Minutes - Charter Commission - 03/29/2010

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Commissioner Shea stated that this is a difficult situation and in her opinion, it should be voted on by the people. City Administrator Ulrich had another appointment and excused himself from the meeting. He offered that if the Charter Commission had any questions for him, to feel free to contact him. Commissioner Field stated he tried to think of referendum issues that are put before the voters and he felt that this particular question should have been sent to the voters originally. He suggested having a conversation about what would work best for a City our size. Maybe the bigger the City, you can't have as much City Council say on a day - to -day basis. If you had a City Council that was active, they are answerable to the people. He noted the major change seems to be the City manager is responsible for hiring and firing. Commissioner Anderson asked what you do if you are the employee and you can please either the manager or the City Council but you can't please both. Having too many bosses is a tough situation. Mayor Ramsey offered the primary objections to going to a City Manager form of government. They are as follows: 1) He felt this amendment was pushed through improperly. The Charter's recommendation was that the City Manager change would be effective 1/1/2008. The Council did not have a majority vote. Then Mayor Gamec would not vote in favor of it unless the effective date was changed. Therefore, Council changed Charter's recommendation — the recommendation should have either passed or failed at the Council level and then, if it failed, it should have gone back to the Charter Commission with the reason(s) it did not pass. He added this was a lame duck Council — it was their last meeting. 2) This action binds future Councils. He continued that the primary difference between a Manager and an Administrator is the hiring and firing capabilities. He commented that the current Council is a strong Council — and they have not fired anyone. He stated that is a testament. It's not as if we are looking for the power to keep for ourselves. We feel it's important for the citizens to have that power. It should be a comfort for employees to know that at least four people have to vote against you. Mayor Ramsey added that if this does go on the ballot and it stays as City Administrator, he suggested Council would be interested in giving the City Administrator the power to hire and fire staff, but not Department Heads. He noted that the Charter Commission would have the power to limit the power of the City Manager. Commissioner Frederick stated that the Charter Commission has gone through this discussion many times and for many years and one of the main factors is that the Council changes every two years. The current Council may not fire people but what about the next Council. Council changes and, therefore, staff s bosses would change with every election. Commissioner Frederick stated that when the ordinance didn't pass the first Charter Commission — March 29, 2010 Page 5 of 9