65-2023

REPORT TO COUNCIL

January 19, 2023

The Portland Charter Commission voted December 3, 2022, to submit Charter amendments to the voters on the November 2024 General Election ballot. All amendments were supported by an affirmative vote of at least 15 members. The amendments take effect immediately upon adoption.

Charter Section 13-302 requires that all amendments receiving at least 15 votes of Commission members be submitted to the voters.  

PROPOSED MEASURE 1

The proposed measure deletes the prohibition of mandating the weatherization of structures built before September 1, 1979. The proposed measure amends the following section of the City Charter:

• Delete Charter Section 1-108
  
  Section 1‐108. Mandatory Weatherization for Existing Buildings Requires Vote of the People.
  Except for the provisions of the Building Code of the City of Portland in effect on September 1, 1979, the Council of the City of Portland shall not pass or enforce any ordinance, resolution, law or program mandating weatherization for any building or structure built in the City of Portland prior to September 1, 1979, unless such ordinance, resolution, law or program is referred to the citizens of Portland for a vote. (Add. Nov. 4, 1980.)

PROPOSED MEASURE 2

The proposed measure creates an Independent Portland Elections Commission. The proposed measure amends the following section of the City Charter:

• Add Charter Section 3-401.
  
  CHAPTER 3 – NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS 
  ARTICLE 4. INDEPENDENT PORTLAND ELECTIONS COMMISSION.
  Section 3-401. Authority and Duties.
  
  The Independent Portland Elections Commission is established. The Commission exclusively implements the City’s public financing of elections program as adopted by ordinance. The Commission may also implement any other law or program related to elections, campaign finance or related subjects if delegated by City Council or the Auditor to the Commission.
  
  The Independent Portland Elections Commission consists of nine City residents who collectively represent the City’s diversity. To fill vacancies, the Commission may make non-binding candidate recommendations for Mayoral appointment and City Council confirmation. Commission members may be removed prior to the completion of the member’s term according to this Charter or by a process outlined in the Commission’s bylaws and City Council confirmation.
  
  The Independent Portland Elections Commission annually notifies the Mayor and City Council of the funding required to ensure the solvency of the public financing of elections program and other duties carried out by the Commission. The Commission has a budget as provided by Council.

PROPOSED MEASURE 3

The proposed measure deletes outdated, burdensome, and redundant requirements for franchise agreements. The proposed measure amends the following section of the City Charter:

• Amend Charter Section 10-205
• Amend Charter Section 10-207
• Delete Charter Section 10-208
• Delete Charter Section 10-212
• Amend Charter Section 10-213 [and renumber Sections 10-209 through 10-211 to 10-208 through 10-210]
  
  Section 10-205. Limited Time.
  Franchises may be granted for a limited time in, and upon, under and above the streets, highways and public places and property of the City of Portland, in the manner and subject to the conditions hereinafter contained.
  
  Section 10-207. Method of Granting.
  Every franchise shall be embodied in an ordinance, which shall contain all the terms and conditions of the proposed grant., and shall be filed with the Auditor. Thereupon such proposed ordinance shall be published in full, once in the City official newspaper. There shall also be published, in a conspicuous place in such daily newspaper of the City having a circulation in excess of fifteen thousand (15,000), as the Council may direct, a notice prepared by the Auditor, that an application has been made for a franchise, giving the name of the applicant, the character and location of the proposed grant, and requesting any person having any objections to such proposed franchise or any provisions thereof to file the same in writing with the Auditor within twenty (20) days from the first publication of such notice. If the request is madetherefor, the Council shall fix a time for a hearing upon such objections and give reasonable notice of the time thereof and not less than five (5) days. All of such publications and notices shall be at the expense of the applicants for such franchises.
  
  Such ordinances shall not come up for first reading until after the expiration of the said twenty (20) days.
  
  If such ordinance shall be amended, it shall be republished in the City official newspaper in full as amended.
  
  No such ordinance granting a franchise shall be put on final passage within thirty (30) days after the first reading nor within twenty (20) days after any amendment thereto, and the affirmative vote of nine (9) Councilors shall be required to pass the same.
  
  Section 10-208. Effective Date.
  No franchise shall take effect until sixty (60) days after its passage unless it shall receive a majority of the votes cast thereon at a referendum election held for that purpose within a less time. The filing of a petition for referendum shall defer the taking effect of a franchise until after the election. A petition signed by two thousand (2,000) registered voters shall be sufficient to call a referendum upon any franchise ordinance.
  
  Section 10-212. Written Acceptance.
  Every grantee of any franchise, right or privilege shall within thirty (30) days after the ordinance granting the same shall be enforced, file with the City Auditor Recorder a written acceptance of the same, and a failure on the part of the grantee to file such written acceptance within the time specified shall be deemed an abandonment and rejection of the rights and privileges conferred, and the ordinance granting the same shall thereupon be null and void; such acceptance shall be unqualified and shall be construed to be an acceptance of all the terms, conditions and restrictions contained in the ordinance granting the same.
  
