HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/04/2009 Council Retreat 43.5 YAKIMA CITY COUNCIL 2009 RETREAT - APRIL 4, 2009 HARMAN SENIOR CENTER 8:30 A.M. - 2:00 P.M. 1. RoII CaII Present: Council: Mayor Edler, Assistant Mayor Micah Cawley, presiding, Council Members Kathy Coffey, Rick Ensey, Bill Lover, Neil McClure, and Sonia Rodriguez Staff: City Manager Zais, Randy Beehler of Community Relations, and Deputy City Clerk Watkins Facilitator: Michael Moore, Heritage University Also Present: Assistant City Manager Zabell, Bonnie Lozano (YPAC) Citizens: Ron Bonlender, Greg Luring, and Lynn Kittelson Mayor Edler called the meeting to order at 8:50 a.m. and introduced the meeting facilitator, Michael Moore of Heritage University. Mr. Moore said that he heard from the Council members when he met with them previously, a desire to be able to create momentum and focus for efficient, effective, and wise decisions. There is some recognition that they are currently short of that. He gave a general overview of the plans for the day. They will discuss roles and current responsibilities, the book Getting to Yes, the LISC case study covering what is unique about creating public values and how it is different than the private sector. Also woven into the study was how to measure success. We will end the day talking about priority setting. Each Council member will be asked three questions:1) What am I going to do as a City Council member to drive forward more efficient effective processes for reaching decisions; ) What does Council need to do collectively that may be a priority for reaching that; and 3) This is what the City Manager and administrators can do to help us be more effective. Each Council member was asked for comments on the plans for the day. Council Member Ensey had nothing to add but noted that what got his attention were priorities, roles and responsibilities. Assistant Mayor Cawley commented that relationships are important because when you are not communicating outside of the chamber, you are not connecting or leveling on certain • ideas. He also wants to work on mutual respect. Council Member Lover said the agenda is fine. Council Member Rodriguez said the agenda looked fine, although things may change or be added as we go through it. She also advised that she has to leave at 11:15 a.m.. for about 45 minutes Mayor Edler and Council Member McClure said they were ready to get started. t 4 3 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT — HARMAN SENIOR CENTER APRIL 4, 2009 Council Member Coffey wants to make sure we remain relevant to what we are trying to accomplish. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES • What is the role of the City Council? Cawley Policy making for the city Ensey Carry out the will of the people Cawley Management oversight, although they only have one employee, the City Manager Edler We paint the big picture and hold the City Manager accountable to help us accomplish it. The vision of the city comes from the Council. Lover The will of the people; we represent citizens to bureaucrats, rather than the bureaucrats to the citizens. We are to be citizen driven rather than staff driven. Cawley The people, our form of government, the laws, by the charter of the City and Washington state law. Zais The role of the Council, also, is after setting policy, to enact legislation. The Council is the only body that can enact laws that are enforced by administration. Is the line between policy and management clear? I think there are lines delineated in the Charter, in policy, but there are times when they can be blurred. When there are inquiries asking what is going on, that fits in with the right -of- oversight, inquiry and right -of- review by Council. McClure It's not a hard line if the management allows it to be softer. The employee could say, "No that's my job," but may be looking for another job in another community. Cawley We know we cannot order a department director to do something we want done, but we can talk to the city manager who can get it done. Moore I'm hearing the line between policy and practice is not clear and some flexibility is desirable? Cawley We don't have any management authority at all and he doesn't have any policy making authority but we each have influence. McClure I disagree. I think we have some management authority, although it's not written. For example, in a committee, staff members come to us and ask for • direction. It's not the actual implementation, but they are asking questions about departmental decisions. Then it might go on to Council. Coffey That may be one of the challenges with committees. I think our roles are a little fuzzy. A clearer definition of the roles could help. In fairness to 2 437 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT — HARMAN SENIOR CENTER APRIL 4, 2009 employees, there are Council members, that, out of habit or confusion, will go directly to some of the employees and it is confusing. It's a challenge. Rodriguez We have to balance the public's expectation of our role in the city. I don't think this is what the public is expecting; I think they expect that we are accountable directly almost, for what is going on in all aspects of the city. It is a challenge to clarify that with the public. City Manager Zais clarified for Mr. Moore how things come forward to the Council. He said he has the responsibility of developing the agenda of the Council meetings. They are initiated by what we are required to do, requested to review, and there are policy options expected of staff. They are asked to provide