AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CITY CHARTER OF THE CITY OF WHITE BEAR LAKE, MN AS IT RELATES TO MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS, GENDER-SPECIFIC TERMINOLOGY, CITY ATTORNEY APPOINTMENT TERM LENGTH, AND STATE STATUTE REFERENCES

This ordinance is pending City Council approval. The first reading is scheduled for Tuesday, June 13.

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CITY CHARTER OF WHITE BEAR LAKE IN SECTIONS 2.02, 4.04, 4.12, 4.13, 4.14, 4.17, 4.20, 4.26, AND 5.16 AS IT RELATES TO MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS, GENDER-SPECIFIC TERMS, CITY ATTORNEY APPOINTMENT TERMS AND STATE STATUTE REFERENCES.

THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WHITE BEAR LAKE, MINNESOTA DOES ORDAIN THE FOLLOWING:

The City Charter of the City of White Bear Lake is hereby amended at Sections 2.02, 4.04, 4.12, 4.13, 4.14, 4.17, 4.20, 4.26 and 5.16 as follows (deleted text is stricken and added text is underlined):

Sect. 2.02. Municipal Elections. The Uniform Municipal Election Day Law, 205.07 (2010), set forth in Chapter 205 of Minnesota Statutes, is hereby adopted by reference and made a part of the City Charter of the City of White Bear Lake. The Uniform Munici­pal Election Day shall be the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in odd numbered years. Officials elected on that date shall take office on the first business Monday of January succeeding the election for the term which is provided by law. In the event that more than two individuals file for the position of Mayor or City Council for the same ward, a primary election shall be held on the second Tuesday of August of the year the election is scheduled. (Revised by Ord. 90-09-820, 9/25/90; 12-11-1082A, 2/25/13)

Pursuant to Ordinance No. 90-09-820, the Offices of Mayor and City Council members for Ward 2 and 4 shall be held in November, 1993 and every four (4) years thereafter and the individual elected to said offices shall assume office the following January, as provided by this Charter or State Law, for a term of four years. The election for the offices of City Council members for Wards 1, 3 and 5 shall be held in November, 1995 and every four years thereafter and the individuals elected shall assume office as provided above for a term of four (4) years.

Sect. 4.04. Mayor -- Vacancy of Office. When the office of Mayor becomes vacant, the Council shall appoint, by majority vote, a qualified person as Mayor if the remaining term of office is less than six (6) months. Notice of the vacancy shall be published by the City Clerk in the official newspaper one week prior to the meeting for the appointment. The appointed Mayor shall exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of Mayor until a Mayor is elected at the next annual municipal general election. The office of Mayoral vacancy shall be filled by a special municipal election when the remaining term of office is six (6) months or greater. The City Clerk shall, within fifteen (15) days of the vacancy, give legal notice in the official newspaper of the vacancy with dates for filing and the date(s) of the special municipal election(s). The period for filing for the vacancy shall be ten (10) calendar days from (including) the date of the legal notice. The special municipal election shall occur within fifteen (15) to twenty (20) days after the close of filing. If more than two (2) candidates have filed for the vacancy, the first election date shall be considered the primary municipal election with the general municipal election date occurring fourteen (14) days later. When two (2) or fewer candidates have filed for the vacancy, the general municipal election shall occur on the first election date. (Ref. Ord. 898, 8/24/93)

Sect. 4.12. Council -- Meetings and Procedures. The Council shall make its rules of procedure and shall be the judge of the qualifications and election of its members and of the grounds for forfeiture of their offices, and for this purpose shall have the power to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, and require the production of evidence. A member charged with conduct constituting grounds for forfeiture of office shall be entitled to a public hearing on demand, and notice of such hearing shall be published in the official newspaper at least one week in advance of the hearing. Decisions made by the Council under this section shall be subject to review by the courts.

Council vacancies shall be filled by appointment when the remaining term of office is less than six (6) months. The appointment shall be by majority vote of the Council. Notice of the vacancy shall be published by the City Clerk in the official newspaper one week prior to the meeting for the appointment.

Council vacancies shall be filled by special municipal election when the remaining term of office is six (6) months or greater. The City Clerk shall, within fifteen (15) days of the vacancy, give legal notice in the official newspaper of the vacancy, with dates for filing and the date(s) of the special municipal election(s). The period for filing for the vacancy shall be ten (10) calendar days from (including) the date of the legal notice. The special municipal election shall occur within fifteen (15) to twenty (20) days after the close of filing. If more than two (2) candidates have filed for the vacancy, the first election date shall be considered the primary municipal election with the general municipal election date occurring fourteen (14) days later. When two (2) or fewer candidates have filed for the vacancy, the general municipal election shall occur on the first election date.

The Council at its first regular meeting in January, following the annual municipal election shall set the day dates of its regular monthly meetings for the year. Special meetings may be called by the Mayor or by the Chair of the Council at any time. Reasonable public notice shall be given for all special Council meetings through the media. (Ref. Ord. 898, 8/24/93)

Three (3) members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but a lesser number may adjourn from time to time. The Council shall have the power to compel the attendance of its members at regular and special meetings. The absence of a member from three (3) consecutive regular meetings shall be deemed as suffi­cient cause for removal from office.

