[Adopted 11-4-1996 by L.L. No. 5-1996]
A. 
The Common Council finds and declares that the Charter of the City of Albany no longer reflects the organization or administration of present-day government and needs careful review and revision. The Council intends, upon the recommendation of the Common Council ad hoc Charter Reform Committee, to create, in cooperation with the Mayor, an Albany Charter Revision Commission to draft a new or revised City Charter in accordance with § 36(2)(a) of the state Municipal Home Rule Law.
B. 
It is the intent of the Council to form a Commission that adequately represents the diverse population and viewpoints in the City of Albany, including race and gender. It is also the intent of the Common Council that the Albany Charter Revision Commission subject its findings and recommendations to public scrutiny and discussion on an ongoing basis throughout its term. The Commission should base its recommendations on the long-term best interests of the City.
A. 
The Albany Charter Revision Commission is hereby created to oversee and administer the drafting, adoption and implementation of a new or revised Charter for the City of Albany in accordance with Part 2 of Article 4 of the Municipal Home Rule Law.
B. 
The Commission shall be comprised of 19 members, designated and appointed as follows:
(1) 
Three members shall be named by the Mayor and appointed as Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary of the Commission.
(2) 
One member shall be named by the President of the Common Council.
(3) 
Fifteen members shall be selected by recommendation of the members of the Common Council in the following manner:
(a) 
Each Council member will submit up to three resumes reflecting his/her recommendations. The President of the Common Council will appoint a representative to the Commission from each Council member's recommendations. In the event that the President declines to select a Commission member from the recommendations made by the Council member, the President shall notify said Council member of his decision and the reasons for his decision in writing and shall give the Council member three days to submit one additional recommendation for the President's consideration. In the event that the President declines to appoint a Council member's additional recommendation, the President shall appoint a Commission member subject to the approval by a majority vote of the Common Council.
(b) 
In the absence of a recommendation by a Council member, the Mayor shall select and appoint a Commission member on behalf of the Council member subject to the approval by a majority vote of the Common Council.
(4) 
The appointment of Commission members is intended to be nonpartisan. Residency within the City of Albany shall not be necessary to be eligible for appointment, nor shall Council members be required to recommend only residents of their Ward. No person shall be disqualified to serve as a member, employee or consultant of the Commission by reason of holding any other public office or employment, nor shall he/she forfeit any such office or employment by reason of his/her appointment hereunder, notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local law, ordinance or City Charter.
C. 
The terms of office of the members of the Commission shall expire on the day of the election at which the proposed new Charter or Charter amendments prepared by the Commission are submitted to the qualified electors of the City, or on November 3, 1998, if no such questions have been submitted by that time.
A. 
The Charter Commission created hereby shall review Albany's entire Charter and prepare a draft of a proposed new or revised Charter. If the Commission shall decide to leave a part of the existing Charter unchanged, it may propose, in one or more amendments, a revision of the remaining parts. In such case it shall make a report to the public, accompanying its proposal, in which it shall refer specifically to such unchanged part and explain its decision to leave such part unchanged. The proposed Charter or such amendments may contain such provisions or effect such results as may be made or effected by local law under the provisions of the Municipal Home Rule Law, and, subject to the provisions of Paragraph (c) of Subdivision 4 of § 10 thereof, may contain any provisions of the existing Charter deemed necessary to make a complete Charter or appropriate amendments to the existing Charter, with such changes in the headings and in the numbering of the titles, articles, chapters, sections and subdivisions wherein such provisions are found in the existing Charter as may be deemed appropriate to correlate and coordinate them with the other provisions in the proposed new or revised Charter and with such changes in the text of such provisions as may be deemed desirable to clarify the meaning of such provisions, and to vest in any of the officers of the City provided for in the proposed new or revised Charter any power or authority contained in such provisions.
B. 
