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1962-04-24 Special CC MinutesSPECIAL MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ALAMEDA HELD TUESDAY EVENINGt APRIL 241 1962 The meeting convened at 7:15 o'clock p.m. with President Collischonn presiding. ROLL CALL: The roll was called and Councilmen Godfrey, McCall, Rose, Schacht and President Collischonn, (5), were noted present. Absent: None. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Receipt of the Notice and Agenda for said special meeting had been acknowledged by each of the Councilmen and was on file. 2./ The meeting had been called for the purpose of giving consideration to proposed Charter revisions and the procedure therefor - and also to consider the appointment of a City Attorney and appointments to various Boards, Commissions and Agencies. President Collischonn read the following prepared statement: "The first portion of this meeting is to be devoted to a discussion of the procedure to be followed in reviewing and revising the Charter. "The last time a substantial change was made in the Charter was in 1937. Basically, that same Charter is in effect today although there have been minor changes since that time -- in 1947, 1953, 1955, 1956 and 1957. "The Charter should be reviewed periodically to insure that it is kept in a form to reflect the current needs in the City. "I believe it is the hope of this Council that the current review of the Charter will result in revisions to provide a more concise and flexible instrument concerned only with essentials. To produce such a Charter will require the elimination of some out -dated and meaningless provisions which now exist and will provide the City Council with the maximum latitude in approaching community problems and give the public an efficient and responsive government. "It is my recommendation to the Council that a Citizens' Committee be appointed to review the Charter and make its recommendations to the Council. It is my further recommenda- tion that two Councilmen serve on the Committee either as ex- officio members or as members with a vote and that the Council shall establish a set of ground rules for the Committee which will require the Committee to consult with the City Staff and to take advantage of the advice and recommendations which are available to them from the Staff of the League of California Cities, City Managers, City Attorneys and Mayors of other cities. As for a timetable when the Council shall expect the report from the Committee, this date should be geared into sessions of the State Legislature since any Charter changes must be ratified by that legis- lative body. At this time, I would suggest that in view of the time necessary to hold public discussions on the proposed amendments, the submission of a final report to the City Council, the printing of the Charter amendments and other mechanics involved in connection with placing the amendments on the ballot, we should shoot for a date of the March 1963 councilmanic election. "It would be more desirable if these Charter amendments could be placed on the November ballot because of the greater turn -out of voters, but it is conceivable that their importance could be lost in the interest which will be commanded by the governor's race and the bond issues to be on the ballot. I believe that while the vote in the March local election will be very much smaller, those casting votes would have a better knowledge of the proposed Charter amendments and will be able to vote more intelligently and the Committee will have a couple of additional months for its review. "With the foregoing statement, I now invite the discussion of any points covered or those not covered in this report by the members of the City Council." The Councilmen expressed concurrence with the statement and the recommendations contained therein. Councilman Godfrey moved the Council follow said recommendations with regard to the procedure for the revision of the Charter. The motion was seconded by Councilman Rose and on roll call carried by the following vote. Ayes: Five. Noes: None. Absent: None. Mr. Weller remarked that the Citizens' Committee to be appointed should be given clear instructions on the subject and should literally review the existing Charter section by section. No determination was made as to the exact number of persons to comprise the Citizens' Committee. 3. At this point, Councilman Godfrey moved the Council go into an executive session for its discus- sion of appointments to the several City Boards, Commissions and Agencies. The motion was seconded by Councilman Rose and unanimously carried. Following the deliberations on the matter of said appointments, it was decided that no action would be taken at this meeting. ADJOURNMENT: 4. There being no further business to come before the meeting, the Council adjourned. Respectfully subm ted, y Clerk 13 "