City Council

27 WEST ALLEN STREET WINOOSKI, VERMONT 05404 (802) 655-6410 CITY OF WINOOSKI (802) 655-6414 (fax) RAYMOND S. COFFEY INTERIM CITY MANAGER MAYOR SETH LEONARD DEPUTY MAYOR BRIAN CORRIGAN mayor@winooskivt.org CITY COUNCIL COUNCILOR NICOLE MACE COUNCILOR ROBERT MILLAR COUNCILOR BRIAN SWEENEY Agenda Monday, November 21, 2016 6:00 p.m. Claire Burke Council Chambers I. Call to Order II. Pledge of Allegiance III. Public Comment IV. Consent Agenda a. Approval: City Council Minutes of November 7, 2016 b. Approval: Payroll Warrant 10/23-11/5/16 V. City Update VI. Agenda Review VII. Regular Items: a. Approval: AFSCME Contract – R. Coffey b. Discussion/Approval: Update Personnel Manual – Sick Bank Time – R. Coffey c. Discussion/Approval: Update Personnel Manual – Health Insurance Opt-Out – R. Coffey d. Discussion/Approval: Resolution Authorizing Policy Development to make Winooski a Sanctuary City – S. Leonard VIII. Adjourn MINUTES The meeting was called to order by the Mayor at 6:00pm. The meeting began with the pledge of allegiance led by Deputy Mayor Brian Corrigan. Members Present: Mayor Seth Leonard Councilors: Brian Corrigan, Brian Sweeney, Robert Millar Officers Present: Minutes of November 21, 2016 Winooski City Council Page 1 of 4 www.winooskivt.org Ray Coffey, Interim City Manager; Angela Aldieri, Assistant City Clerk; Peter Wernsdorfer, Public Works Director; Kirstie Paschall, Interim Community Services Director; Heather Carrington, Community and Economic Development Director; Julie Hulburd, Human Resources Manager Others Present: Paul Sarne; Phil Bickel; Faisal Gill; Seth Gillim; Jen Corrigan; Nate Venet III. Public Comment No public comment was made. IV. Consent Agenda MOTION by Councilor Sweeney, seconded by Councilor Millar to approve the consent agenda as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. V. City Update Mr. Coffey stated that City Offices would be closed on Thursday and Friday this week for the Thanksgiving holiday. He went on to express his appreciation of the City staff, their support and work often occur behind the scenes and are not recognized much of the time. VI. Agenda Review There were no changes to the order of the agenda. VII. Regular Items: a. Approval: AFSCME Contract – R. Coffey Mr. Coffey recognized the work of Julie Hulburd, Peter Wernsdorfer, and Brian Line on this contract. Ms. Hulburd has provided a memo summarizing the major changes to the contract. There have been no substantive changes since this contract was presented at the last meeting. MOTION by Deputy Mayor Corrigan, seconded by Councilor Millar to approve the AFSCME union contract as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. b. Discussion/Approval: Update Personnel Manual – Sick Bank Time – R. Coffey Mr. Coffey stated that this is an update to the personnel manual to have our policies align with new state law that becomes effective January 1st regarding sick time. This change expands those eligible for sick leave benefits and eliminates the wait time before sick time can be used. Once a policy has been approved by Council there is a thirty day posting period for internal review. MOTION by Deputy Mayor Corrigan, seconded by Councilor Sweeney to approve the change to the personnel manual regarding sick bank time as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. c. Discussion/Approval: Update Personnel Manual – Health Insurance Opt-Out – R. Coffey This item was discussed by Council at their prior meeting. It was an item that came up during the police union negotiations. Mr. Coffey noted that we do not have many people taking advantage of the opt out option and increasing the amount may encourage more participation. The opt out would increase from $1200 total to $5200 total. It was noted that only one two- Minutes of November 21, 2016 Winooski City Council Page 2 of 4 www.winooskivt.org person or family plan opting out would have the cost break even for the City. It was again noted that once a policy has been approved by Council there is a thirty day posting period for internal review. MOTION by Council Millar, seconded by Deputy Mayor Corrigan to approve the change to the personnel manual regarding health insurance opt out as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. d. Discussion/Approval: Resolution Authorizing Policy Development to make Winooski a Sanctuary City – S. Leonard Mayor Leonard stated that the City has a long history of focusing on providing services for those who live here. He referenced the section of the City’s vision statement regarding fostering relationships across cultures by providing safe environments. Mayor Leonard cited feedback that he had received from some residents who are uncomfortable and don’t feel they can access services because of where they are from. Winooski is a community that embraces diversity. This proposed resolution would be a directive to staff to create formal policies to become a sanctuary City. Residents should have confidence that they will receive service regardless of immigration status. He expressed that this is not a comment on national policies, but rather a message to concerned residents. Discussion regarding potential repercussions in the form of lost federal funding from the Department of Justice (DOJ) followed noting the amount of funds currently awarded to the City is just over $200,000. Additional discussion regarding the regional use of some DOJ funding that this could also impact. Each Councilor present expressed their support for this resolution stating that the City has been taking steps toward this for quite some time. Mayor Leonard opened the discussion to members of the public. Phil Bickel of Forest Street expressed supported for what the Council is doing noting that he had planned to request that the City consider doing this in the future. He went on to cite the importance of sending a message to residents despite the theoretical risks. Faisal Gill of Winooski Falls Way applauded the Council for taking a stand to make residents feel secure but stressed his concern that the City might be putting a target on the immigrants who live here. He stated that the City should be a sanctuary but was concerned that if we seek the designation of a Sanctuary City that the Federal government may target this City specifically. He further urged the Council to use caution in their consideration as the people who would bear the brunt of the repercussions would be the immigrants who live here. Seth Gillim of Maple Street stated that he has heard his entire life that this is a Christian nation and that he had rejected that thought in the past, but has recently begun to believe it. He read a passage from the gospel regarding loving thy neighbor that he believed to be germane to the discussion of becoming a Sanctuary City. Mayor Leonard stated that this has turned into a nation issue and that the City intends to codify that residents do not need to fear seeking services without having their immigration status questioned. Many questions remain about the reaction that will occur at the federal level. It was noted that this action means something and is an extension of the past actions taken by the City. There would be a process in creating these policies that would involve citizens. Mayor Leonard read into record the proposed resolution directing staff to write policies that reflect being a Sanctuary City. MOTION by Councilor Millar, seconded by Councilor Sweeney to approve the resolution to authorize policy development to make Winooski a Sanctuary City with minor corrections to typographical errors as presented. Voted and passed 4-0. Minutes of November 21, 2016 Winooski City Council Page 3 of 4 www.winooskivt.org VIII. Adjourn MOTION by Councilor Millar, seconded by Deputy Mayor Corrigan to adjourn the City Council meeting at 6:55pm. Voted and passed 3-0. ATTEST: ___________________________ Assistant City Clerk Minutes of November 21, 2016 Winooski City Council Page 4 of 4 www.winooskivt.org