Council Subcommittee

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT TOWN COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE ON CODE OF ETHICS, IN SPECIAL MEETING OF WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2023 AT 1:00 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 Clerk Chaveli Herrera, Deputy Clerk Judy Martinez, Assistant Town Attorney Amanda Jenkins, and Council Aide Monica D'Ortenzio CALL TO ORDER Chair Anderson called the meeting to order at 1:01 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 April 19, 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 29, 2023. Motion carried 3-0. 1 2. Discussion on Code of Ethics Policy and process. Ethics Handbook Policy Statement Town Attorney Payne informed the Subcommittee that he had sent the group revised versions of the Ethics Handbook Policy Statement and Code of Conduct, both as redlined and clean versions. He said the changes were based on their recommednations, then asked how they felt about the proposed changes. Vice Mayor Tilque stated she felt the Subcommitee had made a lot of headway and she hoped it would be the group’s last meeting before the Study Session to inform the Council of the their recommendations. She asked if she should review each of the changes; Chair Anderson agreed it would be best to review them. Vice Mayor Tilque asked if the time to file a complaint with the Town Clerk within 30 calendar days was fair, under Page 5, No. 3. Chair Anderson stated he preferred 15 days; Councilmember Torgeson stated he was comfortable with 30 days. The consensus was to leave the filing requirement deadline at 30 days. Vice Mayor Tilque noted that Page 6 under the the Mediation section was changed to specify that the complaint reports would be under as Administrative items on a Council agenda, not as Public Hearing items; this was also changed on Page 7 under the Investigation section. The group discussed fines if someone refused to meet with a mediator or participate in the investigation, as listed on Page 8. Councilmember Torgeson suggested the fine should be $500, stating it should be a significant amount. The consensus was to state that with the vote of five members, the Council may impose certain sanctions, including a $500 fine. Vice Mayor Tilque stated there were certain stipulations that would be at the discretion of the mediator if someone was not available to schedule a meeting within the required timeframe, such as being out of the country. 2 Council Aide D’Ortenzio asked if there would be a daily fine also; Vice Mayor Tilque replied no, there would be only one fine. Town Attorney Payne asked if the fine should be limited to a refusal to meet, or should it be for any ethics violation or other means. Councilmember Torgeson stated the fine could be for anything. Town Attorney Payne affirmed it was just an option for the Council to impose. Chair Anderson noted it would be a fine and letter of reprimand, but they could have other sanctions, such as taking away committee assignments. The Subcommitee agreed that the Council had many options and the $500fine should be one of them. The group discussed the different ways of filing complaints besides through the Attorney General’s (AG) Office. They discussed that conflicts of interest could be filed with the AG’s Office, a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction, or through a private citizen lawsuit. Town Attorney Payne stated the key was if a Councilmember made an allegation that a conflict of interest was violated, they had to file it by the means listed above, not as an ethical violation. Town Attorney Payne and Vice Mayor Tilque noted that the Attorney General’s Office had the Open Meeting Law Enforecement Team (OMLET), but was not set up for public record law complaints, which should be addressed through a private citizen lawsuit. Vice Mayor Tilque discussed the importance of letting the citizens know what their recourse was in the different scenarios. Vice Mayor Tilque discussed how if an allegation fell under the executive session law, the Council could inititate an investigation if it chose to. She stated that concluded the changes proposed under the ethics piece and asksed if there were any concerns; no concerns were noted. Assistant Town Attorney Jenkins discussed the potential of Gilbert working with Arizona State University’s Lodestar Center on developing a program to work through complaints; she noted the Town could also choose to go the more traditional route. Vice Mayor Tilque stated that once the Town approved the policy, then they could work on the process. Town Attorney Payne discussed possible agreement options and the likelihood of going through procurement. 