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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1977 06-27 CCM Special Session MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY Or HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA SPECIAL SESSION JUNE 27, 1977 CITY HALL Call to Order The Brooklyn Center City Council met in special session and was called to order by Mayor Philip Cohen at 7 :30 p.m. Roll Call Mayor Cohen, Councilmen Britts, Kuefler, Fignar and Lhotka. Also present were City Manager Donald Poss City Attorney Richard Schieffer, Fire Chief Ronald Boman, and Administrative Assistants .Brad Hoffman, Mary Harty, and Ronald Warren. Mayor Cohen announced that this special session of the* City Council was called to formally accept the resigna- tion of the City Manager, to appoint an interim City Manager, and to deliberate the procedures for replacing the present City Manager. He stated that agendas for this evening's special session of the City Council were distributed to approximately 65 people and passed around a list containing names of those receiving the agendas. He further stated that notice of the meeting was posted on the City Hall message board at 10:30 a.m. June 24, 1977, and that reporters from the Brooklyn Center Post and the Minneapolis Star and Tribune were also notified of this evening's meeting. He added that he had contacted the City's Open Meeting Law attorney and had explained the manner in which notice for this meeting was given. Mayor Cohen stated that the attorney had expressed the opinion that the City was in compliance with notice provisions of the Open Meeting.Law. City Manager's The first item of business on the agenda was considera- Resignation tion of the City Manager's resignation. The City Manager requested that the City Council formally accept his resignation as per the details of his letter of resignation dated June 23, 1 977 to be effective July 23, 1977. Action Accepting City Following a brief discussion there was a motion by Council - Manager's Resignation man Britts and seconded by Councilman Lhotka to accept the resignation of Donald G. Poss as City Manager effective July 23, 1977. Voting in favor: Mayor Cohen, Councilmen Britts Kuefler, Fignar, and Lhotka. Voting g against: none. The motion passed unanimously. Action Requesting Motion by Councilman Kuefler and seconded by Council - Commendation man Britts to direct the staff to prepare a resolution commending the City Manager for his outstanding service to the City of Brooklyn Center. Voting in favor: Mayor Cohen, Councilmen Britts, Kuefler, Fignar, and Lhotka. Voting against: none. The motion passed unanimously. Interim City Manager The City Manager reported that there a number of items that must be addressed between the time of his effective date of resignation and the time when a new City Manager would brought on board. He stated that for this reason he feels the Council should consider designating a member of the City staff 'to be interim City Manager until a permanent replacement is found. He further stated that -1- 6 -27 -77 the July 11 1977 City Council agenda i^ expected to be a heavy agenda and that there are a number of oti or housekeeping type items which may demand the calling of a special City Council meeting on July 18, 1977. Regarding a recommendation for an Interim City 'Manager, the City Manager stated that he had discussed the matter with some members of his staff regarding their interest in serving as Manager during the interim period. He explained that some were interested in serving as Interim Manager while others were not and added that none he was aware of are interested in seeking the full -time City Manager position. The City Manager further explained that he had also limited his considera- tion of an Interim Manager recommendation to someone who was familiar with City Council proceedings as well as the functions of the various departments within City government. He recom mended that the City Council consider additional compensation ' for the person who serves as Inter Manager because that person would be assuming additional duties requiring much more time and effort. The City Manager then recommended James R. Merila, Director of Public Works, as Interim City Manager, A brief discussion ensued relative to the City Manager's recom- mendation with Mayor Cohen stating that he felt that $200 a month would be appropriate additional compensation for `4he Interim City Manager. Councilman Kuefler inquired•as to the effect this designation would have on Mr. Merila's work as Director of Public Works. The City Manager responded that the Director of Public Works' staff is at full strength and .-hat although the task will be difficult and require contribution of additional time, he feels he will be able to handle both jobs adequately during the interim period. Following further discussion there was a motion by Councilman Tentative Designation Iritts and seconded by Councilman Figr_ar to tentatively desi gnate of Interim City Mana James R. Merila as interim City Manager and to direct the City Manager to prepare a resolution declaring this designation and setting forth the terms and conditions of this interim appointL_ ment for the City Council's adoption at the July 11 , 1977 City Council meeting. Voting in favor: Mayor Cohen, Councilmen Britts, Kuefler, Fignar, and Lhotka. Voting against: none. The motion passed unanimously, Mayor Cohen introduced the next item of business on the agenda,` Selection Procedures that of deliberating the procedures to be utilized in selecting a for ive� City Ma_iager new City Manager. He stated that following receipt of the City Manager's letter of resignation on June 23, 1977, he contacted Loren Law the Mayor of Richfield and the head of Loren Law Associates, a management search company that specializes in recruiting City Managers. He further stated that Mr. Lair had forwarded background information relative to the consulting - service his firm provides. Mayor Cohen distributed the informa- tion to members of the City Council and reviewed the information containeu . Mayor Cohen commented that the City is beginning its search for a new City Manager at a time when a number of other cities such as Edina, Minnetonka, St Louis Park, New Brighton and others are also looking for City Managers. He stated that he felt the City should conduct a nation -wide search to fi1A Ole vacancy and explained that the City Council is faced wit'n two basic options for proceeding with the selection process; either attempt to conduct the search ourselves or retain a consultant to assist in the matter. He further stated that the stagy -Lard 6 -27 -77 -2- cost of retaining a management search consultant is generally 25% of the manager's base salary plus "out of pocket expenses that are incurred during the recruit - ment procedure. He added that the cost to the City of Blaine, which had recently utilized Loren Law Associates for obtaining a new City Manager, was approximately $10,200. Mayor Cohen reported that Mr. Law has indicated that the best time to attract potential City Managers is prior to the time school starts in the fall, thus, enabling the family to get settled. He further reported that Mr. Law is prepared to undertake this endeavor