HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-13-2005 Charter Review Commission• =
December 1, 2004 PACKET
CR67 Agenda for 12 -1
CR68 Minutes of November 22
CR69 Invitation to local High Schools
December 8, 2004 PACKET
CR70 Agenda for 12 -8
CR71 Minutes of December 1
CR72 Letter from Carol deProsse
CR73 December 1 Materials
-KXIC Interview
-Sign In Sheets
-Copy of Media Coverage
CR74 Video On Demand (VOD) Request
January 6, 2005 PACKET
CR75 Agenda fort -6
CR76 Minutes from December 8
CR77 Minutes from December 13
CR78 Presentation of Recommendations to Council
CR79 Copy of memo sent to attendees of December 1 Community Discussion
January 13 & January 14. 2005 PACKET
CR80 Agenda for 1 -13
CR81 Agenda for 1 -14
CR82 Minutes from January 6
CR83 Non Red -Lined Version of Charter
,284 Non Red -Lined Version of Charter
CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION
MEETING AGENDA
Thursday, January 13, 2005
7:00 PM
City Hall, Harvat Hall
410 East Washington Street
PUBLIC HEARING - recommended changes to the Charter
* * ** *Next meeting January 14 (7:30 AM — 9:00 AM; Harvat Hall) * * * **
CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION
MEETING AGENDA
Friday, January 14, 2005
7:30 AM -9:00 AM
City Hall, Harvat Hall
410 East Washington Street
1. Approve Minutes
2. Public Comment
Receive correspondence
3. Review Public Hearing input from previous evening
4. Review Charter
5. Presentation to Council
6. Meeting Schedule
7 Old Business
8. Adjournment (9:00 AM)
MINUTES
CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION
THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2005 — 3:30 PM
HARVAT HALL, CITY HALL
DRAFT
Members Present: Kevin Werner, Andy Chappell, Karen Kubby, Pemry Davidsen (on
speakerphone), Naomi Novick, Vicki Lensing, Nate Green, Lynn Rowat, and William
Sueppel, Chair
Staff Present: Marian Kan', Eleanor Dilkes
CALL TO ORDER
Chairperson Sueppel called the meeting to order at 3:35 PM.
APPROVE MINUTES
MOTION: Kubby moved to accept the minutes of December 8, 2004, as' written;
seconded by Chappell. Motion carried 9 to 0.
MOTION: Kubby proved to accept the minutes of December 13, 2004, as written;
seconded by Novick. Motion carried 9 to 0.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
REVIEW CHARTER
Sueppel asked if any of the members had anything new they wanted to share. Hearing
nothing new, the members decided to discuss the four main issues that they have left.
The first issue, how the mayor is elected, was discussed. Novick stated that she feels
they have a good system now, and she likes that the mayor is part of the City Council and
gets to discuss and vote as a member of the Council. Davidsen stated that she feels the
election of the mayor should stay as it is, and that the mayor could be a district
representative, if the Commission chooses to go to "true districts." Kubby slated that she
has re -read the Charter many times, as well as talked to others, and she is still in favor of
going to a directly elected mayor. Chappell stated that he also supports the idea of a
directly elected mayor. Green stated that he originally was of the opinion that if our
system is working well that it should not be changed, but he feels there should be more
"opemiess" to the process. Werner stated that lie likes the system as it is now, and he
feels the "first among equals" is best. Rowat stated that lie feels that all voters have, in a
sense, had a chance to vote for who is going to be the mayor, by electing the Council
members. Lensing stated that she and Rowat were in the same group at the last public
hearing, and that what he stated is basically what their group felt: that if the
responsibilities of the mayor are not going to change, then leave the election of the mayor
as is. She, therefore, agrees that they should keep the system as is. The discussion then
turned to a tern limit for the mayor, and Novick stated that people have been suggesting
Charter Review Commission
January 6, 2005
Page 2
a limit of four years. Sueppel ended the discussion by stating that he also feels the
system works as it is, and does not want to change at this time. Lensing noted that she
would like the Commission to let the Council know that they would like to see this
process done in as open and public of a manner as possible. Dilkes noted that in the past
this process was done by secret ballot, but that process was stopped and now the Council
member's vote must be public.
MOTION: Novick moved to "TA" Section 2.06 A, li and C-- Mayor, as written;
seconded by Rowat. Motion carried 6 to 3 (Green, Chappell, and Kubby voting the
negative).
The discussion then turned to term limits for the mayor. Lensing stated that she has not
changed her mind on this, but noted that members of her group at the last public hearing
did bring this up. She wants to acknowledge that some people have concerns about this
and want term limits, but that as a Commission, she felt they had decided not to address
this area. Novick stated that quite a few people feel that four years should be the limit.
MOTION: Novick moved that the mayor, who is selected from among the Council
members, bold office for no more than four years (two terms). No second. Motion
dies.
Section 2.02 Division into council districts – Kubby stated that she would favor keeping
the 4 at- large, 3 district seats. Novick stated that the original idea behind this was to
make sure that representation was evenly distributed throughout the city. She noted that
in past Charter Review Commissions, the idea of having 5 districts was discussed, in
order to spread the representation around.
MOTION: Kubby moved to "TA" Section 2.02 Division into council districts as
written; seconded by Chappell. Motion carried 9 to 0.
Sueppel then turned the discussion to the "method of selecting district councilpersons.
Kubby stated that the question then that had them hesitating was: if they had true
districts and the majority of council felt that one of the district members was the best
person to be mayor, and had four or more votes to be mayor, what does that mean – is it a
good thing or not? She stated that she then tried to find some examples of this situation,
and does not feel that they would have a problem with it locally. Davidsen agreed with
Kubby's statement. Chappell noted that Ire has spoken in favor of the mayor being
directly elected by the people, and that since that idea was voted down, lie feels the
system should stay as it is. The concept of voters being disenfranchised was discussed at
some length, with members giving their opinions. (TAPE ENDS)
MOTION: Section 2.01— Composition and 3.03 — Regular city election – Kubby
moved to create language in the Charter to have the districts be true districts;
seconded by Chappell. Motion failed, 8 to 1, with Kubby voting in the positive, and
the remaining eight members voting in the negative.
Charter Review Commission
January 6, 2005
Page 3
MOTION: Lensing moved to "TA" Section 2.01 and 3.03 as written; seconded by
Green. Motion carried 8 to 1; Kubby voting in the negative.
MOTION: Kubby moved to "TA" the entire Charter as amended by previous
action of the Commission (as reflected in the red -line version dated 11/3/04 and one
additional change in Section 2.05); seconded by Rowat. Motion carried 9 to 0.
MOTION: Kubby moved to authorize Dilkes to make grammatical changes as
deemed necessary in the final redline version of the Charter; Novick seconded.
Motion carried 9 to 0.
REQUEST FOR VIDEO ON DEMAND NOD) INFORMATION
Karr explained to the members that this is a request that was in their December packet,
where the local government channel wanted to know if the Charter Commission was
interested in designating anyone on the Commission to do an interactive program with
their Infovision program. This issue had been put off during December due to the public
session that was being planned and held Kubby suggested that they look into this from
more of an educational tool perspective. Karr will contact staff and ask they inform
Chair Sueppel of options.
PRESENTATION TO COUNCIL
Sueppel opened the discussion by asking who is going to prepare the presentation for the
City Council; what is it exactly that this person should prepare; and do they want to
include recommendations to the Council as to whether they should adopt the
recommendations by ordinance, or submit it to a vote of the people, and if they do this by
ordinance, does the Commission favor one ordinance, or perhaps more than one as some
are strictly grannnatical changes, and others are things that people might want to take
issue with. Dilkes stated that her tentative opinion is that if the Council were to adopt
every change made in one ordinance, objectors could still, within 30 days, ask to have a
section of the ordinance be submitted to voters. Dilkes further stated she would need to
look at the issue in more detail.
Sueppel noted that Chappell had given the members a copy of all article from the County
News regarding San Francisco using ranked voting.
The discussion then honed to what the presentation would entail. Chappell stated that he
believes they need two documents to present to the Council. One would be the "nuts and
bolts" changes that the Commission is proposing, and the second document would be
narrative -type of report, further explaining the changes and issues that the Commission
has brought up. He feels that the first document, the "nuts and bolts ", should be done by
staff (Karr & Dilkes), and the second document should be done by one of the members.
He further suggested that a Commission member do a draft, and then the Commission as
a whole wold review.
Charter Review Commission
January 6, 2005
Page 4
Kubby noted the following issues that have been raised by the Commission members
during their review: the police /fire chief being approved by Council and appointed by the
City Manager; restrictions on referendum; desire to have a citizen's guide for the Charter;
and the time -frame that was presented by staff. Sueppel suggested they review the
minutes from their meetings thus far, and pull the main discussion topics from there.
Chappell stated that he feels they should pick someone on the Commission to start a
preliminary draft of this presentation. Novick suggested that Chappell do this, and
members agreed. It was decided that Kubby would work with him, as well, on this draft.
Dilkes asked for clarification on what she and Karr are to do, which is an explanation of
the actual changes that are being made, and not issues that the Commission merely
discussed. She said they would include items such as the staff time -line as it will help to
clarify the changes.
Sueppel asked when this Commission ends, and Kan noted approximately May 4, 2005.
She further stated that the Commission's "work is done" when they present their proposal
to Council, but that does not mean that they won't be asked for further information or
review. Kan their asked for clarification of the January 14'h meeting agenda. Items to be
addressed are: review public hearing of January 13, and review final reports by
Dilkes /Karr and Chappell/Kubby. It was further decided that Chappell and Kubby would
have their version of the presentation to Kan by 10:00 AM on Thursday, January 13.
Dilkes ended the discussion by asking the members if they wanted to set a public hearing
for the Council on the Charter Commission's recommendations, and whether to give
them to the voters or do this by ordinance. Majority agreed to present recommendations
only, and not request setting of a hearing.
OLD BUSINESS
None.
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION: Rowat moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Green. Meeting
adjourned at 5:13 PM.
c' l�` 3
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January I0, 2005
The Citizens of Iowa City, Iowa, by virtue of the enactment of this Charter, adopt the
following principles:
1. That the govermnent of Iowa City belongs to all its citizens and all share the
responsibility for it.
2. That the government of Iowa City is a service institution, responsive and
accountable to its citizens.
3. That City officials should be accessible to the people and have an affirmative
obligation to secure for each person equality of opportunity as well as due process
and equal protection of law.
4. That each citizen has a right to obtain fair, equal, and courteous treatment from
each City official and employee.
5. That the City should perform all acts and take all measures necessary and
desirable to promote the general health, safety and welfare of its residents, to
encourage the participation of its citizens in policy formation and to secure the frill
benefits of "Home Rule."
As used in this Charter:
1. "City" means the City of Iowa City, Iowa.
2. "City Council' or "Council' means the governing body of the City.
3. "Councilmember" means a member of the Council, including the Mayor.
4. "Shall" imposes a duty.
5. "Must" states a requirement.
6. "May" confers a power.
7. 'Eligible elector" means a person eligible to register to vote in Iowa City.
8. "Qualified elector" means a resident of Iowa City who is registered to vote in Iowa
City.
9. 'Board" includes a Board, Commission, Committee or other similar entity
however designated.
10. "Person" means an individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company,
association, political party, committee or any other legal entity.
11. " Ordinance," exeep"s- provided t ele VII; means a City law of a general
and permanent nature.
12. "Measure" , except as provided in Article VII, means an ordinance, amendment,
resolution or motion. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(1), 3- 12 -85)
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
Section 1.01. Powers of the city.
The City has all powers possible under the Constitution and laws of this State.
Section 1.02. Construction.
The grant of power to the City under this Charter is intended to be broad; the mention of
a specific power in this Charter is not intended to be a limitation on the general powers
conferred in this article.
Section 1.03. Savings clause.
If any provision of this Charter, or the application of this Charter to any person or
circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or
applications of this Charter.
Section 2.01. Composition.
The City Council consists of seven members. As provided in Article III, four, to be
known as Councilmembers at large, are to be nominated by eligible electors of the City at
large, and three, to be known as district Councilmembers,.are to be nominated by eligible
electors of their respective districts. All Councilmembers shall be elected by the qualified
electors of the City at large. (Ord. No. 85- 3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85; Ord. No. 85- 3273, § 2,
12- 17 -85)
Section 2.02. Division into council districts.
