Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutesPROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL CITY OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN C~ ~I~KC~ ~N ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING held Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 12:06 p.m. in the Council Chambers, City Hall. Mayor Tower presided. PRESENT: Council Members Bryan Bain, Paul Esslinger, Jessica King, Dennis McHugh, Tony Palmeri, Burk Tower and Mayor Frank Tower ALSO PRESENT: John Fitzpatrick, Acting City Manager, Pamela Ubrig, City Clerk, Lynn Lorenson, Acting City Attorney and David Patek, Director of Public Works NOTE: The three newly elected Council Members (Paul Esslinger, Dennis McHugh, Burk Tower) took their oath of office which was administered by the City Clerk. Mayor Tower called three times for nominations of Deputy Mayor for the Common Council. Council Member Tower nominated Council Member Bain. MOTION: CLOSE NOMINATIONS FOR DEPUTY MAYOR (Esslinger; second, McHugh) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Bain, Esslinger, King, McHugh, Palmeri, Tower, Mayor Tower Mayor Tower declared Council Member Bain as Deputy Mayor Bain. The Council seating assignments were decided as follows: (starting with the seat farthest to the right of the Mayor) Jessica King, Tony Palmeri, Bryan Bain, Mayor Frank Tower, Burk Tower, Dennis McHugh, Paul Esslinger. Discussion of Rules /Agenda Format Mayor Tower explained they would review the current "Council Rules" and agenda format to determine if any changes should be made. MOTION: AMEND AGENDA FORMAT-CHANGE "WHATEVER ELSE IS PERTINENT OF FOR THE GOOD OF THE CITY" TO "CITY MANAGER ANNOUNCEMENTS, STATEMENTS AND DISCUSSION"; CHANGE "COUNCIL MEMBER STATEMENTS" TO "COUNCIL MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS, STATEMENTS AND DISCUSSION"; AND, ADD - "ADDITIONAL ACTION ITEMS" (Bain; second, Esslinger) CARRIED: Ayes (6) Bain, Esslinger, King, Palmeri, Tower, Mayor Tower Noes (1) McHugh 1 Proceedings of the Common Council -April 15, 2008 Deputy Mayor Bain suggested changes to be made from "Whatever Else is Pertinent or for the Good of the City" to "City Manager Announcements, Statements and Discussions"; change "Council Member Statements" to "Council Member Announcements, Statements and Discussion" and add "Additional Action Items" after new resolutions and before citizens' statements. He stated all changes would allow public comment, and if items were not properly noticed under a category then the Mayor would not recognize those items at the meeting. Council Member Palmeri questioned if other Cities agendas list what the business was or leave it open. He questioned if the three days requirement would still stand to get items on the agenda. He questioned if changes would apply also under the City Manager Announcements. He questioned if Council wanted to engage in discussion about announcements if it was appropriate. Council Member Tower stated the Council was as open as any other council. He stated the new titles allowed for mixing rather than listing specific items for each category. Council Member Esslinger questioned the additional action items. He questioned if the change to City Managers Announcements, Statements and Discussions would be better to add City Managers Announcements, Statements and Action Items. He stated if the Mayor ever questioned any item being discussed he would stop the meeting, question the attorney and/or take a vote of the majority of Council. Council Member McHugh stated he was content with how the agenda had been presented. He explained the change was confusing as to what item would be under what heading, because they all blended together. He stated the word action meant action was going to be taken on an item. Mayor Tower explained Deputy Mayor Bain's addition "Additional Action Items" would cover any action to be taken. He stated being so rigid would cause problems on timely items and flexibility in uniform was acceptable. He requested Council Members give him a heads up before the meeting if an announcement was going to be made and was not on the agenda. Ms. Lorenson stated specific questions were asked why action items were listed under the category of statements. She explained she and Ms. Ubrig reviewed several other city agendas for ideas. She suggested adding an additional line "Additional Action Items" to the agenda. She stated it was best to put it before citizens' statements, and would be open for public comment. She explained what "Additional Action Items" would be when staff was looking for direction from Council. She explained the process of putting the agenda together and stated items would need to have specific information of what was going to be discussed and this would apply to Council and the City Manager. Mr. Fitzpatrick stated when Council makes a request to staff and the request is questionable, he would like the Mayor to ask Council if that was something they would like to move forward with. Current Rule: The Mayor must relinquish the gavel to address any agenda item before the Council for consideration. By consent of the Council, the word "must" was changed to "may". 