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CHM 05/01/2015 CITY OF FRIDLEY CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES MAY 4, 2015 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Reynolds called the Charter Commission meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Commissioners Peter Borman, Don Findell, Marion Flickinger, Manuel Granroos, Carol Hoiby, Ted Kranz, Novella Ollawore, David Ostwald, Barb Reiland, Pam Reynolds, Lois Scholzen, Cynthia Soule, Richard Walch Members Absent: Commissioners Gary Braam and Rick Nelson Others Present: Deb Skogen, City Clerk/Staff Liaison, Mayor Scott Lund, City Manager Wally Wysopal and Arvonna Stark APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Borman MOVED and Commissioner Soule seconded a motion approving the meeting agenda. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON REYNOLDS DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Hoiby MOVED and Commissioner Findell seconded a motion approving the Charter Commission meeting minutes of March 2, 2015. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON REYNOLDS DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS A.Recognition of Commissioner Hoiby Chairperson Reynolds read a Certificate of Appreciation to Carol Hoiby on behalf of the Charter Commission recognizing her for her two terms of service from March 1991 to March 1999 and from May 2005 to May 2015. CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF MAY 4, 2015 PAGE 2 Commissioner Hoiby said she enjoyed her experience on the Charter Commission, especially working with former Commissioner Bill Holm and his wealth of knowledge and experience. Her spare time will be spent going to her grandchildren’s sporting events. B.Introduction of Arvonna Stark Ms. Skogen provided a brief introduction to Ms. Arvonna Stark. Ms. Stark was the only application that was received for the vacancy replacing Commissioner Hoiby. Ms. Stark commented that while she has a lot of experience at the state level, she is interested in learning more about the local level and becoming involved in her community. She has a son playing in different sports and she wants to be active and learn more about the neighborhood aspects. She did not see any issues that would prevent her from attending meetings in the future. Commissioner Walch MOVED and Commissioner Findell seconded a motion th recommending Ms. Skogen prepare a letter to the 10 District Chief Judge recommending the appointment of Arvonna Stark to the Fridley Charter Commission. UPON A VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON REYNOLDS DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. DISCUSSION OF CHAPTER 6 Chairperson Reynolds suggested the Commissioners review the past changes before moving on to new changes. Commissioner Reiland suggested removing the word “to” before the word “submit” in Section 6.02(g). The Commissioners agreed to that change. City Manager Wysopal asked if he could make a few comments. He wondered if there was an issue that brought this matter before the Charter Commission or a referral from the City Council as he was trying to understand the need for change. Chairperson Reynolds said the Commissioners review all of the chapters from time to time looking for sections to simplify or change language to make it easier to understand or if there had been changes in state law. Mr. Wysopal felt in Section 6.02(a) the word enforce was different then ensure. He felt he could enforce something as there was a hierarchy of accountability, but was not sure what “ensure” meant. Commissioner Findell said the Commissioners reorganized the sentence to make it more understandable. It required the city manager to ensure that it was enforced. Adopted September 1, 2015 CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF MAY 4, 2015 PAGE 3 Mr. Wysopal said he understood and was fine with that change. He did say, however, that he had a major concern about the changes made regarding the appointment/termination sections in (b) and (c). He said his relationship with the City Council was important in the appointment process and that the City Council preferred to be informed rather than make recommendations on the hiring process. He did not have any issues with that. In fact, it could help in the hiring process by not having to wait for the Council approval. While the Council had not yet questioned any appointments, it could create a liability for the Council in the future if the Council were not to approve an appointment sometime in the future. Mr. Wysopal said the changes would make it harder for the manager to effectively manage the workforce if the Council had to approve the terminating of an employee. Because the City Council would have to vote to recommend the termination, the action to terminate an employee would be made during a debate in the public forum. He said this change would be a significant change to his contract and a difference in his responsibilities from when he was hired. Commissioner Kranz said he was not in attendance at a few meetings and wondered why the changes were made or what the Commissioners were thinking. Commissioner Hoiby wondered if council approval was needed why it would be made public. Ms. Skogen said the Council would have to approve or deny the termination in a public meeting due to the open meeting law. While the meeting could be closed, the decision could not be made in the closed section or in private. Commissioner Reiland asked Mr. Wysopal if the changes to (c) were the issue. Mr. Wysopal said yes. He said the added word of “suspend” would take away some of the authority supervisors had within the law and would remove their right to suspend someone for good reason or just cause as they do now. He said the word “suspend” was not in the current charter so it allowed supervisors to make the calls. Keeping the word “suspend” would take away that right. Chairperson Reynolds said Commissioner Nelson stated in a previous meeting that anyone discharged would have to be based on PELRA whether or not the city manager was designated. Commissioner Nelson said the City of Fridley is the employer and didn’t see a need to designate an individual. It is first sent to city manager and it may be delegated. She said the Commissioners felt it was important, if it was a department head, for the Council to be aware of a suspension or termination. She said the city manager’s agreement stated the Charter language could be changed during the term of the agreement. Commissioner Borman said while there had been no issue, generically the Commissioners felt termination of department heads should be handled differently. Commissioner Reiland said they felt discipline or termination of a department head was held to a more serious standard. Adopted September 1, 2015 CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF MAY 4, 2015 PAGE 4 Commissioner Hoiby felt if they had inhibited the city manager’s duties regarding department heads that the language should not be changed. Commissioner Soule said having been in a management role there is certain information that cannot be disclosed or made public when an employee is disciplined or terminated. Commissioner Borman said a meeting could be closed. Mr. Wysopal said, while you could close a meeting, you still had to record it and make part of that record public. He said his position looked to have a close relationship with the Council and changing how employees are hired and terminated could change that relationship. Commissioner Flickinger said he understood that if the Council had to approve a termination, it would require having the HR Director and supervisors in the meeting and that the Council would have to have an understanding