Salary Commission

rçC City SALARY COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2019 CITY HALL 22710 E. COUNTRY VISTA DRIVE 1:30 P.M. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Wissmann called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. ROLL CALL: Present: Chairman Joan Wissmann, Salary Commissioner James Baumker, and Salary Commissioner Holly Woodruff City Staff: RJ Stevenson, City Finance Director; and Tricia Prince, Office Assistant AGENDA APPROVAL: Chairman Wissmann moved to approve the amended February 14, 2019 agenda and February 5, 2019 meeting minutes, with corrections, seconded by Commissioner Woodruff. Motion carried unanimously. REVIEW OF DRAFT QUESTIONNAIRE: Commissioner Baumker asked for more details regarding the committees that council members participate in. Mr. Stevenson used the Liberty Lake Council Rules and Procedures as a guide to explain committee meetings. Commission members discussed council workshops in detail to gain a better understanding of city expectations. Mr. Stevenson explained that there are workshops before every council meeting, that workshops are like committees and council members are encouraged to attend and added that it is not mandatory. The salary commission members reviewed the questionnaire that was drafted from the February 5th meeting and made changes before requesting that the questionnaire be edited and sent to commission members before the February 19th meeting to be finalized. Chairman Wissmann requested that city staff to reach out to legal counsel regarding the following issues before the commission members interview council members:  • Must salary be the same for council members and can additional pay be for them? • Are elected officials covered by FSLA? • Are their benefits covered by any type of ERISA laws? • Is there a minimum wage requirement for Council Members? Mr. Stevenson commented that City staff also has access to MRSC as a resource to use for this research. The commission members discussed drafting a separate questionnaire for the Mayor. Commissioner Woodruff said that the questions on the current questionnaire cover all responsibilities pretty well and the commission members agreed that the council member handbook that was used is a good resource while looking at the expectations of all City Council roles. Committee agreed to have one questionnaire for all councilmembers and the Mayor and that the Mayor will be asked about what his expectations are for the council members based on the job descriptions specified in the handbook, during his interview. Commissioner Woodruff asked if the Mayor does all hiring and firing, or if he defers to staff and the City Administrator? Mr. Stevenson clarified that the Mayor makes the final decision when hiring and firing employees. The commission members agreed that adds to the time the Mayor spends doing executive and administrative duties. TIM ELINE: Chairman Wissman proposed a 2 week time frame for councilmembers to fill out and return the questionnaire. The commission members agreed that 2 weeks is a sufficient amount of time. A letter will be sent out from the commission with questionnaire to council members next week. Chairman Wissman said that she will draft up a letter for the February 19th meeting. It was agreed that the next Salary Commission meeting will be on February 19th at 1:30 p.m.; Council members will be given until March 8th, 2019 to return the questionnaire, and next Salary Commission meeting will be March 14th, at 1:30 p.m. The Salary Commission will start scheduling interviews at the March 14th meeting. Chairman Wissman asked when the Finance Director needs a commission recommendation by and Mr. Stevenson answered that August is when the budget is put together and that he would like to have an approved salary by then. ESTABLISH TIMES FOR COUNCIL INTERVIEW MEETINGS: This item will be added to the March 14th meeting agenda. MARKET DATA: The committee reviewed new research data provided by staff. INTRODUCTION OF UPCOMING AGENDA ITEMS: Commission members reviewed the upcoming agenda items for the February 14th Salary Commission meeting. PUBLIC COMMENT COMMENTS: Mike Kennedy commented that in his opinion, this Salary Commission is leaps ahead of previous Salary Commissions. ADJOURNMENT: Chairman Wissmann moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Commissioner Woodruff. Motion carried unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 2.30 p.m. These minutes are approved February 1 019. / ) JoyIWissmann, Salary Commission Chairman / City of Liberty Lake Notes and Transcription by Tricia Prince, Office Assistant. This Salary Commission meeting was also audio taped. Anyone desiring to listen to the recording may contact the City Clerk