RecDoc 2018-099611 Charter Amendments Reso

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City of Redwood City Compiled by City of Redwood City City Clerk Pamela Aguilar in support of or in opposition to the proposed laws are the opinions of the authors. City of Redwood City Charter Amendment. Shall the measure amending the Charter to update certain provisions, including modernizing public notice provisions, establishing terms limits for City boards, requiring the budget to be submitted to Council 30 days before the new fiscal year, having the City Clerk appointed by the City Manager, eliminating a residency requirement for City Manager to comply with State law, updating procedures for City payments, and consolidating the roles of Director of Finance and Treasurer, be adopted? The City Council of Redwood City voted 6-1 to place ;Measure 00 on the ballot. If approved by the voters, Measure 00 would update and modernize several provisions of the City's Charter. A city charter operates as a city's "constitution" and governs municipal affairs. The Redwood City Charter was first adopted in 1929, and has been amended sixteen times since then, most recently in 2011. In 2017 and 2018, the City undertook a comprehensive review of proposed amendments to the Charter in an effort to modernize certain provisions and increase efficiency. The Charter Review Sub -Committee met five times to discuss amendments and receive public input, and the City Council reviewed proposed amendments at three meetings. Measure 00 would make several changes to the Charter, including: • Term Limits for Boards/Commissions. Currently there are no term limits for serving on City boards or commissions. The measure would limit a person from being appointed for more than four full consecutive terms, similar to City Council term limits. • Public Notice Procedures. The measure would replace outdated and impracticable public notice procedures in the Charter, which generally require notices to be printed in an official newspaper, with provisions allowing the City Council to establish notice procedures by ordinance. This would allow notice procedures to change with evolving technology and demands of residents. The change would apply to notices related to the sale of Pori property; the filing of initiative, referendum, and recall petitions; the availability of the budget for public inspection; and adoption of ordinances. • Budget Adoption Procedures. The measure would replace requirements that the City Council pass motions every year to establish dates for adopting the budget, and instead establish set deadlines in the Charter. Under the change, the City Manager would be required to submit the budget to City Council 30 days before a new fiscal year begins, and the City Council would be required to adopt the budget before the beginning of a new fiscal year. This removes unnecessary procedural hurdles while preserving transparency and public input. • City Clerk. Under the measure, the City Clerk would be appointed by the City Manager rather than the City Council. • City Manager. The measure would eliminate the requirement that the City Manager reside in the City, in order to comply with State law. • Consolidation of Financial Offices. Currently, the Charter establishes several financial offices, including Director of Finance, City Auditor, City Assessor, and City Collector. In order to streamline government, the measure would consolidate the roles of Director of Finance and City Treasurer and remove the outdated positions of Assessor and Collector. The position of City Auditor would remain. • The measure updates several other provisions, including updating City library payment procedures, replacing gendered language with neutral language, and standardizing language. The above statement is an impartial analysis of Measure 00. If you desire a copy of the full text of the measure, please call the City Clerk's office at (650) 780-7220 and a copy will be mailed at no cost to you. SM-CRCOO 22 Vote Yes on Measure 00 to update RedwoodCity's Charter and bring it into compliance with state law. Redwood City's Charter serves as our local constitution and sets out how the City operates. First adopted by voters in 1929, the Charter has been amended sixteen times since then, most recently in 2011. Measure 00 would: • Allow the City to notice the public in a variety of ways, not just by newspapers. • Establish term limits for the City's Boards and Commissions consistent with City Council term limits. • Change the reporting of the City Clerk to the City Manager rather than the Council in order to maximize organizational efficiency. • Eliminate the requirement that the City Manager be a Redwood City resident to comply with State law. • Consolidate a variety of positions contained in the Charter under the title of Assistant City Manager of Administrative Services. • Change the process for adopting the city's budget so that it is adopted by July of each year. • Have the library participate in the same payment procedures as all other city departments. • Allow for the conditions and procedures for public works contracts to be established by ordinance. • Make the Charter's language gender neutral and standardize language throughout the charter. The Charter can only be amended by majority vote of a city's voters, and cannot be overruled by City Council action. Please vote yes on 00 to modernize our City's Charter and bring it into line with State law. /s/ tan Bain August 13, 2018 Mayor of Redwood City /s/ Alicia Aguirre August 13, 2018 Council Member Redwood City /s/ Shelly Masur August 13, 2018 Council Member Redwood City