The Council, by ordinance, shall divide the City into three Council Districts of
substantially equal population. These Districts are to be designated as Council District A,
Council District B, and Council District C.
Section 2.03. Eligibility.
To be eligible to be elected to and to retain a Council position, a person must be an
eligible elector of Iowa City, and if seeking or elected to represent a Council District,
must be a- dorniel ary an eligible elector of that Council District. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, §
2(2),3- 12 -85)
Section 2.04. Terms.
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
At the first election under this Charter, all seven Councilmembers are to be elected; the
Councilmember from Council District A, Council District C, and the two
Councilmembers at large who receive the greatest number of votes cast for
Councilmember at large are to serve for terns of four years, and other Councilmembers
are to serve for terms of two years. Commencing at the next regular City election, and at
all subsequent regular City elections, all Councilmembers elected to fill the positions of
those whose terms expire shall be elected for terms of four years.
Section 2.05. Compensation.
The Council, by ordinance, shall prescribe the compensation of the Mayor and the other
Council members;, aral4The Council shall not adopt such an ordinance during the months
of November and December immediately following a regular City election. (Ord. No. 85-
3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
Section 2.06. Mayor.
A. Immediately following the beginning of the terms of Councilmembers elected at the
regular City election, the Council shall meet and elect from among its members the
Mayor and Mayor pro tem for a term of two years.
B. The Mayor is a voting member of the Council, the official representative of the City,
presiding officer of the Council and its policy spokesperson. The Mayor shall present
to the City no later than February 28 an annual State of the City message.
C. The Mayor pro tern shall act as Mayor during the absence of the Mayor. (Ord. No.
85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85; Ord. No. 95 -3671, § 1, 3- 28 -95)
Section 2.07. General powers and duties.
All powers of the City are vested in the Council, except as otherwise provided by State
law or this Charter. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
Section 2.08. Appointments.
A. The Council shall appoint the City Manager.
B. The Council shall appoint the City Clerk.
C. The Council shall appoint the City Attorney.
D. The Council shall appoint all members of the City's Boards, except as otherwise
provided by State law.
E. The Council shall fix the amount of compensation, if any, of persons it appoints and
shall provide for the method of compensation of other City employees. All
appointments and promotions of City employees by City Council and City Manager
must be made according to job - related criteria and be consistent with
nondiscriminatory and equal employment opportunity standards established pursuant
to law. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85; Ord. No. 95 -3671, § 1, 3- 28 -95)
Section 2.09. Rules; records.
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
The Council may determine its own rules and shall maintain records of its proceedings
consistent with State law.
Section 2.10. Vacancies.
The Council shall fill a vacancy occurring in an elective City office as provided by State
law.
Section 2.11. Council action.
A. Passage of an ordinance, amendment or resolution requires ft., re-te -of a
majority vote of all the members of the Council the Coin neilinembers except as
otherwise provided by State law.
B. TheCoun abn new; rou"efitiou, a propes4ien-fer-the
repeal; an endment- or- enaetmenrof any- measure to be wot" at airy succeeding
genes 1 K�,...1.. ..l ``:. , ale..ti..., a..d -ic 41,e .. •.:,.., .... �.kxitazc
°•> --D° ..a ,,, see....
majority of th ..uot .,,... u. ih° °�icctivr � ihcra °vusi� •rc�iisrirvve- i'epealeF�
Section 2.12. Prohibitions.
A. A Councilmember may not hold any other City office or be a City employee or
elected County official while serving on the Council nor hold any remunerated City
office or employment for at least one year after leaving the Council.
B. With the exception of the appointment of the chief of the police department and chief
of the fire department which are subject to approval of the City Council Nneither
the Council nor its members may dictate, in any mamrer, the appointment or removal
of any person appointed by the City Manager. However, the Council may express its
views to the City Manager pertaining to the appointment or removal of such
employee.
C. A Councilmember may not interfere with the supervision or direction of any person
appointed by or under the control of the City Manager.
Section 3.01. Nomination.
A. An eligible elector of a council district may become a candidate for a council district
seat by filing with the City Clerk a valid petition requesting that his or her name be
placed on the ballot for that office. The petition must be filed not more than sixty -
five (65) days nor less than forty (40) days before the date of the election and must
be signed by eligible electors from the candidate's district equal in number to at least
two (2) percent of those who voted to fill the same office at the last regular city
election, but not less than the ten (10) persons.
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
B. An eligible elector of the City may become a candidate for an at -large council seat
by filing with the City Clerk a petition requesting that the candidate's name be placed
on the ballot for that office. The petition must be filed not more than sixty -five (65)
days nor less than forty (40) days before the date of the election and must be signed
by eligible electors equal in number to at least two (2) percent of those who voted to
fill the same office at the last regular city election, but not less than ten (10) persons.
(Ord. No. 77 -2864, § 2, 9 -6 -77; Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85; Ord. No. 95-
3671, § 1, 3- 28 -95)
Section 3.02. Primary election.
A. If there are more than two candidates for a Council District seat, a primary election
must be held for that seat with only the qualified electors of that Council District
eligible to vote. The names of the two candidates who receive the highest number of
votes in the primary election are to be placed on the ballot for the regular City
election as candidates for that Council seat.
B. If there are more than hvice as many candidates as there are at large positions to be
filled, there shall be a primary election held unless the Council, by ordinance,
chooses to have a run - off - election. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
Section 3.03. Regular city election.
A. In the regular City election, each Council District seat up for election shall be listed
separately on the ballot and only the names of candidates nominated from that
Council District shall be listed on the ballot as candidates for that seat. However, all
qualified electors of the City shall be entitled to vote for each candidate. The three
Council District seats shall be designated on the ballot as Council District A, Council
District B and Council District C and each shall be elected at large.
B. The at large Council seats shall be designated on the ballot as such. (Ord. No. 85-
3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
Section 4.01. Appointment; qualifications.
hi appointing a City Manager, the Council shall consider only the qualifications and
fitness of the person without regard to political or other affiliation. During his or her
tenure the City Manager shall reside within the City.
Section 4.02. Accountability; removal.
A. The City Manager is under the direction and supervision of the Council and holds
office at its pleasure. Unless otherwise provided by contract, a City Manager
removed by the Council is entitled to receive termination pay of not less than two
months' salary, computed from the date of the resolution of removal.
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
B. Upon the resignation or removal of the City Manager, the Council shall appoint an
individual qualified to perform the duties of City Manager to serve at the pleasure of
Council or until a City Manager is appointed.
Section 4.03. Absence; disability of eCity mManager.
The City Manager may designate a qualified City employee as Acting City Manager to
perform his or her duties during a temporary absence or disability. If the City Manager
does not make such a designation, the Council shall appoint a qualified City employee to
perform the duties of the City Manager until he or she returns.
Section 4.04. Duties of eCity mManager.
A. The City Manager shall be chief administrative officer of the City and shall:
(1)Insure that the laws of the City are executed and enforced.
(2)Supervise and direct the administration of City government and the official
conduct of employees of the City appointed by the City Manager including their
employment, training, reclassification, suspension or discharge as the occasion
requires, subject to State law.
(3)Appoint the chief of the police department and the chief of the fire department
with the approval of the City Council.
(4) Supervise the chief of the police department and chief of the fire department
including their suspension or discharge as the occasion requires Such supervision
shall not be subject to approval of the City Council
U5 Appoint or employ persons to occupy positions for which no other method of
appointment is provided by State law or this Charter.
(46) Supervise the administration of the City personnel system, including the
determination of the compensation of all City employees appointed by the City
Manager subject to State law or this Charter.
(37) Supervise the performance of all contracts for work to be done for the City,
make surer wise all purchases of materials and supplies, and assure that such
materials and supplies are received and are of specified quality and character.
(0) Supervise and manage all public improvements, works and undertakings of the
City, and all City -owned property including buildings, plants, systems, and
enterprises, and to have charge of their construction, improvement, repair and
maintenance except where otherwise provided by State law.
(79) Supervise the making and preservation of all surveys, maps, plans, drawings,
specifications and estimates for the City.
(910) Provide for the issuance and revocation of licenses and permits authorized
by State law or City ordinance and cause a record thereof to be maintained.
(911) Prepare and submit to the Council the annual budgets in the form
prescribed by State law.
(-1-012) Provide the Council mora ly an itemized written monthly financial report.
(-13-13) Attend Council meetings and keep the Council fully advised of the
financial and other conditions of the City and its needs.
(-1214) See that the business affairs of the City are transacted in an efficient
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
manner and that accurate records of all City business are maintained and made
available to the public, except as otherwise provided by State law.
(131 5) Provide necessary and reasonable clerical, research and professional
assistance to Boards within limitations of the budget.
(4416) Perform such other and further duties as the Council may direct.
B. The City Manager, in performing the foregoing duties, may:
(1)Present recommendations and programs to the Council and participate in any
discussion by the Council of any matters pertaining to the duties of the City
Manager.
(2)Cause the examination and investigation of the affairs of any department or the
conduct of any employee under supervision of the City Manager.
(3)Execute contracts on behalf of the City when authorized by the Council. (Ord. No.
85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
Section 4.05. Ineligibility; prohibited acts.
Except for the exercise of the right to vote, the City Manager shall not take part in any
election of Councilmembers. This prohibition shall in no way limit the City Manager's
duty to make available public records as provided by State law or this Charter.
Section 5.01. Establishment.
The Council may establish Boards in addition to those required by State law and shall
specify the title, duties, length of term, qualifications of members and other appropriate
matters. The Council may reduce or increase a Board's duties, transfer duties from one
Board to another or dissolve any Board, except as otherwise provided by State law or this
Charter.
Section 5.02. Appointment; removal.
The Council shall, subject to the requirements of State law, seek to provide broad
representation on all Boards. The Council shall establish procedures to give at least thirty
days' notice of vacancies before they are filled and shall encourage nominations
applications by citizens. The Council shall establish conditions for the
removal of members for-just ettase shall be consistent with State law. (Ord No. 85 -3227,
§ 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
Section 5.03. Rules.
A. The Council shall establish rules and procedures for the operation of all Boards,
which must include but are not limited to, the adoption of by -laws and rules
pertaining to open meetings and open records.
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
B. The Council slrall specify, for each Board, methods for informal and formal
communication with Council, time schedules for the completion of reports requested
by Council and such rules as it deems appropriate.
C. A Board may establish additional rules and procedures that are consistent with State
law, Council rules, and this Charter.
Section 6.01. Limitations on the amount of campaign contributions.
The Council, by ordinance, shall prescribe limitations on the amount of campaign
contributions made to a candidate for election to Council by a person as defined in this
Charter. (Ord. No. 95 -3671, § 1, 3- 28 -95)
Section 6.02. Disclosure of contributions and expenditures.
The Council, by ordinance, may prescribe procedures requiring, iffm� -before -and
alter, eaeh feg eial primary- r .,,_, eff eleetien, the disclosure of the amount,
source and kind of contributions received and expenditures made by (1) each candidate
for election to Council and (2) any and all other persons, for the purpose of aiding or
securing the candidate's nomination or election. (Ord. No. 85 -3228, § 1, 3- 12 -85)
Section 6.03. Definition.
Within this article cor "contribution" de e
do n"e- aid or or election shall be defined as that
term is defined in Chanter 56 ( "Campaign Finance ") of the Code of Iowa.
Section 6.04. Violations.
The Council, by ordinance, shall prescribe; (1) penalties for the violation of the
contribution limitations and disclosure requirements it establishes pursuant to this
section; and (2) when appropriate, conditions for the revocation of a candidate's right to
serve on Council if elected, consistent with State law. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3 -12-
85)
Section 7.01. General provisions.
A. Authority.
(1)Initiative. The qualified electors have the right to propose erdirtanees measuresto
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
the Council and, if the Council fails to adopt all ,.aae a measure so proposed
without any change in substance, to have the ordinance measure submitted to the
voters at an election.
(2)Referendunr. The qualified electors have the right to require reconsideration by
the Council of an existing ordinane measure and, if the Council fails to repeal such
ordinance measure, to have it submitted to the voters at an election.
(3)Definition. Within this article, "ordinance measure" means all measures
ordinances, amendments, resolutions or motions of a legislative nature, however
designated, which (a) are of a permanent rather than temporary character and (b)
include a proposition enacting, amending or repealing a new or existing law, policy
or plan, as opposed to one providing for the execution or administration of a law,
policy or plan already enacted by Council.
