council District boundary changes, which shall be established by ordinance at least one hundred and twenty(120) days before the election. (e) Terms. Except as otherwise provided in Section 18 of this Article and Section 3(d)of Article IX,the term of office of the Mayor shall be two (2)years, and the term of office of all other members of the Council shall be four(4)years each ; provided,however,that all such officers shall serve until their successors have been elected and have taken office. The terms of the Mayor and other members of the Council shall begin when they take the oath of office, which shall occur as the first order of business at the first regular or special Council meeting following their election or appointment. 2 Section 2. Qualifications of candidates and members; challenges. (a) An individual shall be eligible to be a candidate for the office of Councilmember if at the time of the election he or she is a citizen of the United States; is at least twenty-one(21)years of age;has been for one (1)year immediately preceding such election an elector of the city; and, in the case of a District Councilmember,has continuously resided in the District from which he or she is to be elected since the date of accepting any nomination for election under Article VIII, Section 3, of this Charter. (b) No person who has been convicted of a felony shall be eligible to be a candidate for, or hold,the office of Councilmember. (c) No person shall be eligible to stand for election to more than one (1) elective office at any single municipal election. During a term of office, no member of the Council shall be an employee of the city or hold any other elective public office. No person shall be elected or appointed to any city office, position or employment for which the compensation was increased or fixed by the Council while such person was a member thereof until after expiration of one(1)year from the date when such person ceased to be a member of the Council. (d) Any registered elector may file with the City Clerk a written protest challenging the qualifications of any member of the Council. Any such protest shall be resolved by the City Clerk as expeditiously as possible but no more than forty-five (45) days from the date of filing of the protest, pursuant to a procedure established by the Council by ordinance. In order to resolve such protests, the City Clerk shall have the power to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, and require the production of evidence. No protest shall be filed prior to the date of appointment or the date of issuance of the certificate of election of a Councilmember, whichever is applicable, nor shall any such protest, other than a protest based upon the fact of a felony conviction, be filed more than fifteen (15) days after said date. (e) The fact that a Councilmember may be determined to have lacked any qualification for the office of Councilmember during all or any portion of his or her term of office shall not affect the validity of any action taken by the Council during such Councilmember's term of office. Section 4. Organization. The Mayor shall preside at meetings of the Council and shall be recognized as head of the city government for all ceremonial purposes and by the Governor of the state for purposes of military law. The Mayor shall execute and authenticate legal instruments requiring the signature of the Mayor. The Mayor shall also perform such 3 other duties as may be provided by ordinance which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter. At the first regular or special meeting after every biennial election, the Council shall elect a Mayor Pro Tern for a two (2) year term from among the members of the Council to act as Mayor during the absence or disability of the Mayor. If a vacancy occurs in the position of Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tern shall become Mayor as provided in Section 18(b)below. Section 5. Powers. All powers of the city and the determination of all matters of policy shall be vested in the Council except as otherwise provided by this Charter. Without limitation of the foregoing, the Council shall have power to: (a) Appoint and remove the City Manager; (b) Establish, change, consolidate or abolish administrative offices, departments or agencies by ordinance, upon report and recommendation of the City Manager, so long as the administrative functions and public services established by this Charter are not abolished in any such reorganization. The city shall provide for all essential administrative functions and public services, including, but not limited to the following: (1) Fire suppression and prevention; (2) Police services; (3) Finance and recordkeeping; (4) Electric utility services ; (5) Water supply and wastewater services; (6) Street maintenance; (7) Storm drainage; (8) Planning and zoning. (c) Adopt the budget of the city; (d) Authorize the issuance of bonds by ordinance as provided by this Charter; (e) Inquire into and investigate any office, department, or agency of the city and the official acts of any officer or employee thereof, and to compel by subpoena attendance and testimony of witnesses and production of books and documents; 4 (f) Adopt plats; (g) Adopt and modify the official map of the city; (h) Provide for independent audits of all funds and accounts of the city. Section 7. Ordinances, publication and effective date. Every proposed ordinance,except an emergency ordinance,shall be published once in full at least seven(7)days before its final passage in a newspaper of general circulation published in the city, which publication shall contain a notice giving the date when said proposed ordinance will be presented for final passage. If on final passage such ordinance is passed in the same form as published, no further publication of such ordinance shall be required; except that the City Clerk shall, within seven (7) days after final passage of any such ordinance,publish a notice of such final passage which shall contain the number and title of such ordinance. All ordinances,except emergency ordinances,shall take effect on the tenth day following their passage. An emergency ordinance shall take effect upon passage and shall be published as provided above within seven(7) days thereof. When the Council deems it appropriate, publication of the title of an ordinance, or the title of an amendment thereto, together with a comprehensive summary of the substance of the ordinance or amendment thereto and with a statement that the text is available for public inspection and acquisition in the office of the City Clerk, shall be sufficient publication. However, when the Council deems it appropriate, ordinances authorizing the issuance of municipal bonds, other securities or evidences of municipal borrowing as authorized in Article