Such new Charter or amendments shall be completed and filed in the office of the City Clerk in time for submission to the electors not later than the general election to be held November 3, 1998. The Charter Commission shall provide for the publication or other publicity in respect to the provisions of the proposed Charter or amendments as it may deem proper, and for submission thereof to the electors of the City at a general or special election held not earlier than 60 days after the filing thereof in the office of the City Clerk and not later than the next general election which does not occur within the said 60 days; provided, however, that if such general election occurs within 90 days after the said filing, the proposed Charter or amendments shall be submitted at such general election. At such election, if a proposed new Charter is submitted as a single proposal, there shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the City the question: "Shall the new City Charter proposed by the City Charter Commission be adopted?" The Charter Commission may, however, require that its proposed Charter be submitted in two or more parts so arranged that corresponding parts of the existing Charter shall remain in effect if one or more of such parts are not adopted or may, in lieu of a new Charter, submit a revision of the existing Charter in one or more amendments and may also submit alternative Charters or amendments or alternative provisions to supersede designated portions of a proposed Charter or amendment if adopted. In such case the Charter Commission shall prescribe the form of the questions to be submitted, which shall be such as to clearly indicate the effect of their approval.
C. 
No provision for the election of any elective officers by any system of proportional representation shall become effective under the provisions of this section unless a definite question with respect to the adoption of such system for the election of such officers shall have been submitted as a separate question and separately approved at the same election by the affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified electors voting thereon.
D. 
If any question submitted by the Charter Commission receives the affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified electors of the City voting thereon, the proposal submitted thereby shall take effect as specified therein and the new Charter or the amendment or amendments to the existing Charter as so proposed shall become operative as prescribed therein; except that if there is a conflict between the provisions of two or more proposals approved by the electors at the same election, the proposal receiving the largest number of affirmative votes shall prevail to the extent of such conflict.
E. 
At any election at which any question or questions shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the City by a Charter Commission pursuant to this section or within 60 days thereafter, no other question or questions shall be submitted except by another Charter Commission if such other question or questions involve or relate directly or indirectly to the adoption of a new City Charter, the amendment of a City Charter, Charter revision, the establishment of a Commission to draft a new or revised City Charter, or the functions, powers or duties of any elective officer of the City, except as provided in Subsection G of this section.
F. 
While a Charter Commission is in existence under the provisions of this section, the local legislative body shall not submit to the electors any of the questions specified in Subsection E except as provided in Subsection G of this section.
G. 
If a proposed local law submitted pursuant to § 37 of the Municipal Home Rule Law would under the provisions of such section be submitted at a general election at which a question or questions submitted by a Charter Commission are to be voted on, such local law shall not be submitted at such election but shall be submitted at the general election in the year following, regardless of other questions which may be voted on at the latter election and notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this title.
The Charter Commission created hereby shall also be subject to the following provisions:
A. 
The Commission shall conduct public hearings. It shall conduct such public hearings at such times and at such places within the City as it shall deem necessary. The Commission shall also have power to conduct private hearings, take testimony, subpoena witnesses and require the production of books, papers and records. The Commission shall prepare a preliminary draft of a proposed new or revised Charter for public comment and discussion on or before January 3, 1998.
B. 
Members of the Commission shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be reimbursed for the actual and necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties.
C. 
The Commission shall by majority vote appoint and may at its pleasure remove such employees and consultants as it shall require and fix their compensation and may accept any services, facilities or funds and use or expend the same for its purposes. On request of the Commission, the Mayor may direct any board, body, officer or employee of the City to cooperate with, assist, advise, provide facilities, materials or date and render services to the Commission. The Commission shall not use or expend any City funds not duly appropriated.
D. 
In addition to action under any other power to make appropriations for the support of a Charter Commission, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment of the City shall have power, on request of the Commission, to appropriate to such Commission such sum or sums as shall be necessary to defray its expenses and, in the event that the Board of Estimate and Apportionment does not take affirmative action to provide such sum or sums within 45 days of the Commission's request, the Mayor of the City shall have power to authorize, by certificate filed with the Comptroller, the Commission to incur liabilities and expenses as specified by the Mayor, but within the sum or sums so requested, which shall be a charge against the City and which shall be audited and paid by the Comptroller. In the alternative to mayoral certification, the Common Council may authorize by ordinance the Commission to incur liability and expenses.
E. 
The provisions of the Election Law or any other law relating to the submission of questions at general elections, so far as the same are applicable and not inconsistent herewith, shall apply to a question submitted pursuant to the provisions of this section.
F. 
The Commission shall adopt rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this Part to govern its operations and procedures.