options giving Council choices. There is also information sharing to keep the Council informed. There may be issues the public expects the Council to know about and we try to make sure they know what is going on. Council Member McClure gave an example of how policy works and drifts into implementation. Council established a policy that they wanted crime -free housing implemented in Yakima and wanted the police department to implement it. The Council has the right to make that policy and direct management to implement it. Now the roles become softer; I, as a Council member, want to be on the committee that helps the Chief implement that policy. Now it's no longer just the Council making a policy, but some Council members are talking with staff on how to implement it. Although there is nothing wrong with that, the roles now become shaded. For example, one of the employees listening to a Council member, the professional, may think it's not the best way to do it but doesn't want to disagree with a Council member. That then puts the Council into the real decision making. That's the fuzziness. Citizens may expect us to do that, but that's a blurring of roles. Where do we draw the line and not get into the implementation of policy? It's always a challenge in this form of government. Cawley I don't want surprises. Mr. Moore asked how successful is it when, for example, an economic development issue comes to the Council as a whole. They say that should be part of the Economic Development committee who is charged with coming back with a recommendation; it then comes back to Council as a whole. Do you accept their recommendation or does someone say they don't feel part of the loop and want to go back and get into the detail? Edler You've got seven personalities. It's not that one is right and one is wrong, but it makes it difficult. Some would like that level of detail while others don't need it. The tension that comes into it is that you do have this divergent group of people. I look at the list of roles of the Council and what an item means to me is not close to what it means to other Council members. That creates tension. Moore Council members are equal. You hinted that the interpretation is very different, where is it likely to come from? Edler I view it through my filter. We all think we're right; that creates the rub. Ensey It's a natural part of democracy. We have different opinions or viewpoints. That's not a bad thing. Democracies are messy but tyranny is worse. 3 43 8 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT — HARMAN SENIOR CENTER APRIL 4, 2009 Moore It's a messy process. The will of the people is not clear, transparent and is incredibly fickle. If the messiness slops over into gridlock, or not producing progress that is satisfying the citizens, I would have a concern. The balance of how to remain effective and thorough is critical. • What is the role of committees? Moore Is this an area of concern with possible improvement? Observations: When I looked at vision and priorities for the Council and the committee structure, some were mapped clearly for reaching the priorities. Others were less clear. Some committees meet on different schedules; there were vacancies. The measurement of success in reaching priorities was not in the document. Are these the right committees? Do they track what you are trying to do with your priorities and do you have an idea of what success looks like? Lover Not only does Council direct things to committee, but staff also takes things to committee. They don't necessarily come to Council first to go into the committee. Moore The agenda setting for committees comes from both directions? Lover Sometimes it's just vetting that we do in those committees. We give directions in committees and proposals also come through them. Cawley The Downtown Futures Committee is specific to oversee a project. They happen to get other things brought to them by staff that are not related to that project. Or other committees get different tasks not directed by Council. The committee structure breeds more work for staff, more for Council and is less productive than the study session every other Tuesday we used to have. That would work because we're all there. The committee structure has not been as effective this last year. Moore The analysis then is more work and less value? Coffey Is the committee structure efficient? Some yes, some no. Lover chairs the Economic Development Committee and I think that one is efficient. That is staff driven due to mandates and regulations. It seems to be an efficient way to do it. Lover It is also fiscally directed due to federal money and it's pretty clear cut. Coffey Some of the others are not as clear cut and those we're struggling with. Ensey There is a sweet spot between doing something with all seven Council members rather than doing something with committees. I think we can hone them to be more efficient. Unidentified If there were fewer and they met less frequently, mainly met less frequently. Voice 4 43.9 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT — HARMAN SENIOR CENTER APRIL 4, 2009 McClure The committees idea, for example ONDS, is a division that does specific delivery to the community. Transit is another example of a division doing one thing. In the past, a committee was brought in when a specific issue came up. It didn't meet regularly. In the past, we did a lot of broader policy issues with the full Council and if something popped up, we created a specific committee to review it. It was a different system and more efficient for