City Council Meetings

CITY OF GREEN RIVER CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP PROCEEDINGS May 8, 2012 The Governing Body of the City of Green River met in workshop session at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers. Mayor Castillon called the meeting to order. The following Council Members were present: Tom McCullough, Gary Killpack, Gene Smith, and Lisa Maes. The following were present representing the City: Director of Public Works Mike Nelson, Director of Finance Jeff Nieters, Director of Community Development Laura Hansen, Director of Human Resources Debbie Klein Robertson, Chief of Police Chris Steffen, Parks and Recreation Director Allan Wilson, and City Attorney Galen West. Council Members Boan and Coppolo were not present. Adoption of State Statutes for DUI’s and DUS’s Chief Steffen said prior to 1996 the city had DUI’s and DUS’s under its control. At that time there was an issue of space in the jail. The County’s arrestee was first priority and the city’s arrestee was second. This is no longer an issue because there is a new facility. Taking these over will not change the Police Departments work load. He said this would help with customer service. He spoke to Judge Petri and he said the Municipal Court could take these over with no increase in staff. He also spoke with the City Prosecutor, Lisa Botham and she will have more work and might need some assistance. He said this is not a generating revenue proposition. However, after a few years when things level out it could possibly generate revenues. He said it will give officers and other staff the control in handling these cases. Council Member McCullough said everything is going smoothly so why change it. He said he is for customer service but he wants to know the costs that are associated with it. If Rock Springs does not run in the red, he might think about supporting it. Chief Steffen said he spoke to the Police Chief in Rock Springs and he said they handle twice as many as Green River does. He said the way they prosecute their cases may not be the same because it is up to the judge. Council Member Smith asked who would receive better customer service; the citizens or the offenders. Chief Steffen said it would be both. Any DUI arrest eliminates the threat to the community. Council Member Smith asked if they should reconsider funding the supervised probation request if they take over the DUI’s. Chief Steffen said he can’t say to fund it or not but he would like to participate in the program. Ms. Felderman did not indicate that she would not work with the city if we do take them over. This is something that can be looked into at a later date if needed. Council Member Killpack said he supports taking the DUI’s over. He asked if the PD would be more affective, if they take these over. Chief Steffen said yes. Council Member Maes said she thinks at first it would be a wash but later it can generate a little bit of revenue. It would keep control in the hands of our system. She supports taking them over. The Mayor asked the City Prosecutor what she thinks of taking over the DUI and DUS. City Prosecutor Lisa Botham said she does see an increase in time involved in prosecuting these cases. For every hour that is increased in court that is usually three hours of paperwork on her part. The City of Rock Springs has one and a half staff for prosecution and the County has two full-time staff. She said this would increase the court time by thirty percent. She was told the fees that are paid completely pays for their court and staff. She said there will be the possibility of needing a secretary for handling paperwork. She would like this option to be available but is not asking for it at this time. She said if the DUI’s are taken over by the city and it does end up generating revenue then she City Council Workshop Proceedings May 8, 2012 Page 1 of 4 would like for council to consider bringing back the work restitution program. Council Member Killpack asked if the county would take it back if the city tries it for a year and it does not work. Ms. Botham said they have no choice it will automatically go back to them. Municipal Court Judge Jason Petri said it is council’s choice to take these over or not. He said some will have jail sentences. A DUI is a must appear citation, so there will be more court time along with trials spent on dealing with these cases. Comprehensive Plan Rewrite Update Ms. Leigh said the rewriting the comprehensive plan is underway and Shelby Sommer and Darcie White from Clarion Associates are here to give council an update. Ms. White said they have been underway for a while now and they will be holding a series of meetings on May 9, 2012. She said they are about half way through the process. The opportunity now is to see what direction the city would like to go for the future. The purpose of holding these meetings are to look at the big picture vision for the community. Once the meetings are completed they will come back in August with a draft plan. Change in Charter Ordinance from City Administrator to Mayoral The Mayor said the council has put the search for the new city administrator on hold so they can look into the different forms of government. Mr. West said the Executive Session that was held was very brief and he assures the citizens that the session was conducted in strict conformity to the open meetings law. Wyoming Statues govern how cities and towns are to conduct their business and be governed. There are three basic forms of government that are provided: The Mayor/Council form, the City Manager form, and the City Commission form. In addition to the forms of government there is a constitutional provision that specifies that a city may elect local control over the form of government. This allows with the proper ordinance, adopted by two third of the governing body, and published for a city to opt out of certain statues that the legislature has enacted. A city cannot opt out of all of the statutes. In 1985 the City of Green River opted out of three different statues and adopted the City Administrator form of government. The most predominate form is the Mayor/Council form; which the mayor superintends over the employees and the operations of the government. The City Administrator form operates in the opposite way, the governing body adopts policies and the ordinances along with the budget but it is left to the City Administrator to manage the employees and the day to day operations of the city. The Mayor the commission form of government is the least used form in Wyoming. The Mayor asked Mr. West if the government will lose any checks and balances with any of the forms of government. Mr. West said with the traditional checks and balances you have a legislative branch, executive branch, and a judicial branch so it would depend on what branch you are refereeing to. The legislative branch is going to be the governing body and the executive branch is the mayor. The form of government the city has now is an executive function and is performed by the City