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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Newsletter Date: April 29, 2011 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: INSPECTION DIVISION EXTENDS OFFICE HOURS 1.: As you are aware, customer service in all areas of the city has been a priority of mine and reflected in our Strategic Plan. Over the last several months, city staff and I have been involved in many hours of continuous improvement/LEAN training, finding ways to streamline operations while providing invaluable service to city residents. As part of our efforts, I am pleased to announce that our Inspections Division will now have a building inspector available in the office from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. nd Monday through Friday, beginning next Monday, May 2. We still encourage customers to call in advance of their visit to determine what they need to bring to City Hall. Commercial contractors are also encouraged to schedule an appointment. Having a building inspector available at all times will help in informing the public as to what is expected in dealing with all aspects of construction. If you have any questions about our Inspections Division, please contact Chief Building Official Kevin Ciabatti. SMOKING IN SIDEWALK CAFÉ AREAS 2.During discussion at Tuesday's Council Meeting, : Council Members raised the question of smoking and whether it is being allowed in the sidewalk café areas as part of the ordinance that was adopted by Council. At that time, my response was that my belief was that smoking would not be allowed. As I made that statement, I relied on policy statements made by Council in recent years regarding the discouragement of smoking in public places through ordinances adopted by Council, as well as initiatives promoted by the city's Health Department to discourage smoking. At the same time, however, the way that the current state statute is written regarding smoking in public places, the City Attorney believes it could be interpreted that in order for us to prohibit smoking in these café areas, the specific prohibition of smoking should be listed in the ordinance so as to make it more defensible should it be challenged. If the prohibition was specific in the ordinance, there would be no room for ambiguity in the enforcement of this ordinance and the issuance of licenses. Additionally, it was brought to my attention that with all of the other discussions that took place regarding the sidewalk café ordinance, a recommendation that came from the Plan Commission regarding the ability of business owners to encroach onto a neighboring property was never discussed by Council. For your reference, I am enclosing Mr. Burich's staff report, in which he notes the Plan Commission's recommendation to amend the ordinance should the Council wish to add this provision. Although it was never discussed at Tuesday's meeting, I am aware that some Council Members had been approached on this issue, but because it was never brought up, it was never incorporated into the final ordinance. Weekly Newsletter April 29, 2011 Page 2 Because of the lack of specific language regarding smoking in the café areas, as well as the encroachment issue, I would ask that one or more Council Members request that the ordinance be th reconsidered at the May 10 Council Meeting. Should Council reconsider the adoption of the ordinance, both of these items may be brought back for discussion without having a subsequent reading of the ordinance at an additional meeting. This will enable the ordinance to be put in place as soon as possible. In the meantime, I have asked City Clerk Pam Ubrig not to publish the ordinance at this time. This should not unnecessarily delay implementation of the ordinance, as staff is continuing to work with interested businesses who will be applying for these café licenses. Because both the smoking issue and the encroachment issue were not addressed in the final ordinance, I believe this is a more effective way to address the issue without prolonging the approval process. If any Council Member would like to proceed in this manner, please contact th me or City Clerk Ubrig so that this item may be placed on the May 10 Agenda for Council reconsideration and readoption. If you have any questions regarding this process, please do not hesitate to contact me or City Attorney Lorenson. CLASSIFICATION/COMPENSATION STUDY OF CITY EMPLOYEES 3.: As I reported at Tuesday's Council Meeting, Mr. Fitzpatrick and I have engaged Charlie Carlson, a noted personnel compensation specialist who has been doing work in the State of Wisconsin for many years. Mr. Carlson has been hired to conduct a comprehensive classification and compensation study of all city employees, both represented and non-represented. As I reported at Tuesday's Council Meeting, we believe that with the likely inevitable enactment of Act 10, we will need all employees to have their compensation status reviewed, regardless of bargaining representation. Once Act 10 is enacted, these issues will no longer be subject to collective bargaining, and it behooves us to be proactive in getting all employees reviewed prior to the expiration of our colletive bargaining agreements at the end of 2011. As a starting point for this classification/compensation study, I will be holding a webinar with city th employees on Tuesday, May 4. Additionally, Mr. Carlson would like to make a brief presentation to the Council to explain his approach and plans for this study. He is also interested in getting general feedback from Council on any other aspects that he may need to pursue in this classification/compensation study. Specifically, some Council Members have expressed an interest in looking at other compensation models that have been used elsewhere, such as pay-for- performance type of issues. Mr. Carlson has a great deal of experience in this area, and can provide the Council with information to guide you as we go through this process. Depending upon Mr. Carlson's availability, I will plan to have Mr. Carlson make a presentation at an upcoming Council Meeting, not necessarily in a Workshop format, but rather under my report to the Council. If you have any thoughts or questions about this approach, please contact me prior to th preparation of the May 10 Council Agenda. Thank you for your consideration. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES 4.: Other items I'm enclosing with today's Newsletter include the latest issue of the FOCUS newsletter, published by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, which features an article on income taxes. Also from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, The Wisconsin Taxpayer, another publication, which reviews Wisconsin government, taxes and public finance. This issue features an article on the changes in city and village spending over the last 20 years. Insofar as minutes are concerned, I'm enclosing the thth following: The minutes of the April 19 Plan Commission meeting; the minutes of the April 12 th Traffic Review Advisory Board meeting; the minutes of the April 4 Sustainability Advisory th Board meeting; the meeting notice, agenda and background material for the May 10 Traffic st Review Advisory Board meeting; and the minutes of the March 21 Housing Authority meeting. Weekly Newsletter April 29, 2011 Page 3 nd UPCOMING MEETINGS 5.: Meetings I have scheduled for the week of May 2 include the nd following: On Monday, May 2, at 9:30 a.m., I will be meeting with Robyn Gruner of AT&T. On Monday, at 11:00 a.m., I will be attending an employee recognition program at the Fire Department. I will also be at the Fire Department for similar programs on Tuesday and rd Wednesday of next week. At 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 3, I will be attending the Community Sounding Board meeting at UW-Oshkosh with Mayor Tower. At 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, I will be hosting the city-wide webinar on the classification/compensation study that I referenced earlier. On Wednesday, at 7:30 a.m., I will be attending the Fox Valley Technical College Oshkosh th Advisory Committee meeting. At 2:30 p.m. on Friday, May 6, I will be meeting with staff to discuss the condition of the parking ramp at the City Center Hotel, and what the city needs to do to maintain this facility in accordance with prior agreements. If you have any questions on my attendance at any of these meetings, please do not hesitate to contact me. MAR/jdc