Agenda - Council - 07/12/2022 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The consensus of the Council was to appoint Councilmember Musgrove as Park & Recreation Commission Council Liaison and Councilmember Riley as the alternate. 2.05: Organizational Culture-Roles and Responsibilities City Attorney Knaak stated this case is to discuss Council roles and Council culture, what that means and for discussion. He stated the bottom line to begin discussion is to define the roles and responsibilities of a Councilmember. He stated there are certain roles and responsibilities that Councilmembers are all aware of and others that may not be known. He highlighted resources they can get from the League of Minnesota Cities and asked that they review the roles and responsibilities of the Staff, Councilmembers, and Mayor. He stated the relationship of Council with Staff is a critical relationship that he thinks is part of the concern that they have been having and thinks that should be looked at some. He stated the bottom line was the Council has a key responsibility in the management, overall, the direction of the City. He stated they don't have a responsibility over the day-to-day operations of the Staff or can they as an individual Councilmember direct Staff. He stated that is done through the delegation in the hiring of the City Administrator. He stated there may be some need to reinforce what Councilmembers should be doing which can be done by the whole Council through trainings by the League of Minnesota Cities. Councilmember Musgrove commented that when she was a new Councilmember she went to the League and attended meetings for new Councilmembers. She stated she found some of the information helpful but a lot of it was really high level and didn't get into the specifics. She stated she thought it was more helpful to learn on the job and have a resource in the City Administrator. She asked if any of the Councilmembers had feedback on the League's advanced trainings. City Attorney Knaak replied they come very highly recommended but he didn't want to suggest that anyone was doing anything wrong. Councilmember Musgrove asked if any of the Councilmembers thought the training would be of value. City Attorney Knaak commented that any of the Councilmembers can use him as a resource by asking questions confidentially and he will give answers or advise confidentially. He understood Councilmember Musgrove's question about the training and stated it is a good idea. He stated another benefit is meeting other Councilmembers from around the State to network with and learn from. Councilmember Howell agreed the League has really good resources. Councilmember Woestehoff commented he attended the Elected Leaders Institute when he first started on the Council. He stated it was all remote so he didn't get the neighboring cities experience but agreed the League has a lot of good publications and information. He thought the course he attended was helpful. He asked if it is a part of membership to send people to trainings or if there is an additional cost. City Council Work Session/June 28, 2022 Page 11 of 20