08/16/2005 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 8/lb/2005 6) Spent considerable time in July and early August crafting 10 ordinances for 10 Charter amendment proposals recommended by the Charter Review Commission and the Intra- Governmental Relations Committee of Council. 7) On August 8, he provided a formal legal opinion to City Council that the proposal of the Charter Review Commission to change the name of the Department of Human Resources to the Department of Community Life Services was, in fact, anon-substantive Charter language change that could be effected by an ordinance passed in accordance with the provisions of Article XVI of the Charter rather than requiring a Charter amendment proposal to be submitted to the people. 8) Offered his thoughts on pending Ordinance No. 2005-27, which would submit to the voters of North Olmsted whether their President of Council, currently elected by the people, should instead be appointed by the members of Council. He believes that the Director of Law should enerally refrain from commenting on the merits of legislation before Council. The one exception to that rule is found in R.C. Section 733.62, which is incorporated into Article V, Section 2 of the Charter establishing the duties of the Director of Law, and which provides that the Director of Law, from time to time should, "report to the legislative authority regarding ... matters he deems proper to promote the good government and welfare of the city." In attempting to meet that duty, each year he has submitted to Council and published on the City website an annual report which, among other things, includes recommendations to the Administration and the Council, regarding matters that, as Director of Law, he believes will promote good government in the City of North Olmsted. He believes that the current proposal involved in 2005-27 to submit to the people a charter amendment to eliminate the elected office of President of Council is an issue that the Director of Law should, in fact, make recommendations to Council on from a "good government" perspective. This not intended to instruct or even: to,,_s~gest to any member of Council how he show. +~ vote on Ord. No. 2005-27. This is instead simply the presentation of the comments of another elected City office holder who believes he has an obligation under the Charter to comment tq t~,e Administration and to Council fror~time t4 time on matters that are deemed to pro„,~ote„,g„ s~overnment in the City. From a good government perspective, he has reservations regarding the merits of the proposal to eliminate the elected office of President of Council. First, he believes that this proposal has had its roots in politics rather than in the concept of good government. And secondly, viewing the proposal from a good government perspective, he believes that it does not promote good (or better) government in the City of North Olmsted. And finally, debate on this proposal appears to be heading in the direction of the form of the proposal, rather than the substance of proposal, and he believes it is the substance, rather than the form of this proposal, which will have the greatest impact on good government in the City of North Olmsted. Our last President of Council was an independent, not politically aligned with other members of Council. Our current President of Council is a write- in candidate in the fall. He thinks these considerations had something to do with at least the genesis of this proposal. Regarding his second concern of whether the proposal promotes good government in North Olmsted, he offers the following eight thoughts for Council's consideration: First. The proposal was reviewed by the City's Charter Review Commission this Spring. It failed by a vote of 3-2, with three members of the Commission supporting it, but two opposing it. Four votes were required to recommend the proposal favorably. Though the vote was close, the fact of the matter is that the Charter Review Commission was divided on the issue and ultimately did not recommend it to Council. Once every five years, it is the function and duty of the City's