Appointed Committees

CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT AD HOC COMMITTEE October 18, 2016 Page 1 Committee Members Present: Mark Jantzer, Dave Lehner, Shannon Straight, Scott Knudsvig, Lianne Zeltinger Members Absent None Others Present: Alderman Podrygula, Kelly Matalka, Cindy Hemphill, Kelly Hendershot, Lisa Jundt, Derek Hackett, Bob Schemp, Jill Schramm, Josh Wolsky Chairman Jantzer brought the meeting to order at 12:00 pm. Approval of Minutes Committee member Zeltinger moved the committee approve the minutes from the October 11, 2016 committee meeting. Motion seconded by Alderman Lehner and carried unanimously by a roll call vote. Proposed Ordinance and Resolution Alderman Lehner moved the committee recommend the City Council pass an ordinance amending Chapter 2 (Administration), Article II (City Council), Division 1 (Generally), Section 2-24 (Council Committees) of the City of Minot Code of Ordinances. Motion seconded by committee member Knudsvig. Alderman Podrygula questioned the preamble to the proposed ordinance which states, “the public was notified of the meeting, invited to attend the meeting, and permitted to comment at the meeting”. He asked if the word “permitted” was the appropriate language to describe forum of the meetings. The City Attorney stated, the Open Meeting Laws of the State of North Dakota do not require that the audience be permitted to speak at meetings unless it is a public hearing. She offered to change the wording to “encouraged” if so moved by the committee. Alderman Lehner added, during some meetings there is no opportunity for public comment or the public must be invited in order to speak so he stated, the wording is accurate and he saw no reason to amend his motion. Whereupon a vote was taken on the motion by Alderman Lehner, seconded by committee member Knudsvig, and carried by the following roll call vote: ayes: Jantzer, Knudsvig, Lehner, Straight, Zeltinger. nays: none Committee member Knudsvig moved the committee recommend the City Council adopt a resolution establishing dates, procedure, and order of business for Committee of the Whole meetings of the City Council. Motion seconded by Alderman Straight and carried by the following roll call vote: ayes: Jantzer, Knudsvig, Lehner, Straight, Zeltinger. nays: none CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT AD HOC COMMITTEE October 18, 2016 Page 2 Revised Change in Government Committee Schedule Chairman Jantzer reminded everyone of the revised schedule for this committee. City Council Meeting Schedule The City Attorney said, State Law requires that an ordinance outline the meeting dates and times for regular City Council meetings. The group discussed whether it would be beneficial to change the day of the week or if the time should be moved earlier. Alderman Lehner recommended keeping the meetings as they currently stand, the first Monday of the month at 6:30 pm. He continued by saying, the new City Council can decide once they are elected, if they would like to change the date or time. Alderman Lehner also recommended the committee maintain the current requirement for calling Special City Council meetings, which states, a Special meeting may be called by the city manager, the mayor, or any two aldermen. Upon suggestion by Alderman Podrygula to change the ordinance so that only one alderman be required to call a special meeting, Alderman Lehner responded by saying, two members would be necessary to keep someone from exploiting that power and calling excessive meetings. Compensation of Council Members and Mayor Ms. Hemphill explained that the memo provided to the committee includes figures from around the region to give some comparison when considering how to proceed. She stated, the compensation for 2017 has already been approved in the 2017 budget with the current salary of $595/month for 14 aldermen for six months and $595/ month for six aldermen for six months. It also states the Mayor will receive $750/month. The compensation changes will therefore take effect in January 2018. Mr. Knudsvig and Ms. Zeltinger agreed that by decreasing the size of the Council, the work load will increase and therefore should warrant an increase in pay. Ms. Zeltinger explained, there needs to be some incentive for citizens to run, especially for a city wide campaign which can be expensive. Alderman Lehner suggested the Council decide next June once they are elected, what they believe their pay should be. Alderman Straight stated, he would not promote or vote for a pay increase since that was his stance during the MakeMinot campaign. He said he understands the tremendous amount of time required but is not on City Council for the money. Mr. Knudsvig moved the committee recommend the City Council amend Section 2-19 of the City of Minot Code of Ordinances to compensate aldermen $1,000/month and the Mayor $1,500/month to take effect January, 2018. Motion seconded by Alderman Lehner. CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT AD HOC COMMITTEE October 18, 2016 Page 3 Alderman Podrygula expressed his agreement with the motion and stated the amount of effort and responsibility that Council requires deserves an increase in compensation. He added, in order to maintain a representative group of people the position must be attractive to the common citizen rather than only the wealthy. Ms. Zeltinger stated, she does not believe $1,500/month is enough for the Mayor. Alderman Jantzer reminded, the committee is making a recommendation to City Council but it can still be amended either before the vote at this meeting or before second reading by City Council. Whereupon a vote was taken on the above motion by Mr. Knudsvig, seconded by Alderman Lehner and carried by the following roll call vote: ayes: Jantzer, Knudsvig, Lehner, Zeltinger. nays: Straight Mayor Duties and Powers The City Attorney said, currently, Section 2-116 of the City of Minot Code of Ordinances states the Mayor only votes during City Council meetings in instances when a tie breaking vote is necessary. It also authorizes the Mayor to veto resolutions or ordinances. The committee directed Ms. Hendershot to rewrite the section to include the Mayor as a voting member of the Council and remove the authority to veto. It was also addressed that the Mayor will remain the chairman of City Council meetings, signatory for all applicable documents and figure for the City. There were no additional duties created at this time. Alderman Straight asked if the City Attorney could add a section requiring approval by the City Council before the Mayor appoints specific people to a special committee. She responded by saying, the section on Council Committees was approved earlier in the meeting but it can still be amended before final approval. She added, State Law of open meetings states that a committee can be appointed without formal approval so even if it is added to the ordinance the situation would still be allowed. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 12:49 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Kelly Matalka City Clerk