HOME RULE CHARTER
By Bob Reiss, From the Re-Echo, Summer 2002

The Charter under which the City of St. Louis Park operates was adopted on December 7, 1954.  The City is planning to celebrate this Charter's fiftieth anniversary in the year 2004 and is starting to plan for it.  The Historical Society has been given the opportunity to provide volunteers for the Planning Committee.  Anyone who would like to serve on the committee, please contact Bridget Wynn at the St. Louis Park Parks and Recreation Department (952-924-2538).

The Better Government League, with Morten Arneson as Chairman, in the 1940s set up a committee to study the best form of government for fast growing St. Louis Park's Home Rule Charters.  This committee very quickly came to the conclusion that the Council-Manager type was the best for cities of over 10,000 people.

As the city government was set up at that time, the Mayor and each Councilman was the administrator of a department such as Police, Fire, Street, Water and one acted as City Clerk.  They were elected and had to perform functions for which they were not necessarily qualified.  With the Council-Manager type of government, the administrative functions were all handled by hired professionals.  The elected officials were free to concentrate on the major problems of a growing city.

This was a rather innovative solution in the 1940s.  In 1935, there were only 300 cities in the United States with this form of government.  In 1950 there were over 1,000 and today there are way over 3,000. 

As a result of this Better Government League Study, the District Court selected a Commission to get it started.  It took four years to get it ready for a vote, and it failed because of strong opposition.  A second Charter Commission was selected by the District Court in 1947.  Morten Arneson and Leland F. Leland were the only holdovers.  This time the rest of the Commission was made up of very knowledgeable attorneys and the Charter was completely rewritten.  This second Charter was put to a vote in March 1949.  A group called the Charter Fact Finding Committee, headed by C.L. Hurd, published its opposition in a full page ad in the St. Louis Park Dispatch.  Again the Charter failed.

A second vote on this same Home Rule Charter was held on December 7, 1954.  The Better Government League did not campaign for its approval because there was no organized opposition.  This time it passed with the necessary 60 percent of the voters approving.  On January 7, 1955 the Charter became effective.

With the new Charter in place, the Better Government League no longer saw a need for itself and devolved.

 

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.