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

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City Administrator Ulrich replied typically with union contract negotiations, Staff are looking at the big compensation items and they do provide a red line version of the contract as a part of the process. Staff is trying to get guidance first on the big compensation items. He thought the negotiation process went well and this year Staff sat down with the Council to negotiate contracts earlier and necessary information was provided. He heard her saying that she would like the base documents up front but he has sometimes had concerns that there is too much information for the Council to review and the important information would get lost but if that is wanted, Staff could provide more information. Administrative Services Director Lasher responded to the question regarding incumbents. She stated, specifically with regard to the policy that Councilmember Musgrove mentioned, it was last updated in 2016. Prior to that, the policy mentioned the Charter Commission but the Charter Commission wasn’t subject to that. It is for Boards and Commissions that the City makes appointments for. She stated she learned that the City of Ramsey is one of the few cities in the district that doesn’t have a review process prior to the applications going to the judge. She stated this recruitment is the first one she has done as the City Clerk. She stated the process that she learned from the former City Clerk and followed for this recruitment was that the position was open until filled with applications going to the judge with no recommendation and no review process. She stated she meant no harm and she and her Staff want to do a good job and are not trying to deceive anyone. She stated she welcomed a policy so Staff would know the expectation. She stated maybe there are different interpretations of the wording open until filled because to her, it means hurry to apply because the position will be filled. She thought she had made a mistake in not advertising the position in the November/December issue of the Ramsey Resident because she didn’t think there were any vacancies. She had learned of the vacancies after the deadline for the November/December Ramsey Resident. She stated putting a deadline on was a decision to serve the residents so they would know what to expect. She responded to the question if the six applications were mailed at the same time and that the judge appointed applicant number three applicant number six instead of the first two applications. She did not intend to take opportunity away from anyone, there was a better response than ever before, and the policy that Councilmember Musgrove referenced is for the appointments the City makes because the judge makes the decision for the Charter Commission. She stated as to the other questions of not providing information, she would like to look into it because she would always like to do better. Regarding the questions about Facebook, the office was shut down during that time because of COVID but she continued to work through her illness. She apologized that it didn’t go as some individuals would like them to have gone. City Administrator Ulrich replied that as far as the investigations and the list of questions, if the Council directs they can follow-up on them and ask the City Attorney to help supervise the investigation. He stated he has confidence in Administrative Services Director Lasher that she was doing the best she could at the time. He understood the Council’s perspective but there was no ill intent on the part of the Staff and he would like to prove that. Administrative Services Director Lasher agreed that she would like that. Councilmember Howell commented that the conversation has gotten a bit off topic. She assured City Administrator Ulrich that she does hours of research on her own and she doesn’t consider this City Council /March 8, 2022 Page 31 of 38