Title
Amending Chapter 4 of the Administrative Code relating to the Office of the City Clerk.
Body
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAINT PAUL DOES ORDAIN:
Section 1
Chapter 4 of the Administrative Code is amended to read as follows:
Chapter 4. - Office of the City Clerk
Sec. 4.01. - Appointment.
The city clerk shall be appointed by the mayor city council by resolution, with the advice and consent of the council, and he/she shall be qualified by training and experience to perform the duties of his/her office.
Sec. 4.02. - Powers and duties.
The city clerk shall:
(1) Maintain and preserve the minutes and records of the proceedings of the city council in accordance with the Charter and the proceedings of all council committees.
(2) Be the legal custodian of and maintain official copies of all ordinances and resolutions of the council.
(3) Cause all notices of regular and special meetings of the city council to be served in accordance with state statutes, Charter provisions, city ordinances and the rules of the council, and as directed by the president of the council.
(4) Cause the publication of all notices of public hearings as required by the Charter or other applicable law.
(5) Have custody of the seal of the city and affix it to such documents as may be required and authorized pursuant to law.
(6) Publish the Saint Paul Legislative Code and the Saint Paul Administrative Code, with amendments thereto, as adopted by the city council and effective pursuant to section 6.11 of the Charter, and to make such codes, together with such amendments thereto, available for sale to the general public. The Legislative Code shall contain the Charter of the City of Saint Paul, all legislative ordinances, an alphabetical index, and such other information as the clerk deems desirable and practicable. The Administrative Code shall contain all administrative ordinances, rules for the conduct of city government and the city council, an alphabetical index, and such other information as the clerk deems desirable and practicable.
(7) Renumber, and correct clerical or typographical errors in preparing copy for editions of the Legislative and Administrative codes, and amendments thereto, In doing so, the clerk shall not alter the sense, meaning or effect of any legislative act, but may after consultation with the city attorney renumber sections, subdivisions or clauses and parts of sections, subdivisions or clauses thereof, change the wording of headnotes and titles; rearrange sections, subdivisions or clauses; combine sections, subdivisions or clauses into other sections, subdivisions or clauses or both; change reference numbers to agree with renumbered chapters, sections, subdivisions or clauses; substitute the proper section, chapter, subdivision or clause numbers for the terms "this ordinance," "the preceding section," and the like; substitute figures for written words and vice versa; change capitalization for the purpose of uniformity; and correct manifest clerical or typographical errors.
(8) Offer the Legislative Code and the Administrative Code and supplements thereto for public sale at a price equivalent to the per unit costs of each. To the extent that appropriations are available therefor, the city clerk is directed to distribute without charge copies of the Legislative and Administrative Codes and supplements thereto to the judges of all courts, to the constitutional officers of the state and to such state departments as would have need of the same and to all city offices in the numbers requested, and to the Saint Paul Public Library and the state law library.
Sec. 4.03. - Accessible to public.
(a) The city clerk shall be responsible for giving information and direction to private citizens having business with the city, its departments and agencies.
(b) The city clerk shall keep all minutes, records, proceedings, official books, papers and documents charged to his/her care in such arrangement and condition as to make them easily accessible for convenient use. He/she shall be responsible for the preservation and care of such records and shall take necessary steps to carefully protect and preserve them from deterioration, mutilation, loss or destruction. Records or record books may be repaired, renovated or rebound when necessary for proper preservation. Photographic, photostatic or microfilmed records shall be considered accessible for such purposes. Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, he/she shall permit all such public records in his/her custody to be inspected, examined, abstracted or copied during normal business hours subject to his/her supervision and regulation. He/she shall, upon demand of any person, furnish certified copies thereof upon payment in advance of reasonable fees therefor.
Sec. 4.04. - Elections.
(a) Commissioner of registration. The city clerk shall serve as the commissioner of registration for the city and provide such printed forms, blanks and other supplies and equipment as are necessary and proper to carry out the registration of qualified voters as prescribed by law. The office shall establish and keep, pursuant to statute, a plan of registration, including an original record of voters, properly indexed and safeguarded, and a duplicate registration file open to reasonable public inspection.
(b) Conduct of elections. The city clerk shall give public notice of the time and place of the holding of all municipal elections, including the hours during which polls will be open, by posting in every election district appropriate election notices containing a list of offices to be filled at such election. He/she shall take all other necessary steps to ensure that the conduct and procedure of all elections are governed in accordance with applicable state laws and such supplementary ordinances as are adopted by the council.
Sec. 4.05. - Petitions.
Any petition seeking initiative, referendum or recall shall be filed with the city clerk, who, immediately upon receipt of such petition, shall examine same as to its sufficiency and report to the council in accordance with the Charter. The city clerk shall deliver a copy of a petition determined insufficient or irregular pursuant to the Charter to the person or persons therein specified to receive it, along with a written statement of its defects.
Sec. 4.06 - Signing Authority
In the absence of the city clerk, the director of council operations shall have signing authority for all documents needing the signature of the city clerk.
Section 2
This ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after its passage, approval, and publication.