CITY OF EAST PROVIDENCE

RHODE ISLAND

JOURNAL CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION

April 27, 2017

 

 

Present:	Commissioners Desrosiers, Dias, Faria, Kennedy, Lawson, Scienzo, Fazioli, Russo
Absent:	Commissioners Conley, Perry, Rock
Also in Attendance:	Mayor Briden, Mr. Luba and Assistant Solicitor Conley.

 

The Charter Review Commission meets in Room 306 at City Hall and is called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Chairman James M. Russo.                                

 

PUBLIC COMMENT & COMMUNICATIONS

 

Chairman Russo reads a written communication from Mr. Rock, stating his reasons for supporting term limits for the Mayor and Council and suggestions on recall procedures.

 

Thomas Riley, 3620 Pawtucket Avenue (02915) speaks on the Sinking Fund.  He states that the fund should be thought of as a layaway for new equipment to replace old equipment.  He suggests that the item be reviewed and put back in the charter.

 

NEW BUSINESS

Approval of Minutes

 

A motion made by Mr. Scienzo, seconded by Mr. Lawson, to accept the minutes of April 13, 2017, is unanimously passed on a voice vote.

 

Announcements

 

The Chairman hands out copies of motions and votes provided by Mrs. Perry to assist the commission, and notes that they are not the official minutes but are meant as a guide. 

 

He commends Assistant Solicitor Conley are the work he has done for the Commission.

 

Law Department Update

 

Amendments

 

Chairman Russo notes the first amendment made in 2-6 deleted the word “shall” and needs to be added back.  He asks for a motion from the prevailing side to reconsider. 

 

A motion made by Mr. Desrosiers, seconded by Mr. Faria, to reconsider the motion, is unanimously passed on a voice voter.

 

A motion made by Mr. Lawson, seconded by Mr. Desrosiers, to substitute this amendment for the amendment previously passed, is passed unanimously on a voice vote.

 

A motion made by Mr. Desrosiers, seconded by Mr. Scienzo, to approve the substitute amendment, is unanimously passed on a voice vote.

 

The Chairman notes that the next amendment reflects the amendment made last week, regarding the City Solicitor being prohibited from serving as alternate Municipal Court judge, along with other language changes in the municipal court judge section. 

 

A motion made by Mr. Kennedy, seconded by Mr. Desrosiers, to approve this amendment, is unanimously passed on a voice vote.

 

The next item taken up is the Vacancy amendment.  Mr. Desrosiers asks to have each section to be voted on separately.  Chairman indicates they can. 

 

A motion made by Mr. Desrosiers, seconded by Mr. Dias, to vote on each of the sections as presented on an individual basis, is passed unanimously on a voice vote.

 

The amendment to change the term of office for Mayor to a 4- year term is taken up next.

 

A motion made by Mr. Dias, seconded by Mr. Lawson to approve the change to a 4- year term for Mayor, is passed on a roll call vote as follows:

 

Ayes – 6: Dias, Kennedy, Lawson, Scienzo, Fazioli, Russo

Nays – 2: Desrosiers, Faria

 

Chairman states the next amendment has to do with veto section 3-6. 

 

A motion made by Mr. Desrosiers, seconded by Mr. Scienzo to approve the amendment, is unanimously passed on a voice vote.

 

The Chairman states the next amendment has to do with temporary absences section 3-7. 

 

 A motion made by Mr. Desrosiers, seconded by Mr. Faria, to approve the amendment is unanimously passed on a voice vote.

 

The Chairman states the next amendment has to do with vacancies section 3-8.

 

A motion made by Mr. Scienzo, seconded by Mr. Desrosiers, to approve the amendment, is unanimously passed on a voice vote.  

 

 

The Chairman asks to take an item out of order, under section E, regarding wards. 

 

A motion made by Mr. Desrosiers, seconded by Mr. Dias, to take agenda item E out of order, is unanimously passed on a voice vote.

 

Mr. Desrosiers speaks on the ward boundaries and the need to allow the city council to set the boundaries after each census rather than listing the boundaries in the charter.  The amendment leaves sections 12-1 and 12-6 and deletes all other sections pertaining to Wards.  