policy making. It was a lot easier for a working individual to meet that schedule than the current way with committee meetings all over the board. Edler With turnover in Council members, we got working individuals where previously many did not work. We couldn't carry that level, so we began to hammer away at it. Some of the study sessions were agonizing to me. There needs to be some tweaking. Moore Do we need to go through, committee by committee, and look at them? Ensey I agree with what I'm hearing. Trying to meet during a working day is difficult. Moore We're in general agreement to look at the structure and try to revamp it to be more effective? Lover I'm reluctant to say lets not do the committees. Zais Council has always had committees, although they expanded with the new Council members five or six years ago and evolved to what we have today. The agenda comes through me. Not everything goes through a committee, but we try to make sure the bigger ticket items are channeled through committees so Council can get the input and recommendations they need. Some committees may feel that they are not effective; that's up to the group to decide. It takes a lot of time and effort on the part of staff to identify items that should be discussed. But they also look at it as an opportunity for open dialogue, to bounce ideas off of a Council member. Regional issues that bring together City and County in the Intergovernmental Committee have an important purpose, but it's tough to work out overlap of policies. Moore What would be the process? Is that something we should spend time on today or label this as a priority and come back to it? Edler We could go over that for hours. The idea of moving into the role of our committees is a side trip that I don't think we should take today. Ensey That's fine. Cawley 1 think we've decided we want to make changes. All concurred. 5 .4 4 0 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT — HARMAN SENIOR CENTER APRIL 4, 2009 • What is the role of the City Manager and City staff? Zais The position of manager is like the CEO of a corporation. The Board of directors is the Council. It is our duty to carry out policies. The manager is hired by the Council and serves at its pleasure. I have the responsibility of bringing forward agenda items. It is my duty to prepare and administer the annual budget, oversee city employees, and the delegate authority for personnel practices. Changes in administrative structure are set by ordinance. It is a monitoring responsibility as well as setting forth administrative responsibility. We are open to the public to see that we are doing our jobs and are accountable. We want to be responsive and responsible to uphold public trust. We must conduct ourselves with a high degree of integrity and instill that as a culture within the administration to be sure we are delivering services the public expects. We are a full service, • multi- faceted organization with a $200 million budget and a full array of utilities. We are subject to scrutiny. There is so much more expectation from the public for openness, transparency and the right to know. Moore From City Council perspective, is the role of the city manager /city staff clear? With some of the challenges that take place with information exchanges and not wanting to inappropriately take advantage of staff, is that an issue? Coffey I think it does become an issue for staff and Council. If a staff member is asked to do something that takes a lot of time, creating a report or doing a study, they are put in a position of having to do it because a Council member has asked. Dick has to intercede. Often the rest of the Council is unaware of the time and energy it takes to respond to these requests. It takes away from the department's main job, is detrimental to the City Manager's role and responsibility and is also unfavorable to the citizens. Zais The City Charter states that all communications flow through the City Manager. I have been very flexible with that over the years. I expect my staff to communicate with me when those requests come through. I don't think it should be that rigid. But it can get blurry when a request for information might lead to a more complete study. That requires at least four votes of the Council. It is one thing to ask for information, but if its going to commit time and resources, we need policy direction from Council that we are going to go into that mode. That is a little bifurcated in the committee process, where there are three members that may say we need a study. Ensey I see six other reasonable people. I hear this as a fear, but not as a problem. We've all requested things, but I haven't seen anyone just dominate staff. I think this is fear rather than reality. Cawley This is up to the manager's judgment. I think checks and balances are there. Maybe this is when we call and ask for legal opinions. That could require a lot of work. Zais Legal's relationship with Council is a special one. It is vital we have good legal advice and I've always felt it was open to any Council member. Council 6 44 , 1 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT — HARMAN SENIOR CENTER APRIL 4, 2009 adopted over twenty years ago, patterned after state legislature, that any Council member can request a legal opinion. It will be written, researched, and the full Council will get a copy of it. Cawley We've been operating with past Council methods, and we have a different Council. The same thing with annexations. The manager operates on past practice until told otherwise. That's why I think