HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 01 Council Vacancy Charter AmendmentAGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date:
9/20/2021
Meeting Type:
Work Session/Reg. Mtg
Staff Contact/Dept.:
Mary Bridget Smith/CAO
Staff Phone No:
541-744-4061
Estimated Time:
30 Minutes
SPRINGFIELD Council Goals:
Provide Financially
CITY COUNCIL
Responsible and
Innovative Government
DISCUSSION/
Services
ITEM TITLE: COUNCIL VACANCY CHARTER AMENDMENT
2021 evaluating whether to put forward a charter amendment about filling council
ACTION
Provide direction about amending Section 20 of the Springfield Charter regarding
REQUESTED:
filling councilor and mayor vacancies, conducting a poll to gauge the community's
interest and a proposed schedule for placing the proposed amendment on the ballot.
ISSUE
Should the Springfield Charter be amended to provide a time limit for the Council to
STATEMENT:
make an appointment for filling a vacancy and/or should the Charter allow for
successor elections to occur more often than the general biennial election.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Council Briefing Memorandum
Attachment 2: Review of City Charters - Vacancy Process
DISCUSSION/
This item is a continuation of a Council work session discussion on February 22,
FINANCIAL
2021 evaluating whether to put forward a charter amendment about filling council
IMPACT:
and mayor vacancies. The Council Briefing Memorandum follows up on Council
direction about conducting a telephone poll to gauge public interest. It also includes
a survey of charter provisions of the 25 most populous cities in Oregon and a
proposed schedule for placing the amendment on the May 2022 ballot.
MEMORANDUM City of Springfield
Date: 9/20/2021
To: Nancy Newton, City Manager COUNCIL
From: Mary Bridget Smith, City Attorney BRIEFING
Subject: Council Vacancy Charter Amendment MEMORANDUM
ISSUE: Should the Springfield Charter be amended to provide a time limit for the Council to make
an appointment for filling a vacancy and/or should the Charter allow for successor elections to occur
more often than the general biennial election.
COUNCIL GOALS/
MANDATE:
Provide Financially Responsible and Innovative Government Services
BACKGROUND: This item is back before the Council to consider amending the Springfield
Charter provision about filling mayor and councilor vacancies. This memo provides information on
conducting a telephone poll to gauge the public's opinion about a proposed charter amendment, a
more detailed analysis of the vacancy provisions in Charters from other jurisdictions, and a
proposed schedule.
Polling Information:
Background: A telephone poll can provide a random sampling of the community's views on a
particular topic. For this kind of poll to be statistically reliable it should have approximately 400
responses and generally only poll on one topic. The researcher contacts voters and can reach cell
phone numbers. The researcher we spoke with does not recommend doing an online survey in
conjunction with this type of poll because the people who would make the effort to respond to the
online survey would most likely have an opinion about the topic creating a situation where the
online survey results are inconsistent with the polling data. The key aspect of a telephone poll is
keeping the time to a minimum. A good rule is to aim for a five minute call. It takes 6-8 weeks to
conduct a poll and receive the analysis. Cost of a poll corresponds to the number of questions and is
estimated to be approximately $7,000- $10,000.
Process: The polling process steps include developing questions, conducting the poll and evaluating
results. Developing the questions are crucial to an effective poll that the Council can rely on to
make a decision. In previous City polls, staff worked with the consultant on the questions with
Council providing the final approval. The Council also has the option of appointing a subcommittee
to assist in developing the questions, but I would anticipate the need for a Council work session
before the poll is finalized and conducted.
Survey of Charter Vacancy Language in other Communities:
Generally, the two main aspects of vacancy provisions in a Charter relate to a time limit to appoint
an interim councilor or mayor and when the election for the successor will occur. The materials for
the February 22, 2021 Work Session set out a sample of different charter vacancy provisions. The
following table and Attachment 2 provide a more detailed survey of the charter vacancy provisions
for the 25 most populous cities in Oregon.
Attachment 1, Page 1 of 3
Appointment of interim councilor/mayor for entire
Albany
remaining term i.e. no election for a successor
Keizer
Redmond
Woodburn
Forest Grove
Newberg
Appointment of interim councilor/mayor until successor
Gresham
chosen at next general biennial election (November even
Hillsboro
year election)
Bend
Medford
Springfield
Lake Oswego
Grants Pass*
Oregon City
McMinnville
Tualatin
Wilsonville
Successor chosen by Special election at next May or
Eugene
November election
West Linn
Successor chosen by Special election at next available
Portland*
election date
Salem
Beaverton
Corvallis
Tigard
No charter provision
Roseburg
* Grants Pass holds a special election in May if vacancy is after biennial general election.
* Portland's procedure to fill vacancies is complex and depends upon whether the predecessor ran opposed or unopposed
in the prior election.