immediately and can hopefully provide candidate recom- mendations by mid September if the City Council is prepared to choose this option. Mayor Cohen expressed the opinion that the search for a manager should commence immediately and that due to the requirements of Equal Employment Opportunity, the Open Meeting Law, the Data Privacy Law, and other laws and regulations affecting recruitment the Council should retain a professional management search consul- tant. He recommended that the City Council take action to retain Loren Law Associates for this purpose Mayor Cohen further reported as to the procedures utilized by Mr. Law during his search process which include: individual meetings with each Councilman separately to determine their perspectives as to the requirements of the position; a public meeting with the Council as a whole to determine a collective insight into the City Council's perceived duties and responsibilities of a City Manager, and to discuss salary and benefits for the position; various reports and possibly other meetings; and finally recommendations to the City Council of three or more candidates for City Manager. The Mayor reiterated the importance of uti- lizing a process that provides equal opportunity, data privacy, openness, and also City Council input, and added that Mr. Law's credentials suggest such a professional approach, assuring that a well - qualified candidate can be brought on board as soon as possible. A lengthy discussion ensued relative to the Mayor's recommendation. In response to an inquiry by Council- man Fignar, Mayor Cohen stated that Mr. Law would meet individually with each Councilman to gain their insights but that there would be no closed meetings of the City Council regarding this process. He added that Mr. Law is very cognizant of the requirements of the Open Meeting Law. Councilman Fignar further inquired if the selection of a City Manager requires a unanimous vote of the Council. Mayor Cohen responded that only a majority vote is required to appoint a City Manager, but that Mr. Law would not recommend a ' person to the City Council if he felt that person would not be appointed unanimously by the City Council. In response to a question, the City Manager pointed out that Mr. Law attempts to synthesize the opinions of Councilmen to find a manager that is acceptable to the City Council as a whole. Councilman Fignar also questioned if Mr. Law is presently engaged in recruiting City Managers for other municipalities. Mayor Cohen responded that Mr. Law was not presently so engaged, and has assured that a -3- 6 -27 -77 he would make this a full -time effort wh. { ^h would involve approximately 300 man - hours. i In response to an inquiry, the City Manager stated that the r recruitment and selection of a Manager fo' a City of over 30,000 population is a major undertaking that is very time consuming and demanding. He explained that in towns of less than 10•,000 population it .is not uncommon for the Council to undertake the process although they often seek the consultation and assistance of neighboring City Managers in their selection process. He speculated that Brooklyn Center could receive between 250 and 400 applications for the position which would be a very time consuming chore for the City Council to just review. Councilman Kuefler concurred with Mayor Cohen's comments about the urgency of appointing a new City Manager. He stated that there will be a number of pressing issues before the City Council such as the budget, critical areas planning, the mandatory Comprehensive Planning Law, in addition to the regular City Council busi- ness that warrants the attention of a full -time Manager. He commented that he likes the professional approach of a management search consultant and favors going with Loren Law Associates for these reasons, and also because it is a local organization with an understanding for our concerns and problems. Councilman Fignar concurred with the idea of hiring a pro - fessional management search consultant, stating that the City Council would in all likelihood itself expend the vast majority of any fee paid to a consultant if it were to undertake such an effort itself. He further stated that normally when the City Council considers expending funds of this magnitude for equipment or other purchases, the City takes bids or quotations. He suggested that the City Council might want to look further to determine the competitiveness of consultants of this type. Mayor Cohen responded that he doubted that the fees would vary much between consultants and added that there are few firms in this area that do this type of consulting work, and that he is not aware of any others that have done management. searches for communities the size of Brooklyn Center. Councilman Britts stated that he is not opposed to retaining a management search consultant because none of the members of the City Council have ever been involved in such a process before and also the City Council does not have the time to adequately address the matter of recruiting a new City Manager itself. He further stated that there must be other firms of this type available locally and added that he favored spending a little time, because of the expenditure involved, in reviewing what other firms are available and their costs. He explained that he feels this way because the Council has tentatively appointed a capable interim City Manager and that the present City Manager will not be leaving for a month which would give the City Council time for further review. Councilman Lhotka concurred with Councilman Fignar and Britts, and stated that there should be further review relating to the costs of other consultants He added that he too favors utilizing the management search approach. In response to an inquiry by Mayor Cohen, the City Manager stated that retaining consultants is not subject to bids by statute. 6_247-77 -4- Mayor Cohen stated that the City Council must also consider the reaction of the City staff to any delay in the selection of a replacement for the City Manager. He cautioned that to delay runs the risk of losing present members of the staff because of the uncertainty of the entire matter. He added that as was indicated earlier there are a number of other cities also looking for City Managers presently and expressed the opinion that the decision regarding the consultant should be made this evening. Further discussion ensued relative to how the City Council should proceed with the selection of a new City Manager with it being the consensus of the City Council that its members should contact other City Councils that have utilized Mr. Law's firm as to their satisfaction with the process and to see if there are other available consulting firms for a report and a decision at a special meeting to be held on Wednesday evening, June 29. Action Continuing Motion by Councilman Lhotka, seconded by Councilman Special Meeting Fignar to continue the special meeting until Wednesday, June 29, 1977 at 7 :30 p.m. to deliberate the final selection procedures for a new City Manager. Voting in favor: Mayor Cohen, Councilmen Britts , Kuefler, Fignar, and Lhotka. Voting against: none. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8 :30 p.m. f , Cle k Mayor _5_ 6 -27 -77