3 Code of Conduct Vice Mayor Tilque discussed the Code of Conduct piece being separate, but said the Ethics Subcommittee found some areas for suggestions of improvement in the Code of Coduct. She said this document and the meeting protocol would be separate but in the Councilmember Handbook. The consensus was for Code of Conduct and Meeting Protocol should be separate documents but referenced and linked in the Handbooks. Vice Mayor Tilque discussed making connections to the Town Code and looking at other cities for reference as well. She began summarizing the proposed changes. Under Section C, Public Officials Conduct with Town Staff, Vice Mayor Tilque stated it was not appropriate for the Councilmembers to give orders to staff, that they should instead work through the Town Manager. She also noted that the Council approved the annual budget, but the Town Manager decided how the budget would be allocated to departments. Councilmember Torgeson expressed concerns of difficulty with the process and trying to get issues with budget resolved, adding there was no positive way to change it by the time it got to the Council. Vice Mayor Tilque suggested getting involved more at the Fall Retreat level, adding that Council had more of a role in estabilishing policies. Councilmember Torgeson reiterated that there was lack of opportunity for Councilmembers to address those issues, adding there needed to be a more effective tool to provide input. Chair Anderson dicussed how it was part of the fundamental organization of local government, adding the alternative was a strong mayor and politically-ran environment. The concensus was to add a placeholder for No. 6 under Section C, Public Officials Conduct with Town Staff, to address the annual budget discussion, but not to add the proposed language until it could be reviewed. The group agreed to move No. 1 (C), Eveyone Gets a Chance to Share Their Views, under Section D, Public Officials Conduct with Members of the Public, to the Meeting Protocol document instead. 4 The Subcommittee discussed Robert’s Rules of Order and if the Town should adopt and incorporate a less complex set of rules for parliaimentary procedures, such as Roseberg’s Rules of Order. Deputy Clerk Martinez offered to contact attorney Randall Van Vleck from New Mexico who had offered to provide a version of parliamentary procedures that his city had adopted. Town Attorney Payne spoke in support of simplified version and adding a placeholder on the subject to review options. The consensus was to consider alternative, simpler options instead of Robert’s Rules of Order. Vice Mayor Tilque asked if besides the placeholders for the budget reference and rules of order, were there any other concerns; there were no concerns expressed. Chair Anderson confirmed that the Handbook would be online with links to the other documents; Town Attorney Payne and Town Clerk Hererra affirmed. Town Clerk Herrera asked for clarification about the process for receiveing two complaints within a six-month period that would automatically be sent to Council as an Administrative item. She asked if two Councilmembers submitted complaints regarding the same incident, would that constitute the two complaints process that would require enforcement. The consensus was that it had to be two different incidents, not multiple reportings of the same incident. 3. Discussion on next steps. The group agreed that a Study Session would be the next step. Vice Mayor Tilque noted that if the Study Session was on June 20, 2023, the Council could not vote on the items until August at a Regular Council meeting. The group discussed scheduling, then Town Clerk Herrera noted that board and commission interviews were tentatively scheduled for June 6, 2023. Deputy Clerk Martinez asked if it would be helpful to move the board and commission interviews to June 20, 2023, so that more of the topics of the Subcommittees could be reviewed on June 6, 2023. The consensus was to have a presentation from the Subcommittee on Board and Commission Processes on June 6, 2023, along with the Ethics 5 Handbook, Code of Conduct, and Meeting Protocol/Decorum on the same night. Town Clerk Herrera stated she would consult with Mayor Peterson and confirm scheduling. 4. Action Items a) Set dates for future subcommittee meetings b) other action items as assigned The Subcommittee agreed that another meeting would not be needed at this time, rather the items would be taken to the Council in Study Session in June. The Town Attorney and Clerk’s Offices would prepare a clean version of the revisions for the Council, as well as the information for the Study Session presentation and scheduling confirmation. ADJOURN Subcommittee Chair Anderson adjourned the meeting at 2:19 p.m. ATTEST: ___________________________ ___________________________________ Scott Anderson, Chair Judy Martinez, Deputy 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 17th of May, 2023. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this ____ day of ____________________2023. 6 ___________________________________ Judy Martinez, Deputy Town Clerk 7