Charter Review Commission Meeting Summary, September 21, 2009
RICHM0ND CITY CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION
Meeting Minutes, September 21, 2009
Members Present: Ms. Jeannie Baliles, Mr. Orran Brown, Esq; Mr. John Douglass, Esq; Mr. Robert Holsworth, PhD; Mr. Frederick Marsh, Esq; Mr. John Moeser, PhD; Mr. John Thompson, Esq. and Ms. Jackie Epps (via telephone)
The Commission voted 7-0 to approve Ms. Jacqueline Epps, Esq. to participate in the meeting via telephone from her home in Richmond due to her an inability to walk down steps.
Staff Present: Daisy Weaver, Council Office; David Hicks, Mayors Office; Haskell Brown III, City Attorney Office; Tabrica Rentz, City Attorney Office; Joyce L. Davis, Council Office; Jennifer Wicker, Mayors Office.
Approval of Minutes: The Commission voted 7-0 to approve the September 10, 2009 meeting summary.
ACTION ITEMS
Draft Recommendations for Amendments to the City Charter- Changes
Grandfather Clause for City Attorney, Assessor, and Auditor
· With regard to recommendations 1 through 4 dealing with appointment and removal of certain city officers and employees appointed by Council and the Mayor, the Commission recommends that Charter amendments include a “grandfather clause” to assure that amendments do not affect the appointment or tenure of anyone currently in office. The recommendation would remain in effect and removal would be per change in charter. This motion was approved by a vote of 6-1, with 1 abstention.
Motion to change recommendation for appointment of City Attorney, Assessor and Auditor
· Motion was made that the positions of City Attorney, Assessor and Auditor are all appointed by the Mayor. The Motion failed.
Designation of Acting CAO
· A recommendation was accepted by consensus from Commission members that in 5B regarding designation of a senior deputy CAO to serve when there is a vacancy of the CAO, that a subsection is added (b) indicating that the CAO shall make a designation of senior deputy (CA) (SDCAO) within 180 days of the CAO’s taking office.
· Recommendation was further amended to indicate qualifications of Senior DCAO should be based on same criteria as required for CAO. The motion approved by a vote of 5 to 3.
Richmond Retirement System Executive Director
· Motion was made to accept the recommendation made by Mr. Haskell Brown, City Attorneys Office that the Commission recommends an addition to Charter section 5B.01 which would establish the Board’s power to “provide for” the position of Executive Director of RPS, but that the appointment of the Executive Director would be made by the Richmond Retirement System.
Disputes on Adopted Budget
· In response to a question posed by Councilman Tyler, the Commission discussed whether a Charter Amendment could effectively address legal disputes regarding the validity of an adopted budget. The Commission considered several options, including one which might make the City Attorney’s opinion binding unless a court ruled to the contrary. The Commission concluded that none of the apparent options was preferable to the current Charter language.
Removal of Council members and Mayor
· The Commission considered a question posed by Council President Graziano regarding power to remove a Council Member or Mayor if there is a violation of the Charter for malfeasance. The tentative view of Commissioners was that Virginia law already provides remedies for malfeasance. Mr. Brown will research the issue and report his findings.
· Mr. Douglass will redraft the final recommendations and will seek an agreement by Commission members electronically.
· Mrs. Daisy Weaver will confirm that Mr. Douglass will attend the Governmental Operations Standing Committee meeting on behalf of the Commission.
Next Meeting Dates
· The Commission will not meet on October 1st.
· The next meeting is tentatively set for November 5th contingent upon Council’s response to the final recommendations.