WILLMAR -- Willmar resident John Sullivan has criticized the City Council for not convening the Charter Commission.
The Charter Commission last met in 1992, Sullivan told the council Tuesday night. Sullivan said the City Charter states that once a Charter Commission is appointed, it shall meet once a year, even if the commission has no business to conduct.
Also, Sullivan took issue with the belief that appointed members of boards and commissions can be reappointed if they take a year off between appointments.
Sullivan was referring to a statement made during a Feb. 13 council work session by Mayor Les Heitke. Heitke said that appointed board and commission members who have served two consecutive three-year terms could be reappointed after a one-year hiatus. Heitke said reappointments have been made under those circumstances.
Sullivan said during the council's open forum Tuesday that the charter says no board member or commission member shall serve more than two consecutive terms, "period.''
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The discussion of appointments and convening the Charter Commission arose after the Rice Hospital Board and the Municipal Utilities Commission asked the council to extend term limits of appointed board and commission members to three three-year terms.
The commission and hospital board say the extended terms are needed because members spend considerable time becoming educated and familiar with the complexities of the utility and health care industries.
They say the educational time investment would be more effectively used if terms were extended.
A change in the terms must first be referred to the Charter Commission for consideration.
If the Charter Commission recommends a change in the charter, the council may enact a charter amendment by ordinance, and enactment of the ordinance requires an affirmative vote of all eight council members, according to City Administrator Michael Schmit and City Attorney Richard Ronning.
In an interview, Ronning said the previous Charter Commission chose not to meet anymore. Ronning, who attended virtually every commission meeting, said he informed commission members of their obligation, but they decided not to meet.
"I really don't blame them. What's the point of meeting if there's nothing to meet about?'' he said. "I don't think there's anything the city could do. If they chose not to meet, they chose not to meet.''
Ronning said it was his opinion that the council is not in violation of the charter if the commission does not meet.
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"The statute puts the responsibility on the Charter Commission to meet annually and file a report annually with the (chief judge of the district court) with a copy to the council,'' he said.
"To me, the statute needs to be updated. That's rather archaic. What does the chief judge of the district who is now seated in Montevideo really care about a report from the Charter Commission in the city of Willmar?''
Regarding the issue of term limits, Ronning said the current limit of two consecutive three-year terms does not preclude reappointment after a one-year hiatus.
"My recollection is that when term limits were created, we specifically put that in there with that reasoning in mind,'' Ronning said. "People need to get off and take a break. If they want to serve again sometime and the mayor and council are so inclined to appoint them, fine.''
