Minutes - Council - 03/08/2022 - Laserfiche WebLink

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should continue with this and if questions were satisfactorily answered. He also offered the opportunity for the City Attorney to be a neutral party to supervise the investigation because the City Clerk and himself have been called into question in regard to the process. He stated that he welcomed continued input and bringing this to a conclusion. He thought it was explained last meeting that there were some irregularities because this process isn’t done all the time and there are some changes from year to year. He stated they were doing the best they could in trying to fill the positions and give people opportunity. He understood the feelings that there was not equal opportunity but the official wording is that the positions are open until closed. He stated there is some urgency for people to apply because if enough people apply and get appointed, then the positions are no longer there and there is no guarantee those positions will be there. There are periodic openings in all of the Commissions including the Charter Commission. He reminded that the Staff and Council have tried to stay away from making recommendations for Charter appointments. He stated the judge pointed out that other cities take a more active role but the City of Ramsey, in the past, has not chosen to take a more active role in the appointment of Charter Commission members and that the Charter Commission has not taken that role either, though they could. He stated the Council is considering policy changes to address the issue of Councilmembers serving on the Charter based on the appointment. Councilmember Musgrove commented that in her time being on the City Council since 2018, she has been through a few processes of appointing Boards and Commission and didn’t know if there was a good process. In looking at this case, she discovered some things. She stated in March 18, 2022 the discussion for Boards and Commissions had the Minnesota statue from 2017 and in any of the other cases that have been presented on the Boards and Commissions, there has never been an attachment for a policy. She stated that even as late as February 28, 2022 when there were discussions of Boards and Commissions, there wasn’t a policy attached to it. She didn’t know how the Council could ask for fairness and information sharing equally among Council Members and not get policy information. She stated she has seen more things the longer she is on the Council. She stated the policy change in 2016 took away the Boards and Commissions from the Council and moved it to Staff. She stated that in point one of that process, it is an incumbent reapplication process so that is the policy that the City is supposed to be following. She read paragraph three “the City Council will meet, discuss, and determine whether or not recommendations for reappointment would be made. If a determination that the City Council does not wish to reappoint the incumbent, the incumbent will be notified and that individual’s seat will be advertised. If it is determined the incumbent will be reappointed, the incumbent will be notified and the seat will not be advertised.” She stated that part of the process she has never been a part of so that has never happened before the advertising. She stated in her duration on the Council, the administration in presenting cases with Boards and Commissions has never followed the policy of presenting the incumbents first before the Council to have a discussion about reappointment and then advertising for the open positions. She stated that was a recent change to policy. Councilmember Musgrove stated she would have appreciated the Staff presenting the policy every time there was a discussion about Board and Commission applications. She stated that recently there was a case about a manufacturing cohort and she went looking for information about it. She was told by members of another city’s Council that the Staff doesn’t support the Council because Councilmembers have to go looking for information when their staff provides information when asked plus additional information. She asked if the Staff wasn’t aware of the policy regarding City Council /March 8, 2022 Page 29 of 38