there has been an aggressive annexation policy in the city. I'm talking about refining some of the past policies that the City Manager follows. Moore Do you want something defined? Cawley I think it would be helpful. It would help our group to set up some boundaries; do you want aggressive annexation or not? Moore Is there a format that says we're looking at doing XYZ because this has been our history? Is there structure for that? Cawley I don't think there is a staging of it. Zais When there is a new discussion on a long established policy, we try to give historical context. Annexation is a 42 -year old discussion and there's been evolution of policy at our level and at the state level. We're still following some intergovernmental agreements Edler Systems define their behavior. There are documents that declare how were supposed to act. Part of our discussion says there are very gray lines and our behaviors are based on our own understandings, biases, and personalities. We have tried to stay out of any kind of conflict. I think conflict is healthy. Personally, I get frustrated as I watch others move through the system and behave in a way that diverts us from the big picture and entangles staff in incredibly cumbersome, invaluable activities because they have crossed the gray line and moved into conversations with staff, department heads, etc. I think with regard to roles, let's define them. It was appropriately brought up. The role of the mayor works itself into the midst of this discussion. The system and behavior has been a frustration for me. I feel that we have ground to a halt. Coffey We've been playing nice, but let's get to the point. Get it out on the table. That's why we're here. Why don't we talk about the issues as they stand. Dave brought them up and we need to talk about them. How do we want to start that? Moore What is the role of the mayor, internally and externally? Ensey I think someone thought I was up . to something by sending everyone this (referring to the packet on the "Official Role of the Mayor. ") I had questions about the position, not the person in the position. I brought it up because of something I heard on KIT and then something Dave had said. We have something that's called the "Mayor's Media Briefing." I agree, the concept is great as it gives a time and place for the press and public to hear what the 7 442 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT — HARMAN SENIOR CENTER APRIL 4, 2009 City thinks is important and ask questions. There was a discussion on KIT and they kept referring to the City this, the City that. I'm thinking it was Dave's opinion, although the never say that part. They credit the City with whatever Dave says. The media and then the public start to believe we are a strong mayor city, but we are not. Maybe we should change the name of that briefing to the "City Council's Media Briefing" and have other Council members there as well. Zais Some time ago, the members of the media requested a press conference in advance of the Council meeting. It is the day before a Council meeting and focuses on the agenda. It has morphed to let the media ask other questions or to talk about an upcoming issue. Cawley I want to lay out the role of the mayor and how is that applying. Coffey Let's have Dave define that role. Edler I understand that I am one of seven Council members. I have the responsibility to run meetings and then I ceremonially represent the city in many things. In certain situations, it puts me in a role where I do represent the city because the public doesn't recognize our form of government and presumes the mayor does carry weight. Others on Council have represented the mayor due to my time commitments. I'd love to share with others having the responsibility of the Monday morning media meeting. We just walk through the agenda, but I have used it as an opportunity to express personal opinions, but I ALWAYS let them know that is my opinion. There are two hot topics that are contentious among us -- one is paramedics and the other is the budget. I apologize for the budget piece because one of my personal biases is that I believe good leaders start fires. I started a fire purposely about Fisher. Park and the pools knowing I would take heat. But, I did not take into account the heat you would take as well. I apologize because I did not think how it would impact the rest of you. Cawley The mayor is the spokesperson for the City on issues. The mayor is typically asked to comment on the majority vote of the Council. If his opinion is not the majority, there could be some conflict. News directors are not getting off the hook; he encourages them to poll the Council members individually for their opinion. They should check to see if it is truly the feeling of the Council. The mayor, as a Council member, has the right to express his opinion. Edler This is a systems issue. The reality in our media - soaked community is that the radio station, Micah, is on all the time; I'm not on all the time. The other piece of media, Bill and Rick have access to. I am never asked an opinion. I'm not saying to change it; that is just what it is. I don't feel like I, other than the Mayor's Media briefing, am asked often about the will of the Council. It creates some heartache for us, that particular piece of our system. Moore Is there a different expectation of you because you are mayor, when the media interviews you? 8 443 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT — HARMAN SENIOR CENTER APRIL 4, 2009 Edler Absolutely. If I am speaking on behalf of the Council, I