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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-01-25 CHC MIN Mr. Lieberman said he was a little reluctant to support a move to a manager form. He said he favored staying with a city administrator and perhaps giving the administrator the power to fire/hire. He referred to semantics and the power of words that could politicize a move to a manager form. He said if the Commission is going to recommend a city manager, it should be . put to a referendum of the voters. Mr. Kimbrel and Mr. Old agreed that a referendum might be Ms. Purcell said describing the current system bolsters the rationale for moving to a city manager. Mr. Kimbrel said he agreed with the city manager form; he said the City seems to be moving in that direction, though that is not documented in the Charter. Mr. Donnelly called cleaning up the Charter language a "no-brainer." He said the City's current structure seems to be working, but in the future it may not. He said he didn't think the Council understands how the City could work with a manager form. Mr. Old agreed that the current systems runs pretty well, but said the Commission can't assume that will continue to be true in the future, Mr. Old said he didn't think the Commission should stop at describing the current system; he said he is still interested in pursuing the city manager form as a concept. Mr. Kimbrel referred to Section 7:03 regarding the appointment of "chief officials" and questioned whether that language should be refined to spell out whether that refers to department heads/ fire chiefi'police chief etc. Mr. Donnelly agreed "chief officials" needs to be defined in some way. . Mr. Keister called for polling members to determine which "path" they favored -- clearing up language in the Charter to reflect how the City operates or moving to the city manager structure. Mr. Donnelly said prior to his voting he would like to get the Council's feedback, perhaps in a workshop session. Ms. Purcell said she though a position paper should accompany the draft language outlining the rationale for a city manager structure. Mr. Keister again called for polling the table. Citv Manager Proiect - Possible Language Ms. Czar handed out copies of some draft language prepared by herself and Ms. Ruch, noting that the language was for discussion only and had not been reviewed by City Attorney Magnuson. Approval of minutes: Mr. Keister, seconded by Mr. Donnelly, moved approval of the minutes of Dec. 21, 1998. Ms. Czar called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Mary Ruch and Don Valsvik Absent: Kathy Czar, chairperson Chuck Donnelly, Steve Keister, Robert Kimbrel, Howard Lieberman, Tim Old and Nance Purcell Present: Charter Commission Jan. 25, 1999 . .. ... ',. .. . Respectfully submitted, Sharon Baker Recording Secretary Mr. Keister, seconded by Mr. Kimbrel, moved to adjourn at 9 p.m.; all in favor. Mr. Kimbrel spoke briefly of having the Commission promote/facilitate discussions similar to a "town meeting." New business Mr. Lieberman announced he will be resigning no later than May. There was a brief discussion regarding the process for appointment of someone to fill out his unexpired term. Old business Mr. Keister raised the issue of the enforcement mechanism for the Conflict of Interest provision. He will check with Mr. Magnuson on the status of that matter prior to the next meeting. . It was agreed to have one more discussion of the draft language and to try to hold a workshop with the Council in March. Mr. Kimbrel will do some research prior to the Feb. meeting (Feb. 21) and check with five or six cities of similar size to find out how they delegate hiring/firing authority. It was the consensus to use the term "administrator" in discussions of the possible changes with the Council. Mr. Lieberman asked if the Council would get to approve the hiring/firing of department heads. If not, he said citizens would have no redress, for example, if the administrator/manager recommended hiring a department head totally unacceptable to some residents. He said he worried about "government by professional management." Ms. Czar suggested a hybrid method - the administrator recommends the hiring of department heads, but the council could be given the authority to approve or disapprove of the administrator's recommendation. Mr. Lieberman said he would be comfortable with having the administrator/manager recommend the hiring of all department heads, with the Council given the authority to ratify the administrator's recommendations. Mr. Donnelly said he could not support merely changing a title, but could support a hybrid organization - giving the administrator the power to hire/fire. Discussion ensued as to which officials the administrator should have the authority to hire/fire and the Council's role in the hiring/firing process. . Ms. Czar said the language changes, as proposed, to clean up the Charter go beyond clarifying the status quo. The changes set limits where there haven't been limits before, defines policy- making roles and articulates a planning process that has not been in the Charter before, she said. She also noted that the City's current system will change when Mr. Kriesel retires. Mr. Keister suggested that in going around the table, there is not much disparity in members' positions, it seems to be more a matter of semantics, as Mr. Lieberman suggested, the title of "administrator" versus manager, and the perception that a manager might shuts off the voters from the council. appropriate. Mr. Donnelly said he didn't want changes in the Charter to reflect that the manager system is the preferred system. '" .. ..