Table Summary: Appointing an interim Councilor or Mayor until the successor is elected at the next
biennial election is the most common process for filling a vacancy among the largest Oregon cities,
including Springfield. Of the twenty-five (25) most populous Oregon cities, there are eleven (11)
cities that appoint someone to fill a vacancy until the next general biennial election. Six (6) other
cities appoint someone to fill a vacancy for the entire remaining term, with no election to fill a
vacancy regardless of how early in the term the vacancy occurs. There are seven (7) cities that call
for a special election to fill a Council or Mayoral vacancy: two (2) cities call for special elections
only in May or November, and five (5) cities hold a special election at the next available election
date. Of these cities holding a special election, five (5) cities do not hold any election if the vacancy
occurs in the last year of the term. One city, Roseburg, does not have any specific process for filling
a Council vacancy in its charter.
In terms of imposing a time limit on when the council must appoint an interim councilor or mayor,
Bend and Gresham require appointment within 30 days and Eugene within 90 days. Some
jurisdictions, such as Medford, add additional information about filing vacancies in their Municipal
Code. Accompanying Code provisions can provide more direction for filling a vacancy. The
downside to additional Code provisions is that it must be consistent with the Charter and state law,
and the City must ensure that it follows the Code and the Charter provisions when filling a vacancy.
Charter Amendment Process:
Like all cities in Oregon, Springfield operates under a home rule charter and voters approved a new
charter in the early 2000's.
Attachment 1, Page 2 of 3
Process: The process for a city -initiated charter amendment includes developing the proposed
amendment text and corresponding ballot measure, the Council passing a resolution referring the
ballot measure to the voters, filing the appropriate paperwork with the County before the statutory
deadline, publishing the ballot measure in the newspaper and addressing any potential appeals. This
summary does not include any political advocacy activity associated with the ballot measure.
Proposed Schedule for May Primary Election:
September 2021: Hire researcher, develop questions
September 2021: Poll approval at Council Work Session
September/October 2021: Conduct Poll
November/December 2021: Analyze results at Council Work Session
December 2021/January 2022: Draft proposed Charter language and ballot measure
January 2022: Council passes resolution referring ballot measure to voters and submits to County
before February deadline
May 2022: Proposed Charter Amendment on May primary ballot
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Provide direction about whether to move forward with amending
the Springfield Charter, including conducting a poll and the schedule for placing the amendment on
the ballot.
Attachment 1, Page 3 of 3
REVIEW OF CITY CHARTERS — VACANCY PROCESS
Rank
City
Population
Link to Charter
1
Portland
645,291
City of Portland Charter
Special primary election and special
general election held within certain time of
vacancy depending on how close to next
primary and general election and whether
incumbent was opposed in original
election (complex procedure).
2
Salem
169,259
City of Salem Charter
Special Election at next available election
if >1 year left in term.
3
Eugene
168,302
City of Eugene Charter
Must appoint w/in 90 days. Next May or
November election if >1 year left in term.
4
Gresham
110,494
City of Gresham Charter
Must appoint w/in 30 days. Appointment
until next general biennial election.
5
Hillsboro
106,543
City of Hillsboro Charter
Appointment until next general biennial
election.
6
Beaverton
97,861
City of Beaverton Charter
Special Election at next available election
if >1 year left in term. Run-off special
election if no one receives majority of
votes.
7
Bend
93,917
City of Bend Charter
Must appoint w/in 30 days. Appointment
until next general biennial election.
8
Medford
81,145
City of Medford Charter
Appointment until next general biennial
election if >30 days before general
election filing deadline.
9
Springfield
62,077
City of Springfield Charter
Appointment until next general biennial
election.
10
Corvallis
58,028
City of Corvallis
Next special election if >120 days left in
term, if <120 days then person already
elected assumes office right away.
11
Albany
53,521
City of Albany Charter
Appointment for entire term left.
12
Tigard
53,312
City of Tigard Charter
Appointment until next special election
date if >1 year left in term.
13
Lake Oswego
39,127
City of Lake Oswego Charter
Appointment until next general biennial
election if >90 days away.
14
Keizer
38,980
City of Keizer Charter
Appointment for entire term left.
15
Grants Pass
37,545
City of Grants Pass Charter
Appointment until next general biennial
election if >100 days, otherwise next May
special election.
16
Oregon City
36,492
City of Oregon City Charter
Appointment until next general biennial
election.
17
McMinnville
34,010
City of McMinnville Charter
Appointment until next general biennial
election if >60 days away.
18
Redmond
30,167
City of Redmond Charter
Appointment for entire term left.
19
Tualatin
27,527
City of Tualatin Charter
Appointment until next general biennial
election.
20
West Linn
26,656
City of West Linn Charter
Next available May or November election
if >1 year left in term.
21
Woodburn
25,738
Cit of Woodburn Charter
Appointment for entire term left.
22
Forest Grove
24,457
City of Forest Grove Charter
Appointment for entire term left.
23
Wilsonville
24,073
City of Wilsonville Charter
Appointment until next biennial election.
24
Newberg
23,844
City of Newberq Charter
Appointment for entire term left.
25
Roseburg
23,379
City of Roseburg Charter
No explicit terms for filling a vacancy.
Attachment 2, Page 1 of 1