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Charter commission recommends targeted edits to Chapter 5 on utilities
Summary
The Brainerd Charter Commission voted to recommend narrowly scoped edits to Chapter 5 that add stormwater to the Public Utilities Commission's responsibilities, require an annual review of the 10-year capital plan, and remove broad or duplicative language; the City Council asked staff to draft an ordinance for April 20 and scheduled a May 4 public hearing.
City staff and the Charter Commission on April 14 recommended a set of narrowly framed edits to Chapter 5 of the Brainerd City Charter, which governs utilities.
City administrator Nick Broyles told the joint meeting the revisions largely preserve the existing charter and confine changes to chapter 5, adding stormwater collection, conveyance and treatment systems to the Public Utilities Commission's responsibilities and directing the commission to review the city's proposed 10-year capital improvement plan for streets, water, sewer and stormwater annually and submit recommendations to the council by the first regular meeting in September.
Broyles also said the draft removes an earlier carve-out for gravity-fed wastewater collection so that the commission would have authority over the wastewater collection system as a whole and would be responsible for setting rates for water, wastewater, stormwater and power.
Council members pressed staff on drafting choices they said could unintentionally expand the commission's scope. Councilman Johnson and others asked that a new paragraph giving the commission broader rights to use streets and public grounds for utility work (and to require restoration) be removed from the charter and handled in code or department policy. They also questioned language in section 8 that included the phrase "any and all other things," which legal counsel said was constrained by the charter's stated purposes and could be removed without changing the charter's effect.
After discussion, a commissioner moved to recommend the draft with three edits: revise the Section 1 utility list, strike the extra wording in Section 8 so contracts read "necessary or proper to carry out the purposes expressed herein," and remove Section 12. The Charter Commission approved the recommendation by voice vote.
The City Council then voted to ask staff to draft an ordinance for first reading at the April 20 meeting and to schedule a public hearing on May 4, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers. Council members noted that final charter amendments require a unanimous council vote on the last reading and acknowledged one member's absence could delay final approval.
What happens next: staff will prepare the ordinance for council consideration at the April 20 meeting and the council will hold the scheduled public hearing on May 4.
