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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 03/14/2012CITY COUNCIL 14 MARCH 2012 The South Burlington City Council held a reorganizational meeting on Wednesday, 14 March 2012, at 6:00 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members Present: S. Dooley, P. Mackenzie, H. Riehle, P. Engels, R. Greco Also Present: S. Miller, City Manager; R. Rusten, Deputy City Manager; D. Kinville, City Clerk; J. Barlow, VLCT; B. Stuono, G. Maille 1. Election of Officers: Mr. Miller presided over the election of a City Council Chair. He opened the floor for nominations. Ms. Dooley nominated Ms. Greco. Ms. Riehle seconded. There were no further nominations, and Ms. Greco was elected unanimously. Ms. Greco presided over the remainder of the meeting. She opened the floor for nominations for Vice Chair. Ms. Dooley nominated Ms. Riehle. Mr. Engels seconded. There were no further nominations, and Ms. Riehle was elected unanimously. Ms. Riehle then nominated Ms. Mackenzie for Clerk. Mr. Engels seconded. There were no further nominations, and Ms. Mackenzie was elected unanimously. 2. Set dates and time for regular meeting from March 2012 through February 2013: Mr. Miller noted the changes in the regular meeting schedule to accommodate Monday holidays and other conflicts. Members then agreed to hold executive sessions at 5 p.m. and regular meetings at 6 p.m. Members also agreed to schedule 2 meetings a month during the summer and to cancel one of the meetings if it is not needed. 3. Annual Appointments to be made by a majority of City Council pursuant to City Charter, Chapter 13, Section 301(2): Mr. Engels questioned the combined position of City Clerk/City Treasurer and noted that the city auditor had said these positions should not be held by the same person based on the job descriptions. Mr. Miller noted the issue had been the job descriptions and suggested having revised job descriptions and then making a decision as to whom to appoint. He added that he would review this with the auditor and will suggest possible staffing options. Ms. Kinville said she had a conversation with the auditor and went over his concerns. He indicated to her that it wasn't clear which position a task applied to. He also suggested a different person go to the bank with deposits. Ms. Kinville also noted that if the positions were held be different people, there is a question as to who would be collecting taxes, since her staff is the only staff there. Mr. Miller recommended holding off on appointing an Assistant Treasurer as well. Ms. Greco then read the list of appointments as follows: Ms. Dooley moved to appoint the list of appointments as presented. Ms. Riehle seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Miller said he would aim for the meeting on 2 April for a draft of the Treasurer's job description. 4. Designate Official Paper of Record: Mr. Miller advised that the current official paper is The Other Paper with Seven Days and the Burlington Free Press as back-up. He said the city is very happy with this arrangement. Ms. Riehle moved to designate The Other Paper as official paper of record with Seven Days and The Burlington Free Press as back-ups. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Designate Official Depositories Mr. Miller said the official depository is now the Merchants Bank, and they are outstanding to work with. Ms. Riehle moved to designate the Merchants Bank as official depository. Ms. Mackenzie seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 6. Training for City Council: Mr. Barlow reviewed what the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) does, including providing insurances (liability, health, Workers Compensation, etc.), representing the interests of municipalities at the State House, and providing a municipal assistance center. Mr. Barlow explained that the town is the basic statutory model with at least 16 elected officers. A select board (city council) fills all of the roles of the executive, legislative and quasi-judicial. Their responsibilities include public safety, public works, highways, etc., basically everything that isn't assigned to anyone else. Mr. Barlow commented that this model doesn't "scale" well from the perspectives of time, expertise, perspective, resources, and administrative support. To solve this, many municipalities of all sizes have gone to a "municipal manager" form of government. Fifty-two municipalities in the State of Vermont have municipal managers; of these, South Burlington is the second largest. About half the people in the state live in a municipality with a manager. The City Manager reports to the City Council, and it is the City Council's responsibility to see that the City Manager carries out his/her responsibilities. Mr. Barlow then addressed the difference between "what is management and what is policy?" He said that policy issues include: should Police use tasers, should there be