Title
Review and consider grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and codification discrepancies identified in the City Charter; and take appropriate action.
Body
BACKGROUND:
A review of the City Charter identified codification discrepancies that would require correction. The language currently appearing in the codified Charter differs from the adopted ordinances.
The proposed corrections would restore the Charter to the language previously approved by the voters and would not substantively amend its provisions. Several discrepancies appear to have occurred during later compilations, including the City’s transition to word processing in 1989 and subsequent codification and maintenance of the Charter.
The attached documents outline each codification error and the corrections needed. The Committee may also use the language below to determine whether a proposed charter amendment is appropriate to treat grammar and punctuation errors as a single amendment, allowing the City Council to make the necessary changes through ordinance updates.
Below is proposed ballot language prepared by the City Attorney that allows the City Council to make grammatical, spelling, and punctuation updates to the Charter by ordinance amendments.
Sec. 9.21. - Charter renumbering; administrative amendments.
The City Council shall have the power, by ordinance, to renumber articles, sections, subsections, and subparagraphs of this Charter or any amendment thereto, and to correct minor errors of grammar, spelling, typographic, or punctuation, as it shall deem appropriate, without substantive change to any part thereof.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Codification Errors
2. Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation, and Capitalization