Operations Committee Meeting

MINUTES Operations Committee Meeting Tuesday, November 29, 2022 at 4:00 PM Carnegie Town Hall, 235 West 10th St., Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57104 1. Call to Order Present: Committee Member Sarah Cole, Committee Chair Alex Jensen, Committee Member Greg Neitzert, Committee Member Curt Soehl Committee Chair Alex Jensen called the meeting to order at 4 p.m. 2. Approval of Minutes A. Wednesday, June 22, 2022 A motion was made by Committee Member Neitzert and seconded by Committee Member Soehl to approve the minutes. Voice vote to approve. 4 Yes: Cole, Jensen, Neitzert, Soehl; 0 No: (None). Motion Passed. 3. Topics A. Update to Travel Policy Jim David, Chief of Legislation and Policy, explained that the proposed change allows staff members to claim mileage expenses for in-city travel when using personal vehicles for official business. A motion was made by Committee Member Neitzert and seconded by Committee Member Cole to recommend approval of the proposed amendment to the City Council. Voice vote to recommend approval. 4 Yes: Cole, Jensen, Neitzert, Soehl; 0 No: (None). Motion Passed. B. Policies & Procedures Manual Annual Review The presentation was provided by Tom Greco, City Clerk; Jim David, Chief of Legislation and Policy, and; Dave Bixler, Budget Analyst. The presentation included a review of the contents of the current policies and procedures manual. The policies reviewed were: seating and voting order; remote meeting attendance; changes to  meeting dates and times; agenda deadlines; contracts/agreements memorandum; public input; meeting agendas; hiring policies; outside legal services; travel policy; and Carnegie Town Hall use. At the conclusion of the presentation, the committee discussed various aspects of the policy. It was noted that "seating order" should include the customary seating for the immediate past Council Chair; the public input policy should be rewritten to more accurately reflect the current ordinance on the topic; the remote meeting attendance section was discussed with no recommendations for changes, but an affirmation of use of the option under the conditions stated; and, clarification was provided on the how the Council travel policy compares to the administration's travel policy. Council Member Rich Merkouris presented three recommendations to the Committee: capture the various duties of the Council Chair and Vice Chair; re- evaluate staffing needs within the existing organization to determine if changes are needed; and, consider hiring a consultant to review the manual in detail to ensure any personnel or staffing matters are adequately addressed. There was further discussion about the value in preparing an easy-to-understand organizational chart, the importance of continuing the onboarding process for staff after hiring, the roles of the Chair and Vice Chair, and time management of Informational Meetings. Staff was provided guidance to formulate draft sections to the manual that include: 1) meeting types and frequencies, to include the various boards and commissions that members of the Council are a part of; 2) a comprehensive personnel section that covers organization, roles and responsibilities, internal budget management procedures, job descriptions, administrative support to the Council, and how communications to the Council are managed; 3) New Counselor Orientation; 4) the topics presented by Merkouris; 5) amending applicable sections as noted above; and 6) incorporating a listing of commonly-rescheduled meetings into the section of changing meeting dates. Jensen noted that the Committee would meet again in late February or early March. 4. Public Comment There was none. 5. Adjournment Committee Chair Alex Jensen adjourned the meeting at 5:06 p.m. Thomas M. Greco, City Clerk