B. Limitations.
(1)Subject matter. The right of initiative and referendum shall not extend to any of
the following:
(a2Any measure of all executive or administrative nature.
(b) The City budget.
LcZThe appropriation of money.
LdjThe levy of taxes or special assessments.
LelThe issuance of General Obligation and Revenue Bonds.
aThe letting of contracts.
(g)-Salaries of City employees.
LhjAny measure required to be enacted by State or federal law.
()i-Arnendments to this Charter.
UArrrendments affecting the City Zoning Ordinance or the land use maps of the
Comprehensive Plan, including the district plan maps.--except -those gz,
tract of land two aeres -o: I"ivre in qiz v
(k) Public improvements subsequent to City Council action to authorize
acquisition of property for that public improvement or notice to bidders for that
public improvement whichever occru•s earlier, "Public improvement' shall mean
any building or construction work.
(2)Resubmission. No initiative or referendum petition shall be filed within two years
after the same measure or a measure substantially the same has been submitted to the
voters at an election.
(3)Council repeal, amendment and reenactment. No ordinance measure proposed by
initiative petition and adopted by the vote of the Council without submission to the
voters, or adopted by the voters pursuant to this article, may for two years thereafter
be repealed or amended except by a vote of the people, unless provision is otherwise
made in the original initiative erdinanee measure. No ordinance measure referred by
referendum petition and repealed by the vote of the Council without submission to
the voters, or repealed by the voters pursuant to this article, may be reenacted for two
years thereafter except by vote of the people, unless provision is otherwise made in
the original referendum petition.
C. Construction.
(1)Scope of power. It is intended that this article confer broad initiative and
10
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
referendum powers upon the qualified veters electors of the City.
(2)hritiative. It is intended that (a) no initiative petition will be invalid because it
repeals an existing ordinance measure in whole or in part by virtue of proposing a
new ordinance measure and (b) an initiative petition may amend an existing
erdinanee measure.
(3)Referendum. It is intended that a referendum petition may repeal an ordinal a
measure in whole or in part.
D. Effect of filing petition. The filing of an initiative or referendum petition does not
suspend or invalidate any erdinanee measure under consideration, an&sSuch
rdinai ez measure shall remain in full force and effect until its amendment or repeal
by Council pursuant to Section 7.05A or until a majority of the qualified electors
voting on an erdinanee a measure vote to repeal or amend the ordinanee measure and
the vote is certified.
E. City obligations. An initiative or referendum vote which repeals an existing
ordinance measure in whole or in part does not affect any obligations entered into by
the City, its agencies or any person in reliance on the erinanee measure during the
time it was in effect. (Ord. No. 85- 3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
Section 7.02. Commencement of proceedings; affidavit.
A. Commencement. One or more qualified electors, hereinafter referred to as the
"petitioners," may commence initiative or referendum proceedings by filing with the
City Clerk an affidavit stating they will supervise the circulation of the petition and
will be responsible for filing it in proper form, stating their names and addresses and
specifying the address to which all relevant notices are to be sent, and setting out in
Rill the proposed initiative ordinamce measure or citing the ordin nee measure sought
to be reconsidered.
B. Affidavit. The City Clerk shall accept the affidavit for filing if on its face it appears
to have signatures of one or more qualified electors. The City Clerk shall issue the
appropriate petition forms to the petitioners the same day the affidavit is accepted for
filing. The City eClerk shall cause to be prepared and have available to the public,
forms and affidavits suitable for the commencement of proceedings and the
preparation of initiative and referendum petitions. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3 -12-
85)
Section 7.03. Petitions; revocation of signatures.
A. Number of signatures. Initiative and referendum petitions must be signed by
qualified electors equal in number to at least twenty -Five percent of the number of
persons who voted in the last regular City election, but such signatures shall be no
fewer than two thousand five hundred qualified electors. Any petition that does not,
on its face, contain the minimum required signatures defined herein shall be deemed
insufficient for filing under this article, and no supplementary petition shall be
permitted.
B. Form and content. All papers of a petition prepared for filing must be substantially
uniform in size and style and must be assembled as one instrument. Each person
11
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
signing shall provide, and the petition form shall provide space for, the signature,
printed name, and address of the person signing; and the date the signature is
executed;, and- anyether in€ornr ed -1 r Coun� . The form shall also
provide space for the signer's birtlidate, but a failure to enter a birthdate shall not
invalidate a signer's signature. Petitions prepared for circulation must contain or have
attached thereto throughout their circulation the fill text of the ci-Elin ne measure
proposed or sought to be reconsidered. The petition filed with the City Clerk need
have attached to it only one copy of the ordinance measure being proposed or
referred.
C. Affidavit of circulator. Each paper of a petition containing signatures must have
attached to it when filed an affidavit executed by a qualified elector certifying: the
number of signatures on the paper, that he or she personally circulated it, that all
signatures were affixed in his or her presence, that he or she believes them to be
genuine signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be and that each
signer had an opportunity before signing to read the full text of the ordinanee
measure proposed or sought to be reconsidered. Any person filing a false affidavit
will be liable to criminal penalties as provided by State law.
D. Time for filing initiative petitions. Signatures on an initiative petition must be
secured and the petition filed within six months after the date the affidavit required
under Section 7.02A was filed.
E. Time for filing referendum petitions. Referendum petitions may be filed within sixty
days after final adoption by the Council of the ordinance measure sought to be
reconsidered, or subsequently at any time more than two years after such final
adoption. The signatures on a referendum petition must be secured during the sixty
days after such final adoption; however, if the petition is filed more than two years
after final adoption, the signatures must be secured within six months after the date
the affidavit required under Section 7.02A was filed.
F. Revocation of signature. Prior to the time a petition is filed with the City Clerk, a
signatory may revoke his or her signature for any reason by filing with the City Clerk
a statement of his or her intent to revoke his or her signature. After a petition is filed
a signatory may not revoke his or her signature. The City Clerk shall cause to be
prepared and have available to the public, forms suitable for the revocation of
petition signatures. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85; Ord. No. 90 -3462, § 1, 6 -26-
90)
Section 7.04. Procedure after filing.
A. Certificate of eCity eClerk; amendment. Within twenty days after a petition is filed
which contains the minimum required signatures, as set forth in Section 7.03.A
above, the City Clerk shall complete a certificate as to the petition's sufficiency. If
the petition is insufficient, the Clerk's certificate shall specify the particulars wherein
the petition is defective. The Clerk shall also promptly send a copy of the certificate
to the petitioners by registered mail. A petition certified insufficient may be amended
once, provided, however, that one or more of the original petitioners files a notice of
intention to amend the original petition„ sSuch notice to must be filed with the City
IPA
N" RED -LINED VERSION
January lo, 2005
Clerk within two days after receiving a copy of the certificate, and the petitioner also
must files a supplementary petition upon additional papers within fifteen days after
receiving a copy of such certificate. Such supplementary petition shall comply with
the requirements of subsections B and C of Section 7.03. Within fifteen days after a
supplementary petition is filed, the City Clerk shall complete a certificate as to the
sufficiency of the petition, as amended and supplemented, and shall promptly send a
copy of such certificate to the petitioners by registered mail, as in the case of an
original petition. If a petition or amended petition is certified sufficient, or if the
petition or amended petition is certified insufficient and one or more of the
petitioners do not request Council review under subsection B of this Section within
the time prescribed, the City Clerk shall promptly present the certificate to the
Council.
B. Council review. If a petition has been certified insufficient by the City Clerk and one
or more of the petitioners do not file notice of intention to amend itit -nor if an
amended petition has been certified insufficient by the City Clerk, one or more of the
petitioners may, within two days after receiving a copy of such certificate, file with
the City Clerk a request that it be reviewed by the Council. The Council shall review
the certificate at its next meeting following the filing of such a request, but not later
than thirty days after the filing of the request for review, and shall rile upon the
sufficiency of the petition.
C. Court review„ ' ' rgh
C.ouncil'sn.muiivii -n f.. eta,.., n..,,.. vA:. .. F •,di£i$l
wiveequitable in nature 1 imist be filed r t f
ehn nn eotmly mti w*
U eque4-for Co eil 1 Q.,et:..n 7.0dD A tl elil:.,.. o" t'tion t
V��ln.�TGZ�1�.1T�TD� L4nR�TJti1111f1�- pI -LIj�i pytil Cf�ll -LVC
r ".review ,al. , tl:.t. a„ .a„ . a,te „t: , by . a.
of the petition, i determination instifficieney, even4fsustaine�nporl- -0. out
C
shall net prejudice the Fl:. of nev�, et :t:,.., far the , _ purpose. To the extent
allowed by law. Court review of the Council's actions shall be by writ of certiorari
D. Validity of signatures. A petition shall be deemed sufficient for the purposes of this
article if it contains valid signatures in the number prescribed by Section 7.03 and is
timely filed, even though the petition may contain one or more invalid signatures. A
signature shall be deemed valid unless it is not the genuine signature of the qualified
elector whose name it purports to be, or it was not voluntarily and knowingly
executed. A valid signature need not be in the identical form in which the qualified
elector's name appears on the voting rolls, nor may a signature be deemed invalid
because the address accompanying the name on the petition is different from the
address for the same name on the current voting rolls if the qualified elector's birth
date is provided and is shown on the voting rolls. (Ord. No. 85.3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85;
Ord. No. 90 -3462, § 2, 6- 26 -90; Ord. No. 95 -3671, § 1, 3- 28 -95)
Section 7.05. Action on petitions.
A. Action by council. When an initiative or referendum petition has been determined
sufficient, the Council shall promptly consider the proposed initiative ordinane
13
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
measure or reconsider the referred erdinaneo measure. If the Council fails to adopt a
proposed initiative ordiramee measure and fails to adopt an- ordinance a measure
which is similar in substance within sixty days, or if the Council fails to repeal the
referred ordinanee measure within thirty days after the date the petition was finally
determined sufficient, it shall submit the proposed or referred ordinance measure to
the qualified electors of the city as hereinafter prescribed. The -Douneil -sha it
"e t oieott : i,, i, , i, e,, o c^ o,� a ec�vifll
the-pFovisi us of this Ard-olve
^ ^ ax i su€ftsientiursuant ie
Se etioff :04 -_If at any time more than thirty days before a scheduled initiative or
referendum election the Council adopts the proposed initiative efdir anee measure or
adopts an n anane-e a measure which is similar in substance or if the Council repeals
a referred ordinanee measure, the initiative or referendum proceedings shall
terminate and the proposed or referred ordinance measure shall not be submitted to
the voters.
B. d- Submission to voters.
(1, Initiative. The vote of the City on a proposed ors ref�rfe a ordinance measure shall
be held at the regular city election or at the general election which next occurs
more than forty days after the expiration of the appropriate sixty of-thirty-day
period provided for consideration or on in Section 7.05A, provided
that the initiative petition was filed no less than 110 days prior to the deadline
imposed by state law for the submission of ballot questions to the Commissioner
of Elections.
(2) Referendum. The vote of the City on a referred measure shall be held at the
regular city election or at the general election which next occurs more than fore
days after the expiration of the thirty-day period provided for reconsideration in
Section 7.05A, provided that the referendum petition was filed no less than 80
days prior to the deadline imposed by state law for the submission of ballot
questions to the Commissioner of Elections. The Council may provide for a
special referendum election on a referred measure any time more than 120 days
after the filing of the referendum petition with the City Clerk .,-however-,
ver, -,daa be
C^ :, -- :de— for-a-,peeira-iefercrduni election on -a referred erdiiumee
an), time after the eiipiratien of4he4hi4y-day-pefied provided for fesensidei-atimi
in-Seetienq.05A.
C. Ballot. Copies of the proposed or referred ordinanee measure shall be made
available to the qualified electors at the polls and shall be advertised at the city's
expense in the manner required for "questions" in Section 376.5 of the Iowa Code.
The subject matter and purpose of the referred or proposed or&u nee measure shall
be indicated on the ballot. (Ord. No. 77 -2858, § 2, 9- 16 -77; Ord. No. 85- 3227, §
2(2), 3- 12 -85)
Section 7.06. Results of election.
A. Initiative. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a proposed initiative
ordnance measure vote in its favor, it shall be considered adopted upon certification
of the election results. And The adopted measure shall be treated in all respects in the
14
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
same manner as erdinarrees measures of the same kind adopted by the Council,
except as provided in Section 7.0I13(3). If conflicting erdinanees measures are
approved by majority vote at the same election, the one receiving the greatest
number of affirmative votes shall prevail to the extent of such conflict.
