Minutes - Council Work Session - 03/15/2022 - Special

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Administrative Services Director Lasher to have applicants on file that she can draw from, if that made her process easier. Administrative Services Director Lasher replied yes, very much. Councilmember Howell suggested Administrative Services Director Lasher propose what works for that regarding how many people she wanted on file and for how long to make it less complicated. Administrative Services Director Lasher replied they state that applications will stay on file for roughly one year. She explained it is very helpful to have a candidate that has been vetted, that they have notes on and, as was said earlier, that a certain candidate would be good for a certain position. She stated opening up full recruitments is really time consuming and resources are very thin in HR, which is something she doesn’t see changing. She stated if the policy were streamlined it would be a better use of time and better for the citizens. She stated she has suggestions that Council may like. Mayor Kuzma commented that the five incumbents being considered have been good contributors on the Commissions and they don’t have any other people to consider right now. He didn’t understand why these incumbents couldn’t be approved because they are needed on the Commissions and there isn’t backup for them. Councilmember Howell replied not approving them tonight doesn’t say that Council doesn’t want these people, that their service isn’t appreciated, or that they won’t continue, but it gives Council the opportunity to put the policy first and go through the steps properly instead of having things out of order yet again. Councilmember Heineman agreed, adding that he doesn’t have anything against the candidates and he would probably vote for them next week. He recalled when they did the budget, they couldn’t make changes to specific line items because the budget was too close. However the purpose of putting together the budget was to make changes to line items. He thought it was being inferred that they are too close to the process so it shouldn’t be changed; however, they are in the perfect position to change it before getting to it. If Council is making decisions on terms and reappointments, he felt the wise thing would be to wait to have the discussion and then make final recommendations. He supported putting the policy in place, have it take immediate effect instead of waiting four years, especially because they are still in the allotted amount of time. Councilmember Woestehoff replied he didn’t have a problem with any of that but suggested asking Laura Moore if she would serve on EPB or Charter because she may say she would resign from the Charter. He stated it is well known that there are other applicants waiting to serve on that Board than there are on EPB. He thought it was worth having a conversation with her and taking her opinion into consideration. Councilmember Musgrove agreed it is a great idea to see which Board Ms. Moore wants to serve on, as Ms. Moore is very passionate about EPB and participates, which is appreciated. City Council Special Work Session / March 15, 2022 Page 8 of 19