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To: Mayor, Council and Manager From: Joel Jamnik Re: Odd/Even-Numbered Election Years Dear Neal, Mayor and Councilmembers: You directed our office to research and provide background information regarding changing the city general election from odd-numbered to even-numbered years. Roseville's City Code provides in Section 103.01 that the city general election shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each odd-numbered year (A copy of the current ordinance follows at the bottom of this memo). The issue of local elections has been the focus of substantial legislative debate over the past few years. There have been frequent discussions at the State Capitol regarding when local elections should be held, focusing on the benefits and drawbacks of both spring or fall elections and odd or even-numbered year elections. Much of that debate centered on school board elections and school referenda, which in the past were usually held in the spring, rather than November. Because several charter cities also had springtime elections, cities became part of this broader debate regarding spring or fall elections. The legislature in 1994 acted to eliminate non-November elections in these charter cities and in school districts, and adopted a general rule that elections in cities and school districts would be held in the even-numbered year. However, there was a strong desire on the part of several legislators to establish a uniform municipal election day in the odd-numbered years for cities, schools, and counties, for reasons I expect will be identified and evaluated by the odd-even task force currently studying this issue. The effort to establish a uniform local government election day in the odd- numbered year did not last and the current version of the statute, adopted in 1995, contains a default or preference for even year elections, but authorizes a city to "hold elections in either the even-numbered year or the odd-numbered year, but not both." Unfortunately, as is often the case when an issue is contentious and the legislature has difficulty reaching a decision, or sticking with a decision once one is made, the drafting of the statute is imperfect and somewhat confusing, particularly regarding the timing and transition provisions.