[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.
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.
