Minutes - Council - 03/13/2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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community Council should show leadership as far as exercising some fiscal restraint in deciding whether they will add officers when some of these factors are actually going down. He is not saying at this time that the hire is not necessary; he does not have the information to make that decision. Councilmember Elvig stated he has wrestled with Chief Way numerous times in the budget process about how many hires are needed for new police officers. He would debate the question of the need for additional officers if crime is going down; they are trying to stay in front of crime with crime prevention, and they know there should be one officer per 1,000 citizens. He would also add this is a replacement officer as Councilmember Strommen pointed out. The third aspect is that if a councilmember needs more information this is not the format at this meeting to get that information. The way to get that information would be to go out and talk to Chief Way and get up to speed on some of these issues. There is a lot of information and he appreciates the diligence and concerns, but on the onset of this it needs to keep moving forward, especially when they are talking about a replacement officer. Councilmember Dehen stated this is not a replacement; it is a new hire. Councilmember Strommen clarified the case states this is a replacement officer. Councilmember Look stated the bottom line is they are looking at adding additional people to staff, and that is what he and Councilmember Dehen are concerned about. Councilmember Strommen stated the point is that this came to Council to authorize to the initiation of a recruitment process which involves a lot of time, expense and energy. Council authorized the creation of the position and they are now being asked to go back and debate whether to create the position. Council made that decision. If they were to go back and debate whether that is a need, they would detract the authorization Council already gave to proceed with the recruitment process. Councilmember Look indicated they are not necessarily opposing the hire; they want more information to make that decision. Councilmember Strommen stated she appreciates that Councilmembers Dehen and Look would like more information, but the difference is that Council has already authorized the position and recruitment has taken place. Tonight's action is to authorize the hire, not the position. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Gamec, Councilmembers Jeffrey, Olson, Elvig, and Strommen. Voting No: Councilmembers Dehen and Look. Case #5: Consider Ending the Probationary Period for the Part-time Building Maintenance Worker Human Resources Manager Reed Kone stated effective February 28, 2006, Don Meyenburg was hired as a part-time building maintenance worker. Mr. Meyenburg has successfully completed the required six-month probationary period as a part-time building maintenance worker and the Interim City Administrator recommends that the City Council retain Mr. Meyenburg as a part- time building maintenance worker. Motion by Councilmember Olson, seconded by Councilmember Strommen, to adopt resolution #07-02-073 ending the probationary period for the part-time building maintenance worker. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Gamec, Councilmembers Olson, Strommen, Dehen, Elvig, Jeffrey, and Look. Voting No: None. City Council / March 13, 2007 Page 15 of 21