represent the majority decision of the Council. Moore Do you think your colleagues should carry that responsibility as well? Edler I do, yes. In board settings, when a board decision is made, it is the responsibility of that board to take that decision forward as if it were unanimous. Cawley I agree on my quotes to the media. I answer my cell phone so they call me. Access is an important part of it, and timely access. Reporters call me and want a sound bite. I will say this is my feeling but it's not the majority feeling. Should we be restricted to say only what the majority wants? You can say what you want; the media chooses what they run. Rick You can't restrict anyone's speech. If someone came up and asked me the Council's decision on some subject, I would say the majority voted this way and it's what we're going to do. I didn't vote that way and here's why. Rodriguez I think it would be a good idea to have other Council members at the media briefing because it does help to educate the public about the form of government we have. I don't think we should be restricted in what we say to the media; I should be able to explain why I voted differently than the majority. McClure Let's call it the Monday Morning Media Briefing. I agree the big challenges should not make it into the briefing if there is only one person there. I don't have the opportunity to put in my personal belief if I am not there. But, I don't want to see it morphed into a pre- debate debate. We are individually elected, yet we are leading as a single entity. If we've made a decision, then the whole group moves forward on that decision. If someone's belief is they can't support that, people need to know it. It is critically important that a disagreement on policy or ideology doesn't affect the implementation of the majority decision of the Council. When I'm in the minority I cannot throw rocks in the background. I have to make sure that the decision doesn't fail. We're not the state or federal government; we have to deliver service not ideologies. Lover Many times you comment on things that aren't policy yet. Once policy is set, I've already stated my opinion. So I am going to comment on my previous statement. It's harder on the mayor. He gets asked leading questions and sometimes he comments on them. Coffey As far as comments on a majority, it's an interesting point if we've commented before policy has been set. I still maintain that it's different than a board of directors. The majority of the group makes a decision in a closed environment, but ours is open and everyone knows we don't agree. You are then asked about it, but you have to respect the decision. You shouldn't dwell on your disagreement; you must move on. 9 444 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT — HARMAN SENIOR CENTER APRIL 4, 2009 Cawley The mass amount of people will receive information from the newspaper, television, and radio. Whether it is true or not, that's what they believe. An example is Fisher. The statement was that we need to look into it and the public took it that we are going to close it. Another example was the Seasons. Everyone's got a role in how it's defined with the media. Moore Being media -savvy is an important issue. So is the problem of everything being public. I'm hearing we just imposed a double standard. While everyone has the right to voice their opinion, I thought I heard us say that the mayor doesn't have that right? When Dave speaks, his weight carries more because of the perception of the mayor. Cawley I don't think he should speak about items that aren't on the agenda or give his opinion at the media meeting. But outside of that, all should have equal rights. Coffey The media is not required to say this is Dave Edler's personal opinion. So if the community sees Dave as the Mayor, anytime he says anything it is going to be perceived as speaking for the Council. Are we saying he can or he can't? The reality is he is one of the seven he has the right like we have. Ensey Dave can say anything he wants to say and so can the rest of us. I have to admit, when I heard it I was mad at Dave. Then I reminded myself it was only his opinion. I should be mad at the media when they use that platform to beat on their own drum. How do we set rules on that and not impact freedom of speech? Cawley The citizens view the mayor as the spokesperson of the Council and when he speaks, it carries more weight regardless if he is only one of seven. Ensey It's going to happen and I don't think we can do anything about it. Coffey It's good we are talking about it, but there is probably nothing we can do about it. It's something we need to understand and not get upset about. Edler All of us know there are hot topics. I think one of the challenges we face is communicating to that culture, which is why we put all our committee meetings on YPAC. But we have this vehicle to tell our story. I'm convinced our citizens don't understand the story. We've got these things set up. If I had a message I wanted to get to the community, this is one of the avenues I could use. When there is a hot topic going on whoever is sitting at the horseshoe is going to get asked about it and I am more than willing to give it up. Moore Generating various options without judging them and playing the first amendment right, I would submit that you actually can control people's speech. I know when someone is representing our organization they do not have carte blanch to voice their personal opinion. But either through formal agreement or reciprocity, you understand that some are more