Administrator. Council Member Killpack asked what kind of latitude the governing body has currently and what kind of fine or disciplinary action can be set if the governing body operates out of this function. Mr. West said council sets the policies and has the ability to approve the budget. Currently, the governing body does not have the ability to conduct day to day supervision of the form of government. As far as a fine it would depend on the circumstances. Council Member McCullough said he has been on council for seven and a half years and he has never seen any council person voting to hurt the City of Green River. He supports the City City Council Workshop Proceedings May 8, 2012 Page 2 of 4 Administrators form of government that the city has now. Council members can have many things done or completed by talking to the city administrator if they get any complaints or concerns. The first year he was in office the City Administrator helped him learn all about the procedures and statutes. He said if you go to the Mayor form of government it could be very overwhelming for someone who does not know about the government policies or procedures. Council Member Maes said she supports the City Administrator form of government. She said she has worked for the city in both Green River and Rock Springs and she has seen the different forms of government. A lot of people run for a government position and they do not realize the policies and procedures that have to be followed. You need to have a knowledgeable and experienced person that can manage the government. A Mayor/Council form of government can be scary when there are new elections because you do not know the knowledge or experience of the new members stepping in. Council Member Killpack said he would like to stress to the council that they need to stay within their responsibilities. He knows there have been issues where council members have went straight to staff and told them what to do and they cannot do that. They need to go through the City Administrator. He has received twenty to thirty phone calls and he went around and talked with people and not one of them wants a Mayoral form of government so he will support the City Administrator’s form of government. He said he needs to support what the citizens want. Council Member Smith said he has not received many calls on this and he does not know why. He is one who supported bringing this out for open discussion. Now is the time to discuss this issue. One of the reasons is the last election done by the county there was a big issue with the CEO of Sweetwater County. The voters were vocal on this issue and a change was made. He would like to hear from more citizens of Green River on what they would like. He said the governing body is very important and they do matter. He would like to see the city change to the Mayoral form of government. The Mayor said he agrees with Council Member Smith. He has spoke with a member of a previous council and was told they changed to this form of government as an experiment. He has been on council for six years and he has seen both forms of government. The governing body puts all of their faith and trust into a City Administrator when they are hired. It restricts the governing body from day to day management of the city. He will not support staying with the current form of government if council will not follow the charter ordinance to the full letter. Council Member Maes said when she first started with the city in 1987 they had been using the City Administrator form of government since 1980 so they have had this form of government for 32 years. There have been many good and bad City Administrators. The council has the right to make sure the city administrator is following the policies and procedures so there is a certain amount of control. When you have a City Administrator you have someone who is professional and knows the statutes. Council Member Killpack said this issue has been a difficult one but you have to follow the charter ordinance no matter which one is chosen. Council Member Smith said yes there have been good and bad City Administrator’s, Council Members and Mayors. It is all about who you put into the position. Ted York said he has experience with being on council and he does not agree with the council’s hands being tied, you as a council member can get involved as much as you want. He said Mr. Cook did a very good job and was very professional. He said it is a professional versus an elected official. As an elected official you don’t have the professional ability to run the city effectively. The City Administrator form is the best. Judy Graham said she believes that the City Administrator form of government is the most professional and efficient way the city can be governed. She knows what it takes to be a director and if she had to be a person who had to take care of the day to day management of the organization, she would not have been able to do so. Changing the form of government may limit people from running for office because they do not have the experience to run the city. It has been working for thirty-two years so she would like council to keep its current form of government. City Council Workshop Proceedings May 8, 2012 Page 3 of 4 The Mayor asked Mr. West to draft an ordinance to repeal the form of government and put it to a vote by council. He asked council when they would like to have it on the agenda for May 15, 2012 or June 5, 2012. Council Members McCullough, Maes, and Killpack said May 15, 2012. The Mayor said the citizens can voice their opinion by attending the Council meetings. He instructed Mr. West to have it ready for May 15, 2012 Council meeting. Mayor and Council Reports Council Member McCullough congratulated the Mayor, Council Member Maes, and Council Member Killpack for winning the spatula at the Rockin’ River Chef’s Challenge. Council Member Killpack asked if the dirt that is being dumped own by the Jackman subdivision is contaminated. Mr. Nelson said no it is not contaminated soil. It is too wet to use for backfill. Council Member Maes thanked staff for helping with the Chef’s challenge. Council Member Smith had nothing to report. The Mayor passed out the statistic information on the National High School Rodeo Finals. There was a public hearing on the level two water study for water proposal for Jamestown, Peru- Hill, and section 10 and 12. He attended a meeting where they discussed the 6th Penny initiatives. They did cut the amount down from $171 million to $121 million. He has received a letter from the School District #2 requesting support for the new high school pool facility. Council Member Smith said they are asking the city to support them bundling the pool with infrastructure and he will not support bundling it with the infrastructure. They should bundle it with something else that is more closely related. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 8:12 pm. ____________________________________ Tara Smith, Recording Secretary City Council Workshop Proceedings May 8, 2012 Page 4 of 4