of the state labor laws. Mr. Wysopal said if he personally messed something up, the Council would let him know. While it may be an opportunity to change the language, the Commission could unintentionally change the intent. He also thought it might provide department heads more protection by creating a different class of employee. Commissioner Borman said the Council was the manager’s boss and that some things did not end with the city manager. While the manager could run things as he saw fit, the Council still made decisions. Commissioner Reiland said no one knew if things weren’t working and they weren’t looking to change things for a specific reason. Mr. Wysopal said the Council could step in and say he did not keep them informed but was concerned the change would add additional protections for others and less on his part. He said there were times where he could inform the council about an employee, but could not say anything to them until the case was complete. He said this change took him by surprise and it would change how he manages. Mr. Findell said he could see an opportunity where an employee could go to the Council who could sympathize with them or it could become a political issue. Mr. Wysopal said it does become political when an employee calls the Council. Mayor Lund said if he received a call from an employee he would direct them to call the city manager. Commissioner Borman asked what would happen if the city manager was in a bad mood and decided to fire a department head because he felt like it and not because he did something wrong. Adopted September 1, 2015 CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF MAY 4, 2015 PAGE 5 Mr. Wysopal explained the law was much more complicated when terminating an employee than when hiring an employee. He knows it would have to be based a good decisions. The existing Charter language is similar to the Statutory City Plan B language. He asked if the Commission was reacting to something that happened or something that could happen in the future. He said they should make it such that manager make a decision on sound, good reasoning. Commissioner Walch said the manager was accountable to the Council. He said the question was whether you would want to have the termination made in public. He did not think that was a good idea. Mr. Wysopal said he respected the Charter Commission and wondered if they might want to ask the Council their opinion. He said it would only take three votes for them to let him go on any given day. Commissioner Borman said he was not questioning his decision, but that it just be backed up by the Council. Mr. Wysopal said it had not been needed and if the language were changed, he could only see more harm than good. He said it is somewhat problematic when you are hiring an individual that it be contingent on Council approval. They have had individuals change their mind and get another job before the Council approval. He said the hiring process was more manageable though. Commissioner Borman asked how changing the language took away authority from supervisors that was different than the original language. Mr. Wysopal said the words “suspend or remove” is a right provided to supervisors under law. He said they have the right to recommend discipline but only the city manager has the right to remove or terminate. Suspension is a form of discipline, but the employee comes back to work after a suspension. He said the more the language was changed, the more room for disagreement. If language clear cut it would be more understandable with no room for interpretation. Supervisors need to have good cause to suspend an employee and believes it is part of the union contract. Commissioner Findell said they were trying to make from the bottom up versus the top down management style but if it was clean the way it was, maybe it shouldn’t be changed. Commissioner Borman said the Charter could be changed and the Council could change the manager’s duties. Mayor Lund said he could see both sides. He said the Council could review or approve a termination but it would require them to be educated in labor law and would have to have the HR Director available to them to see what the infractions were to see if the manager was justified in the termination and that decision would become public. He said the manager was responsible and Adopted September 1, 2015 CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF MAY 4, 2015 PAGE 6 he would rather continue to defer those matters to the city manager. He said the Council was lobbied in 2003-04 with the terminations due to the budget cuts. He was not sure the Council should be that involved in terminations. Commissioner Reiland suggested changing the language so the manager has the ultimate authority and that the Charter and job descriptions were not different. Mr. Wysopal said the Council could modify his agreement if they chose to. Commissioner Welch asked if employees have ever invoked the city manager’s job description and Mr. Wysopal said not to his knowledge. Commissioner Welch said their goal was to eliminate the Council approval for regular full-time employees versus the department heads. Mr. Wysopal said he preferred to treat all employees the same so it did not create a division between employees. Mayor Lund requiring the Council approval for hiring had appeared to become inefficient for some positions and that the Council was really a rubber stamp for the manager’s decision. He said it might be tough to defend a conditional offer if the employee passed the required tests and the background and the Council chose not to approve the hiring. It could create a liability to the City if that individual had already provided written notice to a former employer and no longer had a position with the City. Commissioner Kranz said he respected the Mayor and City Manager’s opinions and was not quite sure how the language should read. Commissioner Walch felt the Commission should improve the hiring process and was concerned about the termination process. Commissioner Walch MOVED and Commissioner Findell seconded removing all of the language as written in Section 6.02 (c). Commissioner Soule said that in the past (b) was about hiring and (c) was about removal. Commissioner Walch amended his motion, Commissioner Reiland seconded his motion and Commissioner Findell agreed with the amended motion, that the language should read as follows: (b) To appoint with the consent and approval of the Council all subordinate officers and all city employees on the basis of qualification and experience and provide written notice of such actions to the City Council; (c) To remove any subordinate officer or employee, provided that the Council is notified; city employee subject to law and provide written notice of such actions to the City Council; UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON REYNOLDS DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED. Adopted September 1, 2015 CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF MAY 4, 2015 PAGE 7 FUTURE AGENDA Approval of Agenda/Minutes Administrative Matters – Update on appointment and upcoming Vacancy of Commissioner Borman Old Business – Chapter 6 (beginning with Section 6.04) New Business – Chapter 10 (requires motion removing from table) and Section 7.12 D (reformatted into bullet form) ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Kranz MOVED and Commissioner Flickinger seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON REYNOLDS DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 8:30 P.M. Respectfully submitted, ________________________ ________________________ Debra A. Skogen, Commissioner Donald Findell, Secretary City Clerk/Staff Liaison Adopted September 1, 2015