Minutes - Council Work Session - 03/23/2021

Home

Councilmember Specht agreed that there have been instances of extenuating circumstances in the past year. He stated that while people should have freedom of expression there should be some restrictions in place. Mayor Kuzma asked if there are other cities that have enacted such ordinances. Police Chief Katers provided examples of metro cities that have enacted ordinances in the past year regulating picketing in residential areas. He stated that those ordinances were prompted by demonstrations that occurred in their city. He stated that it appears that the Council would like to send the message that people have the right to express themselves but there are also rights of others to be protected as well. Councilmember Woestehoff commented that he would be interested to know if there are different standards for elected officials compared to general residents of the community. Police Chief Katers explained that the Governor’s residence is a public property and agreed that definitions could be added. 2.03: Acknowledge Resignation of the Part-Time Recreation Specialist and the Recruitment Process Administrative Services Director Lasher reviewed the staff report. Parks and Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood commented that this was reviewed in depth in 2018 and 2019 and there are efficiencies and cost savings in using a part-time employee rather than a temporary intern. Councilmember Musgrove asked if this position is still considered revenue neutral between the part-time position and intern. Administrative Services Director Lasher commented that if the question were whether it would be budget neutral to bring on a temporary intern while recruitment is done for the part-time position, she would reply yes and noted that it could even be a cost savings. Councilmember Musgrove clarified that her impression in the previous discussions was that the two interns have the same cost as one part-time employee for the position. Parks and Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood stated that would be correct noting that two interns would have a higher cost than one part-time employee. He provided additional background information on the time staff spends onboarding each intern. He stated that as part of the 2022 budget discussions staff may ask to increase the position from 20 hours to 32 hours but believed that discussion would be better suited during the budget discussion. Administrative Services Director Lasher replied that the cost of hiring interns has increased because the City has a hard time bringing on interns at the lower hourly wage. She stated that the City Council Work Session / March 23, 2021 Page 4 of 7