 

A motion made by Mr. Desrosiers, seconded by Mr. Kennedy, to strike sections 12-2, 3, 4 and 5 it their entirety and to pass amendment as drafted, is unanimously passed on a voice vote

 

The Chairman asks the Assistant Solicitor to speak regarding the open meetings law items and how they relate to section 2-7. Assistant Solicitor Conley responds that they deal with physical delivery of notices to council members and subpoena powers which will take more time to review. 

 

Review and Discussion of Article I, Article II, and Article III

1.      Provisions Suggested by Commission Members and/or the Pubic

a.   Term Limits (by Mr. Lawson)

 

Mr. Lawson speaks on his stance regarding term limits, and says he favors three year limits.  He believes the Mayor should be term-limited. 

 

Mr. Desrosiers states he is interested in hearing the pros and cons on this. 

 

Mr. Faria states he doesn’t believe in term limits as he believes term limits are the ballot box.

 

Chairman Russo agrees with Mr. Faria.  He notes of the 9 mayors 7 do not have term limits. 

 

A motion made by Mr. Lawson, seconded by Mr. Scienzo, to have a 3 year term limit for the Mayor, is defeated on a roll call vote as follows:

 

Ayes – 3:  Dias, Lawson, Scienzo,

Nays – 5:  Desrosiers, Faria, Kennedy, Fazioli, Russo

 

b.   Impeachment Process (by Mr. Desrosiers)

 

At the request of Mr. Desrosiers, it is agreed to pass on this item for now and put the impeachment and recall together.   

 

            c.    Recall (by members of the public)

 

Chairman Russo provides the following information:  Of the 9 Mayor forms of government in the State, Woonsocket is the only one with an impeachment provision for mayor or council and it can be done by the council.  There is a recall provision in Central Falls for mayor.  In Cranston it’s for mayor, council and school committee.  In Johnston there is no recall provision.  In Pawtucket it’s for mayor, council and school committee.  In Providence it’s for mayor, council and school committee who are appointed.  In Woonsocket it’s mayor, council and school committee who are appointed.  Since this was brought up he is interested in a discussion on recall which would include some of the following topics:  does it include all offices, what are the grounds, time restrictions, who initiates, what are the petition requirements, petition certification, how does a recall election get set, what is the timeframe, what percentage of the vote is required for approval, when can it be filed.  He notes that all cities and towns are different and he is interested to hear the commissioner’s thoughts. 

 

After further discussion, Chairman Russo requests the Assistant Solicitor to draft language based on the discussions on the topic, and come back next week where the commissioners will vote on the items and word changes. 

           

Review and Discussion of Articles XI and XII

 

      1. Type of Elections

a. Non-Partisan

b. Ranked choice voting (by member of the public)

 

The Chairman notes he would like to hear from Senator Conley at the next meeting regarding the effects of non-partisan elections at the State House and requests that this item be deferred.

 

A motion made by Mr. Lawson, seconded by Mr. Dias, to defer the topic of partisan elections to the next meeting, is unanimously passed on a voice vote.   

 

Chairman Russo refers members to a submission from the public and asks Assistant Solicitor to explain rank choice voting as noted in the submission.  He also refers to the Voter Choice Study Commission established at the State House a few years ago. 

 

Review and Discussion of Articles IV and V of the Charter of the City of East Providence

 

A motion made by Mr. Desrosiers, seconded by Mr. Dias, is unanimously passed on a roll call vote as follows:

Ayes – 8 Desrosiers, Dias, Faria Kennedy, Lawson, Scienzo, Fazioli, Russo

Nays - 0

 

Mr. Fazioli hands out and speaks on financial information he has researched.  He said at some point he would like to look at these more in depth, but will not be available until May 11^th.  Mr. Faria notes that he also will be out of town and not able to attend the next meeting.

 

Chairman Russo states he will bring recall and partisan elections back at the next meeting and will start the financial issues the following meeting.  He thanks all for staying the extra half hour. 

 

A motion made by Mr. Scienzo, seconded by Mr. Faria, to adjourn is unanimously passed on a voice vote.