a local option tax, should certain services be shared with another community, should there be new facilities, are there conflicts of interest, etc. Management includes all accounting, budget preparation, enforcement of ordinances, etc. The City Manager has the authority to delegate responsibilities. A city manager can be removed from his position with 90 days written notice. Mr. Barlow said the key to functioning successfully with this model is communication, both formal and informal. He stressed the importance of having an annual work plan and an annual evaluation of the City Manager by the City Council. He also commented that the South Burlington City Charter is among the best written charters in the State of Vermont. Mr. Barlow then addressed the issue of meetings and the open meeting law. He stressed that meetings "in the public" are different from "meetings of the public." He advised that rules of procedure for running meetings be developed. Mr. Barlow then addressed the open meeting law. He said that a meeting is defined as a quorum of the members of a public body for the purpose of discussing the business of the public body or for the purpose of taking an action. Ms. Greco asked if a quorum of Council members can go out to dinner together. Mr. Barlow said they can. Mr. Miller noted the issue of what the public perceives. Mr. Barlow said members should "err on the side of caution" Mr. Barlow noted that any committee or board that is appointed is also a public body and is also subject to the open meeting law. Such meetings must be warned and minutes must be taken. All meetings must be open to the public at all times except: 1. Site inspections for tax appeals 2. Routine day to day administrative matters that do not require action by the public body (this does not apply to South Burlington) 3. Deliberations in conjunction with quasi-judicial proceedings (a case in which the legal rights of person/persons are being adjudicated and which will result in a written decision which is appealable. 4. Grievances/personnel matters 5. Tax appeal hearings 6. Vicious dog hearings. With regard to executive sessions, Mr. Barlow noted that a motion is needed to go into an executive session. The motion must include the nature of the business, and only that business may be discussed. Any vote which results from an executive session must be recorded in minutes. No action may be taken in an executive session (a straw vote is OK, but is not binding) except for actions to secure real estate options. Other topics which may be discussed in executive session include: contracts, arbitration, labor relations, appointments, evaluations of a public officer or employee, disciplinary or dismissal action against a public officer or employee, civil actions, mediations, prosecutions or situations of clear, imminent peril to public safety, and discussion or consideration of records or documents (communications from an attorney) where premature general public knowledge would place the state, municipality or other public body or person involved at a substantial disadvantage. Mr. Barlow said a good rule is if there is doubt about going into executive session, stay out. Mr. Barlow advised caution in the use of e-mail. A meeting can be conducted by audio conference or other electronic means. E-mail should be used to disseminate information, not for discussion or decision making. E-mail is a public record. A city council meeting is not a town meeting. At a city council meeting the public should have a reasonable opportunity to express its opinions as long as order is maintained. Mr. Barlow noted that only 2 pages of Roberts Rules apply to small boards such as city councils. VLCT has a model or rules for small meeting procedures. Mr. Maille asked how something gets on an agenda. Mr. Barlow said that can be decided by the City Council. Ms. Dooley asked if everyone who comes to a public hearing should be offered the opportunity to speak. Mr. Barlow said it is the council's responsibility to foster public participation at some time. Limits can be set (e.g., no one speaks twice till everyone has spoken once). He added that no one has constitutional right without limitation at a City Council meeting. Ms. Mackenzie said she felt the public has the right to know the rules up front. Ms. Greco asked about non-residents speaking. Mr. Engels added these are non-resident taxpayers. Mr. Barlow said there is no rule for that. He felt the council needs to be sensitive to it. There is no rule that says non-residents can't speak. Mr. Engels said he went to Jim Condos' "transparency" meeting at which Allan Gilbert said an executive session shouldn't be in the public warning. Mr. Barlow said the warning puts the public on notice to expect the executive session. There is nothing unlawful about that. Mr. Rusten asked about "daisy chaining" among City Council members. Mr. Barlow said there is nothing that says serial conversations equal a meeting. Ms. Greco asked about "consent agendas." Mr. Miller said non-controversial items can be grouped together to save time. He said staff can do that if the council wishes. Mr. Barlow then addressed the issue of public records He noted that if a person requests a public record, he/she must get action. The courts will view this very liberally in favor of disclosure. If the records aren't produced, the city must also pay the attorney's fees of the applicant for the records. There are also fines and jail sentences for the destroying a public document. Mr. Barlow stressed that this is a very broad net. Mr. Barlow stressed that there are no location limits to public records, including home computers, laptops, portable electronic devices, e-mail, etc. If something is produced in the course of public agency business, even if it is not produced or acquired as a result of an official action, it is a public document, even if it is produced or acquired away from the municipal office. Mr. Barlow did note that there are 39 general exemptions from the designation of public records for things that can be designated as "confidential." Mr. Barlow noted there are guidelines for the handling of public records. Trevor Lewis of VSARA can assist municipal in the managing of public records. He said the best advice is to err on the side of caution. Warn members of the public that e-mail discussions may be a public record. Mr. Rusten questioned whether notes a councilor takes at a meeting are public record. Mr. Barlow said the wisdom is that they are not. Mr. Miller added that if these notes are retained, they may be subject to disclosure. 7. Discuss possible dates for Council review of Interim Zoning applications: Mr. Miller noted there are 4 applications now. He felt that after next Monday's training the Council will be prepared to hear those applications. He recommended doing 2 at a time at a supplemental meeting. He also recommended developing rules of procedure for these hearings. 8. Other Business: Mr. Miller noted that an e-mail sent by Rick Hubbard urged members of 2 communities to attend the next Council meeting as "complete streets" could be on that agenda. He felt the tone of the email made it feel that the City Council was being "hi-jacked." Mr. Miller noted that Justin Rabidoux does have additional information regarding other projects and costs that may be incurred. He also noted that the city doesn't yet have the cost of studies which would determine if an experiment should be continued. He added that the Regional Planning Commission/MPO has said that estimates regarding the Colchester Avenue project were greatly understated. Ms. Greco agreed to talk personally with Rick Hubbard, and Mr. Miller will deal with the Front Porch Forum message. 9. Executive Session: Ms. Mackenzie moved that the Council meet in executive session to discuss personnel, contract negotiations and litigation. Ms. Riehle seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 10. Regular Session: Council returned to regular session. As there was no further business Ms. Greco moved for Council adjournment. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Council adjourned. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works. CITY COUNCIL 14 MARCH 2012 PAGE 2 Ms. Kinville said she had a conversation with the auditor and went over his concerns. He indicated to her that it wasn't clear which position a task .applied to. He also suggested a different person go to the bank with deposits. Ms. Kinville also noted that if the positions were held be different people, there is a question as to who would be collecting taxes, since her staff is the only staff there. Mr. Miller recommended holding off on appointing an Assistant Treasurer as well. Ms. Greco then read the list of appointments as follows: City Attorney: Stitzel & Page Zoning Administrator Ray Belair Assistant Zoning Administrator Cathyann LaRose Auditor RHR Smith & Company First Constable Sgt. Paul Edwards Second Constable Sgt. Andrew Chaulk Grand Juror Sanford Miller City Agent & Trustee ofPublic Funds Sanford Miller Ms. Dooley moved to appoint the list of appointments as presented. Ms Riehle seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Miller said he would aim for the meeting on 2 April for a draft ofthe Treasurer's job description. 4. Designate Official Paper of Record: Mr. Miller advised that the current official paper is The Other Paper with Seven Days and the Burlington Free Press as back-up. He said the city is very happy with this arrangement. Ms. Riehle moved to designate The Other Paper as official paper ofrecord with Seven Days and The Burlington Free Press as back-ups. Mr. Engels seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Designate Official Depositories Mr. Miller said the official depository is now the Merchants Bank, and they are outstanding to work with: Ms. Riehle moved to designate the Merchants Bank as official depository. Ms. Mackenzie seconded. Motion passed unanimously.