B. Referendum. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a referred erdi+ranee
measure vote against-it in favor of repealine the measure, it shall be considered
repealed upon certification of the election results.
Section 7.07. Prohibition on establishment of stricter conditions or
requirements.
The Council may not set, except by Charter amendment, conditions or requirements
affecting initiative and referendum which are higher or more stringent than those imposed
by this Charter.
Section 8.01. Charter amendments.
This Charter may be amended only by one of the following methods:
A. The Council, by resolution, may submit a proposed amendment to the voters at a
s r� ecial Ccity election, and a the proposed amendment becomes effective when
approved by a majority of those voting.
B. The Council, by ordinance, may amend the Charter. However, within thirty (30) days
of publication of the ordinance, if a petition signed - by-ehgible`41 e-Gity
b
Oity el"on- valid under the provisions of section 362.4 of the Code of Iowa is filed
with the council, the Council must submit the amending ordinance to the voters at a
special Ceity election, and the amendment does not become effective until approved
by a majority of those voting.
C. If a petition %. ped b r" umber- terrpereeni of
the persens i.. ". . c,c ? :t t c :c , cd .lar r� valid under the
i;r .:g.cgr
provisions of section 362.4 of the Code of Iowa is filed with the Council proposing
an amendment to the Charter, the Council must submit the proposed amendment to
the voters at a special Ceity election, and the amendment becomes effective if
approved by a majority of those voting. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2) 3- 12 -85)
Section 8.02. Charter review commission.
The Council, using the procedures prescribed in Article V, shall establish a Charter
Review Commission at least once every ten years following the effective date of this
Charter. The Commission, consisting of at least nine members, shall review the existing
Charter and may, within twelve months recommend any Charter amendments that it
deems fit to the Council. The Council shall either exercise its power of amendment
15
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
ursuant to Section 8.01B of the Charter on a matter recommended by the Commission o
submit such amendments to the voters in the form prescribed by the Commission, and an
amendment becomes effective when approved by a majority of those voting. The
Commission .. y .le,, .,,,,,,.. uend- te- the-Csuncil that- ii -eNem povtFof amendment
��, ,onin of ri
i' � ended- byflte Ges; =:;:issiert:
(Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
CHARTER COMPARATIVE TABLE
The Home Rule Charter is set out in this volume as adopted by the voters on November
15, 1973, and by Ordinance No. 76 -2792, on January 2, 1976. The following table shows
the disposition of amendments to the Charter:
Ordinance
Number Date Section Disposition
77 -2826 3 -15 -77 II 6.01
77 -2858 9 -06 -77 2 7.0513
77- 2864 9 -06 -77 2 3.01
85 -3227 3 -12 -85 2(1) Definitions 7,8
2(2)
85 -3228
3 -12 -85 1
85 -3273
12 -17 -85 2
90 -3462
6 -26 -90 1
2
95 -3671
3 -28 -95 1
2.01, 2.03,
2.05 -2.08
3.01 -3.03
4.04, 5.02,
6.04,7.01-
7.05, 8.01, 8.02
6.02
2.01
7.03A
7.04A
2.0613, 2.08C,E,
3.01A, 6.01,
7.041)
r The hone rule Charter of the City, adopted by the voters of the City on November 15,
1973, and by Ordinance 76 -2792 on January 2, 1976, pursuant to I.C.A. section 372.9, is
set out herein as adopted and amended.
0-KAIL
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
The Citizens of Iowa City, Iowa, by virtue of the enactment of this Charter, adopt the
following principles:
1. That the government of Iowa City belongs to all its citizens and all share the
responsibility for it.
2. That the government of Iowa City is a service institution, responsive and
accountable to its citizens.
3. That City officials should be accessible to the people and have an affirmative
obligation to secure for each person equality of opportunity as well as due process
and equal protection of law.
4. That each citizen has a right to obtain fair, equal, and courteous treatment from
each City official and employee.
5. That the City should perform all acts and take all measures necessary and
desirable to promote the general health, safety and welfare of its residents, to
encourage the participation of its citizens in policy formation and to secure the full
benefits of "Home Rule."
As used in this Charter:
1. "City" means the City of Iowa City, Iowa.
2. "City Council' or "Council" means the governing body of the City.
3. "Councilmember" means a member of the Council, including the Mayor.
4. "Shall' imposes a duty.
5. "Must" states a requirement.
6. "May" confers a power.
7. "Eligible elector" means a person eligible to register to vote in Iowa City.
8. "Qualified elector" means a resident of Iowa City who is registered to vote in Iowa
City.
9. 'Board" includes a Board, Commission, Committee or other similar entity
however designated.
10. "Person" means an individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company,
association, political party, committee or any other legal entity.
11. "Ordinance," means a City law of a general and permanent nature.
12. "Measure" , except as provided in Article VII, means an ordinance, amendment,
resolution or motion. (Ord. No. 85- 3227, § 2(1), 3- 12 -85)
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
Section 1.01. Powers of the city.
The City has all powers possible under the Constitution and laws of this State.
Section 1.02. Construction.
The grant of power to the City under this Charter is intended to be broad; the mention of
a specific power in this Charter is not intended to be a limitation on the general powers
conferred in this article.
Section 1.03. Savings clause.
If any provision of this Charter, or the application of this Charter to any person or
circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or
applications of this Charter.
Section 2.01. Composition.
The City Council consists of seven members. As provided in Article III, four, to be
known as Councilmembers at large, are to be nominated by eligible electors of the City at
large, and three, to be known as district Councilmembers, are to be nominated by eligible
electors of their respective districts. All Councilmembers shall be elected by the qualified
electors of the City at large. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85; Ord. No. 85 -3273, § 2,
12- 17 -85)
Section 2.02. Division into council districts.
The Council, by ordinance, shall divide the City into three Council Districts of
substantially equal population. These Districts are to be designated as Council District A,
Council District B, and Council District C.
Section 2.03. Eligibility.
To be eligible to be elected to and to retain a Council position, a person must be an
eligible elector of Iowa City, and if seeking or elected to represent a Council District,
must be an eligible elector of that Council District. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
Section 2.04. Terms.
At the first election under this Charter, all seven Councilmembers are to be elected; the
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
Councilmember from Council District A, Council District C, and the two
Councilmembers at large who receive the greatest number of votes cast for
Councilmember at large are to serve for terns of four years, and other Councilmembers
are to serve for terms of two years. Commencing at the next regular City election, and at
all subsequent regular City elections, all Councilmembers elected to fill the positions of
those whose terms expire shall be elected for terms of four years.
Section 2.05. Compensation.
The Council, by ordinance, shall prescribe the compensation of the Mayor and the other
Council members. The Council shall not adopt such an ordinance during the months of
November and December immediately following a regular City election. (Ord. No. 85-
3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
Section 2.06. Mayor.
A. Immediately following the beginning of the terms of Councilmembers elected at the
regular City election, the Council shall meet and elect from among its members the
Mayor and Mayor pro tern for a tern of two years.
B. The Mayor is a voting member of the Council, the official representative of the City,
presiding officer of the Council and its policy spokesperson. The Mayor shall present
to the City no later than February 28 an annual State of the City message.
C. The Mayor pro tem shall act as Mayor during the absence of the Mayor. (Ord. No.
85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85; Ord. No. 95 -3671, § 1, 3- 28 -95)
Section 2.07. General powers and duties.
All powers of the City are vested in the Council, except as otherwise provided by State
law or this Charter. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
Section 2.08. Appointments.
A. The Council shall appoint the City Manager.
B. The Council shall appoint the City Clerk.
C. The Council shall appoint the City Attorney.
D. The Council shall appoint all members of the City's Boards, except as otherwise
provided by State law.
E. The Council shall fix the amount of compensation, if any, of persons it appoints and
shall provide for the method of compensation of other City employees. All
appointments and promotions of City employees by City Council and City Manager
must be made according to job - related criteria and be consistent with
nondiscriminatory and equal employment opportunity standards established pursuant
to law. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85; Ord. No. 95 -3671, § 1, 3- 28 -95)
Section 2.09. Rules; records.
The Council may determine its own rules and shall maintain records of its proceedings
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
consistent with State law.
Section 2.10. Vacancies.
The Council shall fill a vacancy occurring in an elective City office as provided by State
law.
Section 2.11. Council action.
Passage of an ordinance, amendment or resolution requires a majority vote of all the
members of the Council except as otherwise provided by State law.
Section 2.12. Prohibitions.
A. A Councilmember may not hold any other City office or be a City employee or
elected County official while serving on the Council nor hold any rernimerated City
office or employment for at least one year after leaving the Council.
B. With the exception of the appointment of the chief of the police department and chief
of the fire department, which are subject to approval of the City Council, neither the
Council nor its members may dictate, in any manner, the appointment or removal of
any person appointed by the City Manager. However, the Council may express its
views to the City Manager pertaining to the appointment or removal of such
employee.
C. A Councilmember may not interfere with the supervision or direction of any person
appointed by or under the control of the City Manager.
Section 3.01. Nomination.
A. An eligible elector of a council district may become a candidate for a council district
seat by filing with the City Clerk a valid petition requesting that his or her name be
placed on the ballot for that office. The petition must be filed not more than sixty-
five (65) days nor less than forty (40) days before the date of the election and must
be signed by eligible electors from the candidate's district equal in number to at least
two (2) percent of those who voted to fill the same office at the last regular city
election, but not less than ten (10) persons.
B. An eligible elector of the City may become a candidate for an at -large council seat
by filing with the City Clerk a petition requesting that the candidate's name be placed
on the ballot for that office. The petition must be filed not more than sixty -five (65)
days nor less than forty (40) days before the date of the election and must be signed
by eligible electors equal in number to at least two (2) percent of those who voted to
fill the same office at the last regular city election, but not less than ten (10) persons.
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
(Ord. No. 77 -2864, § 2, 9 -6 -77; Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85; Ord. No. 95-
3671, § 1, 3- 28 -95)
Section 3.02. Primary election.
A. If there are more than two candidates for a Council District seat, a primary election
must be held for that seat with only the qualified electors of that Council District
eligible to vote. The names of the two candidates who receive the highest number of
votes in the primary election are to be placed on the ballot for the regular City
election as candidates for that Council seat.
B. If there are more than twice as many candidates as there are at large positions to be
filled, there shall be a primary election held unless the Council, by ordinance,
chooses to have a run-off-election. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
Section 3.03. Regular city election.
A. In the regular City election, each Council District seat up for election shall be listed
separately on the ballot and only the names of candidates nominated from that
Council District shall be listed on the ballot as candidates for that seat. However, all
qualified electors of the City shall be entitled to vote for each candidate. The three
Council District seats shall be designated on the ballot as Council District A, Council
District B and Council District C and each shall be elected at large.
B. The at large Council seats shall be designated on the ballot as such. (Ord. No. 85-
3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
Section 4.01. Appointment; qualifications.
In appointing a City Manager, the Council shall consider only the qualifications and
fitness of the person without regard to political or other affiliation. During his or her
tenure the City Manager shall reside within the City.
Section 4.02. Accountability; removal.
A. The City Manager is under the direction and supervision of the Council and holds
office at its pleasure. Unless otherwise provided by contract, a City Manager
removed by the Council is entitled to receive termination pay of not less than two
months' salary, computed from the date of the resolution of removal.
B. Upon the resignation or removal of the City Manager, the Council shall appoint an
individual qualified to perform the duties of City Manager to serve at the pleasure of
Council or until a City Manager is appointed.
Section 4.03. Absence; disability of City Manager.
The City Manager may designate a qualified City employee as Acting City Manager to
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
perform his or her duties during a temporary absence or disability. If the City Manager
does not make such a designation, the Council shall appoint a qualified City employee to
perform the duties of the City Manager until lie or she returns.
Section 4.04. Duties of City Manager.
A. The City Manager shall be chief administrative officer of the City and shall:
(I)Insure that the laws of the City are executed and enforced.
(2)Supervise and direct the administration of City government and the official
conduct of employees of the City appointed by the City Manager including their
employment, training, reclassification, suspension or discharge as the occasion
requires, subject to State law.
(3)Appoint the chief of the police department and the chief of the fire department
with the approval of the City Council.
