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HomeMy WebLinkAboutspecial minutesPROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL CITY OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN OlHKOlH ON THE WATER SPECIAL MEETING held Tuesday, May 20, 2008, at 4:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, City Hall. PRESENT: Council Members Jessica King, Tony Palmeri, Burk Tower, Dennis McHugh, Paul Esslinger, Bryan Bain, and Mayor Frank Tower. ALSO PRESENT: John Fitzpatrick, Acting City Manager, Lynn Lorenson, City Attorney, and Karl Knollenberg, P.A.R Group, Sue Brinkman, Personnel Generalist. Mayor Tower explained that the Agenda item was to discuss the process of interviewing the six City Manager candidates. He explained that information was sent to Council prior to the meeting with possibilities of what would be done, along with other background information. Mr. Knollenberg stated that there are seven areas he would be talking about due to the fact that each community is different. He stated that the first two were required and the last five were options from which to choose. He stated that the first one was: Tours of the community and city facilities; Council would decide who would conduct these tours and if all candidates would receive the same tour. He stated that if the spousal option is adopted, the tour usually takes place with the candidate and the spouse. Mayor Tower stated that Chief Franz and Chief Greuel stated that they were both willing to conduct tours and questioned if Mr. Fitzpatrick would put together the tour sites. He stated that all city facilities would be mandatory, with the exception of every fire station. Council Member Esslinger stated that those were great options and suggested that Mr. Stephany or Mr. Fitzpatrick assist in giving tours. Deputy Mayor Bain stated that there needed to be at least three people giving tours. He questioned if any other Department Heads would be guides. Council Member Tower stated that the Department Heads are familiar with the community. Mr. Fitzpatrick stated that he would talk to Department Heads. He questioned the number of tours to be conducted with or without spouses. He stated that it would be helpful to know what to show the candidates verses candidates with spouses. Council Member King stated that she would like to see points of interest that would be toured and that they to be consistent with each candidate. 1 Proceedings of the Oshkosh Common Council Special Meeting May 20, 2008 Council Member McHugh stated that some problem areas of the city should be shown, as well as providing a mix of the good and challenged areas. Mr. Knollenberger's second requirement was to have Council interviews. He presented a hand- out containing proposed questions to be asked and questions not to ask. He stated that Council Members would present questions of their own, perhaps two per Council Member, with the Mayor asking the first and last. He stated that this process would take one hour. He stated that he had never seen atwo-hour interview before -the most was one hour and one-half. He explained that he had seen a forum with atwo-hour time limit where citizens would come and go, and meet the candidates individually however, it was difficult to get the feedback and understanding of what citizens thought. Mayor Tower stated that one-half hour prior to prepare was acceptable however he felt it was not necessary to have two questions per Council Member. He questioned if the Council was willing to accept cone-hour interview. He stated that he would like to see one and one-half hours for each interview. Council Member Esslinger stated that one hour was not reasonable. He stated that he had two proposals and had two-hour interviews once it was narrowed down to two candidates, then there was another hour and one-half. He explained proposal number one: Orientation was the same as proposed, meeting with department heads was the same; he stated that he would rather not have a reception and dinner, however, had it as an option; candidate interviews with general public, one concern was with Council Members appointing one person each - it limits the public and he would like everyone to have the option. He suggested 8:00-12:00 noon on Saturday, June 7t" to invite the public for questions and then Council would interview from 1:00-7:30 p.m.; Council then deliberates from 7:00-8:00 p.m. over the candidates and if need be, the second interview process would take place on that Sunday, from 10:00-11:00 a.m., and then at 11:00 a.m., they announce the City Manager. He explained proposal number two: Orientation and meeting with Department Heads, reception and dinner, Council would interview three candidates on Saturday, two hours each, three candidates on Sunday, again at two hours each, and Council reviews and reduces field to two candidates, those two would be invited back the following week to be interviewed by the public and by Council again. Council Member Tower stated that atwo-hour interview was too long. He suggested one-hour and one-quarter. He stated that in the second proposal, he would not be available from June 9t" through the 23rd, so he would oppose. He stated that he had no problem with a second series of interviews on Sunday with two or three candidates. Council Member Palmeri stated that his proposal included 90 minute interviews. He