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Home My WebLink About11/16/2010 04A Draft Minutes 11-01-2010 Public Meeting - Study SessionYAKIMA CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC MEETING — STUDY SESSION NOVEMBER 1, 2010 — 9 15 —10 45 A.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS — YAKIMA CITY HALL 1 Roll Call Present: Council Mayor Micah Cawley, presiding, Assistant Mayor Kathy Coffey, Council Members Maureen Adkison, Dave Edler, Rick Ensey, Dave Ettl and Bill Lover Staff- City Manager Zais, City Attorney Cutter and City Clerk Kloster 2. Mayor- Council / Council- Manager forms of government • Consideration of a proposal to initiate a ballot proposition to adopt a Mayor - Council government format Council Member Edler gave an overview of the Mayor - Council form of government structure proposed by the Council subcommittee ( Edler, Ensey and Lover) Council members had a copy of a memo with bullet points identifying the attributes envisioned for a strong mayor (copy attached) Council Member Lover said he had been in touch with people through the senior center and most of them said they would like the opportunity to vote on whether or not to change the City's form of government. He stated his belief that the current Council - Manager form of government is highly bureaucratic and the other form is more constitutional Council Member Ensey supports the Mayor - Council format and emphasized a strong mayor will be necessary to handle tough future union negotiations Assistant Mayor Coffey outlined problems she found in the proposal, e g residency requirements, the number of districts, Council's lack of authority to be involved with removal of department head positions, no Council staff; as well as the lack of details with regard to budget preparation Basically, she felt the details presented were too loose She said she feels strongly that we need to get through the transition of the City Manager's retirement and replacement first. That position could be contracted and each time the contract expires, Council would review performance and decide whether to renew She claimed that if the community wants a strong mayor, they will voice that to the Council At the moment, she perceives this pressure to be coming from a select political elite Mrs Coffey then spoke of the cost of a special election, requiring staff time when we are trying to deal with gangs, crime violence and preparing a budget. For those reasons, she had staff put together cost information relating to the Mayor - Council form of government. Research clearly showed that cities in this state that have a Mayor - Council format cost significantly more U • NOVEMBER 1, 2010 STUDY SESSION — FORMS OF GOVERNMENT Council Member Adkison commented that she had spoken with a number of people over the last few weeks and most responses were pretty mediocre Their biggest concern was what it would cost them 3 Audience Comments Nick Hughes, expressed concern about the cost of a special election He said he would vote against changing the form of government. Scott Wilson referred to his brother, an attorney, who has a great deal of experience with the mayor - council format. His advice was to continue with the current Council- Manager format and offered the opportunity to discuss his experiences with Council Glenn Rice said the issue has not been thought through well and claimed it was being led by a few who don't have the citizens' interests at heart. He also said the timing was poor Jerry Foy first complained about the lack of increased police and fire that was promised when they were annexed He referred to Yakima's New Vision as well as our own Economic Development Department, in response to comments made earlier that a strong mayor could promote economic development. He suggested a ® strong mayor format with the current Council would not work. Clarence Barnett advised that his daughter lives in a city with the strong mayor format and she claims it has been disastrous for years He then asked how would the City attorney handle a conflict between the strong mayor and the Council? He suggested that if there were to be an election on this issue, other charter amendments should be considered and placed on the ballot as well, such as a provision to censor or sanction the mayor Mary Place commented that what was presented for discussion is only an outline with many unanswered questions She questioned why this is being rushed and pointed out there has been no public outcry for change She referred to Assistant Mayor Coffey's information regarding the higher cost for the proposed format and also noted it is more political She said that if Council decides to put it to the voters and if there is truly an organized push to do it, the private sector should pay for the election Joe Walkenhauer, representing SOAR, said their organization is split on the issue of which form of government but most agreed citizens should have the opportunity to vote They are concerned about the cost and suggested it be piggybacked onto another election Ron King also felt it should be on the ballot for the people to decide 0 Lynn Harden spoke in support of the Mayor - Council format. 2 NOVEMBER 1, 2010 STUDY SESSION — FORMS OF GOVERNMENT Lynn Buchanan said the seven people elected to lead the City should be doing so If the Council does not like the City Manager, they should fire him With a strong mayor they must wait four years until he is up for re- election Paul George spoke against advancing the proposal to an election He said it is a complex issue that is clearly dividing Council yet outside of Council there is no discernable support for change He suggested it become the theme for the 2011 Council election when four terms expire He stated that placing it on the ballot in February doesn't allow enough time for citizen involvement. He questioned why Council members wanted to give their power away Tim Jensen commented that the outline presented was too vague He also stated it should be a citizen - generated issue He referred to the havoc in Seattle and Spokane who have a Mayor - Council format. He also felt it should be part of the general election when Council runs for office in 2011 Ben Shoval urged Council to put the issue on the ballot. Don Schussler said he is very much opposed to the Mayor - Council form He encouraged it be put on the ballot with the regular election in 2011 allowing it to be campaigned for as well as allowing for public discussion Council Deliberation Council Member Edler advised that the reason he is promoting this is the city manager is retiring, therefore, it is timely to debate changing the form of government. ENSEY MOVED AND EDLER SECONDED TO PLACE ON THE FEBRUARY BALLOT ALLOWING THE PEOPLE TO VOTE FOR A CITIZEN ELECTED MAYOR FORM OF GOVERNMENT Council Member Edler believes the current system limits not just the ability of leadership to rise to the top but limits those that can and do get involved He stated he is strongly in support of changing our form of government. Council Member Adkison expressed concern about not moving forward when we know our City Manager will begone after July 6, 2011 Council Member Ettl pointed out we have a collapsing time frame with the City Manager leaving as well as an economic crisis He recommended putting it on the ballot to get the question resolved Mayor Cawley said he could not support the February time frame when there is a primary election coming up in August. The motion carried by a 4 -3, roll call vote, Adkison, Cawley, Coffey voting no • 3 • • • NOVEMBER 1, 2010 STUDY SESSION — FORMS OF GOVERNMENT 4. Adjournment ENSEY MOVED AND EDLER SECONDED TO ADJOURN TO NOVEMBER 2, 2010 AT 9'00 AM IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS FOR COUNCIL BUDGET REVIEW The motion carried by unanimous voice vote The meeting adjourned at 1040am READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY ATTEST CITY CLERK COUNCIL MEMBER DATE COUNCIL MEMBER DATE MICAH CAWLEY, MAYOR Minutes prepared by Linda Watkins. A CD and DVD of this meeting are available in the City Clerk's Office n