constrained. There should be a way to discuss that. It doesn't say no one has their rights 10 445 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT — HARMAN SENIOR CENTER APRIL 4, 2009 abridged, but when acting in a certain capacity, in certain audiences, it is reasonable that you could expect them to. But I am not suggesting that. Ensey When staff does something that is out of bounds you can fire that person. But what if I was a crazy, obnoxious Council member utilizing the media; there is nothing that the other six can do to me besides yell at me. They can't fire me. The only way I can be removed is if I do something illegal or get voted out. Moore What is tricky is that some of the damage that might result from that is deep, can be invisible and slow to accrue in how it affects relationship with community. Cawley I'm not going sit quietly if something is misrepresented, I'll call up and say that's not right Lover We're getting close to programmed responses; we don't want to get into spin. Ensey It's my duty to tell people what I think. Coffey I don't think we're talking about programmed responses, but talking about respectful and thoughtful responses keeping in mind there are six others out there. McClure We elect the mayor. In the few times I have served in Dave's stead, you realize that the position really limits you. I think the mayor has a tough role, and his voice is muted by that role too. Edler A piece of my frustration, in my role as mayor at the horseshoe, I am the last to speak and then we immediately go into a vote, not allowing people to process what I say before voting. I'm trying to figure out how do I function in the role of mayor, and when and how can I speak in that role during the meeting. McClure We use Roberts rules of order as a guide, not the law. I would be willing today to act to allow the mayor to be a different role, allow him to make a motion. Discussion continued on how to handle debates. Ensey commented that Dave does a good job to make sure everyone can speak. McClure noted it was the Rules Committee that decided the order of who talks, allowing all to speak. Cawley suggested a little tighter debate and using a format of those for and those against might clean up the roundabout discussions. He also said that being recognized by the chair is more formal but more effective. GETTING TO YES — Negotiating Without Giving In Michael Moore: How do you structure debate and conversations? The author suggests going back to negotiating using four principles: 11 446 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT — HARMAN SENIOR CENTER APRIL 4, 2009 1. Focus on interest 2. Separate people from problem 3. Generate options 4. Use objective criteria Three common problems that separate people are that people are going to have different perceptions of what the issue is. All the emotions are real and inevitable. One of the problems with your structure is that it is very difficult given the openness you have to operate in. It makes it uniquely challenging. How do you build direct communication in that much openness? There is a difference between a position and an interest. A position is something you take, and interest is why you're taking it. If you are only hearing someone's position, there is not a place to create common interest. The more you understand the other person's interest the better you can express your own interest. Focus on interest. You're trying to find out what the person's interest is. Generate options: This is difficult because there is a tendency to try to rush to a conclusion. Get options on the table and then come back and analyze and assess them. Lover For example, the parking ordinance - we do this every few years, because we never identify the problem. Edler That's a classic picture of interest. I don't see that the way he just described it at all. Moore If you are in negotiation, it assumes you are working on a problem. What are the interests underneath? Your position is the parking problem is not defined to a degree necessary. Edler My position is that it is always going to change and we will always have to react to it. It cannot have a permanent fix; things are going to change and you will need to flex. McClure Then throw policy into it. Is it our problem? Ensey I agree with Lover that he may not understand what the problem is. Discussion turned to the various principles and techniques. Objective criteria: Retreating into procedure isn't necessarily going to give you a wise decision. What is a standard that we can rely on? Facts, at least, get to an agreement of criteria. Best alternative: What happens if people aren't playing fair? Continue to be principled. If it is implicit, make it explicit. Confront the hint of unfairness. Same interests: There are the same problems to solve for our communities. Part of our system doesn't give us the opportunity to do this by negotiating. What 12 447 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT — HARMAN SENIOR CENTER APRIL 4, 2009 are our common negotiated solutions that we can all stand behind? We haven't been in agreement as to how to address the things. Ensey I remind myself that we have the same interest, the betterment of Yakima. . We talk with different people and have different ideas of how to get there. This negotiating is fine but there are some things that aren't negotiable. On a policy, the choice is to implement it or not. If I don't agree with the policy completely, there is no way to do it part way. Moore The point is not getting to a compromise, but getting to wise decisions. Sometimes you never