City of Waite Park Question 1 — Abolishment of Civil Service Personnel Board (Stearns County)

What it does

"Shall the personnel board be abolished?"

A YES vote means

Waite Park's civil service personnel board would be abolished.

A NO vote means

Waite Park's civil service personnel board would not be abolished.

Needed to pass

A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.

Left–right lean

Not a left–right issue: a procedural or local question that liberals and conservatives don't typically split on (AI read of the official ballot summary).

The YES and NO lines are SpectrumVote's plain-language reading of the official text above; the official text is what you vote on.

Official text: source

Background

Waite Park set up a civil service personnel system under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 44 decades ago; its three-member Personnel Board, appointed by the Mayor with Council consent, controls employment, promotion, discharge and suspension of classified city employees, according to the city's resolution.

The resolution states the Council's reasons: employees now have extensive legal, contract and policy protections independent of civil service; a part-time board is hard to train on complex employment law; open-meeting rules make the board's work slower and can expose sensitive information; and such systems are now rare in Minnesota.

The City Council approved the resolution 4–1 on July 20, 2026, with Council Member Theisen voting no.

Under Minnesota Statutes 44.16, if a majority votes yes the board ceases to exist and employees' status becomes as if no board had been established; the statute requires a two-thirds vote instead if the board replaced a police or firefighters' civil service commission.

Put on the ballot by Waite Park City Council, 4–1, July 20, 2026 (resolution under Minn. Stat. 44.16).

From official source 1, official source 2, official source 3, official source 4.

Next elections here

• 2028 presidential election · Who has filed so far, from FEC filings

Also on Stearns County ballots

• City of Elrosa Question 1 — City Plan of Government Question

All Stearns County races and measures →

Quick answers

What does a YES vote on City of Waite Park Question 1 mean?

Waite Park's civil service personnel board would be abolished.

What does a NO vote on City of Waite Park Question 1 mean?

Waite Park's civil service personnel board would not be abolished.

How many votes does City of Waite Park Question 1 need to pass?

A simple majority: more than half of the YES and NO votes on this measure must be YES. Leaving it blank doesn't count either way.

Should I vote yes or no on City of Waite Park Question 1?

SpectrumVote doesn't endorse anyone or tell you how to vote. Read what a YES and a NO vote each do, and the official text, then decide based on what you want to happen.

When is the vote?

The general election was Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Counts are unofficial until each state certifies its results over the following weeks; your state or county election office has the official results.