explained that on Friday and Saturday, Council would be conducting interviews; on Friday from 1:30-6:00 p.m. Council would interview three candidates and then on Saturday, from 7:30-12:00 noon, Council would interview the other three candidates; and then community feedbackwould be from 1:00-4:00 p.m., and from 1:00-2:30 p.m., the community would interview three candidates and then from 2:30-4:00 p.m., the community would interview the other three candidates; then from 4:00-5:00 p.m., the people that had attended the community forums would interact with the 2 Council for their feedback, then from 5:00-6:00 p.m., the Council would deliberate and select finalists; then from 6:00-7:00 p.m. and 7:00-8:00 p.m., the Council would interview the last two finalists. He stated that the Proceedings of the Oshkosh Common Council Special Meeting May 20, 2008 community forum would be the general public and not appointed by Council. He stated that the tours would remain on June 6t" Council Member King questioned how Council would measure citizen feedback into the decision- making process. She stated that the citizen panel should be bigger -perhaps more than one person per Council Member to make sure more people are represented. Deputy Mayor Bain requested copies of Council Member Palmeri's proposals. Mr. Knollenberg stated some options for Council to considerwhen interviewing for City Manager: 1. Citizen Panel appointed by Council Members, with cone-hour interview and then the panel would provide feedback to Council. 2. Department Heads meeting with candidates and provide feedback to Council. 3. Informal interaction -Council has lunch or dinner with each candidate. 4. 2"d interview process once candidates are narrowed down to two or three. 5. Spouse travel expense option. Mayor Tower questioned how many candidates needed expense for themselves as well as a spouse expense. He stated that he had no problem with expense for spouse due to the fact that the move would need to work for the family and not just the candidate. He stated that he was hoping to wrap it up in the one weekend. He stated that the majority of the Council Members agreed to invite spouses with expenses included. Mr. Knollenberg stated that four candidates were within driving distance and the other two were from Virginia and Wyoming. He stated that all candidates were inquiring if spouses were to attend so arrangements could be made. He stated that he did not inform candidates that spouse expenses would possibly be picked up by the city. He explained he had seen it go in both directions, with decisions made in one weekend and also where it took longer. He stated that the longer it goes after the interview, the chance of losing candidates increases. Deputy Mayor Bain stated that it was important to include spouses in the tour and the reception dinner. Council Member Palmeri questioned if candidates stay the night and if spouses are supported. He stated that the City Manager's position was viewed as a civil service -once on board, the Manager would be asked to look at savings in the budget in such areas as this. Council Member King questioned Mr. Knollenberg as to what the thought might be from the candidates. Council Member Tower stated that once finalists were decided, spouses would be invited back as well. He questioned how citizens' feedback would be used in the decision and if the citizens 3 would know what to and what not to ask. He questioned the length of time it would take to make a decision with six candidates. He stated that if it looked as if Council would go in the direction of making a decision with in the one weekend, then it was important to invite spouses. Council Member McHugh stated that to bring spouses was essential. Proceedings of the Oshkosh Common Council Special Meeting May 20, 2008 Mr. Fitzpatrick stated that for the city's existing positions, they have not supported spouses. He stated that this was a different kind of recruitment. Mayor Tower explained the proposal by Council Member Palmeri pertaining to when three of the candidates meet with the Department Heads, the other three would be at the citizen forum. He stated that it was important for both an informal meeting with citizens and the public, as well as to have questions answered. He questioned the Council Members suggestions as to the time allowed per interview and stated his preference was 90 minutes. He stated that having public forums was challenging due to the fact that participation cannot be controlled. He explained that candidates would each have two questions ahead of time and would answer them at the citizens' forum with a one hour time lot provided. He stated that there would then be one hourfor citizens to speak with candidates in an informal manner and at that time, provide feedback to Council Members. He stated that he was discouraging any prior communication of candidates prior to the interview process. Council Member Esslinger stated his concerns that some Department Heads would be available for some candidates, but not all. He stated his support for a general citizen forum rather than shutting some citizens out that would choose to attend or their feedback would be written down and handed in. He stated that if Department Head feedback was not a Closed Session, he would like to avoid it all together. He stated that he was pleased with Council Member King's