2 Proceedings of the Common Council -April 15, 2008 Council Member McHugh stated in the rule, the Mayor was to relinquish the gavel when he addressed any agenda item. He stated that rule was not necessary and should be eliminated. Council Member King explained the rule was in place if the Mayor were to use too many turns talking or limiting rights to other members to speak, then the gavel would be used. She stated the rule should stay as an understanding of what the tool was for and would prevent future conflict. Council Member Palmeri stated the purpose was so the Mayor could be gaveled out of order if he was to engage in debate on any agenda item. Current Rule: Council Members must have agenda items submitted three working days prior to a Council Meeting. MOTION: AMEND -MUST HAVE AGENDA ITEMS SUBMITTED BY NOON THE DAY PRIOR TO A COUNCIL MEETING (McHugh; second, Esslinger) CARRIED: Ayes (5) Esslinger, McHugh, Palmeri, Tower, Mayor Tower; Noes (2) Bain, King Council Member McHugh questioned if the rule #5 took into consideration the third day included the day of the meeting. Council Member King stated the rule allowed for flexibility in case of an emergency meeting was scheduled felt the rule and should stay as written. Council Member Esslinger stated verbiage needed to be changed and urged the 24 hour time frame prior to a meeting was positive. Council Member Tower stated more items had come up last minute from staff than Council Members. Mayor Tower stated changes would be submitted the Friday before a Council meeting. He explained the need to post agenda items 24 hours prior to meeting. Current Rule: Council members speaking under the heading "Council Member statements" are limited to five (5) minutes. (NOTE: Exception to the fine (5) minutes may be made at the discretion of the Council.) Council members shall inform the City Clerk by 12:00 noon on the Monday prior to the Council meeting of such statements. MOTION: AMEND - AND MUST NOT INCLUDE ENDORSEMENTS OF ANY CANDIDATES OF OTHER ELECTIONEERING. (McHugh; second, Esslinger) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Bain, Esslinger, King, McHugh, Palmeri, Tower, Mayor Tower Council Member McHugh stated the rule regarding electioneer covered individuals at the podium and should cover Council Members as well. 3 Council Member Esslinger stated it was a broader issue and questioned if it was an issue for Council or a resolution. Proceedings of the Common Council -April 15, 2008 Ms. Lorenson stated there were first amendment issues and other things to look at, she stated she would prefer to have time to research the issue. By consent of the Council, "Council Member Announcements, Statements and Discussion" replaced "Council Member Statements" and in Rule 4 the word "Monday" changed to "day". Deputy Mayor Bain stated wording needed to be changed in Rule 4 and 5 -the word "Monday" needed to be changed to "day". Mayor Tower stated there was an item for discussion with current and new boards, specifically the creation of a citizen lead budget committee. Council Member Palmeri stated a budget committee was discussed in 2007. He stated citizens should be continuously looking at the budget. He explained how the state of Oregon had their Budget Committee setup. He stated he would like the committee with citizens to meet monthly to continuously analyze the budget, make recommendations on how City services would be delivered more efficiently, improve the budget process and recommend compensation for the Mayor and Council Members. He explained two members of the City Council would be on the committee along with the Director of Finance and seven citizens. He questioned what Mr. Fitzpatrick was looking for when he mentioned open dialogue and cooperation and active participation with citizens, when he spoke of the budget in the State of the City Address. He explained what he would be looking for in the future for administration to actively make it clear that the citizens were partners in the process. He questioned how council created committees and if it was done through a formal resolution. Council Member Tower stated when the Finance Director and the new City Managerwere in place and had been here for some time, then look at forming the committee. He explained the budget committee would analyze the daily basis would succeed what that type of committee would do. He stated he would like to see the committee work at ways to help deliver the budget and to have the committee look at the salary of the Mayor and Council Members, and he was opposed to a committee doing financial oversight on a daily basis and making recommendations. Council Member Esslinger stated having citizens look at the budget on a continuous basis was a good idea and it should be broader. He stated he has suggested a citizens advisory committee in the past to look at budget of roads and other capital improvement projects. He stated either all or no Council Members be included on the committee. He explained to have all members would be difficult to get everyone together outside of the regular meetings. He requested not to be on the committee if there were only two members from Council. Council Member King stated looking at the mandate of the committee there are two areas, how were city services delivered more efficiently; and how to improve the budget process. She questioned what the view of citizens were with the current process of the budget. Mr. Fitzpatrick explained with the unique nature, new staff and internal changes it may not be the 4 appropriate time for the committee to be brought forth. He stated when working with department heads on the budget, it is made sure to set priorities as what was best for the city. Proceedings of the Common Council -April 15, 2008 Ms. Lorenson explained how committees were passed by Council, a Council Member would request to create or disband committees would first meet with the Attorney's Office, bring the ordinance to the Council for two readings and four votes would be needed for it to pass. MOTION: ADJOURN (Esslinger; second, Bain) CARRIED: VOICE VOTE The meeting adjourned at 1:05 p.m. PAMELA R. UBRIG CITY CLERK 5