  Section 10-2113. Statements.
  Within ninety (90) days after this Charter shall take effect, the holder of any franchise shall file with the Auditor a full and correct statement of the franchise, rights and privileges owned or claimed to be owned, and shall designate the same by the numbers and titles of the ordinances by which such franchises were granted, and any holder of any franchise, on failure so to do, shall be guilty of an offense punishable by a fine of not less than ten dollars ($10) and not more than one hundred dollars ($100) per day while such refusal or neglect continue. The holder of every franchise, and the grantees of every franchise hereafter granted, on sale, transfer, mortgage or lease being made of such franchise, shall within sixty (60) days thereafter file with the Auditor a copy of the deed, agreement, mortgage, lease, or other written instrument evidencing such sale, transfer or lease, certified and sworn to as correct by the grantee, in person, if an individual, or by the president or secretary or authorized agent, if a corporation.
  
  Every sale, transfer, mortgage or lease of such franchise, whether voluntary or involuntary, shall be deemed void and of no effect unless the grantee shall, within sixty (60) days after the same shall have been made, file such certified copy as required by this Section and consented to as provided in Section 10-216 of this Charter, also unless the Council agrees to such sale by an ordinance expressly passed for that purpose, as provided by Section 10-216.
  
  The Auditor shall file all such documents and shall make and keep an index of the same in a book to be kept by the Auditor for that purpose, which book shall be a part of the public records of the City.

PROPOSED MEASURE 4

The proposed measure deletes vague and archaic language: “roaming the streets at unseasonable hours”; deletes vague and archaic language: “offensive” businesses; updates, and makes consistent, references to “protected classes”; and replaces “disability” with “incapacity” when referencing an elected official’s inability to perform their duties. The proposed measure amends the following section of the City Charter:

• Delete Charter Section 2-105(a)50 [and renumber (a)51 through (a)62 to (a)50 through (a)61]
• Amend Charter Section 2-105(a)36
• Amend Charter Section 2-1008
• Amend Charter Section 4-101
• Amend Charter Section 12-102
• Amend Charter Section 2-206(f)
• Amend Charter Section 2-110
  
  Section 2‐105 Continuation of Specific Powers
  (a) 50. To prohibit persons from roaming the streets at unseasonable hours.
  
  Section 2‐105 Continuation of Specific Powers
  (a) 36. To regulate, restrain and to provide for the exclusion from the City, or any part thereof, of trades, occupations or businesses which are offensive or may in the opinion of the Council create or constitute a nuisance, and to regulate uses of land and structures within the City.
  
  Section 2-1008. Duties of the Board
  (b) All complaints of force that result in injury, discrimination against a protected class under local ordinance, or state or federal law, violations of federal or state constitutional rights.
  
  Section 4-101. Merit Principle.
  All appointments and promotions to positions in the classified service shall be made solely on the basis of merit and fitness demonstrated by a valid and reliable examination or other objective evidence of competence. Such appointments and promotions shall provide fair and equal opportunity without regard to protected classes under local ordinance, or state or federal law race, religion, gender, marital and family status, national origin, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, source of income, and such other criteria as determined by the City Council by ordinance. The goal of the merit system is a workforce that reflects the aspirations and values of the City it serves.
  
  Section 12-102. Regulations and Restrictions.
  The Mayor may make regulations and impose restrictions on public use of parks, recreational areas and facilities as found needed and appropriate, may exclude some or all kinds of vehicles from all or particular areas of any park or facilities, may limit to a particular class or classes of persons those permitted to use any particular area or facility if the limitation is not based on a protected class under local ordinance, or state or federal law race, color, creed or national origin, and may restrict the kinds and times of public use.
  
  Section 2-206. Vacancies in Office, Filling of Vacancies.
  (f)If a vacancy occurs in the office of the Auditor, the Council may fill the office by appointment pending election as provided therein.
  
  (g) In the event of the death or disability incapacity preventing the performance of six (6) or more Councilors due to natural disaster, calamity, accident or enemy attack, the following City officials in the order named succeed to the vacancies on the City Council: Chiefs of Staff of deceased or disabled incapacitated Councilors, City Administrator, City Attorney, City Auditor and Mayor. In the event of the death or disability incapacity preventing the performance of the Mayor due to natural disaster, calamity, accident or enemy attack, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff succeeds to the vacancy. A Councilor or Mayor may resume performance if the disability incapacity no longer prevents performance.
  
  Section 2-110. Organization
  At its first regular meeting each calendar year, or oftener at its option, the Council shall elect a President and Vice President by majority vote of those present. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Council. In the President’s absence or disability incapacity, the Vice President of the Council shall perform the duties of the President. In the absence or disability incapacity of both President and Vice President, the other members of the Council shall select one of their number to perform the duties of President and Vice President during such absence.

