Charter Revision Commission Meetings

MINUTES Wednesday, June 13, 2018 3 PM Charter Revision Carnegie Town Hall Commission Meeting 235 West Tenth Street Members Present: Robert Thimjon, Pauline Poletes, Sue Aguilar, Jill Entenman, Justin Smith Members Absent: None Staff Present: Daniel J. Brown, Assistant City Attorney; and Cari Hanzel, Paralegal/Clerk 1. Call To Order Committee Chair Robert Thimjon called the meeting to order at 3 p.m. 2. Approval Of Minutes A. December 20, 2017 A motion was made by Sue Aguilar and seconded by Justin Smith to approve the minutes dated December 20, 2017. Commission Chair Thimjon called for a voice vote. All members voted yes. Motion Passed. 3. Old Business A. Charter Article IX - Transition/Separability 1) Section 9.05. Schedule, (f) salary of mayor and council members The mayor’s salary having been established in the amount of $75,000 by this provision in 1995, each other council member shall receive an annual salary in the amount of fifteen (15) percent of the mayor’s salary. The mayor’s salary shall automatically be adjusted annually for inflation or deflation with each other council persons salary thereafter adjusted to be equal to fifteen (15) percent of the mayor’s new adjusted salary. No meeting fees shall be paid to the mayor nor city council members. 2) Compensation and Benefits Study - Salaries of Mayors and Council Members Thimjon provided opening remarks and background information regarding Charter Article IX - Transition/Separability.  Smith stated his appreciation for the individuals who provided the information and the data regarding the Mayor and City Council positions. He asked for clarification on what specific proposals are being requested. Was the information provided for educational purposes? Is there a request for an increase in salary or benefits for the Mayor or City Council? Aguilar responded that the Human Resources Director was already planning on reviewing the Mayor’s salary. She has questions regarding the statistics provided on Omaha and St. Paul and she would like someone to be available to answer those questions. Smith stated it would be helpful to know the specific infrastructure that is available to Council Members in regard to salary, benefits, compensation for extra time, availability of office space, phone lines, mailings, etc. He stated it would also be helpful to know about the benefits that the Mayor receives. Smith recommended receiving personal testimony from current and past City Council members regarding the amount of time they use to perform their duties. Poletes stated that she would also like to hear testimony from the Council Members. Aguilar noted that some of the Council Members are brand new. She agrees with sending an invitation to the members to speak before the Commission, but recommended waiting a little while so the newest members could become acclimated to their roles. Thimjon stated that whether the City Council positions are full time or part time will make a difference on who wants run for the office and be willing to serve. If the existing positions are 20-25 hours per week, it may be difficult for some to also work a full time job. Other factors, such as whether the member owns their own business or is an employee, if their position is hourly vs. salary, would impact the decision to serve. 4. New Business A. Discussion of Future Meeting Dates The Commission decided that the balance of 2018 would be used to research and discuss possible amendments to Charter Article IX. The schedule for 2019 would be used to research and discuss possible amendments to the rest of the Charter for inclusion on the 2020 Municipal City ballot. The following dates were selected for Charter Revision Commission Meetings for 2018. All of the dates are Wednesdays and the meetings will start at 4 p.m. at the Carnegie Town Hall, 235 W. 10th Street: September 12, October 3, November 7 and December 5. The terms of the existing commission members were also discussed. The terms for Justin Smith, Sue Aguilar and Jill Entenman will expire on March 31, 2019. The terms for Pauline Poletes and Robert Thimjon will expire on March 31,  2020. 5. Public Input Council Member Theresa Stehly spoke about the results of the study and the amount of time she spends helping constituents. Stehly made a recommendation that a survey be developed and distributed to Council Members to include questions asking about the amount of time they spend on customer service, number of hours spent in committee meetings, amount of time spent on the telephone, responding to email correspondence, attending other weekly meetings, etc. Stehly indicated that she spends a lot of time responding to citizens, including telephone calls and responding to emails. She cited an example of the Council Meetings on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, where she started with meetings at 3 p.m. and ended at 10 p.m. She stated that the stipend for use of a personal vehicle needs to be increased as she uses her personal vehicle for a lot of customer service activities around the city. Stehly noted the cities that pay less salary but provide benefits. She recommended that City Council Members receive 20% of the Mayor’s salary vs. 15%; she also recommended that City Council Members be given the option to participate in the City’s group health insurance. 6. Open Discussion For the discussion at the meeting in September, the Commission reiterated a need for a complete breakdown of the total compensation received by the City Council Members and the Mayor. This would include: salary, benefit packages, travel reimbursement/ stipends, cell phone stipends, mailing expenses, office space, etc. 7. Adjournment Committee Chair Thimjon adjourned the meeting at 3:30 p.m. Tamara Jorgensen, MMC Assistant City Clerk