Minutes - Council - 12/28/2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Citizen Input Councilmember Elect John Dehen stated he attended a Council work session where the City Administrator/City Manager Form of Government was discussed. From his perspective he does not know a lot about the difference in the forms of governance, other than the handout the councilmembers received. Given that, as part of the process he would like to have input on this, and would ask that the Council defer judgment on the matter at least until the councilmembers- elect are sworn in. Ms. Hannah LeMere, Vice Chair of the Charter Commission, stated Frank Fredericks has included comments in his letter regarding why the Charter Commission is pushing for this change in the form of government now. The Charter Commission is responsible for the City's constitution and has looked at this issue for two to three years. They have done this over the change of city councilmembers; the Commission reviewed this when there was a smaller council and when the changes were made to transition to a seven member Council. There have been changes implemented in the additional Council seats, the primaries, and also the ward system. The Charter Commission takes a lot of important issues to task when making these changes, as with this recommended change. Ms. LeMere stated Mr. Norman's vacancy allows the implementation of the recommended change at this time. There were issues with previous councilmembers and their ability to work with department heads, and there were issues and concerns with the City Administrator and that impact in working with department heads. The Charter Commission is looking at the City Manager position as more of a CEO level with the running of the City the same as running a business. The City Council would serve as the board of directors that sets policy decisions and strategic planning for the City, but would not be involved in day to day operations of a particular department that may seem miniscule and heavy handed to some departments. Ms. LaMere explained the time recommendation of January 1, 2008 is to allow for a transition period with the vacancy and for a candidate to be looked for that could fit an administrator role and potentially fill the managerial role. The City has grown a lot in the last 11 years she has been here; with that is growth of City functions, City infrastructure, and City staff. It would be difficult for seven members to oversee the functions of at least 100 employees. It would be better to have one person acting on behalf of the Council as the board of directors. The Commission understands this is a change. It gives an opportunity for the Council to operate in a higher level position and not be tied to departmental day to day operations. Councilmember Cook stated the Council has been behind this for quite a while; he believes the problem is the 2008 date. The Council has talked quite in depth about why they would not post this position as a city manager position, rather than look at city administrator candidates. This recommendation puts the change one year away and requires the City to advertise for a position that may be changing from a city administrator to a city manager in one year. He questioned why the change would not be sooner so they could advertise and recruit for a manager position rather than an administrator position. Ms. LeMere explained the Commission looked at several options for an effective date. They looked at a date further into the future, a population threshold, and a staffing level threshold. 2008 was selected based on the current vacancy. The immediate option for a 2007 date was considered, but the Commission wanted to allow time for a transition from administrator to manager; she would defer to staff regarding the possible Human Resources rules. Ms. LeMere City Council / December 28, 2006 Page 6 of 26