Agenda - Council - 01/22/2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

6. PUBLIC HEARING None. 7. COUNCIL BUSINESS 7.01: 2013 Council Organization City Clerk Thieling reviewed the staff report. Motion by Councilmember Elvig, seconded by Councilmember Tossey, to adopt Resolution #13- 01-009 for 2013 Council Organization designating the Anoka County Union as the City of Ramsey's official newspaper; Resolution #13-01-003 Designating Financial Institutions as Official Depositories of City Funds for 2013; Resolution #13-01-005 Designating Bank of the West as Official Financial Institution for the City of Ramsey Banking Services for the Year 2013; and, Resolution #13-01-004 Authorizing Signatures for Financial Transactions. Further discussion: Councilmember Tossey noted State law requires the City to publish its legal notices in a newspaper; however, the City has the ability to publish such notices electronically. He stated the Council had asked Representative Jim Abeler to address this issue during the next Legislative session and encouraged residents to contact their legislators so the City is not forced to subsidize newspapers in this way. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Strommen, Councilmembers Elvig, Tossey, Backous, Kuzma, LeTourneau, and Riley. Voting No: None. 7.02: Approve Consultant Proposal for Three -Year Strategic Action Plan, Governance Plan, and Organizational Assessment City Administrator Ulrich reviewed the staff report. Councilmember Tossey indicated that while he agrees with many of the objectives, he intends to oppose the motion, thinking it is premature to spend $37,000 without first understanding whether this is an issue. However, if approved, he looks forward to working with Ms. Duckor. Councilmembers Elvig, Kuzma, and Riley advocated for approval since the City, its staff, and Boards and Commissions are in a precarious position. Ms. Duckor was asked how the process will assure that those involved will be comfortable expressing concerns. Anita S. Duckor, Duckor & Associates, described the one-on-one interviews and on-line survey processes that would assure all are heard and comfortable providing input. Mayor Strommen stated she had the pleasure of working with Ms. Duckor previously and seen the successful outcome of this process. She noted the important parts of the Strategic Plan are the performance measurements to help create transparency with residents, provide a public plan of direction, and accountability to show how much progress is being made. City Council / January 8, 2013 Page 4 of 9