Charter Commission Meeting Date: March 12, 2026
To: Members of the Charter Commission
From: CC Linstroth, Charter Commission Chair
Title
Election of Officer - Secretary.
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield Charter Commission is asked to elect a member to serve in the role of Secretary for 2026.
Summary Report:
The role of Chair and Vice-Chair were elected at the January meeting, but the role of Secretary was not elected. The Charter Commission is asked to elect a member to serve in that role. Per the Charter Commission Polices, duties of the Secretary are noted below. However, a discussion on a review of these duties is a separate item on the meeting agenda.
SECRETARY
A. Responsible for Charter Commission records, minutes, and correspondence.
B. Attend all Charter Commission meetings.
C. Type, copy, and mail all minutes, letters, and proposed charter amendments and proposed ordinances passed by the Commission.
D. Update membership roster, mailing list, roll call list, membership files and related documents and updates to the website.
The following process, according to Robert’s Rules of Order, is proposed to be used for this selection:
1. Chair announces that “we will take nominations for the position of Secretary from members of the floor for the office of “Secretary.”
a. Any member may then call out, for example “I nominate fill in name,” without needing to be recognized by the chair. No seconds are necessary. The chair then announces, “Fill in name is nominated.”
b. When it appears that everyone who wishes to make a nomination, the Chair says, “Are there any further nominations? [Pause.] If not, [pause] nominations are closed.”
c. Individuals who were nominated could choose to remove themselves from consideration of appointment. They should state “I respectfully decline my nomination.”
d. If only one candidate has been nominated for an office, the chair simply declares the nominee elected.
e. If there is more than one candidate a written ballot process will be conducted with the one receiving majority approval. Staff will have paper and pencils available at the meeting for the ballot vote. The election becomes final when the chair announces the result of the candidate is present and does not decline or is absent but has previously consented to serve. Otherwise, it becomes final when an absent candidate is notified and does not immediately decline.
City Plans & Policies Relevance:
N/A
Alternative Options:
N/A
Financial Impacts:
N/A
Tentative Timelines:
N/A