CC Minutes - 01/28/02 Work Session

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Mary Walston of the City Manager's Office provided an overview of the item. She said that the night's meeting was an opportunity for the council to discuss the recommendations in the report and provide direction as to the next steps in regard to the May 2002 election. She added that, at the direction of the council, the opinions of City Manager Johnson were valued and sought as well in this discussion. Ms. Walston noted that the majority of the recommendations were of a "housekeeping" nature. She noted that there was a matrix included in the meeting packet that listed each recommendation in charter order and classified it as "housekeeping," "minor," or "substantial." She said the purpose of the work session was to come to an agreement on the housekeeping items so they could be put on the May ballot. She said the minor and substantial items could be discussed at future work sessions. Mayor Torrey called for roundtable comments from the councilors. Mr. Kelly said he was very interested in getting the housekeeping items on the ballot in May. In the housekeeping items, Ms. Bettman suggested clearer language for Section 8 regarding redistricting. She said clearer language was also needed for Section 11. In Section 17, Ms. Bettman suggested that the wording was vague enough that local control would be put in question. For Section 54, Ms. Bettman called for more discussion. Mr. Meisner supported packaging all the housekeeping items for the May ballot. Mr. Meisner said the matrix noting the creation of the position of an in-house counsel needed to be more clearly defined; in the current version, it was not obvious to the reader. In response to a question from Mr. Meisner regarding the inclusion of a section on citizen participation in the preamble of the charter, Ms. Walston noted that some charters had preambles that stated the purpose of the charter. Mr. Meisner said he would oppose the inclusion of such a section on citizen participation in the preamble and the city auditor position. He remarked that he had found no support for the city auditor position among the groups with whom he had spoken. Mr. Rayor complimented the staff work involved in classifying the recommendations of the Citizen Charter Review Committee. He said he had no comments on the housekeeping items but raised concern over the proposed new citizen involvement section, proposed changes to Section 16(2)(c), and the proposed new protected ordinance. Ms. Taylor suggested trying to put some substantial items on the May ballot such as the city auditor and in-house legal counsel. Ms. Nathanson said an exact list of housekeeping items needed to be defined for the May ballot. She said staff should not be directed to research items that did not have support from a council majority. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 28, 2002 Page 6 Work Session