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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Charter Committee - 05/25/2023 - Public Input SessionCITY CHARTER COMMITTEE PUBLIC INPUT SESSION 25 MAY 2023 The South Burlington City Charter Committee held a public input session on Thursday, 25 May 2023, at 7:00 p.m., in Conference Room 301, City Hall, 180 Market Street. COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: P. Taylor, Chair; A. Lalonde, D. Kinville, P. Engels, C. Higgins, K. Bailey, C. Hafter, ALSO PRESENT: J. Baker, City Manager, M. Emery, D. Albrecht, C. Trombly, E. Fitzgerald, L. Bailey, T. Bailey, L. Vera, A. Pugh, J. Dinklage, B. Britt, B. Milizia, E. Krasnow, L. Kupferman, M. Simoneau, D. Philibert, V. S. Wylder, S. Dooley, D. Boyle, J. Wagner, H. Riehle other members of the public Mr. Taylor welcomed members of the public. City Charter Committee members introduced themselves. Mr. Taylor then reviewed the history of the Committee’s charge from the City Council which included looking at different forms of local government, options for voting, and the size of the City Council and School Board. He referred to an outline of advantages and disadvantages of various options that have been considered. These include voting at large or by wards/districts, a possible increase to the number of City Councilors and/or School Board members, and the various forms of city government (e.g., strong or weak mayor, city manager, etc.) Mr. Taylor stressed that the Committee has tried not to take a direction but to encourage the public to look at all the options. He reminded residents of the survey on the city’s website and encouraged people to complete it. Ms. Baker noted there are now 94 responses. Mr. Taylor said the survey will be available through mid-June. He also noted that members of the City Charter Committee are available to speak to any local groups that would like to have a presentation. The Committee will present its report and recommendations to the City Council in September. If the Council chooses to make any changes to the City Charter, those changes would be voted by the public in the March 2024 local election. If the vote passes, the changes would go to the State Legislature whose action could take time so that any changes would probably not happen until 2026. The floor was then opened for public comment. Mr. Bailey: He asked whether the Committee had discussed that any transition process would happen. Mr. Taylor responded that the Legislature usually provides an implementation CITY CHARTER COMMITTEE PUBLIC INPUT SESSION 25 MAY 2023 PAGE 2 date, so any changes would come back to the city to implement. Mr. Hafter said he would not want to see the City Council and School Board make changes at the same time. Mr. Bailey said he did not think that “at large” voting was representative of the whole city, and he favored a representative system, possibly 5 districts with 2 representatives from each district. He also favored having the Planning Commission elected on the same basis as they are a very important body which drafts regulations. Mr. Taylor noted that if the city went to legislative districts, 3 or 4 of the current City Councilors could not run. Ms. Vera suggested a possible grandfathering to allow for some transition. She expressed concern that it takes only 3 School Board members to dismiss a Superintendent. She also noted that it is very easy to “get stuck where we are.” Mr. Engels noted that there are 2 Legislative districts in the Southeast Quadrant, so they would still be represented by 2 of the 5 voting districts. Mr. Wylder: Spoke in favor of a proportional representation system (i.e., ranked voting) with at least 3 people elected at large. He did not want to see voting districts. Ms. Pugh: cautioned against using legislative districts if the intention to vote by district as the legislative districts change every 10 years when there is a census. Mr. Britt: asked whether going from 5 to 7 City Councilors would decrease the burden on Councilors or whether it would be mostly the same. Ms. Emery said she didn’t think it would because the Council doesn’t do a lot of committee work now. She stressed that anyone who does the job should have a lot of energy. Mr. Kupferman: He noted that he didn’t see anything about party affiliations. Mr. Hafter said the Committee is assuming that the City Manager would continue to be non-partisan. A mayor would probably be a partisan position. Ms. Kinville noted that this was not one of the Committee’s charges. Ms. Dooley: Noted that South Burlington has 20,000 residents in neighborhoods that have different needs (e.g., the effect of student housing, the Airport, traffic, etc.). She felt people can pay attention to both districts and the whole city. She supported a non-partisan system. She also felt that having 6 councilors would require 4 votes instead of 3 to pass an item, and she supported that. She favored no “at large” Councilors because of the cost of running. CITY CHARTER COMMITTEE PUBLIC INPUT SESSION 25 MAY 2023 PAGE 3 Ms. L. Bailey: Supported voting by districts with no “at large.” She also opposed partisan voting. Mr. Albrecht: gave Committee members a handout regarding population by legislative districts and types of residences in those districts. He noted the city is growing, but mainly in certain parts of the city. He also noted that by the time any changes occur, the legislative districts would be 5 years out of date. He felt there are basically 4 districts in the city. Ms. Kinville noted the confusion that can occur on election day with voters wondering why someone is not on their ballot because of different legislative districts. She said there could be 2 or 3 voting districts