HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/09/2010 Special Business Meeting •
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YAKIMA CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL BUSINESS MEETING
SEPTEMBER 9, 2010
7:00 — 9:00 P.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 Acting City Clerk Claar-
Tee
2. Public Hearing regarding Council- Manager / Mayor - Council forms of
government
• Mayor Cawley opened the public hearing.
Mary Place, former Council member and mayor, stated that Yakima is one of the few full
service cities in the state which is one of the reasons it has chosen professional
management. All of the bigger cities that are Mayor - Council also have city
administrators, a professional that is responsible only to the mayor. She declared this
change would not be a budget saving measure and also pointed out that every time there
is an election it costs the taxpayers money. As an example, costs for the 2009 special
election were $48,205 plus a third of the indirect costs of $38,000. She urged Council to
keep politics out of it; upgrade the Charter, but not change to a Mayor - Council form of
government.
Lynn Buchanan, former Council member and mayor, also spoke against the Mayor -
Council format suggesting that what is needed is a strong City Council. He felt a Mayor -
Council format would be too costly. He commented on the need for weekly meetings
rather than twice a month.
Sandy Massong - Lloyd, 5501 W. Arlington Avenue, agreed the Mayor - Council format is
not appropriate mainly because that it would take four years to remove the mayor if it
were necessary. She commented that the City needs a strong City Council, not a strong
mayor.
Paul George, former Council member and mayor, also a strong supporter of the
Council /Manager form of government, said it has kept the City stable.
Richard Miller, 1214 Karr Avenue, emphasized the need for accountability. He said a
politician is not more accountable because he can't get fired. He feels we already have
accountability and he doesn't want his tax dollars used to go through a big change. He
spoke about continuity and the risk that an elected mayor may come in and replace all
department heads with his own people. He summarized by saying he doesn't see any
benefit, no increased accountability and certainly no cost savings.
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PUBLIC HEARING ON FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
SEPTEMBER 9, 2010
Bernie Sims, 210'Arthur Blvd, spoke against changing the current form of government
noting that this process was gone through before. He warned that there could easily be
missed opportunities if there wasn't a strong manager running the city. He urged Council
to look into changing the Charter if necessary.
Benine McDonell, 7004 W. Pierce Court, opposes changing to a Mayor - Council form of
government. She pointed out that any person can be elected if they raise enough money
and that in a Mayor - Council format the mayor is the CEO of a multi - million dollar
organization and may not have any management training. She urged Council to not go to
the expense of putting this to a vote of the people.
Max Golladay, 302 Santa Rosa, encouraged Council to put the question to a vote of the
people.
Bill Duerr, 320 W. Yakima Avenue, spoke about the impact a vote would have on the
City's budget and said the City doesn't have the money for an election. He also referred
to the expense of staff time to prepare a change to the Charter. He suggested waiting to
make changes until after the economy turns around. He suggested that Council's motive
for change was to take control from the City Manager, but they already have it, they just
need to use it. Mr. Duerr spoke highly of City Manager Zais' skills and accomplishments.
Harris Meyer, 1909 Yakima Avenue, spoke in favor of a Mayor - Council form by saying
the issue is accountability and committees (like the Council) are ineffective.
Clarence Barnett, 916 17 Avenue, was concerned there was no proposal to review and
it would have been more useful to outline a specific plan for a change before asking the
public to comment. He submitted a list of questions he would like Council to discuss.
Larry Mattson, 2810 Shelton Avenue, spoke in favor of a Mayor - Council form of
government. He agreed that there needs to be a proposal to review. From his
experience on the City Council, he felt that running the City by a seven - member council
slows things down. He also felt that city time and resources should be expended to come
up with a charter revision.
Bruce Smith, 4228 Nola Loop, said he felt strongly that the issue should go to the voters.
It was his opinion that the problems with the city are inherent as part of the current
system.
Paul Schaeffer, 2606 Tieton Drive, spoke in favor of the current Council /Manager form of
government. One of his fears with the Mayor - Council format is the constant change of
the City's direction each time a new mayor was elected.
• Mayor Cawley closed the public hearing.
Council Member Ensey agreed it is difficult to discuss the issue without details and he
would like to see a plan developed that could be discussed. Assistant Mayor Coffey
commented that there hasn't been a groundswell of interest in this from the public.
Council Members Adkison and Ettl also agreed that they haven't seen public interest in
the subject. Council Member Edler disagreed stating he has heard a lot of public interest.
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PUBLIC HEARING ON FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
SEPTEMBER 9, 2010
He also said that, although originally he came onto Council with the idea it was necessary
to "get rid of Dick," once inside he felt the problem was the current system, not the City
Manager. He said the City needs leadership that is accountable to the people and the
Council.
ENSEY MOVED AND EDLER SECONDED TO HAVE THE COUNCIL FORMA 3-
MEMBER COMMITTEE TO HAMMER OUT THE DETAILS, INCLUDING DECIDING
WHETHER TO INCLUDE THE PUBLIC ON THE COMMITTEE OR PUT IT ON YPAC,
AND THEN BRING IT BACK TO COUNCIL. FOLLOWING THAT, IF COUNCIL IS
COMFORTABLE WITH IT, TALK ABOUT PUTTING IT TO THE VOTERS. During
discussion of the motion, Council Member Ensey suggested it be accomplished within 30
days. The motion failed by a 5 -2 roll call vote; Adkison, Cawley, Coffey, Ettl and Lover
voting no.
COFFEY MOVED AND ADKISON SECONDED TO END DEBATE ON THE MAYOR -
COUNCIL FORM OF GOVERNMENT. The motion failed by a 5 -2 roll call vote; Cawley,
Edler, Ensey, Lover and Adkison voting no.
Following discussion of what to do next, EDLER MOVED AND COFFEY SECONDED TO
CANCEL THE STUDY SESSION SCHEDULED ON THE SUBJECT. The motion carried
by a 5 -2 vote; Lover and Cawley voting no.
3. Adjournment
ENSEY MOVED AND EDLER SECONDED TO ADJOURN. The motion carried by
unanimous voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 8:48 .rp.
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CITY CLE MICAH CAWLE AYOR
Minutes prepared by Linda Watkins. A CD and DVD of this meeting are available in the City Clerk's Office
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