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<br />Councilmember Jacobsen indicated there was a lot of information for the Council to take in regarding the law <br />change. He supported the Council discussing this matter further at a future worksession with City Clerk <br />Spangrud. <br /> <br />Mayor Johnson commented the new law does state, the Council could shorten or lengthen terms. <br /> <br />Councilmember Bauman discussed Option 3. She believed that voters should have known about a potential <br />change to term lengths when they voted in November. She feared the Council would volley back and forth <br />between odd and even year elections in order to lengthen terms in the future. <br /> <br />Councilmember Strub stated the City of Shakopee changed the terms of their officials last year as the law <br />allows. He indicated the State has given cities the authority to change terms in order to allow for even or odd <br />year elections. <br /> <br />Mayor Johnson encouraged the Council to recognize the fact that elections do cost money. She questioned if <br />residents wanted to spend money on another election, or to consolidate elections into even numbered years, <br />with the understanding this would lengthen terms of several Councilmembers. While she understood voter <br />turnout was quite good for the 2017 election, she believed this had a great deal to do with the school <br />referendum. <br /> <br />Councilmember Jacobsen supported the Council holding another discussion regarding elections with the City <br />Clerk present in order to better understand the expense of odd and even year elections. <br /> <br />Mayor Johnson asked if Councilmember Jacobsen believed residents wanted to pay for odd year elections or <br />see a Councilmember’s term lengthened. <br /> <br />Councilmember Jacobsen believed this was a difficult question to answer, but he did understand that residents <br />were surprised the City was paying for elections every year. <br /> <br />Councilmember Burg stated she supported elections moving to even numbered years. She indicated this would <br />be a more cost-efficient model for the City to follow. She discussed the benefit of having more people <br />participating in local elections and how this would positively impact local democracy. She appreciated the <br />Council discussing in more detail and stated she was not ready to make a decision on this matter this evening. <br />She supported the Council addressing this matter further at a future worksession meeting with City Clerk <br />Spangrud. <br /> <br />Councilmember Jacobsen explained the community was well aware of this topic as it has been discussed for <br />the past three to five years. He supported the City making the public more aware of the legislative election <br />changes. <br /> <br />Councilmember Strub agreed with this suggestion. <br /> <br />Mayor Johnson commented on how the Mayor’s seat would be impacted if the term were shortened due to the <br />fact the Mayor’s term was only two years. Lotter stated the City was not proposing to change the Mayor’s <br />term from two to four years. He explained this was a completely separate matter. <br /> <br />Councilmember Burg supported the Council holding off on this matter until a discussion could be held with <br />City Clerk Spangrud. <br />