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HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.C. Length of Mayoral Term 11111.111111 General Business 7. C. Sal--RAKOI'E E TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Kris Wilson, Assistant City Administrator DATE: 08/05/2015 SUBJECT: Length of Mayoral Term Action Sought The Council recently directed staff to place the issue of changing the term for the office of Mayor from 2 to 4 years on the agenda for discussion. Background Currently, the City of Shakopee has a two-year term for the office of Mayor and a four-year term for City Council seats. According to the League of Minnesota Cities, out of 844 cities in the state of Minnesota, 620 have a two-year term for mayor while 224 have a four-year term. However, when you look at metro-area cities with a population over 30,000, the share with a four-year term for mayor is much higher. The attached listing shows the length of the mayoral term within this group of cities and shows that Shakopee is one of just 4 cities in the group of 23 that have a two-year term for mayor. State law allows a city to change the length of its term for mayor by passing an ordinance, as long as the ordinance is passed at least four weeks prior to the close of the filing period. Therefore, the length of the mayor's term cannot be changed in time for this fall's upcoming election, but if Council so desires, it could direct staff to prepare an ordinance to make the change in time for the November 2017 election. Requested Action The Council is asked to discuss and, if a change in the length of the mayor's term is desired, provide direction to staff to prepare the necessary ordinance for consideration prior to the November 2017 election cycle. Attachments: Length of Mayoral Term in Metro Cities MN Statute on Mayoral Terms Cities over Length of 30,000 pop. Mayor's Term Andover 2 years Apple Valley 4 years Blaine 4 years Bloomington 4 years Brooklyn Center 4 years Brooklyn Park 4 years Burnsville 4 years Coon Rapids 4 years Cottage Grove 4 years Eagan 4 years Eden Prairie 4 years Edina 4 years Inver Grove Heights 2 years Lakeville 2 years Maple Grove 4 years Maplewood 4 years Minnetonka 4 years Plymouth 4 years Richfield 4 years Roseville 4 years Shakopee ' 2 years St. Louis Park 4 years Woodbury 4 years Neighboring Cities Savage 4 years Chaska 2 years Chanhassen 4 years Prior Lake 4 years 1 MINNESOTA STATUTES 2014 412.022 412.022 COUNCIL MAY PROVIDE FOUR-YEAR TERM. Subdivision 1. Procedure. The council may, by ordinance, establish a four-year term or reestablish a two-year term for the office of mayor commencing with the ensuing term,except that in a standard plan city which establishes a four-year term for mayor,the first mayor to serve a four-year term shall be elected at the first election when the clerk is not to be elected. In any case the ordinance shall not affect the term of the mayor elected in the year in which it is adopted unless it is adopted at least four weeks before the closing date for the filing of affidavits of candidacy for such election. Subd. 2. [Repealed, 1976 c 44 s 70] Subd. 3. [Repealed, 1976 c 44 s 70] History: 1967 c 289 s 16; 1969 c 238 s 1; 1973 c 34 s 3; 1973 c 123 art 2 s 1 subd 2; 1976 c 44 s 22; 1984 c 655 art 1 s 64 Copyright©2014 by the Revisor of Statutes,State of Minnesota.All Rights Reserved.