in one polling location which could be confusing. Mr. Bailey suggested that each district could have its own polling location. Mr. Trombly: Preferred non-poliitical (partisan) voting. He said what he likes about the City of Burlington voting is having people elected from a particular area where they can advocate for a little local issue. He did not like at large voting because it can dilute minority perspectives. He suggested possibly having 5 City Councilors elected by district and 2 at large. He suggested looking at the South Portland, Maine, system which he felt was excellent. Ms. Vera: Did not want to see a Mayor. Ms. Riehle: Also opposed an elected Mayor. She said the city has had very excellent City Managers, people with experience managing a municipality. She felt it would be hard to keep a good City Manager if there were a politically elected Mayor. Mr. Dinklage: Agreed with Ms. Riehle and cited conflicts in the City of Burlington between the Mayor and City Council. He didn’t favor either a weak or strong mayor. Ms. Dooley noted the Burlington Mayor has no vote but can veto a City Council action. Ms. Philibert: Supported a non-partisan approach. Mr. Simoneau: Also favored a non-partisan system. He noted that fewer than 25% of registered voters voted in the last local election. He favored an approach that encourages more engagement, more representation. He said the city has the ability to try to be equitable, and there are a lot of untapped resources. He added that the community would be more vital with more public participation. Mr. Engels suggested possibly having the City Council elected in November when there is more voter participation. CITY CHARTER COMMITTEE PUBIC INPUT SESSION 25 MAY 2023 PAGE 4 Mr. Kupferman: He observed that the people speaking at this meeting were single-family home dwellers who have lived in the city for a long time. Mr. Bailey: Agreed with Mr. Simoneau on the need for a more representative system for the City Council, the School Board and the Planning Commission. He was also curious as to what Burlington May Weinberger would have to say. Ms. Dooley: Said it would be easier for voters to “study” people running in their district than people running at large. She asked when the highest March voter participation occurred. Ms. Kinville said it was when ballots were mailed to every voter in the last Presidential Primary. Caitlin: Would like to see more members on the School Board for more representation. She said the Board members are volunteers, most of whom work full time. She also noted that only 20% of the South Burlington voters have children in the school system. Mr. Wylder: Favored a ranked voting system for the School Board as well as the City Council. He offered to provide information on this type of system. He added that South Burlington has a great City Manager system. Ms. Emery: Noted she has served on the City Council for 14 years and felt the current system works though she thought districts were worth pursuing. She was concerned that finding candidates might be harder with districts. Regarding a Mayor, she said City Managers are wonderful, not political, and South Burlington has a stellar one now. She also noted there have been some challenged positions on recent ballots, and she felt people were looking for diversity of opinions. Ms. Kate Bailey: Reminded people that the City Charter was established in the 1970’s, and that people then could not anticipate the future. She felt the School Board could mirror or be different from the City Council. She stressed that the School Board piece of this is different. Ms. Milizia: Asked whether there is a 25% voter turnout in all areas of the city. Ms. Kinville said it is relatively close with one area a little behind. These results are on the city’s website. Ms. Krasnow: Urged people to fill out the survey. She felt she learned a lot from this discussion. CITY CHARTER COMMITTEE PUBLIC INPUT SESSION 25 MAY 2023 PAGTE 5 Mr. Bailey: Asked Kate Bailey if she would like to see more School Board members. Ms. Bailey noted that there are now 5, most of whom are new. She works full time, and there is a lot of School Board work to do. She added that it is challenging with a small board and when a quorum is only 3 members. With more members, there could be more committee work, especially with negotiations which took up her entire year last year. She noted the City Council handles negotiations differently. Ms. Vera: Still wants to encourage having a way to get more representation on the City Council so it feels more neighborhood related. She noted that she lives in the Queen City Park area, and it took a long time to get the Council to become involved in the current Burton situation. Residents had to raise money on their own before the Council acted. She also noted that there are so many people who have no idea what is going on in the City Council, the Planning Commission, etc. She stressed that City Councilors should represent neighborhoods. Mr. Albrecht: Agreed with Ms. Vera but said the city did not have to use legislative districts. Ms. Kate Bailey: Said the reason there are no new schools in the city is because of who is voting. She also noted that the difference among the three elementary schools is dramatic, 2 of which are overcrowded by more than 100 students. She felt the Middle School and High School are great equalizing pieces of the city with the whole city in one school. She cautioned against throwing all the eggs into a geographic basket when the problem they are trying to solve is an income issue. Mr. Taylor reminded residents to complete the survey which appears on the city’s website. As there was no further public or committee input, the session ended at 8:24 p.m.