(4) Supervise the chief of the police department and chief of the fire department,
including their suspension or discharge as the occasion requires. Such supervision
shall not be subject to approval of the City Council.
(5)Appoint or employ persons to occupy positions for which no other method of
appointment is provided by State law or this Charter.
(6)Supervise the administration of the City personnel system, including the
determination of the compensation of all City employees appointed by the City
Manager subject to State law or this Charter.
(7)Supervise the performance of all contracts for work to be done for the City,
supervise all purchases of materials and supplies, and assure that such materials and
supplies are received and are of specified quality and character.
(8)Supervise and manage all public improvements, works and undertakings of the
City, and all City -owned property including buildings, plants, systems, and
enterprises, and have charge of their construction, improvement, repair and
maintenance except where otherwise provided by State law.
(9)Supervise the making and preservation of all surveys, maps, plans, drawings,
specifications and estimates for the City.
(10) Provide for the issuance and revocation of licenses and permits authorized by
State law or City ordinance and cause a record thereof to be maintained.
(11) Prepare and submit to the Council the annual budgets in the form prescribed by
State law.
(12)Provide the Council an itemized written monthly financial report.
(13) Attend Council meetings and keep the Council fully advised of the financial and
other conditions of the City and its needs.
(14) See that the business affairs of the City are transacted in an efficient manner and
that accurate records of all City business are maintained and made available to the
public, except as otherwise provided by State law.
(15) Provide necessary and reasonable clerical, research and professional assistance
to Boards within limitations of the budget.
(16) Perform such other and further duties as the Council may direct.
B. The City Manager, in performing the foregoing duties, may:
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
(1)Present recommendations and programs to the Council and participate in any
discussion by the Council of any matters pertaining to the dirties of the City
Manager.
(2)Cause the examination and investigation of the affairs of any department or the
conduct of any employee under supervision of the City Manager.
(3)Execute contracts on behalf of the City when authorized by the Council. (Ord. No.
85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
Section 4.05. Ineligibility; prohibited acts.
Except for the exercise of the right to vote, the City Manager shall not take part in any
election of Couneihnembers. This prohibition shall in no way limit the City Manager's
duty to make available public records as provided by State law or this Charter.
Section 5.01. Establishment.
The Council may establish Boards in addition to those required by State law and shall
specify the title, duties, length of tern, qualifications of members and other appropriate
matters. The Council may reduce or increase a Board's duties, transfer duties from one
Board to another or dissolve any Board, except as otherwise provided by State law or this
Charter.
Section 5.02. Appointment; removal.
The Council shall, subject to the requirements of State law, seek to provide broad
representation on all Boards. The Council shall establish procedures to give at least thirty
days' notice of vacancies before they are filled and shall encourage applications by
citizens. Council procedures for the removal of members shall be consistent with State
law. (Ord No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
Section 5.03. Rules.
A. The Council shall establish rules and procedures for the operation of all Boards,
which must include but are not limited to, the adoption of by -laws and rules
pertaining to open meetings and open records.
B. The Council shall specify, for each Board, methods for informal and formal
communication with Council, time schedules for the completion of reports requested
by Council and such rules as it deems appropriate.
C. A Board may establish additional rules and procedures that are consistent with State
law, Council rules, and this Charter.
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
Section 6.01. Limitations on the amount of campaign contributions.
The Council, by ordinance, shall prescribe limitations on the amount of campaign
contributions made to a candidate for election to Council by a person as defined in this
Charter. (Ord. No. 95 -3671, § 1, 3- 28 -95)
Section 6.02. Disclosure of contributions and expenditures.
The Council, by ordinance, may prescribe procedures requiring the disclosure of the
amount, source and kind of contributions received and expenditures made by (1) each
candidate for election to Council and (2) any and all other persons, for the purpose of
aiding or securing the candidate's nomination or election. (Ord. No. 85 -3228, § 1, 3 -12-
85)
Section 6.03. Definition.
Within this article "contribution" shall be defined as that term is defined in Chapter 56
( "Campaign Finance ") of the Code of Iowa.
Section 6.04. Violations.
The Council, by ordinance, shall prescribe: (1) penalties for the violation of the
contribution limitations and disclosure requirements it establishes pursuant to this
section; and (2) when appropriate, conditions for the revocation of a candidate's right to
serve on Council if elected, consistent with State law. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3 -12-
85)
rs _ iM
AWN..-
Section 7.01. General provisions.
A. Authority.
(1)fiiitiative. The qualified electors have the right to propose measuresto the Council
and, if the Council fails to adopt a measure so proposed without any change in
substance, to have the measure submitted to the voters at an election.
(2)Referendum. The qualified electors have the right to require reconsideration by
the Council of an existing measure and, if the Council fails to repeal such measure,
to have it submitted to the voters at an election.
(3)Definition. Within this article, " measure" means all ordinances, amendments,
resolutions or motions of a legislative nature, however designated, which (a) are of a
permanent rather than temporary character and (b) include a proposition enacting,
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
amending or repealing a new or existing law, policy or plan, as opposed to one
providing for the execution or administration of a law, policy or plan already enacted
by Council.
B. Limitations.
(1)Subject matter. The right of initiative and referendum shall not extend to any of
the following:
(a) Any measure of all executive or administrative nature.
(b) The City budget.
(c) The appropriation of money.
(d) The levy of taxes or special assessments.
(e) The issuance of General Obligation and Revenue Bonds.
(f) The letting of contracts.
(g) Salaries of City employees.
(h) Any measure required to be enacted by State or federal law.
(i) Amendments to this Charter.
0) Amendments affecting the City Zoning Ordinance or the land use maps of the
Comprehensive Plan, including the district plan maps.
(k) Public improvements subsequent to City Council action to authorize
acquisition of property for that public improvement, or notice to bidders for that
public improvement, whichever occurs earlier. "Public improvement' shall mean
any building or construction work.
(2)Resubmission. No initiative or referendum petition shall be filed within two years
after the same measure or a measure substantially the same has been submitted to the
voters at an election.
(3)Council repeal, amendment and reenactment. No measure proposed by initiative
petition and adopted by the vote of the Council without submission to the voters, or
adopted by the voters pursuant to this article, may for two years thereafter be
repealed or amended except by a vote of the people, unless provision is otherwise
made in the original initiative measure. No measure referred by referendum petition
and repealed by the vote of the Council without submission to the voters, or repealed
by the voters pursuant to this article, may be reenacted for two years thereafter
except by vote of the people, unless provision is otherwise made in the original
referendum petition.
C. Construction.
(1)Scope of power. It is intended that this article confer broad initiative and
referendum powers upon the qualified electors of the City.
(2)Initiative. It is intended that (a) no initiative petition will be invalid because it
repeals an existing measure in whole or in part by virtue of proposing a new
measure and (b) an initiative petition may amend an existing measure.
(3)Referendum. It is intended that a referendum petition may repeal a measure in
whole or in part.
D. Effect of filing petition. The filing of an initiative or referendum petition does not
suspend or invalidate any measure under consideration. Such measure shall remain
in full force and effect until its amendment or repeal by Council pursuant to Section
7.05A or until a majority of the qualified electors voting on a measure vote to repeal
10
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
or amend the measure and the vote is certified.
E. City obligations. An initiative or referendum vote which repeals an existing measure
in whole or in pant does not affect any obligations entered into by the City, its
agencies or any person in reliance on the measure during the time it was in effect.
(Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
Section 7.02. Commencement of proceedings; affidavit.
A. Cormnencement. One or more qualified electors, hereinafter referred to as the
"petitioners," may commence initiative or referendum proceedings by filing with the
City Clerk an affidavit stating they will supervise the circulation of the petition and
will be responsible for filing it in proper form, stating their names and addresses and
specifying the address to which all relevant notices are to be sent, and setting out in
full the proposed initiative measure or citing the measure sought to be reconsidered.
B. Affidavit. The City Clerk shall accept the affidavit for filing if on its face it appears
to have signatures of one or more qualified electors. The City Clerk shall issue the
appropriate petition forms to the petitioners the same day the affidavit is accepted for
filing. The City Clerk shall cause to be prepared and have available to the public,
forms and affidavits suitable for the commencement of proceedings and the
preparation of initiative and referendum petitions. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3 -12-
85)
Section 7.03. Petitions; revocation of signatures.
A. Number of signatures. Initiative and referendum petitions must be signed by
qualified electors equal in number to at least twenty -five percent of the number of
persons who voted in the last regular City election, but such signatures shall be no
fewer than two thousand five hundred qualified electors. Any petition that does not,
on its face, contain the minimum required signatures defined herein shall be deemed
insufficient for filing under this article, and no supplementary petition shall be
permitted.
B. Form and content. All papers of a petition prepared for filing must be substantially
uniform in size and style and must be assembled as one instrument. Each person
signing shall provide, and the petition form shall provide space for, the signature,
printed name, address of the person signing and the date the signature is executed. .
The form shall also provide space for the signer's birtldate, but a failure to enter a
birthdate shall not invalidate a signer's signature. Petitions prepared for circulation
must contain or have attached thereto throughout their circulation the full text of the
measure proposed or sought to be reconsidered. The petition filed with the City
Clerk need have attached to it only one copy of the measure being proposed or
referred.
C. Affidavit of circulator. Each paper of a petition containing signatures must have
attached to it when filed an affidavit executed by a qualified elector certifying: the
number of signatures on the paper, that he or she personally circulated it, that all
signatures were affixed in his or her presence, that he or she believes them to be
genuine signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be and that each
11
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
signer had an opportunity before signing to read the full text of the measure
proposed or sought to be reconsidered. Any person filing a false affidavit will be
liable to criminal penalties as provided by State law.
D. Time for filing initiative petitions. Signatures on an initiative petition must be
secured and the petition filed within six months after the date the affidavit required
under Section 7.02A was filed.
E. Time for filing referendum petitions. Referendum petitions may be filed within sixty
days after final adoption by the Council of the measure sought to be reconsidered, or
subsequently at any time more than two years after such final adoption. The
signatures on a referendum petition must be secured during the sixty days after such
final adoption; however, if the petition is filed more than two years after final
adoption, the signatures must be secured within six months after the date the
affidavit required under Section 7.02A was filed.
F. Revocation of signature. Prior to the time a petition is filed with the City Clerk, a
signatory may revoke his or her signature for any reason by filing with the City Clerk
• statement of his or her intent to revoke his or her signature. After a petition is filed
• signatory may not revoke his or her signature. The City Clerk shall cause to be
prepared and have available to the public, forms suitable for the revocation of
petition signatures. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85; Ord. No. 90 -3462, § 1, 6 -26-
90)
Section 7.04. Procedure after filing.
A. Certificate of City Clerk; amendment. Within twenty days after a petition is filed
which contains the minimum required signatures, as set forth in Section 7.03.A
above, the City Clerk shall complete a certificate as to the petition's sufficiency. If
the petition is insufficient, the Clerk's certificate shall specify the particulars wherein
the petition is defective. The Clerk shall also promptly send a copy of the certificate
to the petitioners by registered mail. A petition certified insufficient may be amended
once, provided, however, that one or more of the original petitioners files a notice of
intention to amend the original petition. Such notice must be filed with the City
Clerk within two days after receiving a copy of the certificate, and the petitioner also
must file a supplementary petition upon additional papers within fifteen days after
receiving a copy of such certificate. Such supplementary petition shall comply with
the requirements of subsections B and C of Section 7.03. Within fifteen days after a
supplementary petition is filed, the City Clerk shall complete a certificate as to the
sufficiency of the petition, as amended and supplemented, and shall promptly send a
copy of such certificate to the petitioners by registered mail, as in the case of an
original petition. If a petition or amended petition is certified sufficient, or if the
petition or amended petition is certified insufficient and one or more of the
petitioners do not request Council review under subsection B of this Section within
the time prescribed, the City Clerk shall promptly present the certificate to the
Council.
B. Council review. If a petition has been certified insufficient by the City Clerk and one
or more of the petitioners do not file notice of intention to amend it, or if an amended
12
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
petition has been certified insufficient by the City Clerk, one or more of the
petitioners may, within two days after receiving a copy of such certificate, file with
the City Clerk a request that it be reviewed by the Council. The Council shall review
the certificate at its next meeting following the filing of such a request, but not later
than thirty days after the filing of the request for review, and shall Wile upon the
sufficiency of the petition.
C. Court review. To the extent allowed by law, Court review of the Council's actions
shall be by writ of certiorari.
