General Counsel Commission

MINUTES GENERAL COUNSEL COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING OF FEBRUARY 9, 2023 Present: Council Member Nocera, Council Member Blackwell, Council Member Marino and Council Member Salafia. Staff: Deputy General Counsel, Kori Wisneski, Director of HR, Justin Richardson Public: Ann Gregg, Linda Reed, Bob Charlie, Edward, Joe Smith 1. Call to Order: Meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. 2. Public Comment: Ann Gregg, President of UPSEU Local 4657 read a statement in regards to item 4A on the agenda. She explained that the Clerk of the Common Council position is a position that is covered by the UPSEU collective bargaining agreement and how there are several ways a job description can be brought to the commission and none involve bypassing the union. She further states that the job description on the agenda has not gone through any of the processes and the Union filed a grievance because of this and the only reasonable action would be to remove the item from the GCC agenda. 3. Approval of January 18, 2023 Regular Meeting Minutes Council Member Blackwell made a MOTION to approve the minutes and Council Member Marino seconded the Motion. The Motion passed unanimously of those present and voting. 4. New Business A. Job Description – Clerk of the Common Council Council Member Marino made a motion to let Council Member Nocera explain his reasoning for including the clerk job description on the agenda and Council Member Blackwell seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Council Member Nocera went on to explain that because the charter has changed and the Clerk of the Common Council is now supervised by a majority leader and minority leader, it was added to the agenda just as an FYI. He does not believe the individual’s job description should be discussed at this meeting. Council Member Nocera made a motion to remove the job description from the agenda and Council Member Blackwell seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 5. Old Business A. Fair Rent Commission Ordinance Attorney Wisneski explained that pursuant to the last meeting, she added a provision under section 14-74, subparagraph 12. The addition allows the commission to adopt rules and regulations for conducting hearings and business within its jurisdiction and allows the commission to keep a record of all proceedings. Attorney Wisneski also stated that after an email from Anti-Racism Co Chair, Sasha Armstrong Crockett, she added more language on the first page of the ordinance, which gives guidance to the Mayor and Council regarding the individuals to be selected for this commission. More discussion ensued regarding who to forward this ordinance to for comment, how to get the ordinance out to landlords, and what role the housing authority would play. Council Member Blackwell made a motion to send the ordinance out to the groups identified and Council Member Salafia seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. B. Residency Ordinance (74-30 and 74-31) Option 1: 1. Emergency Responders Ordinance Option 2: 1. Current ordinance with radius requirement Option 3: 1. Current ordinances Attorney Wisneski explained that from the last GCC meeting, she was instructed to come up with a couple of options for the residency ordinance. The first ordinance requires that the four emergency response positions, Police Chief, Deputy Police Chief, Fire Chief and Deputy Fire Chief, reside within a 25-mile radius measured by public highways and roads. The second ordinance proposes that everyone that is in the current ordinance live within a 25-mile radius measured by public highways and roads. The third proposal is to keep the current ordinance as is and was intended to encourage discussion on the current ordinance generally and if any other positions should be added to it. Attorney Wisneski let the commission know of the state statute that specifies that unionized members cannot be required to live in town. Discussion ensued regarding if 2 the radius should be 15 miles or 25 miles. More discussion ensued thereafter regarding getting a list to the commission of department heads, whether those positions are union or non-union, which positions are included in the ordinance and which are not, and who has a take home City vehicles. Council Member Salafia made a motion to table this item until the next GGC meeting and Council Member Blackwell seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 6. Other Council Member Nocera made a motion to discuss labor management and Council Member Salafia seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Council Member Blackwell started the discussion. She questioned how GCC or the Council would know information regarding the names of the applicants who are going before the labor management process. Attorney Wisneski explained the process and the fact that everyone should be focused on positions, not people. She explained the changes that have occurred during her tenure with this process to make it more objective and the council’s role in reviewing the labor management committee’s recommendations. More discussion ensued as to how the labor management process works. Multiple council members expressed their concerns about how the process is flawed. 7. Adjournment: Council Member Marino made a MOTION to adjourn and Council Member Blackwell seconded the Motion. The Motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned. 3