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2022-07-12 News Release-Charter Convention recommendations :.►�o' Office of the Mayor n® �f 1yfk '� 1819 Farnam Street,Suite 300 o t-�ls .�'.; Omaha,Nebraska 68183 0300 �'0orry 402:�444 5000 �4T$D i+E9051`4 FAX: 1402)444 6059 City of Omaha Jean Stothert,Mayor July 12, 2022 (Omaha, NE)—The 2022 Charter Study Convention has completed its review of the City of Omaha Charter and recommended 24 amendments to the Omaha City Council for consideration. The Charter requires a comprehensive citizen-led review at least every ten years. The 15 members met between May 16 and July 11. Mayor Jean Stothert selected eight members of the Convention and the City Council members selected seven. The Council then approved the appointees. Amendments to the Charter will be forwarded to the City Council for approval. Amendments that are approved by the Council then appear on a ballot for a public vote. "I am very grateful to the Convention members for a thorough review and thoughtful debate of changes to our Charter that prepare our city for the future," said Mayor Stothert. "Most of the amendments passed by a unanimous vote, so I hope the City Council carefully considers the opinions of these citizens and approves all of the recommendations for a public vote." Charter Amendments passed by Charter Study Convention members and recommended to the City Council: Section 2.02- Qualification of Councilmembers Change: Residency requirement for City Council candidates to'one year or as state law prescribes." (Current state law requires City Council candidates to be residents of the City for six months) Section 2.05 - Removal From, and Forfeiture of the Office of Councilmember Change: "Ceasing to be a resident of the city"to "Ceasing to be a resident of the city council district that they were elected to represent." Section 2.06—Filling Council Vacancies Add: As part of the process of appointing a person to fill a vacancy on the Council,the Council shall have a public hearing in which the applicants,or if there are more than three applicants with at least three finalists they select,to answer questions from the sitting Councilmembers and the public.The Council member who is vacating the seat being filled shall not vote for his/her replacement. Section 2.07— President of the Council Change provisions to designate the Council President as Acting Mayor. Absence: Requires Mayor to notify City Clerk of an absence of more thtin 5 business days and delegates the Council President as "Acting Mayor", OR Mayor requests the President to act as Mayor, OR Mayor becomes disabled. Adds emergency exception that if there is state of emergency and Mayor is unavailable for 2 hours,then Council President becomes Mayor Disability; Deletes the current requirement to convene a medical panel to determine Mayor's ability to serve and replaces it with a requirement similar to the 25th Amendment of the United States Constitution, assigning the Council President as Acting Mayor,and creating a process to further determine if Mayor can return to the office. Section 2.08—Vice-President of the Council Add: In the event that both the President and Vice-President of the Council are absent from the City or unable as a result of a disability to preside over the Council meeting or to serve as Acting Mayor,the line of succession shall be from the longest serving Council member to the shortest serving Council member. Any tie in length of service shall be decided in favor of the Council member who received the higher percentage of the votes in their district in the most recent election. Section2.10—Council Meetings—Quorum Add sections in bold:Thereafter the Council shall meet regularly as its rules may prescribe but not less often than twice each month, unless unable to do so as a result of an emergency as declared by the federal or state government. Special meetings shall be called by the City Clerk upon the written request of the Mayor or any three Council Members The public shall be notified at the same time as the Council Members. Section 2.15—Franchises Recommendation to eliminate this section Section 2.18— Initiative Change requirement for public notice of initiative petitions to "designated daily newspaper". (currently requires publication in each of the daily newspapers of general circulation in the city) Section 3.02-Qualification for the Office of Mayor Change residency requirements for candidates for Mayor to "five consecutive years or as state law prescribes." (Current state law requires Mayoral candidates to be residents of the City for six months.) Section 3.12— Public Works Department Add stormwater management to functions and programs assigned to the Public Works Department Section 5.03—Fund Structure Increase the amount of money in the Cash Reserve to a maximum of 12%of general appropriations. (currently 8% in the Charter) Section 5.06—Consideration and Adoption of Budget by Council Add: There shall be a public hearing prior to the Council adopting any amendment which increases, decreases, inserts or deletes appropriation items. Section 5.16—Purchasing Procedure Increases the purchases that require advertisements for sealed, competitive bids from $20,000 to$50,000. Add: The Purchasing Division shall maintain a copy of and permit public review of all informal bids for a period of two years, except those portions of such informal bids which are deemed to be proprietary by the City Attorney. Add: The City shall have a Small and Emerging Small Business Program which shall be created by ordinance of the Council. The City shall make every good-faith effort feasible to utilize small and emerging small businesses in all city contracts. Section 5.17—Contracts Increases the threshold for contracts that require City Council approval from $20,000 to $50,000. Section 5.21— Disposal of Personal Property Changes responsibility to identify and dispose of unused city property from the Purchasing Division and Purchasing Agent to the Finance Department and Finance Director. Section 5.23—Treasury Management Change the City Treasurer position to a classified position appointed through the competitive testing process. Section 5.26—Power to Incur Indebtedness Add: Require an annual public report summarizing outstanding bonds including principal, rate, terms, balance owed and total anticipated cost of such bonds. Report will be available on City electronic media and by request. Section 7.03—Planning Board Add: Require the Planning Board to consider affordable housing and sustainability of development when considering subdivision and zoning ordinances. Section 7.04 -The Master Plan Add: Including affordability housing development and sustainable development as elements of the Master Plan. Section 7.05—Preparation and Adoption of the Master Plan Add: Require each element of the Master Plan to be reviewed by the Planning Board and City Council at least every 10 years. If no changes are to be made,the city Council shall adopt a resolution recertifying each element of the Master Plan. Section 8.01—Nominations and Elections Add: Candidate petitions shall be available the first Monday in October of the year prior to the primary election. Section 8.02—Civil Rights Add sexual orientation and gender identity to protected categories Section 8.13—Reconstitution of Government in Event of Disaster Add: In the event of a public disaster which results in the death or disability of the Mayor and the entire Council, the surviving member of the Mayor's Cabinet as described by Section 3.08 who has served the City the longest, shall serve as Acting Mayor until the next City election is held. Section 8.15—Amendment and Review of this Charter Add:The members of the Charter Study Convention must be at least 18 years of age and a resident in the city or any area annexed by the city for six months at the time of the appointment.