D. Validity of signatures. A petition shall be deemed sufficient for the purposes of this
article if it contains valid signatures in the number prescribed by Section 7.03 and is
timely filed, even though the petition may contain one or more invalid signatures. A
signature shall be deemed valid unless it is not the genuine signature of the qualified
elector whose name it purports to be, or it was not voluntarily and knowingly
executed. A valid signature need not be in the identical form in which the qualified
elector's name appears on the voting rolls, nor may a signature be deemed invalid
because the address accompanying the name on the petition is different from the
address for the same name on the current voting rolls if the qualified elector's birth
date is provided and is shown on the voting rolls. (Ord. No. 85.3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85;
Ord. No. 90 -3462, § 2, 6- 26 -90; Ord. No. 95 -3671, § 1, 3- 28 -95)
Section 7.05. Action on petitions.
A. Action by council. When an initiative or referendum petition has been determined
sufficient, the Council shall promptly consider the proposed initiative measure or
reconsider the referred measure. If the Council fails to adopt a proposed initiative
measure and fails to adopt a measure which is similar in substance within sixty days,
or if the Council fails to repeal the referred measure within thirty days after the date
the petition was finally determined sufficient, it shall submit the proposed or referred
measure to the qualified electors of the city as hereinafter prescribed. If at any time
more than thirty days before a scheduled initiative or referendum election the
Council adopts the proposed initiative measure or adopts a measure which is similar
in substance or if the Council repeals a referred measure, the initiative or
referendum proceedings shall terminate and the proposed or referred measure shall
not be submitted to the voters.
B. Submission to voters.
(1)Initiative. The vote of the City on a proposed measure shall be held at the regular
city election or at the general election which next occurs more than forty days
after the expiration of the sixty day period provided for consideration in Section
7.05A, provided that the initiative petition was filed no less than 110 days prior
to the deadline imposed by state law for the submission of ballot questions to the
Commissioner of Elections.
(2) Referendum. The vote of the City on a referred measure shall be held at the
regular city election or at the general election which next occurs more than forty
days after the expiration of the thirty -day period provided for reconsideration in
Section 7.05A, provided that the referendum petition was filed no less than 80
13
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
days prior to the deadline imposed by state law for the submission of ballot
questions to the Commissioner of Elections. The Council may provide for a
special referendum election on a referred measure any time more than 120 days
after the filing of the referendum petition with the City Clerk., .
C. Ballot. Copies of the proposed or referred measure shall be made available to the
qualified electors at the polls and shall be advertised at the city's expense in the
manner required for "questions" in Section 376.5 of the Iowa Code. The subject
matter and purpose of the referred or proposed measure shall be indicated on the
ballot. (Ord. No. 77 -2858, § 2, 9- 16 -77; Ord. No. 85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
Section 7.06. Results of election.
A. Initiative. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a proposed initiative
measure vote in its favor, it shall be considered adopted upon certification of the
election results. The adopted measure shall be treated in all respects in the same
manner as measures of the same kind adopted by the Council, except as provided in
Section 7.0113(3). If conflicting measures are approved by majority vote at the same
election, the one receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall prevail to
the extent of such conflict.
B. Referendum. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a referred measure vote
in favor of repealing the measure, it shall be considered repealed upon certification
of the election results.
Section 7.07. Prohibition on establishment of stricter conditions or
requirements.
The Council may not set, except by Charter amendment, conditions or requirements
affecting initiative and referendum which are higher or more stringent than those imposed
by this Charter.
Section 8.01. Charter amendments.
This Charter may be amended only by one of the following methods:
A. The Council, by resolution, may submit a proposed amendment to the voters at a
special city election, and the proposed amendment becomes effective when
approved by a majority of those voting.
B. The Council, by ordinance, may amend the Charter. However, within thirty (30) days
of publication of the ordinance, if a petition valid under the provisions of section
362.4 of the Code of Iowa is filed with the council, the Council must submit the
amending ordinance to the voters at a special city election, and the amendment does
not become effective until approved by a majority of those voting.
C. If a petition valid under the provisions of section 362.4 of the Code of Iowa is filed
14
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
with the Council proposing an amendment to the Charter, the Council must submit
the proposed amendment to the voters at a special city election, and the amendment
becomes effective if approved by a majority of those voting. (Ord. No. 85 -3227, §
2(2) 3- 12 -85)
Section 8.02. Charter review commission.
The Council, using the procedures prescribed in Article V, shall establish a Charter
Review Commission at least once every ten years following the effective date of this
Charter. The Commission, consisting of at least nine members, shall review the existing
Charter and may, within twelve months recommend any Charter amendments that it
deems fit to the Council. The Council shall either exercise its power of amendment
pursuant to Section 8.0113 of the Chatter on a matter recommended by the Commission or
submit such amendments to the voters in the form prescribed by the Commission, and an
amendment becomes effective when approved by a majority of those voting. (Ord. No.
85 -3227, § 2(2), 3- 12 -85)
CHARTER COMPARATIVE TABLE
The Home Rule Charter is set out in this volume as adopted by the voters on November
15, 1973, and by Ordinance No. 76 -2792, on January 2, 1976. The following table shows
the disposition of amendments to the Chatter:
Ordinance
Number
Date
Section
Disposition
77 -2826
3 -15 -77
II
6.01
77 -2858
9 -06 -77
2
7.0513
77 -2864
9 -06 -77
2
3.01
85 -3227
3 -12 -85
2(1)
Definitions 7,8
2(2)
2.01, 2.03,
2.05 -2.08
3.01 -3.03
4.04, 5.02,
6.04,7.01-
7.05, 8.01, 8.02
85 -3228
3 -12 -85
1
6.02
85 -3273
12 -17 -85
2
2.01
90 -3462
6 -26 -90
1
7.03A
2
7.04A
95 -3671
3 -28 -95
1
2.0613, 2.08C,E,
3.01 A, 6.01,
7.04D
t The home rule Charter of the City, adopted by the voters of the City on November 15,
1973, and by Ordinance 76 -2792 on January 2, 1976, pursuant to I.C.A. section 372.9, is
NON RED -LINED VERSION
January 10, 2005
set out herein as adopted and amended.
15
Marian Karr
crom: Marian Karr
ant: Thursday, January 13, 2005 11:33 AM
To: 'billfs @meardon law. com'; andy chappell (E- mail); ' pkd317 @aol.com %'omd618 @aol.com';
'kubby @pobox.com'; 'vicki.lensing @leg. state. ia.us'; 'vickilensing @juno.com';
'kwerner @isbt.com'; 'rowatle @mchsi.com'; 'nate - green @uiowa.edu'
Cc: Eleanor M. Dilkes: Marian Karr
Importance: High
Below is Andy's draft report to the City Council, and suggestions for revisions. Eleanor had also prepared a draft memo
regarding the proposed changes. However, after review of Andy's report, and discussion with Andy, Eleanor feels hers
would be duplicative. She will make any additions to Andy's explanation of the proposed changes she believes are
necessary and distribute tomorrow morning at your meeting.
Please let me know when you have received this and if you have any problems opening the attached report. See you
tonight.
Marian
Commission Members,
Attached you will find the Draft Report of the Commission, for your review. It will be discussed at Friday's meeting and,
hopefully, will be provided to the City Council at Tuesday's meeting, along with the red -line version of the Charter. In order
help make Friday's discussion of the Report as efficient as possible, I recommend the following:
After Friday's meeting, we will not likely be able to deliberate prior to giving the Report to the City Council on Tuesday. As
such, we will have to assign someone the task of making any changes recommended by the Commission and getting the
Report back to Marian. I can do this, but if someone else would rather do it they should be able to make the changes
directly to the draft.
If you have typographical and /or grammatical errors, I recommend you simply write them down and bring a list Friday
morning. That way, we can just give the list to whoever will be making the changes.
If you have formatting or stylistic changes you would like made, I recommend you make note of one example rather than
taking the time to list each time the offending format/style appears. When a change is made, it will be easy to find other
instances and just repeat the change throughout the document.
This should help free up time for discussion of any substantive additions, deletions, concerns, issues, etc. you may have.
As for the Draft itself, I tried to go through every change in the red -line version and give some sort of explanation for our
recommendation. As you'll see, some are quite a bit more detailed than others. Then I added reference to what Karen and
I thought were some of the major issues we discussed, but didn't result in any recommendations. You may have others
you would like added. I included an introduction and conclusion, and a reference to the Citizens' Guide. These should
serve at least as a starting point for our discussion. As for the format, I tried to choose one that was pretty non - descript, so
it is easier to change if people want something different.
Feel free to give me a call if you have any questions.
-Andy Chappell
,<eportofCommissio
n -Draft IIIA...
Di if hbc /01.12.05
REPORT OF THE IOWA CITY
CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION
The Commission and the Process. The Iowa City Charter Review Commission was
established by the Iowa City City Council in May of 2004. Created pursuant to Section
8.02 of the Iowa City Charter, the Commission was charged with "review[ing] the
existing Charter" and "recommend[ing] any Charter amendments that it deems fit." The
Commission must be established by the City Council at least once every ten years.
Commission members were selected by the Council and include Chairperson William
Sueppel, Chair Pro tern Vicki Lensing, Andrew Chappell, Penny Davidsen, Nathan
Green, Karen Kubby, Naomi Novick, Lynn Rowat, and Kevin Werner. In furtherance of
its charge the Commission began meeting in mid -May. The Commission has met over
twenty two (22) times for in excess of forty (40) hours. Citizens have had the
opportunity to participate in the process at every step. All meetings were posted and
open to the public, the Commission heard in- person citizen comments and accepted
written correspondence, and the Commission held two traditional public hearings and a
public meeting with interactive discussion. The Commission was aided in its work by the
invaluable contributions of Eleanor Dilkes, City Attorney; Marian Kan', City Clerk; and
Laura Berardi, Minute Taker.
The Report. This Report is meant to provide the City Council and the public with a
substantive review of the Commission's recommendations. It supplements the "red -line"
version of the Charter that was drafted by the City Attorney and sets forth the language of
the specific amendments. While the hope is that the Report will provide some details to
explain the Commission's recommendations, any document of this nature will necessarily
be somewhat incomplete. Accordingly, the Report itself should be supplemented with
the copious minutes taken of the Commission's meetings. Additionally, the Commission
remains available to address questions and issues that may arise during the Council's
review of its recommendations.
Explanations of Recommended Charter Amendments.
1. The recommendation to amend the definitions of "Ordinance" and
"Measure" is part of a larger recommendation to replace the term ordinance with
measure throughout Article VII. As currently written, Section 7.01(A)(3) defines
"ordinance" to include "all measures of a legislative nature ". However, in the
general definitions section of the Charter measure is defined more broadly than
ordinance and means "an ordinance, amendment, resolution or motion." The
amendment is meant to both reconcile this inconsistency and make clear that
initiative and referendum are available with respect to, the more broadly defined,
measures rather than, the more narrowly defined, ordinances.
2. The recommendation to amend Section 2.03 is one of word preference.
The Commission thought the term "eligible elector" to be more clear and
understandable than the term "domiciliary."
3. The recommendation to amend Section 2.11(A) is meant to clarify that
ordinances, amendments and resolutions require a majority vote of all members of
the Council, rather than simply a majority of the members present.
4. The recommendation to delete Section 2.11(B) is meant to address
concerns that this section was inconsistent with current case law. From a policy
standpoint, the Commission also had concerns about the broad power the section
appeared to give the Council to present virtually any matter to the electorate for a
vote, thereby allowing the Council to avoid its responsibility to legislate.
5. The recommendation to amend Sections 2.12(B) and 4.04(A)(3)- .04(A)(4)
was meant to both clarify and formalize the City's current practice of having the
City Council take formal action to approve the City Manager's appointment of
either the Police Chief or the Fire Chief. In addition to past practice, this also has
support in existing state law. While some members of the public supported the
idea of having the City Council appoint the Police Chief instead of the City
Manager, the majority of the Commission did not support this idea. There was no
interest in extending this practice of approval to other city department heads.
6. The recommendations to amend Sections 3.01(A), 4.03 [Title], 4.04
[Title], 7.01(C)(1), 7.02(B), 7.04(A), 7.06(A), 7.06(B) are either typographical or
granunatical in nature.