Sect. 4.13. Chair of the Council -- Acting Mayor. At the first regular meeting of the Council in January following the annual municipal general election, the Council shall elect one of its members as Chair of the Council. The Chair of the Council shall appoint all committees of the Council. The Chair shall preside over the meetings of the Council only in the absence of the Mayor and shall maintain the right and authority to vote on all motions, resolutions and ordinances considered by City Council. (Rev. by Ord. 90-09-819, 9/25/90; Ord. 16-12-2021, 12/13/16)

The Chair shall, under the title of Acting Mayor, assume, exercise, and perform all the powers and duties of the Mayor during the Mayor's temporary absence or disability, and the acts of such Chair, as Acting Mayor, shall have the same force and validity as though performed by the Mayor except the Acting Mayor shall not have veto authority on any action on which the Acting Mayor has voted which continues to be the prerogative of the Mayor. (Rev. by Ord. No. 90-09-819, 9/25/90; Ord. 16-12-2021, 12/13/16)

Sect. 4.14. Ordinances and Resolutions. All legislation shall be by ordi­nance, except as otherwise provided in this Charter. Every proposed ordinance shall be submitted in writing and a full reading or summary thereof shall be made at the meeting at which it is introduced. A copy of every proposed ordinance shall be made available to each Councilmember and there shall be on file a reasonable number of copies in the office of the City Clerk, City Hall, and the local Public Library, for public inspections. Notice that such ordinance is to be considered shall be published in the official newspaper prior to its adoption. Such notice need only include the title of the ordinance. No ordinance, except an emergency ordinance, shall be passed at the meeting at which it is introduced.

All other Council action shall be by resolution or motion. Every proposed resolution shall be submitted in writing and a full reading or a summary thereof shall be made at the meeting at which it is introduced. A copy of every resolution shall be made available to each Councilmember and a copy shall be posted at the City Hall.

An affirmative vote of a majority of all members of the Council shall be required for the passage of all ordinances, motions and resolutions, except as otherwise provided in this Charter. Every vote thereon shall be by ayes and nays, which shall be duly recorded.

Any ordinance or resolution passed by the Council shall within five (5) days be presented to the Mayor for approval. The Mayor shall approve and sign such mea­sure or veto and return it with objections to the City Clerk within ten (10) days after receiving the same. Should the Mayor fail to return said measure to the City Clerk within ten (10) days of the date of receiving same, it shall become effective as though signed by the Mayor.

Any ordinance or resolution vetoed by the Mayor may be reconsidered by the Coun­cil, but only at its next regular meeting that takes place more than seven (7) days after the measure is vetoed and returned. If after such reconsideration it shall be passed by a four-fifths vote of all the members, it shall become as effective as though signed by the Mayor. (Rev. Ord. 16-08-2016, 8/26/16)

Every ordinance or resolution passed by the Council shall, before taking effect (ex­cept as herein provided), be signed by the Mayor and attested to by the City Clerk, who shall endorse thereon the date of its passage.

Except for emergency ordinances as hereinafter defined, no ordinance shall become effective until after one publication in the official city newspaper. An affidavit of such publication shall be made by the foreman or publisher of the newspaper, which affidavit shall be filed in the office of the City Clerk.

Every ordinance or resolution shall after enactment be fully recorded by the City Clerk in a book kept for that purpose, which book shall constitute a public record.

Sect. 4.17. Ordinances -- Codification. Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 4.14 and 4.16, the Council may codify the ordinances of the City, and enact such code of Ordinances as a single comprehensive ordinance, repealing and replacing all prior ordinances (except as may be specifically retained by particular reference in the Code). Such Code, when duly enacted by the Council in accordance with the provi­sions of this Charter, need not be pub­lished in the official newspaper of the City, but shall be effective at whatever date the Code may prescribe, provided that: (1) notice of adoption of said Code shall have been published for at least one week in the official newspaper of the City, which publication shall be proved by the affidavit of the foreman or publisher of such paper, and (2) copies of said Code shall have been available at the City offices for distribution to the public at a reason­able price for at least one week prior to said effective date, which fact shall be proved by affidavit of the City Clerk on file with the Code in the office of the City Clerk.

After the adoption of a Code of Ordinances, subsequent ordinances may be incorpo­rated into the Code from time to time at the direction of the Council without any further publication of said ordinances. In so doing the form of said ordinances may be changed to conform to the form of the Code, but no change in the substantive meaning of any ordinance shall be made upon its incorporation into the Code.

Sect. 4.20. City Attorney.  The City Council shall have the power to appoint a City Attorney or Attorneys and fix the compensation to be paid said City Attorney or Attorneys, who shall be a member or members of the bar of the State of Minnesota.  Such attorney or attorneys may be appointed for one year terms up to five years, but shall be removable at the pleasure of the Council.

Sect. 4.26. Official Publications. The Council shall at its first regular meeting in the January following the annual municipal election, or as soon thereafter as practicable, designate, in accordance with Minnesota Statutes, the official newspaper of the City for publication of all notices required by this Charter. In all other cases, the City Council may designate the manner of publication of notices. (Ref. Ord. 898, 8/24/93)

Sect. 5.16. Equipment -- Certificates. The City Council may by four-fifths vote finance the purchase of the fire, police, ambulance, street construction and street maintenance equipment, through the use of certificates of indebted­ness as provided for in Minnesota Statutes Section 412.301.

This Ordinance becomes effective after unanimous approval by the City Council following its second reading, and shall take effect and be in force following its passage and 90 days after publication.