Informational Meeting

MINUTES Informational Meeting Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at 4:00 PM Carnegie Town Hall, 235 West 10th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57104 1. Call To Order Council Members Present: Janet Brekke, Christine M. Erickson, Rick Kiley, Greg Neitzert, Marshall Selberg, Curt Soehl, Pat Starr, Theresa Stehly Council Members Absent: None Council Chair Marshall Selberg called the meeting to order at 4 p.m. 2. City Council Open Discussion Council Member Theresa Stehly spoke about observing the transport of two homes from the Avera McKennan campus. Council Member Pat Starr spoke about things that happend over the weekend, which included: the Levitt Shell opening, the Peach Festival, the Pride Festival, and several showings of "Les Mis" at the Washington Pavilion.He added that there will be a Juneteenth Celebrate Freedom event on Saturday and spoke about diversity. Council Member Christine M. Erickson spoke about the Midwest Regional youth soccer tournament in Kansas City. She stated that six teams, from the Sioux Falls area, qualified for the tournament. Three teams made it to the finals, with the U-14 year old girls winning their game and qualifying for the finals in Tennessee. 3. Presentations A. May 2019 Monthly Financials by Shawn Pritchett, Finance Director Presentation: Approximately 15 minutes followed by discussion Pritchett spoke about the following, during his presentation:Unemployment; Labor Force & Employment; Inflation; Building Permits YTD Building Valuations; Sioux Falls Quarterly Housing Permits (Units); Sales Tax Collections w/out Audits; Entertainment Tax Collections w/out Audits; General Fund - Revenues YTD; General Fund - Expenditures YTD; One Sioux Falls Budget: 2020; May: Leadership Sioux Falls Focus Groups; and One Sioux Falls Budget: 2020. Discussion followed regarding: unemployment; sales tax collections; reserve fund; receiving information; Council Budget Initative Ranking; concerns regarding collecting resident information from the City's Web Site; the new budget process; increase in the labor force; and the ideal unemployment rate.  B. Cell Phone Ban During Council Meetings by Council Member Theresa Stehly Presentation: Approximately 10 minutes followed by discussion Stehly led the presentation to discuss a potential Transparency in Communication Ordinance. She began by asking Stacy Kooistra, City Attorney, to clarify the Council's expectation of privacy, with the use of phones and laptops, during a Council meeting. Stehly said moving forward it's going to be an issue to know what is personal and what is not, regarding the use of the devices. Integirty of the Meeting & Public Input was the focus of Stehly's presentation. She covered: how ordinances are silent in regards to use of electronic communication devices by the Council; the revision of the public input policy; the structured opportunity that the public has to address the Council; the structured opportunity that the Council has for debate/discussion; the use of electronic communication gives the public access to the Council during meetings, which is considered public input; the public should have equal access to the Council at the meetings; electronic correpondence during the meetings need to be addressed; and the impact that electronic communication has on the public meeting process. Stehly said the questions to consider is if the unrestricted use of electronic correspondence during official City Council Meetings is appropriate, ethical or legal. Council Member Janet Brekke continued the presenation by discussing meeting decorum. She provided a brief history of communication with the Council; and discussed the framework of what they are trying to put in place. Brekke discussed the following from the Code of Ethics: the Ethics Preamble, Canon Three, Canon Four, Canon Five, and Robert's Rules of Order, She said the following areas need to be examined: Public Input & Constituent Correspondence; Discussion/Debate; and Conducting personal/private business during official meetings. Discussion followed regarding: is public input defined by law; conducting research during meetings; electronic communication; what's the difference between receiving electronic communication prior to or during a meeting; defining the problem of receiving electronic communication during a meeting; submitting items in a timely manner; use of cellphones during meetings; wanting an all inclusive Council; quasi judicial items have to be disclosed; this discussion and getting information is the starting point for the ordinance; personal business needs to wait until the end of the meeting; and Council members need to be fully engaged at meeting. 4. Public Comment Bruce Danielson spoke about communicating with the Council, citizens being ignored during public input, Notice of Claim, discoverable material for court. Scott Ehrisman spoke about texting Councl members during a meeting, government devices can be subpoenaed, emergency situations, and the City Budget. Steven Siano spoke about the City Attorney's job, limitations of public input, making correspondence to the Council public, and the lack of transparency. 5. Executive Session  A. Consulting with legal counsel or reviewing communications from legal counsel about proposed or pending litigation or contractual matters pursuant to SDCL 1-25- 2(3) A motion was made by Council Member Erickson and seconded by Council Vice- Chair Neitzert to enter Executive Session at 5:34 p.m. Roll call vote to enter Executive Session. 8 Yes: Brekke, Erickson, Kiley, Neitzert, Selberg, Soehl, Starr, Stehly; 0 No: (None). Motion Passed. 6. Adjournment A motion was made by Council Member Erickson and seconded by Council Member Kiley to exit Executive Session and adjourn at 5:59 p.m. Voice vote to exit Executive Session. 8 Yes: Brekke, Erickson, Kiley, Neitzert, Selberg, Soehl, Starr, Stehly; 0 No: (None). Motion Passed. Denise D. Tucker, MMC, Assistant City Clerk