proposal to have all interviews in one day. He questioned if Council was allowed to contact candidates or their city's Board or Commissioners prior to the interviewing process. Council Member King suggested giving two questions to each candidate and then allowing so much time for them to answer at the public forum, She stated that this would be more manageable. She wanted to have Department Heads meet with three candidates at a time Friday morning while the other three are doing tours. She stated that she was not in favor of having a reception if all candidates would not be able to attend. She explained that she would like to conduct all six interviews the same day and not have to make such an important decision in late evening. She stated that during the informal process of the citizens' forum, she would like citizens to speak with candidates or provide opinions to Council Members. Council Member Palmeri stated the importance for Council to observe citizens interacting with candidates. He suggested 90 minutes for interviews. He stated that he was pleased with having candidates have two questions prior to the forum and then the informal interaction -citizen feedback is advisory. He stated that he liked the modifications Deputy Mayor Bain had done with the proposal. He stated that conducting all interviews in one day would be information overload or cause fatigue, and that is why he had it split in his proposal. He questioned the outcome of a deadlock decision if it needed to be unanimous or majority. Council Member Tower stated that it was best to have questions and then an informal meeting 4 due to the fact that some citizens may want to follow up on the answers given. He stated that ranking candidates would cause conflict at a later time. He stated that it was valuable for feedback from Department Heads due to the fact that the City Manager would be working with the Department Heads and the importance of building a team. He stated that one hour and 15 minutes would suffice for interviews. He questioned if feedback needed to be public or if it would be closed. He stated that most candidates would be in the city until Sunday, so if more time was needed, it could be extended to Sunday. Proceedings of the Oshkosh Common Council Special Meeting May 20, 2008 Deputy Mayor Bain stated that 90 minutes for the interviewing process would work. He explained that he would like to have June 6t" stay the same up until 6:00 p.m.; then on June 7t" from 7:30-12:00 noon was the same as Council Member Palmeri's proposal; 12:00-1:00 p.m. was lunch; from 1:00-2:30 p.m. have the community forum with all six candidates and Council would observe; 2:30-3:00 p.m. would be a break for candidates and citizens to provide feedback to Council; 3:00-4:00 p.m. would be all six candidates with Department Heads; 4:30-5:00 p.m. break for candidates, and Department Heads provide feedback to Council at a Closed Session; from 5:00-6:00 p.m. would be deliberation for Council and a dinner break, then from 6:00-7:00 p.m., and 7:00-8:00 p.m., have a second interview. He stated that he was opposed to having citizens' feedback during the forum. He questioned when the proposal would be finalized and ready for Council and public to view. Council Member McHugh preferred 90 minutes for interviewing. He questioned if the citizens or Council would ask the questions at the public forum. He stated that feedback from the citizens would not be an overall good consensus due to the fact that there could be a low turnout of citizen participation. Mr. Knollenberg explained his final proposal to be as: 8:00-9:30 a.m. tours overlapping; Council interviews from 9:30-11:00 a.m., 11:00-12:30 have lunch then start Council interviewing again from 1:00-2:30 p.m., 2:30-4:00 p.m. and 5:30-700 p.m., with no reception dinner. Then Saturday would begin with Department Heads and candidates from 8:30-10:00 a.m.; 10:00-10:30 a.m. would be Closed Session feedback to Council; 10:30-12:00 noon citizen forum with public feedback from 12:00-12:30. The Council would deliberate over lunch from 12:30-1:30 p.m. and then have potential second interviews that afternoon. He stated that he did not recommend contacting candidates prior to the scheduled time. He concluded there would be packets with proposed questions and evaluation forms included. He stated that there would be two more reference checks, education verification, and criminal background checks done and given to the Council at the interviews. He stated that if candidates had questions including how they would problem solve and how they would deal with conflicts, the Council would receive that information prior to interviews. He encouraged the Council to come to a unanimous decision on the City Manager. Mr. Fitzpatrick stated the City Attorney would inquire as to the procedure of closed feedback for Department Heads as well as deliberations being closed. She would then advise the Council on her findings. He stated that he was against contacting candidates prior to meeting. Ms. Lorenson stated that she would research the feedback situation and provide the Council with information. She stated that she would advise the Council to have no contact with candidates or to question city entities about candidates. 5 MOTION: ADJORN (Bain; second, Esslinger) CARRIED: VOICE VOTE The meeting adjourned at 5:40 p.m. LYNN LORENSON CITY ATTORNEY