7. The recommendation to amend Section 4.04(A)(5) is an acknowledgment
that it is no longer possible or advisable to have the City Manager "make" all of
the City's purchases, rather than simply supervising them.
There are two recommended amendments to Section 5.02. The
recommended replacement of the word "nominations" with "applications" is
meant to make the Charter more consistent with the City Council's current
practice for filling vacancies on Boards and Commissions whereby applicants
submit applications. The recommended change related to the removal of Board
and /or Commission members is meant simply to make the Charter more clearly
consistent with current state law.
9. The recommendation to amend Section 5.03 is meant to emphasize that
Boards are subject to open records requirements as well as open meetings
requirements, and that their by -laws should address both matters. This
amendment will likely require related changes in the by -laws of most City
Boards.
10. The recommendation to amend Section 6.02 is to make it more clear and
readable.
11. The recommendation to amend Section 6.03 is meant to ensure the
Charter's use of the term "contribution" is consistent with existing state law
regarding campaign finances.
12. There are two recommended amendments to Section 7.01(B)(1). First, the
Commission recommends that 7.01(B)(1)O) be amended to prohibit any initiative
or referendum affecting the city zoning ordinance including the maps of the
Comprehensive Plan and the district plan maps, regardless of the size of the tract
of property at issue. The Iowa Code sets out a very detailed process for amending
a city's zoning ordinance and related maps, including a public hearing and
consideration by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. There
were concerns that allowing the initiative and/or referendum process to be used to
effectively amend the zoning ordinance would be inconsistent with this statutory
scheme. From a policy standpoint, the Commission also determined it would be
more appropriate for such amendments to go through the public hearing process,
than simply through a petition and voting process. Second, the Commission
recommends that a new section 7.01 (13)(1)(k) be added placing limitations on
when public improvements may be subject to initiative and referendum. The
intent with this recommendation is not to prohibit any initiative or referendum
dealing with public improvements, but to limit them to appropriate times, prior to
certain actions being taken which either significantly encumber city resources or
create burdens on private property owners who may be effected by a given
project. The term "public improvements" is used specifically so it may be
interpreted more broadly than the term "capital improvement ", which has a
relatively narrow meaning under existing state law.
13. The Commission recommends the phrase "and any other information
required by City Council" be removed from Section 7.03(B). This language
allowed the City Council to require "any other information" it wanted to be
collected as part of the petition process for an initiative or referendum effort.
However, the language places no limitation on what other information could be
required and does not require that the information be demanded on all initiative or
referendum petitions. In essence, the language appeared to give the City Council
the ability to create significant obstacles for specific initiative or referendum
efforts. Though there is no evidence of the City Council ever requiring such
"other information" of particular petitioners, the Commission was concerned
about the potential for abuse through use of this language. Further, if the City
Council would like to require petitions to include information other than that
which is currently required by Section 7.03(B), it may use its power to amend this
section of the Charter. If that occurs, however, the requirements would at least be
applicable to all petitioners.
14. The recommendation to amend Section 7.04(C) clarifies the proper way
to request judicial review of the City Council's actions taken in conjunction with
Section 7.04(B), namely through writ of certiorari. The Commission also was
concerned with the existing language was consistent with current state law.
15. The Commission recommends that the sentence "The Council shall submit
to the voters any ordinance which has been proposed or referred in accordance
with the provisions of this Article unless the petition is deemed insufficient
pursuant to Section 7.04." be deleted because it is unnecessary, given other
language in the Charter, and may actually be confusing to some.
16. The amendments recommended for Section 7.05(B) are meant to clarify
when all initiative or referendum petition must be filed in order to be placed on a
particular ballot. The amendment should alleviate the situation where an initiative
or referendum petition is submitted too late for inclusion on the next scheduled
election and therefore the underlying issue would have to wait a significant
amount of time for a later election or the city would have to incur the expense of a
special election.
17. The amendments recommended for Sections 8.01(A) and 8.01(B),
changing the please "City election" to "special city election ", are meant to make
these sections consistent with current state law.
18. The amendments recommended for Sections 8.01(B) and 8.01(C),
referring to Iowa Code § 362.4, do not change the number of signatures a petition
to amend the charter must have in order to be valid. Rather, they make clear that
all aspects of section 362.4 must be met, in addition to the correct number of
signatures. The Connnission also believes that referring to the appropriate code
section will help citizens to be better informed about all of the appropriate petition
requirements prior to beginning the petition process.
19. The amendments recommended for Section 8.02 attempt to make clear
that the Charter Review Commission makes its recommendations to the City
Council, and then the City Council may either submit the recommendations to the
voters or use its power, pursuant to Section 8.01(B), to adopt the
recommendations by ordinance.
Other Matters Considered. In addition to those matters discussed that led to the above
recommendations, the Commission also gave serious consideration to several issues that
did not lead to recommended amendments. Some of those issues are discussed below.
Numerous other issues were also discussed by the Commission and these discussions,
though not described here, are reflected in the Commission's meeting minutes.
1. Selection of the Mayor. The Commission spent considerable time
discussing the method used to select the mayor, both in its regular meetings and at
the interactive public meeting. Some concerns were raised with the current
process, including generally the secrecy of or lack of transparency in how the
Council Members choose the Mayor and the inability of members of the general
public to vote for a Mayor or otherwise participate in the process. In response to
these concerns the Commission considered an amendment to the Charter that
would have required that the Mayor be elected directly by the citizens. The
potential problems with such a change included the risk that someone could be
elected Mayor without any experience working on the Council and that a mayoral
election could degenerate into a popularity contest. hi the end, the majority of the
Commission decided not to recommend an amendment to the Charter on this
issue, believing the current system, despite concerns, has worked well.
2. Term Limits. The Commission discussed term limits for the mayor and/or
council members. Some support for a limitation on the number of two -year terms
an individual could serve as mayor was voiced at the interactive public meeting.
Despite this support, the Commission decided against recommending any term
limits be built into the Charter. The reasoning for this position was that, in a
representative government, the best and most appropriate term limitations come
through the voters electing candidates of their choice.
3. Number of Districts. The Commission discussed whether to amend the
Charter to change the number of council districts from three to four. The concern
presented was that the city's geographic and population growth had made the
existing districts too large to be manageable. No recommendation was made to
increase the number of districts, however, because the associated decrease in
geographic area and population represented by district council members would
have been relatively small. Also, there was a preference to maintain the current
majority of council members being at- large.
4. Election of District Council Members. The Commission spent a great deal
of time discussing the current system for electing district council members and the
fact that only residents of the district may vote in a district primary but all voters
may vote on the district in the general election. A amendment was considered
that would have allowed only residents of a particular district to vote in that
general election district race. In support of this amendment was the idea that it
would alleviate voter confusion over the current system and it may also engender
stronger connections between the district electorate and the district -only council
members. The majority of the Commission did not recommend such an
amendment, though, because of a concern that it might promote parochialism
among districts and a positive recognition that the current system affords each
citizen to claim a stake in all seven council races. There also were concerns from
some Commission members about the possibility that, if a change was made, a
district council member elected by and representing only a third of the city could
end up being selected by the City Council as mayor.
5. Voting Systems. The Commission spent some time discussing various
alternative voting systems that attempt to eliminate costly primaries and allow
consideration to be given to a voter's second choice, in the case of a failure of one
candidate to secure a majority. No amendments relative to these systems were
recommended, however, due to concerns about whether they would be
permissible given existing state law.
6. Petition Requirements for Initiative/Referendufn and Charter
Amendments. Initiative and referendum petitions must be signed by qualified
electors equal in number to at least twenty -five percent (25 %) of the number of
persons voting in the prior city election but may have no fewer than twenty five
hundred (2500) signatures. Charter amendment petitions must be signed by
eligible electors equal in number to ten percent (10 %) of those voting in the prior
city election. The Commission discussed concerns that either or both of these
thresholds were too low and the potential inconsistency of having the threshold be
lower for amending the Charter than for simply adopting an initiative or
referendum. Regarding the threshold for charter amendment petitions, this
number is specifically dictated by the state code and should not be changed.
Regarding the threshold for initiative and referendum petitions, the Commission
examined voter turnout in prior elections and determined that in most cases the
twenty -five percent (25 %) number was not used because it would have been less
than the twenty five hundred (2500) signature limitation. Further, the relatively
low threshold for signatures is mitigated by the fact that those signing the
petitions must be qualified electors, rather than eligible electors. Accordingly, the
Commission did not recommend changes to the petition requirements.
Creation of a Citizens' Guide to the Charter. In the Commission members' numerous
collective discussions with members of the public it appeared that a significant
percentage of citizen concerns are based on an apparent or perceived lack of
transparency. Citizens want to know how their government works, want to know what in
their government is working, and how they can help their government to work better. All
of these are especially true for local governments. To this end, the Commission
respectfully recommends the City create a Citizens' Guide to the Iowa City Charter.
Such a document could clarify, supplement and explain specific provisions of the
Charter, especially those provisions that may be of particular interest to community
activists and ordinary citizens alike. As such, the Citizens' Guide would assist those
using it in better understanding and participating in our City's system of government.
The Commission recommends this Citizens' Guide be drafted by City staff and made
generally available to members of the public at the City Clerk's Office and on the City's
Website.
Conclusion. The Commission has appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity
to review the Iowa City City Charter and it is pleased to present its recommendations to
the City Council for consideration and action. While there was not unanimity on every
issue, the recommendations as a whole come to the City Council upon the unanimous
vote of the Commission. Pursuant to Section 8.02 of the Charter, the City Council may
either adopt the Commission's recommended amendments by ordinance or may put them
on the ballot for consideration by the voters of Iowa City. It is not the Commission's
C
charge to recommend which of these options should be utilized. Instead, the decision on
how to proceed is left in the hands of the City Council.
Respectfully submitted this day of January, 2005.
IOWA CITY CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION
By:
William F. Sueppel, Chairperson
Di afUabd01.13.05
REPORT OF THE IOWA CITY
CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION
The Commission and the Process. The Iowa City Charter Review Commission was
established by the Iowa City City Council in May of 2004. Created pursuant to Section
8.02 of the Iowa City Charter, the Commission was charged with "review[ing] the
existing Charter" and "recommend[ing] any Charter amendments that it deems fit." The
Commission mist be established by the City Council at least once every ten years.
Commission members were selected by the Council and include Chairperson William
Sueppel, Chair Pro tem Vicki Lensing, Andrew Chappell, Penny Davidsen, Nathan
Green, Karen Kubby, Naomi Novick, Lynn Rowat, and Kevin Werner. In furtherance of
its charge the Commission began meeting in mid -May. The Commission has met over
twenty two (22) times for in excess of forty (40) hours. Citizens have had the
opportunity to participate in the process at every step. All meetings were posted and
open to the public, the Commission heard in- person citizen comments and accepted
written correspondence, and the Commission held two traditional public hearings and a
public meeting with interactive discussion. The Commission was aided in its work by the
invaluable contributions of Eleanor Dilkes, City Attorney; Marian Karr, City Clerk; and
Laura Berardi, Minute Taker.
The Report. This Report is meant to provide the City Council and the public with a
substantive review of the Commission's recommendations. It supplements the "red - line"
version of the Charter that was drafted by the City Attorney and sets forth the language of
the specific amendments. While the hope is that the Report will provide some details to
explain the Commission's recommendations, any document of this nature will necessarily
be somewhat incomplete. Accordingly, the Report itself should be supplemented with
the copious minutes taken of the Commission's meetings. Additionally, the Commission
remains available to address questions and issues that may arise during the Council's
review of its recommendations.
Explanations of Recommended Charter Amendments.
I. The recommendation to amend the definitions of "Ordinance" and
"Measure" is part of a larger recommendation to replace the term ordinance with
measure throughout Article VII. As currently written, Section 7.01(A)(3) defines
"ordinance" to include "all measures of a legislative nature ". However, in the
general definitions section of the Charter measure is defined more broadly than
ordinance and means "an ordinance, amendment, resolution or motion." The
amendment is meant to both reconcile this inconsistency and make clear that
initiative and referendum are available with respect to, the more broadly defined,
measures rather than, the more narrowly defined, ordinances.
2. The recommendation to amend Section 2.03 is one of word preference.
The Commission thought the term "eligible elector" to be more clear and
understandable than the term "domiciliary."
3. The recommendation to amend Section 2.11(A) is meant to elarify4hat
brines, the section into conformity with the State Code provision. There is no
change in meaning. Passage of an ordinances, amendments and or resolutions
requires a majority vote of all members of the Council, rather than simply a
majority of the members present.
