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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESOLUTION NO 17 01 407I I I STATE OF GEORGIA COUNTY OF FULTON RESOLUTION NO. 17-01-407 A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING ISSUES TO BE REVIEWED BY THE CITY OF MILTON CHARTER COMMISSION THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MIL TON HEREBY RESOLVES while in regular session on the 9th day of January, 2017 as follows: WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 7 .18 of the Charter for the City of Milton, Georgia, five years after the inception of the City of Milton, the mayor and city council shall call for a Charter Commission to review the city's experience and recommend to the General Assembly any changes to the City Charter; and WHEREAS, in accord with Section 7.18 of the Charter, the Milton Charter Commission was established on Monday, December 5, 2011 ; and WHEREAS, pursuant to the Resolution establishing the Charter Commission, the Milton City Council is required to provide the Charter Commission with a list of those Charter-related issues for which it would request the Commission pay particular attention; and WHEREAS, at the Milton City Council December 12, 2016 work session, the City Manager presented to the City Council a comprehensive list of Charter-related items proposed for the Charter Commission to review (List attached hereto as Exhibit A). WHEREAS, at that the December 12 meeting, the City Council indicated being comfortable with all of the presented items; and, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THIS COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MILTON, GEORGIA, as follows: 1. That the list of Charter issues presented at the December 12, 2016 work session, Exhibit A, is hereby approved by the City Council as the list of items to be tendered to the Charter Commission, with the exception of item "Ordinance Adoption," on said list. 2. That Exhibit A, less item "Ordinance Adoption", be forwarded to the Charter Commission as the approved City Council list of Charter-related issues for consideration and review. Page 1 of 7 I RESOLVED this 9th day of January, 2017. Approved: Joe Lockwood, Mayor Attest: I I Page 2 of 7 I I I EXHIBIT A Suggested Charter Changes 2016-2017 Section l .12(b)(9) Municipal powers. Environmental protection and conservation. To protect and preserve the natural resources, environment, and vital areas of the city, the region, and the state through the preservation and improvement of air quality, the restoration and maintenance of water resources, the control of erosion and sedimentation, the management of storm water and establishment of a storm water utility, the management of solid and hazardous waste, and other necessary actions for the protection of the environment to include the acquisition and holding of conservation land and conservation easements; Section 6.30 -Procurement and property management. Except as otherwise authorized in this section, nocontract with the city shall be binding on the city unless: ( 1) It is in writing; (2) It is drawn or submitted and reviewed by the city attorney and, as a matter of course, is signed by the city attorney to indicate such drafting or review; and (3) It is made or authorized by the city council and such approval is entered in the city council journal of proceedings pursuant to section 3.14 of this Charter. The Council shall be authorized to delegate by Ordinance contract signing authority to the City Manager for contracts with a maximum amount of $50,000 with a term of no more than a single fiscal year, upon the requirement that such contracts be subsequently ratified by Council. The Ordinance authorizing such delegation may be repealed at any time by majority approval of the Council. Section 3.15(a) Voting. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this section, four councilmembers shall constitute a quorum and shall be authorized to transact the business of the city council. For voting and quorum purposes, the mayor shall be counted as one of the councilmembers. Voting on the adoption of ordinances shall be by electronic or voice vote and the vote shall be recorded in the journal, but any member of the city council shall have the right to request a roll-call vote and such vote shall be recorded in the journal. No councilmember shall abstain from voting except in the case of a conflict of interest or if absent when a motion being voted upon was made. The councilmember shall provide a specific explanation of the conflict, and the explanation shall be recorded in the journal. Page 3 of 7 I I I Comment -3.15(a) -This section calls for a voice vote on issues before the council. This should be amended to allow for electronic voting or roll call voting (it currently allows for roll call votes only when requested). We are planning on a system at the new city hall that would automatically display and record their votes. 3.20(a) -Codification of Ordinances. The clerk shall authenticate by the clerk's signature and record in full in a properly indexed digital version or book kept for that purpose all ordinances adopted by the council. Comment -3.20(a) -This section appears to require the Clerk to maintain a properly indexed book of all ordinances. We should make sure that this would include and allow for digital records of the same thing. Comment - 3.25. We've talked about including language in the City Manager's duties to allow him to execute contracts. There is language in the mayor's section (3.22(4)) that allows the delegation of that authority but Ken thought it would be cleaner if we put it in the city managers section. 