Council Subcommittee

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT TOWN COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE ON CODE OF ETHICS, IN SPECIAL MEETING OF WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2023 AT 2:00 P.M., GILBERT MUNICIPAL CENTER I, COMMUNITY ROOM 202, 50 E CIVIC CENTER DRIVE, GILBERT, ARIZONA COUNCIL PRESENT: Subcommittee Chair Scott Anderson, Vice Mayor Kathy Tilque and Councilmember Jim Torgeson COUNCIL ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Town Attorney Chris Payne, Town Manager Patrick Banger, Town Clerk Chaveli Herrera, and Council Aide Monica D'Ortenzio CALL TO ORDER Town Clerk Herrera called the meeting to order at 2:04 p.m. ROLL CALL Town Clerk Herrera called roll and declared a quorum present. AGENDA ITEMS 1. Consider approval of the minutes of the Subcommittee on Code of Ethics Meeting of March 8, 2023. A MOTION was made by Vice Mayor Tilque, seconded by Councilmember Torgeson to approve the minutes of the Subcommittee on Code of Ethics Meeting of March 8, 2023. Motion carried 3- 0. 2. Discussion on Code of Ethics Policy and process. 1 Vice Mayor Tilque thanked Town Attorney Payne for capturing the information from the last meeting and expressed her appreciation in seeing how other municipalities handled Ethics complaint polices and processes. She stated that she liked the idea of a handbook and enjoyed the format used by the City of Phoenix. She spoke in support of a handbook outlining the entire process and stated the current ethics policy was not very clear and covered other areas. She said the City of Phoenix’s handbook laid out the different complaints and issues and then outlined the process for each. She talked about the importance of separating Council directives and State Law. She said she would also like to see decorum added so that there was only one place that people had to go if they felt something was violated. She talked about being consistent as a Council in reviewing Financial Policies and shared that she felt the same should apply in looking at other policies. She discussed the possibility of an annual review process. Chair Anderson asked for clarification on whether the possible Ethics Commission would have any hand in the reviewing process to which Vice Mayor Tilque confirmed she felt they would and outlined the intent that the Commission could review based on activity seen throughout the year. Councilmember Torgeson spoke of possible concern in outlining all complaint processes in one place when they are very different items and provided an example of an Open Meeting Law complaint versus an Ethics Complaint and confusion to the residents. Vice Mayor Tilque re- emphasized the intent being more than just Open Meeting Law and elaborated. She talked about the new process eliminating the need for staff to continuously review processes each time an event occurred. Chair Anderson spoke in agreement with having everything in one place and asked Town Attorney Payne if the direction discussed aligned with his thoughts on the process. Town Attorney Payne expressed the need to define what was relevant to include when speaking about the Ethics process and provided examples. There was discussion from the subcommittee on the need to clarify other areas, particularly Open Meeting Law and what Council can and cannot do; an example was given related to adding an item to an agenda. Vice Mayor Tilque emphasized the handbook being a resource for the public but also for the Council and discussed the importance of clarifying areas of confusion to avoid overstepping. Chair Anderson spoke in agreement and stated he would not want anyone to be fearful in the ability to conduct themselves as a Councilmember and spoke in agreement to additional clarity. Vice Mayor Tilque 2 stated she felt the document should be an electronic document. Town Clerk Herrera asked for clarification if the intent was to include the ethics process in the existing Council Handbook and explained that two separate handbooks existed, one specifically for Council and one for Boards and Commissions. There was discussion on whether it should be a stand-alone handbook and Town Clerk Herrera stated she would bring back information on the content of both handbooks for review. Vice Mayor Tilque discussed areas covered by the current Ethics Policy and stated that in her review she added information on items that had come up but were missed. She spoke of the importance of the public understanding what was outlined and shared that she felt the current ethics policy was very grey and anything could fall under those provisions if a good case was made. She spoke in support of looking at it as three different areas: State Law, Council directive and ethics, and the way meetings are conducted, which was being worked on by the Communications Subcommittee. She discussed combining efforts. Vice Mayor Tilque began reviewing the different sections of the new drafted policy, sections 1 through 3 based off direction from the previous meeting and provided recommendations on changes to include further clarification on different areas. She asked if section 3.5 regarding Gifts was policy or State Law and explained that other municipalities handled it differently. Town Attorney Payne confirmed that it was not State Law but was adopted by Council and could be modified. Voce Mayor Tilque recommended separating all areas that were State Law from those which were directed by Council. She talked about the need to clarify when a Councilmember may be representing themselves as individuals versus as a Councilmember and representative of the Town. Councilmember Torgeson spoke in agreement and provided a recent example. Councilmember Torgeson began discussing an Ethics Commission and the Subcommittee members began reviewing the proposed process involving such Commission, including information on precinct members, residency requirements and criteria of members. Vice Mayor Tilque discussed the importance in having members who had experience and expertise in mediation and ethics. She stated that the expertise portion was a priority over residency and Chair Anderson stated that he felt there would not be an issue with finding that level of expertise and level of experience within the community. Chair Anderson stated that the Subcommittee members had to remember that this Commission would have to follow the same process as others, and they would be Advisory with the final decision being that of Council. 3 Vice Mayor Tilque discussed the Chair being a mediator and there was further discussion on member criteria and minimum qualifications. Town Attorney Payne provided information on City of Scottsdale’s process and stated that more restrictions limit the scope of potential members and asked what the Subcommittee would be looking for specifically. Vice Mayor Tilque talked about potentially looking at Attorneys, Judges, Human Resources (HR) Professionals, and being a mediator or being able to seek training as one, and two citizens. Chair Anderson expressed his preference to keep a residency requirement since it was a smaller board and Councilmember Torgeson talked about qualifications involving secondary education and certifications. There was additional discussion on possible member requirements, annual reporting of the Commission and the importance of mediation being a mandatory step in the process. Vice Mayor Tilque suggested the title of the Handbook to be “Reporting Violations and Procedures” or similar and talked about the forms being linked within the document for accessibility. She re- emphasized the importance of mediation and asked what potential penalties looked like for the new process. There was discussion on potential penalties for anyone refusing mediation and stated that mediation should be scheduled within 10 business days with penalties beginning on day 11 if not scheduled at the rate of $50 per day and the allowance of one reschedule. There was discussion on the process on the allowable timeline to report a complaint from the date of occurrence. There was additional discussion on possible edits to the policy and complaint process. Chair Anderson asked if the appropriate changes were made, if the current policy should remain to which Vice Mayor Tilque spoke in disagreement and talked about the importance of a new process that was understandable to residents and Council. 3. Discussion on next steps. Town Attorney Payne will work on drafting a Handbook based on the direction and discussion of the Subcommittee. Town Clerk Herrera will bring forward the current Council Handbook and Board and Commission Handbook for review. 4. Action Items a) Set dates for future subcommittee meetings b) other action items as assigned 4 The next Subcommittee meeting was scheduled for April 19, 2023 at 1:00 pm ADJOURN Subcommittee Chair Anderson adjourned the meeting at 4:04 p.m. ATTEST: ___________________________ ___________________________________ Scott Anderson, Chair Chaveli Herrera, Town Clerk CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the special meeting of the Subcommittee on Code of Ethics of the Town of Gilbert held on the 29th day of March, 2023. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this ____ day of ____________________2023. ___________________________________ Chaveli Herrera, Town Clerk 5