Agenda - Council - 05/10/2022 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Councilmember Howell replied the members are already appointed so it is irrelevant. Councilmember Woestehoff replied other Board and Commission members reinterview so he thought it would be consistent. Administrative Services Director Lasher asked if incumbents are given preferential status over new applicants if they are sent all together. City Attorney Knaak replied it depends on the judge. He stated the Council could recommend to the judge that they like people appointed who have experience and a judge would probably accept that but there is nothing under that law that says they be treated any differently at all. Administrative Services Director Lasher asked if there is a stellar group of new applicants, can the judge appoint a new applicant over an incumbent. Mayor Kuzma replied sure. Councilmember Specht commented that since the Charter is appointed by the judge, he thought an incumbent on the Charter is different than the other Boards and Commissions so he didn't think having them do an application was an extra step that was necessary. Councilmember Heineman commented that the difference between the Boards and Commissions and the Charter was the Council had authority over the Boards and Commissions. He stated the Charter is an overarching entity over the Council so he thought giving direction to people applying to Boards and Commissions makes sense but he thought they needed to be careful in dictating things without precedence in regards to the Charter Commission. He suggested leaving it as is for the incumbents. Councilmember Howell agreed with leaving it as it is as well and focus on making the application better. Councilmember Musgrove agreed with that adding the Council is trying give the judge insight into the Council's policy and process but it is the judge's decision. She didn't think it was a good idea to have incumbents reapply if they are willing to serve. Councilmember Woestehoff asked if the policy could state experience would be favored. He asked how the Councilmembers felt about having incumbent reapply. Councilmember Howell replied she hadn't thought about it before today but she has been reading about how Charter Commission applications are being done in other cities. She thought it was pretty unusual for a judge to remove a sitting Charter Commission member so it would seem odd to have incumbents reapply. She thought that would give the impression that there is dissatisfaction with the Charter Commission. City Council Work Session/April 12, 2022 Page 11 of 18