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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-01-07 Ashland City Recorder Position Ad Hoc Committee AgendaCITY OF ASHL.AND ASHLAND CITY RECORDER POSITION AD HOC COMMITTEE January 7, 2016 3:00 — 4:30 p.m. Siskiyou Room, 51 Winburn Way I. CALL TO ORDER II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES III. PUBLIC INPUT IV. CITY RECORDER INPUT ON RECOMMENDATIONS V. FINAL APPROVAL OF RECOMMENDATIONS VI. ADJOURNMENT In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Administrator's office at (541) 488-6002 (TTY phone number 1-800-735-2900). Notification 72 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to the meeting (28 CFR 35.102-35.104 ADA Title I). )Illi�1 ,1���°W n�l��_�'', ^III" .FIR11ilill 11/N (Al,�1 III r.F1—)�Id1ll.,lU �;'."u� "�u "�Il � w.����lll'II"III., „'p.�ltl�, J III ' 11 U U+' pl ,:Tww "� A ,U'4 ''�u �� II ,� , II �� �_�/�V. III ��e'�� 11. III if I/ k WI 11111 il,a.0 U & 111"0' �' �, a� �' '� ail'; 'i III �" ]If , �� ^�;�1 "' °�u �q/ f w A " "���i'h,�' �qdb��' '''h; �7..11) S II I ,.�r'" I a [''lI ;U � " . M I „^ Minutes for the Ashland City Recorder Position ad hoc Committee December 9, 2015 Page 1 of 2 MINUTES FOR THE ASHLAND CITY RECORDER POSITION ad hoc COMMITTEE Wednesday, December 9, 2015 Siskiyou Room, 51 Winburn Way 1. Call to Order Chair Stefani Seffinger called the meeting to order at 3:06 p.m. in the Siskiyou Room of the Community Development Department, located at 51 Winburn Way. Committee members Bryan Almquist, Pam Lucas, and Dave Kanner were present. 2. Approval of Minutes Almquist/Lucas m/s to approve the minutes of November 4, 2015, with two modifications; removal of the phrase, "..but the community also needs to change our form of government too," as this is not pertinent to the discussion and with the addition of the word, "proposed" to the sentence, "They determined that with the [proposed] job duties central to this position it's more likely that this will become a one -person job...". Voice Vote: All Ayes. Motion Passes. 3. Public Forum None. 4. Request of City Recorder Seffinger informed the group that she had a request from the City Recorder for her to be able to give her input on the recommendations. Unfortunately, the City Recorder was unable to attend today's meeting so Seffinger proposed that the group meet an additional time to hear her concerns. Group agreed to do so, provided the City Recorder understands that they will not automatically agree to change their recommendation based on her requests. Seffinger stated that, as she understands it, the two main points of concern for the City Recorder are to whom the position will report (Mayor and Council vs. City Administrator) and the possibility that it will be a one -person job. Almquist stated that, in regard to whom the position will report, the concern with having this position report to the Mayor and Council is that the Mayor is only in the office a few hours a week, which doesn't provide particularly good direct supervision. Kanner stated that the types of positions who report directly to Mayor and Council should only be those who either review and make policy recommendations to the Mayor and Council or those who provide legal advice to the Mayor and Council. Lucas stated that it is important to hear the City Recorder's opinion, even if the recommendation doesn't change. 5. Review of Draft Recommendations Seffinger asked if the group had any questions or concerns regarding the draft recommendations as presented. Group had none, and all agreed that they were good as presented. Seffinger pointed out that they may need to either alter or remove the sentence, "She collaborated with the ad hoc group at the December meeting in an advisory role to develop the final recommendations." based on the upcoming discussion with the City Recorder. Minutes for the Ashland City Recorder Position ad hoc Committee December 9, 2015 Page 2 of 2 6. Future Meeting Schedule Group will meet again, at the request of the City Recorder. The meeting was tentatively set (depending upon availability of City Recorder) for Thursday, December 17, 2015, at 3:00 p.m. Location TBD. 7. Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 3:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Diana Shiplet Executive Assistant Report of the ad hoc Committee on the City Recorder Position Recommendations to the City Council Dec. 9, 2015 INTRODUCTION Following a January, 2015, discussion of department head compensation, the Council requested a study session discussion of City Recorder compensation. This was subsequently conjoined with a request from multiple councilors for a discussion of referring to the voters a charter amendment to make the City Recorder an appointed position. Following the August 31 study session, the Council requested that the mayor appoint an ad hoc committee to study the matter and make a recommendation to the Council. This committee was appointed at the September 15, 2015 business meeting, with the following members: • Councilor Stefani Seffinger (chair) • Barbara Christensen, city recorder • Dave Kanner, city administrator • Pam Lucas, Budget Committee member • Brian Almquist, former city administrator The committee met three times in October, November and December, 2015. Though she provided extremely valuable input at the first meeting, Ms. Christensen excused herself from the second meeting and preferred the role of liaison to the ad hoc Committee. She collaborated with the ad hoc group at the December meeting in an advisory role to develop the final recommendations. Please note that the ad hoc committee recommends that its proposed changes to the city recorder position not take effect until the current city recorder's tenn expires. The ad hoc committee also wishes to acknowledge the excellent work the current city recorder has provided to the citizens of Ashland. RECOMMENDATIONS The ad hoc committee recommends to the Council that the City would be best served if this position became an appointed position for the following reasons: 1. The city has been fortunate in having qualified candidates elected to this position in the past. There is no guarantee that this will be the case in the future, particularly in light of the pay and benefits and the fact that there are no minimum qualifications for the position. If this position is appointed, qualifications for the position and a selection process can be established to ensure having the best qualified person in the position. 2. The city recorder is an administrative position that makes administrative decisions. Administrative positions should be filled based on the knowledge, skills and abilities of the candidates who apply. 3. As an elected position, only registered voters of the City of Ashland are eligible to hold the position. This limits the number of qualified candidates for this position. As an elected position with a four year term, candidates may not pursue certification as a municipal clerk or advanced training in this area. Better qualified candidates may be attracted if the position is appointed and has the potential of being a career option. 4. The city recorder position would better fit in with the city management structure if the position were appointed. 5. Work schedule, duties and coordination with other City functions would be more flexible and would be better managed within the administrative structure of city government. 6. The committee feels City government will be just as transparent and open with an appointed recorder as it is with an elected recorder. Changing the recorder to an appointed position requires voter approval of a charter amendment. Although it has been common practice for Ashland to refer charter amendments in primary and general elections, this is probably done for reasons of cost. A charter amendment can be referred to any election, including a special election if called for by the Council. Further recommendations 1. The committee recommends that the hiring and selection process be handled administratively with the selected candidate appointed by the mayor with approval by the city council. 2. A forinal outline (or job description) of duties and qualifications for the city recorder position should be developed. 3. Wording changes for the charter amendment will be developed by City Attorney Dave Lohman. 4. The committee recommends submitting this to the voters in the May 2016 primary election. Given the significance of this change, the City should refer this to a vote in a high -turnout election. However, if referred in November 2016, the issue stands to be lost in the crush of the many other items (including the many ballot measures) that are sure to be on that ballot. 5. Regardless of whether the position remains elected or becomes appointed, the committee recommends that the Ashland Municipal Code, Chapter 2.08, be amended to remove from the recorder's duties those functions that more properly belong in other departments. If the position remains elected, the committee recommends a charter amendment to remove outdated language and duties in the charter and address minimum qualifications and salary structure.