City Council Meeting Date: September 9, 2025
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Ben Martig, City Administrator
Title
Consider Ordinance 1084 Charter Amendment to Section 3.5 of the City Charter (Second Reading).
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council will approve the second reading of Ordinance 1084 Amending SECTION 1. Northfield City Charter, Chapter Three. - Form of Government, Section 3.5. - Vacancies in the Council or in the Office of Mayor will immediately follow the public hearing. The Council approved the first reading of this ordinance at the August 19, 2025 Council meeting.
Note: Charter amendments require a unanimous vote of all seven members of the City Council to pass.
Summary Report:
The Northfield Charter Commission adopted the attached proposed changes to Northfield Charter Section 3.5 at their May 8, 2025 meeting and reaffirmed at their July 10, 2025 meeting. Charter Commission Chair Lance Heisler submitted the amendment to the City Administrator via email on July 14, 2025. Heisler requested that staff initiate the posting, publication requirements for consideration of this ordinance and put it on the City Council agenda. The Northfield City Council officially accepted the proposed amendments and called for a public hearing at their July 22, 2025 City Council meeting.
The Charter Commission began reviewing section 3.5 at their November 10, 2022 meeting. The issue in review was how section 3.5 addressed the timing of a vacancy on the City Council. The current wording of section 3.5 may cause confusion regarding the process as it relates to filling vacancies on the City Council in a year in which a regular election for one or more city council seats is pending. This issue came to light after the 2022 resignation of a former Council Member when staff realized that only a few days difference in the resignation notification from that Council Member could have drastic differences in how the vacancy was handled.
A Charte...
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