CC Minutes - 07/28/08 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Mayor Piercy recognized Councilor Bettman for a motion on an unrelated matter. Councilor Bettman distributed copies of the resolution passed by the council in regard to the police auditor, and indicated she would offer a motion to repeal the previous ballot title. She thanked City Manager Ruiz and City Attorney Klein for their assistance in developing the new ballot title. Councilor Bettman, seconded by Councilor Zelenka, moved to repeal Resolution No. 4949, a resolution calling a City election. Responding to a question from Councilor Clark, City Attorney Klein said that the council could not change the certified ballot title unless someone filed a lawsuit in Circuit Court; the motion would allow him to prepare a new ballot title in keeping with Councilor Bettman’s wishes. Councilor Clark asked if a vote in favor of the motion would allow for a council work session to review the new title. City Attorney Klein said no; he would have to certify the ballot title by August 4, and invited council input prior to that time via e- mail. Responding to a question from City Attorney Klein, City Recorder Mary Feldman reviewed the process timeline. Councilor Clark asked how the resolution would affect City Attorney Klein’s judgment on the ballot title. City Attorney Klein suggested that drafting a ballot title was an art rather than a science, and one could have 100 reasonable ballot titles for one measure. He thought his title was reasonable, and that the title Councilor Bettman included in her e-mail was appropriate to include in a title, although perhaps not absolutely necessary. He reiterated his invitation for additional input. He said the title must be consistent with State law, and that was his goal. Roll call vote; the motion passed, 5:3; councilors Solomon, Poling, and Clark voting no. Councilor Bettman, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to adopt Resolution No. 4954, which shall consist of the same title and provisions as were in Resolution No. 4949. Roll call vote; the motion passed 5:3; councilors Solomon, Poling, and Clark voting no. Councilor Bettman, seconded by Councilor Ortiz, moved to direct the City Manager to di- rect legal counsel to adopt a ballot title, caption, question, and summary generally consis- tent with the language provided in her e-mail dated July 28, 2008. Councilor Clark said that the e-mail contained language that concerned him. He determined from City Attorney Klein that he would interpret the motion as the council’s indication of what it would like the ballot title to be. Councilor Clark thought the language provided by Councilor Bettman offered greater clarity in some regards, but he thought it less clear in regard to the duties of the auditor. He had hoped for more specificity with the intent reflected in the title, but was unclear as to how to accomplish that. He indicated he would have to vote in opposition to the motion because the time for discussion was not adequate. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 28, 2008 Page 6 Meeting