4. The recommendation to delete Section 2.11(B) is meant to address
concerns that this section was is inconsistent with state law provisions regarding
city legislation etiff� mat ease law. From a policy standpoint, the Commission also
had concerns about the broad power the section appeared to give the Council to
present virtually any matter to the electorate for a vote, thereby allowing the
Council to avoid its responsibility to legislate. Council has never used this
provision.
5. The recommendation to amend Sections 2.12(B) and 4.04(A)(3)- .04(A)(4)
was meant to both clarify and formalize the City's current practice of having the
City Council take formal action to approve the City Manager's appointment of
either the Police Chief or the Fire Chief. In addition to past practice, this also has
support in existing state law. While some members of the public supported the
idea of having the City Council appoint the Police Chief instead of the City
Manager, the majority of the Commission did not support this idea. There was no
interest in extending this practice of approval to other city department heads.
6. The recommendations to amend Sections 3.01(A), 4.03 [Title], 4.04
[Title], 7.01(C)(1), 7.02(B), 7.04(A), 7.06(A), 7.06(B) are either typographical or
grammatical in nature.
7. The recommendation to amend Section 4.04(A)(5) is an acknowledgment
that it is nvzvngcr not possible or advisable to have the City Manager "make" all
of the City's purchases, rather than simply supervising them.
8. There are two recommended amendments to Section 5.02. The
recommended replacement of the word "nominations" with "applications" is
meant to make the Charter more consistent with the City Council's current
practice for filling vacancies on Boards and Commissions whereby applicants
submit applications. The recommended change related to the removal of Board
and/or Commission members is meant simply to make the Charter more clearly
consistent with current state law and City practice.
9. The recommmendation to amend Section 5.03 is meant to emphasize that
Boards are subject to open records requirements as well as open meetings
requirements, and that their by -laws should address both matters. This
amendment will - likely may require related changes in the by -laws of most City
Boards.
10. The recommendation to amend Section 6.02 is to make it more clear and
readable.
11. The recommendation to amend Section 6.03 is meant to ensure the
Charter's use of the term "contribution" is consistent with existing state law
regarding campaign finances. Under state law a person's time may a
"contribution" if it is provided on a collective basis by, for instance, a business or
union.
12. There are two recommended amendments to Section 7.01(B)(1). First, the
Commission recommends that 7.01(B)(1)O) be amended to prohibit any initiative
or referendum affecting the city zoning ordinance including the maps of the
Comprehensive Plan and the district plan maps, regardless of the size of the tract
of property at issue. The Iowa Code sets out a very detailed process for amending
a city's zoning ordinance and related maps, including a public hearing, and
consideration by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council and
super - majority requirements upon objections by property owners. There were
concerns that allowing the initiative and/or referendum process to be used to
effectively amend the zoning ordinance would be inconsistent with this statutory
scheme. From a policy standpoint, the Commission also determined it would be
more appropriate for such amendments to go through the public hearing process,
than simply through a petition and voting process. Second, the Commission
recommends that a new section 7,01(B)(1)(k) be added placing limitations on
when public improvements may be subject to initiative and referendum. The
intent with this recommendation is not to prohibit any initiative or referendum
dealing with public improvements, but to limit them to appropriate times, prior to
certain actions being taken which either significantly encumber city resources or
create burdens on private property owners who may be effected by a given
project. The term "public improvements" is defined in accordance with state law
to refer to building and construction work. ased speeifieally se it m "e
interpreted- more broadly than t e term "cap:+ ement", whi h —has —a
relatively naffw,.- meaning -un ere ci
13. The Commission recommends the phrase "and any other information
required by City Council" be removed from Section 7.03(B). This language
allowed the City Council to require "any other information" it wanted to be
collected as part of the petition process for an initiative or referendum effort.
However, the language places no limitation on what other information could be
required and does not require that the information be demanded on all initiative or
referendum petitions. In essence, the language appeared to give the City Council
the ability to create significant obstacles for specific initiative or referendum
efforts. Though there is no evidence of the City Council ever requiring such
"other information" of particular petitioners, the Commission was concerned
3
about the potential for abuse through use of this language. Further, if the City
Council would like to require petitions to include information other than that
which is currently required by Section 7.03(B), it may use its power to amend this
section of the Charter. If that occurs, however, the requirements would at least be
applicable to all petitioners.
14. The recommendation to amend Section 7.04(C) clarifies the proper way
to request judicial review of the City Council's actions taken in conjunction with
Section 7.04(B), namely through writ of certiorari. We were advised that
purporting to confer jurisdiction on the district court by way of judicial review is
contrary to Iowa caselaw. The Conrinissien- also - was eoneerned -wi"e existing
language
15. The Commission recommends that the sentence "The Council shall submit
to the voters any ordinance which has been proposed or referred in accordance
with the provisions of this Article unless the petition is deemed insufficient
pursuant to Section 7.04." be deleted because it is unnecessary, given other
language in the Charter, and may actually be contusing to some.
16. The amendments recommended for Section 7.05(B) are meant to clarify
when an initiative or referendum petition must be filed in order to be placed on a
particular ballot. The d a " to tHesitrtation wlrc an
or referendum petition is submitted too late to!' incl R the next sched .led
electron and therefore the „dell. would :t meant issue .Iffig
a ietH4 of tinia fef a late election or the eit,.. ..Id ha a to hietif the -expense of
special el2ctia = ~= Attached you will find an exhibit labeled "Charter Timelines ".
The timeline at the top of the pale shows the maximum times currently-provided
in the Charter for each step of the initiative and referendum process. The timeline
on the bottom of the page shows the actual timeline for a recently filed initiative.
As you can see, while the Charter provides 110 days for Clerk certification,
additional signatures, Clerk certification of the supplemental petition, and Council
consideration of a proposed initiative or referendum, in the example at the bottom
of the page hat process was condensed into four days. In other words, because
there is no minimum amount of time prior to the deadline for ballot questions
within which a petition must be filed to get on that ballot, the process can be
squeezed if the Council so chooses. The changes made to Section 7.05(B ) of the
Charter are proposed to address this problem and require that the vote on a
proposed or referred ordinance may be held at the regular City election or genera l
election in November only if the petition was filed sufficiently in advance of the
election to allow time for the Clerk's review and Council's consideration.
17. The amendments recommended for Sections 8.01(A) and 8.01(B),
changing the phrase "City election" to "special city election ", are meant to make
these sections consistent with current state law.
4
18. The amendments recommended for Sections 8.01(B) and 8.01(C),
referring to Iowa Code § 362.4, do not change the number of signatures a petition
to amend the charter must have in order to be valid. Rather, they make clear that
all aspects of section 362.4 must be met, in addition to the correct number of
signatures. The Commission also believes that referring to the appropriate code
section will help citizens to be better informed about all of the appropriate petition
requirements prior to beginning the petition process.
19. The amendments recommended for Section 8.02 attempt to make clear
that the Charter Review Commission makes its recommendations to the City
Council, and then the City Council may either submit the recommendations to the
voters or use its power, pursuant to Section 8.01(B), to adopt the
recommendations by ordinance.
Other Matters Considered. In addition to those matters discussed that led to the above
recommendations, the Commission also gave serious consideration to several issues that
did not lead to recommended amendments. Sonic of those issues are discussed below.
Numerous other issues were also discussed by the Commission and these discussions,
though not described here, are reflected in the Commission's meeting minutes.
1. Selection of the Mayor. The Commission spent considerable time
discussing the method used to select the mayor, both in its regular meetings and at
the interactive public meeting. Some concerns were raised with the current
process, including generally the secrecy of or lack of transparency in how the
Council Members choose the Mayor and the inability of members of the general
public to vote for a Mayor or otherwise participate in the process. In response to
these concerns the Commission considered an amendment to the Charter that
would have required that the Mayor be elected directly by the citizens. The
potential problems with such a change included the risk that someone could be
elected Mayor without any experience working on the Council and that a mayoral
election could degenerate into a popularity contest. In the end, the majority of the
Commission decided not to recommend an amendment to the Charter on this
issue, believing the current system, despite concerns, has worked well.
2. Tenn Limits. The Commission discussed term limits for the mayor and /or
council members. Some support for a limitation on the member of two -year terms
an individual could serve as mayor was voiced at the interactive public meeting.
Despite this support, the Commission decided against recommending any term
limits be built into the Charter. The reasoning for this position was that, in a
representative government, the best and most appropriate term limitations come
through the voters electing candidates of their choice.
3. Number of Districts. The Commission discussed whether to amend the
Charter to change the number of council districts from three to four. The concern
presented was that the city's geographic and population growth had made the
existing districts too large to be manageable. No recommendation was made to
E
increase the number of districts, however, because the associated decrease in
geographic area and population represented by district council members would
have been relatively small. Also, there was a preference to maintain the current
majority of council members being at- large.
4. Election of District Council Members. The Commission spent a great deal
of time discussing the current system for electing district council members and the
fact that only residents of the district may vote in a district primary but all voters
may vote on the district in the general election. A amendment was considered
that would have allowed only residents of a particular district to vote in that
general election district race. In support of this amendment was the idea that it
would alleviate voter confusion over the current system and it may also engender
stronger connections between the district electorate and the district -only council
members. The majority of the Commission did not recommend such an
amendment, though, because of a concern that it might promote parochialism
among districts and a positive recognition that the current system affords each
citizen to claim a stake in all seven council races. There also were concerns from
some Commission members about the possibility that, if a change was made, a
district council member elected by and representing only a third of the city could
end up being selected by the City Council as mayor.
5. Voting Systems. The Commission spent some time discussing various
alternative voting systems that attempt to eliminate costly primaries and allow
consideration to be given to a voter's second choice, in the case of a failure of one
candidate to secure a majority. No amendments relative to these systems were
recommended, however, due to concerns about whether they would be
permissible given existing state law.
6. Petition Requirements for Initiative/Referendum and Charter
Amendments. Initiative and referendum petitions must be signed by qualified
electors equal in number to at least twenty -five percent (25 %) of the number of
persons voting in the prior city election but may have no fewer than twenty five
hundred (2500) signatures. Charter amendment petitions must be signed by
eligible electors equal in number to ten percent (10 %) of those voting in the prior
city election. The Commission discussed concerns that either or both of these
thresholds were too low and the potential inconsistency of having the threshold be
lower for amending the Charter than for simply adopting an initiative or
referendum. Regarding the threshold for charter amendment petitions, this
number is specifically dictated by the state code and should not be changed.
Regarding the threshold for initiative and referendum petitions, the Commission
examined voter turnout in prior elections and determined that in most cases the
twenty -five percent (25 %) number was not used because it would have been less
than the twenty five hundred (2500) signature limitation. Further, the relatively
low threshold for signatures is mitigated by the fact that those signing the
petitions must be qualified electors, rather than eligible electors. Accordingly, the
Commission did not recommend changes to the petition requirements.
Creation of a Citizens' Guide to the Charter. In the Commission members' numerous
collective discussions with members of the public it appeared that a significant
percentage of citizen concerns are based on an apparent or perceived lack of
transparency. Citizens want to know how their government works, want to know what in
their government is working, and how they can help their government to work better. All
of these are especially true for local governments. To this end, the Commission
respectfully recommends the City create a Citizens' Guide to the Iowa City Charter.
Such a document could clarify, supplement and explain specific provisions of the
Charter, especially those provisions that may be of particular interest to community
activists and ordinary citizens alike. As such, the Citizens' Guide would assist those
using it in better understanding and participating in our City's system of government.
The Commission recommends this Citizens' Guide be drafted by City staff and made
generally available to members of the public at the City Clerk's Office and on the City's
Website.
Conclusion. The Commission has appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity
to review the Iowa City City Charter and it is pleased to present its recommendations to
the City Council for consideration and action. While there was not unanimity on every
issue, the reconunendations as a whole come to the City Council upon the unanimous
vote of the Commission. Pursuant to Section 8.02 of the Charter, the City Council may
either adopt the Commission's recommended amendments by ordinance or may put them
on the ballot for consideration by the voters of Iowa City. It is not the Commission's
charge to recommend which of these options should be utilized. Instead, the decision on
how to proceed is left in the hands of the City Council.
Respectfully submitted this day of January, 2005.
IOWA CITY CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION
I
William F. Sueppel, Chairperson
7