get to a deeper understanding of what the interests are if you are locked at the level of just not agreeing. I don't think the danger in this is people getting up in the morning thinking, "I've got a Council meeting today, how can I do a dirty trick." Understanding those issues is important, but it's more important to understand that it isn't intentional. That lightens the emotions around it. I was surprised by the level of personal hurt expressed around the table. None of it was intentional. Coffey Our structure of no more than three Council members together at one time makes it difficult to do the exercises in the book that would help. How would we even begin to implement all of this. Rodriguez On the polarized issues, there needs to be a process where we could negotiate for the best decision possible. Council Member Rodriguez temporarily left the meeting at 11:30 a.m. It was noted that study sessions are for learning and staff is doing the teaching, thereby not allowing for a lot of dialogue. Assistant Mayor Cawley asked how the study sessions could become more work sessions to hammer out policy. He would like to have more input on when things come on the agenda. Council Member Lover says he approaches things differently based on whether they've gone through a committee or not and questions whether those that haven't maybe should have. Council Member Coffey commented that there are times the Council polarizes before they have had a chance to discuss it. She said she wasn't after a study session, but just general discussion around the table asking individuals why they feel the way they do. Council Member Ensey agreed. The aquatics center was used as an example of polarizing before they had a chance to discuss it as a group. Council Member Cawley said that when the Council gets new members, they need to look again at issues. He also questioned if it was staff's role to bring ideas for efficiencies; how do they put a structure in place that brings them forth. He said he wants input into what is coming forward. Mayor Edler said he was optimistic after reading the book, hoping to identify things we all think are important and can set a direction. Unfortunately, part of what has happened to us is we positioned ourselves, and the ability to do that is gone. How do we right that so we can move ahead? At this point, they broke for lunch. 13 4 4 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT — HARMAN SENIOR CENTER APRIL 4, 2009 CREATING AND MEASURING PUBLIC VALUE Overview: • City has a budget of $200 million • 755 FTEs • 7 Council members • Council puts in approximately 18 -20 hrs a week Mr. Moore noted that the City is in the business of providing goods and services to citizens. Some are mandated, others are tradition or needs. City Manager Zais noted that the first services were for health, safety and security: water, sewer, police and fire. Transit originally was solely private but was going broke and the City was asked to step in and create a transit system because of the need for transportation as a public service. Although it was originally funded by a household fee, it was changed through state law to enable it to be funded by state sales tax. It is also heavily subsidized by federal funds. Discussion covered goods and services -- private versus the public sector. A reason they are in the public sector was market failure. The private market was unable to provide that service and because it is an important need, it has to be provided by some other means. A second issue is the issue of fairness. Fire protection, sewer, etc. are not just for my neighborhood. The challenge is in providing services in places where the market failed. Mr. Moore drew a representation of how the suppliers, investors, employees, goods and services worked. In an auditing sense, value is recognized quantitatively and immediately. A government enterprise has multiple players, cares, and ways of providing value. We have citizens and customers who provide revenue. In the public sector, citizens are supplying revenue, not only for their cost, but to supply others as well. You may invest in non - profit organizations where the outcome happens at some distance. In an organization as large as the city, it is extraordinarily complex. How do you audit and measure it? In the private sector it's immediate in dollars and cents; in public it's security, safety, quality -of -life things that are expected but not as tangible as the bottom line on a P &L sheet. Council members discussed differences in value of private versus public; one -on -one versus good overall. If it is looked at as "how does it help me ? ", then government is going to fail. When you're talking about the will of the people, how do you articulate and create consensus. Mr. Moore created a chart (triangle) showing three competing pressures. Customers or stakeholders' will is subjective; then there are the authorizers (judicial, media, philanthropists). How do you negotiate the differences between those two groups to determine value? Then the operators -- how do you get your hands around that? How do you prioritize it? He referenced the LISC case study. Everything that moves can be measured, although some things are much more complicated to be measured. Council discussed the case study. City Manager Zais shared how our Block Grant program is just like the LISC case in that federal dollars enable an area to lift itself up. They have created a portfolio that has improved the neighborhood and improved property values. That's a success story. 