V, Section 19 of this Charter may be published by title only with a statement that the text is available for public inspection and acquisition in the office of the City Clerk. Standard codes and codifications of ordinances of the city may be published by title and reference in whole or in part. Ordinances shall be signed by the Mayor, attested by the City Clerk and published without further certification. The Council may enact any ordinance which adopts any code by reference in whole or in part provided that before adoption of such ordinance the Council shall hold a public hearing thereon and notice of the hearing shall be published twice in the newspaper of general circulation, published in the city, one (1) of such publications to be at least eight(8) days preceding the hearing and the other at least fifteen(15) days preceding the hearing. Such notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and shall also state that copies of the code to be adopted are on file with the City Clerk and open to public inspection. The notice shall also contain a 5 description which the Council deems sufficient to give notice to persons interested as to the subject matter of such code and the name and address of the agency by which it has been promulgated. The ordinance adopting any such code shall set forth in full any penalty clause in connection with such code. Section 18. Vacancies. (a) A vacancy exists when a Councilmember: (1) dies, resigns, or moves from the city or the District from which elected or appointed; (2) assumes another elective office; (3) fails to attend all regular and special meetings of the Council for sixty (60) consecutive days unless excused by Council resolution; (4) is judicially declared mentally incompetent; (5) is convicted of a felony or is declared by the City Clerk, more than sixty(60)days after the date of issuance of the certificate of election of such Councilmember, to have previously been convicted of a felony pursuant to a written protest filed under Section 2 of this article; or (6) in the case of an appointed member of the Council, is declared by the City Clerk to lack any qualification for the office of Councilmember. Except for the office of Mayor, any vacancy on the Council shall be filled within forty-five (45) days by appointment of the Council. The person so appointed shall serve until the next regular election,when the electors will select a person to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term, if any. This selection process shall be subject to the following exception: If the time for filling the vacancy by appointment would fall within forty-five (45) days prior to any regular election, and the remaining unexpired term of the Councilmember to be replaced is more than two(2)years,then the vacancy shall be filled by the newly constituted Council following their election, within forty-five (45) days after their terms of office begin. Under this exception, the term of office of the Councilmember appointed shall run for the remainder of the replaced Councilmember's term. Any person appointed to fill a Councilmember's vacated position shall have all the qualifications required of regularly elected Councilmembers. In the case of a vacancy representing a member elected from a District, any person appointed or elected to fill such vacancy shall be from the same District, as such District is constituted at the time of the appointment or election. 6 (b) The following shall apply to filling vacancies in the office of Mayor: (1) If the position of Mayor becomes vacant more than forty-five (45) days prior to the next regular election, the Mayor Pro Tem shall become Acting Mayor, and the Council shall elect a new Mayor Pro Tem. Both the Acting Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem shall serve until the next regular election, at which time the office of Mayor shall be filled by the electors for a new term, and the Acting Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem shall resume their duties as Councilmembers for the remainder of their unexpired terms of office, if any. The vacancy on the Council created by the Mayor Pro Tem assuming the office of Mayor shall be filled in accordance with the provisions of Section 18(a) above. (2) If the position of Mayor becomes vacant within the forty-five (45)days prior to any regular election,the duties of the Mayor shall be immediately assumed by the Mayor Pro Tem, who shall serve as Acting Mayor until said regular election, at which time the office of Mayor shall be filled by the electors for a new term. Pending the election and the commencement of the term of the newly elected Mayor, the Council shall consist of six (6) members, and the Council shall elect an interim Mayor Pro Tem. After the election,the Acting Mayor and Interim Mayor Pro Tem shall resume their duties as Councilmembers for the remainder of their unexpired terms of office, if any. (3) Nothing herein shall preclude the Mayor Pro Tem or any Councilmember from standing for election to the office of Mayor. Section 2. That the following ballot language is hereby adopted for submitting Proposed Charter Amendment No. 8 to the voters at said election: 7 PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO. 8 AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLES I AND II OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS ELIMINATING CERTAIN LANGUAGE FOR TRANSITIONING INTO THE DISTRICT COUNCILMEMBER SYSTEM;STATING THAT THE COUNCIL SHALL GIVE NOTICE OF ANY REDISTRICTING PROCEEDINGS BY ORDINANCE;ESTABLISHING A FORMULA TO DETERMINE WHEN REDISTRICTING IS NECESSARY; PROVIDING THAT NO PERSON CONVICTED OF A FELONY SHALL BE ELIGIBLE TO BE A CANDIDATE FOR OR HOLD THE OFFICE OF COUNCILMEMBER; REQUIRING THAT ANY PROTEST OF COUNCILMEMBER QUALIFICATIONS, EXCEPT A PROTEST BASED UPON A FELONY CONVICTION, MUST BE FILED NO MORE THAN FIFTEEN(15)DAYS AFTER THE CERTIFICATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE ELECTION AND MUST BE RESOLVED BY THE CITY CLERK WITHIN FORTY-FIVE(45)DAYS OF THE PROTEST; STATING THAT AN INELIGIBLE COUNCILMEMBER'S PARTICIPATION SHALL NOT INVALIDATE ANY ACTION OF THE COUNCIL; REWORDING THE PROVISIONS PERTAINING TO VACANCIES IN THE POSITION OF COUNCILMEMBER; CLARIFYING THAT ALL COUNCILMEMBERS SHALL SERVE UNTIL THEIR SUCCESSORS HAVE BEEN ELECTED AND HAVE TAKEN OFFICE, AND PROVIDING THAT THE TAKING OF THE OATH OF OFFICE SHALL OCCUR AS THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS OF THE COUNCIL FOLLOWING THE COUNCILMEMBER'S ELECTION OR APPOINTMENT. YES NO Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 21 st day of January, A.D. 1997, and to be presented for final passage on the ,,n da of February, A�H:� 97. C_--� a��yor ATTEST: City Clerk 8 Passed and adopted on final reading this 4th day of Feb �/A.D. 1997. ATTEST: ../- City Clerk 9