3.22(4) Sign as a matter of course on behalf of the city all written and approved contracts, ordinances, resolutions, and other instruments executed by the city which by law are required to be in writing. The City Council may delegate contrac t signing authority to the City Manager to the extent allowed by law; Comment -As a possible option for Section 3.25, Johns Creek includes this verbiage in their Charter under city manager's powers and duties: "Make and execute all lawful contracts on behalf of the city as to matters within said officer's jurisdiction to the extent that such contracts are funded in the city's budget, except such as may be otherwise provided by law; provided, however, that no contract purchase or obligation requiring a budget amendment shall be valid and binding until after approval of the council." Page 4 of 7 I I I Sec. 3.22(b)(8) -Powers and Duties of Mayor. Have the authority to appoint city council committees and appoint councilmembers to oversee and report on the functions of the various departments of the city, subject to confirmation by the city council. Comment -3.22(b)(8) -Remove Section 3.22(b)(8) Section 3.28 -Council's Interference with administration] is in direct conflict with Section 3.22(b) (8) and states: Except for the purpose of inquiries and investigations under section 3.12 of this Charter, the city council and its members shall deal with city officers and employees who are subject to the direction and supervision of the city manager solely through the city manager, and neither the city council nor its members shall give orders to any such officer or employee, either publicly or privately. Sec. 1.12-Municipal Powers (b) (40) (C) Remove subsection (C): "For all years, the billing date or dates and due date or dates for municipal ad valorem taxes shall be the same as for Fulton County ad valorem taxes". (Comment l. l 2(b) (40) (C) -Explanation: I believe the initial intent was Milton would contract with Fulton County to include our property taxes on their tax bills. Since we decided to do our own property tax billing, meeting this requirement is impossible due to the fact that the tax files aren't released to us until after Fulton County has sent their bills. I've looked at Dunwoody's Charter and their subsections (A) and (B) language was identical to ours; however, (C) was left out. Since we have an ordinance that speaks to when taxes should be billed and become due, I think we should remove this language from our Charter.) Section 3.20(b ). -Codification of ordinances. (b)The city shall provide for the preparation of a general codification of all the ordinances of the city having the force and effect of law. The general codification shall be adopted by the city council by ordinance and shall be published promptly together with all amendments thereto and shall contain such codes of technical regulations and other rules and regulations as the city council may specify. This compilation shall be known and cited officially as "The Code of the City of Milton, Georgia." Copies of the Code shall be available to all officers, departments, and agencies of the city and shall be made available to the public online free of charge. Page 5 of 7 I I I Comment -3.20(b) Current charter language reads "Copies of the Code shall be furnished to all officers, departments, and agencies of the city and shall be made available for purchase by the public at a reasonable price as fixed by the city council." -MuniCode (Our Code of Ordinances) is on line and "free of charge"). Article II, Section 2. 14 -Compensation and Expenses. "The annual salary of the mayor shall be $23,000.00 and the annual salary for each councilmember shall be $13,000.00. Such salary shall be paid from municipal funds in monthly installments. The city council may provide for the reimbursement of expenses actually and necessarily incurred by the mayor and members of the city council in carrying out their official duties." Comment -2.14 -Change it from "monthly installments" to "bi-weekly installments". The current practice is to pay the mayor and council on the same schedule as the rest of the employees, which is bi-weekly.) Article Ill, Section 3. 18 -Emergencies. "To meet a public emergency affecting life, health, property, or public peace, the city council may convene on call of the mayor or four councilmembers and may promptly adopt an emergency ordinance, but such ordinance shall not ... authorize the borrowing of money except for loan to be repair within 30 days." Comment -3.18 -Change "repair" to "repaid" Article VI, Section 6.28 (b) -Capital Improvements. " ... No appropriations provided for in a prior capital improvements budget shall lapse until the purpose for which the appropriations were made shall have been accomplished or abandoned; provided, however, the mayor may submit amendments to the capital improvements budget at any time during the fiscal year, accompanied by any recommendations." Comment -6.28(b) Change "the mayor" to "the city manager". The powers and duties of the city manager, as spelled out in section 3.25 of the Charter, includes the preparation and submission of the annual operating budget and capital budget to the city council. It seems as though the responsibility for presenting amendments to the budget would a lso fall to the city manager.) Page 6 of 7 I I I Article VI, Section 6.31-Purchasing "The city council shall by ordinance prescribe procedures for a system of centralized purchasing for the city." Comment-6.31 -Remove this section. Other municipal Charters do not have a reference to the setup of the purchasing function. The setup should have the ability to fluctuate and grow with the needs of the city. Add to the Charter that the City can be involved in Public Art. Page 7 of 7