PROPOSED MEASURE 5

The proposed measure clarifies language to reflect the City’s existing roles to protect recreational and natural resources, and to protect and manage water, sewage, and stormwater. The proposed measure amends the following section of the City Charter:

• Amend Charter Section 12-101
• Add Charter Section 2-105(a)62
• Amend Charter Section 11-301
• Amend Charter Section 11-302
  
  ARTICLE 1. RECREATIONAL AND NATURAL AREAS.
  Section 12-101. Parks and Recreational Areas and Facilities. General Authority.
  The City may establish parks, playgrounds, forests, wetlands and human-built or natural recreation areas and facilities of all kinds, either inside or outside the City (“recreational and natural areas”). For that purpose, the City may acquire by purchase, condemnation, gift, grant, donation, exchange or otherwise, real and personal property and any interest therein;, and may rent or lease property of any kind for public use;. and may construct, reconstruct, remodel, alter, repair, maintain, improve and equip areas and facilities which the Council City finds necessary, appropriate or desirable, either inside or outside the City. The City may exchange any property for other property which it deems more suitable or convenient for the use or protection of recreational and natural areas park and recreation use, and the City may dispose of the property not needed for those purposes. The City may construct, reconstruct, remodel, alter, repair, preserve, restore, maintain, improve and equip recreational and natural areas.
  
  The City may establish, alter or discontinue programs, services and exhibits and conduct programs for the education or enjoyment of the public or for the protection of recreational and natural areas. the furtherance of public enjoyment and recreation, and may change, alter or discontinue them. The Council City may construct, reconstruct, alter, remodel, furnish and equip improvements found necessary or appropriate for the convenience of the public using park and recreation facilities, or of persons or employees conducting or assisting park or recreational programs or maintaining parks, areas, facilities, or improvements. The Mayor may contract with any public or private person in any matter relating to programs, services or exhibits programs. The City may do all things the City finds necessary or convenient to promote recreational and natural areas. facilities and aesthetic enjoyment of the people, and the beautification of City property.
  
  Section 2-105. Continuation of Specific Powers
  (a) 62 To protect, restore, remediate, or alter channels, riparian areas, and floodplains of streams; improve waterfronts; protect, restore, expand, fill, or grade lakes, ponds, wetlands and other waters, natural systems, or constructed equivalents; increase or diminish the flow of waters over or into land, or in natural or artificial channels, and purify those waters; and perform all acts and things found necessary or appropriate therefor. The City may fix and assess charges for all of the foregoing acts and things. The City may assess such charges along with or distinct from sewer, water, and other charges to the extent that they are reasonably related to sewage and storm drainage conveyance, disposal, and purification.
  
  Section 11-301. Sewage and Storm Drainage Conveyance, Disposal, and or Purification System.
  The City may protect, restore, construct, reconstruct, remediate, enlarge, alter, modify, equip, operate and maintain a sewage and stormwater drainage conveyance, disposal, and or sewage purification system within or without the corporate limits or both, including but not limited to: all methods of storm drainage, including the use of natural systems and constructed equivalents, intercepting sewers, diversion sewers, relieving or interconnection sewers, sewers to separate storm and sanitary sewage, pump or ejector stations and equipment, and plants for the treatment and disposal of sewage. For that purpose the City may acquire by any lawful means property, real or personal, interests in property, equipment, and related facilities and may make all expenditures which the City finds necessary or appropriate to carry out such purposes, either within or without the corporate limits. The City may sell or otherwise dispose of any or all by-products or salvage products from this operation. The City also may contract with any other person, public or private, to further purification of public waters or protection of the public health.
  
  Section 11-302. Service Charges.
  For all purposes relating to design, construction, acquisition, operation, maintenance and contract requirements of sewage treatment or purification facilities and related facilities, the City may fix fees and charges for connection or use or both of sewers and sewage purification or disposal systems to be paid by property which is served or is capable of being served for use of the sewage disposal system. Sewer user s Service charges may be collected by the Water Bureau, which shall be compensated for such service as determined by the Council City. The City may establish procedures for collection and may provide for penalties, interest and costs. The City may establish requirements and impose regulations as it finds appropriate. Sewer user s Service charges shall be paid for all premises connected with City sewers served by, capable of being served by, or benefiting from the sewage and storm drainage conveyance, disposal, and purification system, directly or indirectly, notwithstanding that such premises may have been assessed or may in the future be assessed for construction of sewers the sewage and storm drainage conveyance, disposal, and purification system under local improvement assessment procedures or may have otherwise paid for sewers therefor.
  
  The City may enter into contracts relating to the sewage and storm drainage conveyance, disposal, treatment or and purification system or all such functions. The City may impose service charges forsewage transportation, disposal, treatment or purification or any or all such functions, on property outside the City served through City facilities, at rates no less than those imposed for similar service inside the City to similar classifications.
  
  Proceeds of such charges shall be placed in the Sewage Disposal Fund, and may be expended for any matter reasonably related to the sewage and storm drainage conveyance, disposal and purification connected with the sewer or sewage disposal or treatment system of the City, and bonded debt and debt service related thereto.

The City Attorney’s Office is preparing the ballot titles and explanatory statements for the measures. After allowing for any ballot title challenges, my office will file the measures with County elections officials to be placed on the November 2024 General Election ballot. The measures are considered referred once the City Auditor files and County elections officials receive the Notice of Measure Election forms.

The Charter Commission also prepared a report that summarizes its work. Please see Exhibit A for the Charter Commission’s Progress Report.