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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-01-07 Ashland City Recorder Position Ad Hoc Committee MinutesMinutes for the Ashland City Recorder Position ad hoc Committee January 7, 2016 Page 1 of 3 MINUTES FOR THE ASHLAND CITY RECORDER POSITION ad hoc COMMITTEE Thursday, January 7, 2016 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 in Community Development, located at 51 Winburn Way. Committee members Brian Almquist, Pain Lucas, and Dave Kanner were present. City Recorder Barbara Christensen was also present. 2. Approval of Minutes Minutes of December 9, 2015, were approved by the group as presented. 3. Public Forum None. 4. City Recorder Input on Recommendations Christensen apologized for being unable to attend the last meeting of the group and thanked them for being willing to meet an additional time with her present. She gave the group some history of her time in the position and expressed her concerns that the position is currently not a part of the staff "team." She stated that being a part of the team is important no matter if the position stays elected or becomes appointed. Christensen raised concerns regarding why the group, as reflected in past minutes, no longer consider the position a department head level position. This makes her concerned the group is getting ahead of itself regarding recommendations. She is also concerned the group doesn't fully understand all the duties of the position and stated the position is not a one -person job, that an assistant is necessary. She described some of the ways city recorders in other cities are incorporated into staff. She stated this is a professional position and held in high regard in every other Oregon city but it feels Council's respect and support of the position has been lost. Christensen stated that she is also concerned about the position being under the authority of the City Administrator, as she has not had good working relationships with city administrators. She would prefer this position be appointed by the Mayor and managed by the Council. She believes that because the proposal to make the position appointed is such a major change, keeping it in the control of the Mayor is the only way the community will agree to the recommendation. Almquist asked if Christensen understood that the recommendation was that the position be appointed by the Mayor. She stated she did, but that it would still be supervised by the City Administrator. Almquist stated this is because City Council is not a supervisory body, and, therefore, shouldn't be supervising anyone. Christensen stated she wants the position to be like the City Attorney — directly reporting to Council. Christensen stated that many of job duties handled by other departments are handled by the city recorder in other cities. She was upset that this connection between her office and other departments is lost and that she is not allowed to work as closely with staff as she feels is Minutes for the Ashland City Recorder Position ad hoc Committee January 7, 2016 Page 2 of 3 necessary. Group discussed the challenges of keeping the Charter as is it, as it supersedes any ordinance related to this position. Of particular concern to Almquist is the inability to ensure that someone in this position held regular office hours and had at least minimum skills to do the job. He stated there is no way to easily remove someone from the position for failure to do the job if the position remains elected. Group agreed that what they are looking for most in this position is professionalism, expertise, and attention to detail — qualities that are typically appointed, not elected. Seffinger stated she is sensitive the Christensen's concerns, and that she had done lots of research on the position. She stated that what the group most wants is to protect the city. This is why having the position appointed is so important. Additionally, this group is only making a recommendation. Council has the ability to approve, alter, or deny the recommendation as they see most appropriate. 5. Final Approval of Recommendations Seffinger asked if the group had any suggested additions or changes to the recommendation. Group agreed they have no additions or changes. Seffinger stated that in creating the recommendation she tried to not have too many specifics in the recommendation, in order to not tie -down the Council. She understands that losing an elected position may be challenging and she tried to be sensitive to those concerns. She also tried to make sure the recommendation is as positive as possible. In drafting the recommendation, she looked at what all cities across the state are doing. They overwhelmingly had this as an appointed position. As this position has become more complicated over the years, it is important to have the position be a long-term, professional position. Most importantly, this recommendation was never meant to denigrate or reduce the position or Christensen's work over the years in it. Almquist stated he likes the recommendation as -is and reiterated his concerns in keeping it elected. Lucas stated she approves the recommendation as well and feels that, considering how much the position pays in salary and benefits, this would be a very desirable position in the community. She wants to make sure that the city is protected, which is why it is important it become appointed. Kanner stated that he is also fine with the recommendation as -is. Group discussed how they would present the recommendation to Council. As Lucas will be unavailable, Almquist agreed to be present to answer questions from Council. Group discussed the research Kanner was asked to do at the last meeting regarding whether recorders in other cities have full-time assistants (see attached). Christensen stated that, while these might reflect where positions are allocated in those city budgets, she doesn't believe the information is accurate. Kanner stated that he and Personnel Division staff spoke directly with Minutes for the Ashland City Recorder Position ad hoc Committee January 7, 2016 Page 3 of 3 officials from each city listed to obtain the information. Almquist stated the difference between those cities listed and Ashland is that those cities all have appointed recorders, so specific job criteria and qualifications were able to be crafted. Without a Charter amendment we can't do that. 6. Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 3:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Diana Shiplet Executive Assistant No Dedicated Dedicated CITY Population Dedicated Comments F/T Support P/T Support Support Ashland 20,684 X F/T Admin. Assistant Canby 17,010 X Central Point 17,724 X Coos Bay 16,039 X City Recorder/Finance Director is one position. Deputy Finance Director backfills. Dallas 15,102 X Exec. Asst to City Manager, Mayor/Council, HR Manager backfills when needed. Forest Grove 23,096 X HR Director is also city recorder and has no direct Happy Valley 17,319 X reports. A support position may be hired in 2016 to allow the incumbent to focus on HR. Finance Director/City Recorder is one position. Hermiston 17,137 X Accounting Asst. and Executive Asst. backfill when needed. Klamath Falls 21,119 X Lebanon 15,982 .25 FTE Admin. Asst. to City Clerk (Recorder)- P/T .25 FTE City Recorder's Office provides general administrative support to the City Manager, HR, Milwaukie 20,640 X Finance and IT with three FTE who report to the City Recorder. No employee provides dedicated back-up to the city recorder. Newberg 22,692 X Pendleton 16,904 X Redmond 27,941 .5 FTE Assistant - P/T .5 FTE Roseburg 21,903 X Admin Asst to City Manager backfills when needed Sherwood 18,978 .5 FTE Admin. Assistant to City Recorder - P/T at .5 FTE The Dalles 15,162 X City Recorder is also Gen. Services Mgr/HR Director. Exec. Secretary offers support. Troutdale has a position whose title is "Deputy City Recorder," but that position is the City Hall Troutdale 16,552 X receptionist, secretarial support to City Manager, back-up to all other central service administration and not dedicated support to the City Recorder. City Manager/City Recorder are one position - Tualatin 26,907 X Deputy City Recorder performs council clerk and records management functions West Linn 26,289 X Wilsonville 22,026 X Woodburn 24,734 X