14 449 • CITY COUNCIL RETREAT — HARMAN SENIOR CENTER APRIL 4, 2009 Discussion went into the rules, e.g. wanting to privatize services supplied by the City and the impact of the unions on the ability to lay off employees. Assistant Mayor Cawley commented that we are an evolving culture yet we've governed the way we do for many years. That issue needs to be a part of the discussion. It was noted that if expectations of an enterprise changes, the operating environment is induced to change. Also pointed out was the tremendous amount of pressure the public puts on the Council. Mayor Edler used Fisher Golf Course as an example where citizens relate how horrible a decision closing it would be. As a Council, we can't get caught up in those kinds of conversations, but must step back and determine how we are going to pay for these 'services. Council Member Ensey commented that trying to figure out exactly what the citizens want is one of the toughest problems. Mr. Moore also referenced another book, Creating Public Value by Mark Moore. He said there are a number of appropriate chapters, one of which is about political management in a fickle environment. TOWARD GREATER EFFECTIVENESS Mr. Moore distributed 3x5 cards and asked each Council member to answer the following questions on each card: • How will I improve the effectiveness of the Council? • What are the priorities we need to focus on as a Council to improve our effectiveness? • What are the priorities the City Manager and staff should focus on to improve our effectiveness? Council Member Rodriguez returned at 1:15 p.m. RESULTS: Improving the effectiveness of the Council: McClure - approve an avenue for broader discussions on all issues before us. Focus on doing fewer things well (force prioritization) Edler - set policy for the big picture. Work collaboratively to move the City forward focusing on the fiscal health of our community Ensey — It's a chance for all of us to meet and understand the interest behind our positions. Lover — a personal goal was to concentrate on listening over verbal communications. Use committee input form to input his ideas to committees Cawley - Meet more as a body. Identify issues and policy issues and treat others with respect instead of attitudes. 15 450 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT — HARMAN SENIOR CENTER APRIL 4, 2009 Rodriguez - create opportunities for negotiations and /or debate prior to final decisions on major policy issues. I also think we need to listen to each other more as a means to hear people out prior to expressing yourself. Coffey - — not getting too bogged down in minutia. I really want to maximize time spent on issues. Better use of time in committees and study sessions. Zais — a personal one is to take time for the City Manager and staff to better assess and consider the greater impact of staff proposals and ideas on the Council and its constituents. Effectiveness of City Manager and City Staff Cawley.- When needed, staff should ask for explicit direction of Council through the City Manager. City Manager and Council, as a body, should be made aware of new staff proposals outside of their basic job description (used Tahoma Cemetery proposal as an example). City Manager should give all Council members the same level of influence. Coffey — The City Manager and staff should review how their message is framed before it gets out. Be succinct. Edler — Help Council to focus on policy. Create opportunities for discussion on major issues. Hold staff accountable to reach policy objectives. Rodriguez - It's important to understand each Council member's background when being succinct. With succinctness you run the risk of assuming people know things, but if my background allows information to be short, keep it short. Be open to new ideas. Zais - Helping improve the processes that we are working through on Council business. Re- examine processes. In closing, Mr. Moore thanked the Council for the honor of facilitate the meeting. He complimented the group and said they are an amazing group of people doing extraordinary work for little recompense other than a job well done. City Manager Zais pointed out, for the public, that Mr. Moore volunteered his services preparing for and spending his time today. • Council's closing thoughts How do we move forward? We do not want to form another committee, but conduct a study session. City Manager Zais suggested reconvening in a few weeks for an hour or so at a time. Council Member Ensey agreed that once the notes are prepared, they can each review them personally marking what they think is important, crossing off what they think isn't. Discussion went into how to hold the next sessions. They hope to get together again soon so as not to lose momentum. They talked about breakfast meetings, or the Tuesday lunches. The City Manager was charged with the responsibility to check schedules and set up the next session. 16 451 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT - , HARMAN SENIOR CENTER APRIL 4, 2009 One consensus that was reached was to no longer call it the Mayor's Media Briefing. Council Member Ensey offered to handle it this Monday, April 6 CAWLEY MOVED AND COFFEY SECONDED TO ADJOURN TO APRIL 7 AT 5:30 P.M. FOR THE REGULAR BUSINESS MEETING. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 1:57 p.m. • ` READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY Nile C °a ' COUNCIL MEMBER DATE ter .0 �. COU CIL M:P :: ' DATE ATTEST: / ,4 ! .I j /'�� ITY CLERK BA 1 DLER MAYOR Minutes prepared by Linda Watkins. A CD and DVD of this meeting are available in the City Clerk's Office. • 17