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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1977 06-29 CCM Special Session MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA SPECIAL SESSION JUNE 29, 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, and Administrative Assistants Brad Hoffman and Ronald Warren. Mayor Cohen announced that this special session of the City Council was continuation of the June 27, 1977 special City Council meeting for the purpose of further deliberating the replacement and selection procedures for the City Manager. He explained that notice of the continuation was given at the June 27 Council meeting - and that notice was also posted on the City Hall message board at 9 :30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 28, 1977. He further explained that he had contacted the City's Open Meeting Law attorney and had explained manner in whieh notice of this evening's meeting was given. He - stated that the attorney was of the opinion that this evening's meeting was in compliance with the notice provisions of State law. Continued Deliberation Mayor Cohen opened the continued deliberation of the of the Selection Procedures selection procedures for a new City Manager by requesting for New City Manager reports from the members of the City Council relative to their research and inquiries on the matter. The Mayor recognized Councilman Lhotka who submitted a written report relative to the inquiries he had made of Y City Councils that had used Loren Law Associates for the recruitment of a new City Manager. He reviewed the substance of the report stating that he had contacted three cities. He explained that in the first instance the Council was well satisfied with the work done by Law Associates, and added that the selection process took about six weeks. Councilman Lhotka reported that another City interviewed had hired a manager without using a consultant. He explained that that City Council was disappointed with their choice, in that the manager they had chosen was not doing an adequate job. He further explained that following the resignation of that manager the Council then utilized Law Associates in their search for a replacement and were very satisfied with the results and the individual that was placed in the position. Councilman Lhotka then reported on the third City interviewed which recruited a manager approxi- mately six years ago. He explained that the City Council had hired the Law firm and after 6 to 8 months they still did not have a candidate. They then dismissed the Law firm and did it themselves. They were very disappointed with the Law firm. They contacted the top five City Managers i.n the area and asked them to submit resumes. From that group, the City eventually made a selection that they were satisfied with. -1- 6 -29 -77 Councilman Kuefler reported on his research stating that he had contacted Councilmen from two cities that had utilized Loren Law Associates as a consultant for their management search effort. He stated that the first City Council was very satisfied with the job done by that firm and felt that Law Associates had taken a professional approach to the task and the Council was pleased with the ' manager selected. He further reported that the other. City contacted had attempted to recruit and select a new City Manager on its own, but that Council had a very difficult time agreeing on the criteria to be utilized. He explained that the Council then decided to retain Loren Law Associates and they were also satisfied with the results and they stated that the Law organization was very professional and helpful. Councilman Fignar reported that he had contacted two outstate communities that had recently recruited new City Managers utilizing Law Associates. He explained that in both cases the persons he had contacted were not on the City Council at the time and had, therefore, not been through the process He noted that both had indicated that to the best of their knowledge there had been no problems He added that he had also contacted the City of St. Louis Park and reported that they are proceeding to select a new City Manager without utilizing a consultant. He explained that they had never considered a consultant because their Mayor is in the personnel field as is another member of the City Council. He stated that they fell they can adequately handle the task. Councilman Britts reported that he had contacted the cities of Blaine, Shakopee and Worthington which had all utilized Loren Law Associates in their selection procedure for a new manager. He explained that they were all well satisfied with the results. He further reported that he too had contacted the City of St. Louis Park and was told that three management search consultants, including Law Associates, had contacted that City relative to . their interest in retaining such a consultant. He explained that the St. Louis Park City Council is handling the matter themselves and have advertised in the International City Managers Associa- tion (ICMA) bulletin and have contacted the ICMA minority recruit- ment center. He added that they have regeived 81 applications and have narrowed their selection down to S candidates. Councilman Britts stated he also contacted the City of Edina which is also attempting to recruit a new manager on their own. He explained that Edina is aware of the management search consultants available, but is utilizing a Citizens Advisory Commission. He noted that they too feel they can adequately handle the task them- selves. Councilman Britts next commented relative to additional research he had undertaken regarding the selection of a new City Manager, He stated that he had contacted three other management search consulting firms and found out that no one firm, even Loren Law Associates, specializes in the recruitment of City Managers exclusively. He explained that Mr. Law's firm has done the majority of the work in recruiting City Managers in this area, but that they do not exclusively do this type of work. He commented that he had taken the initiative to contact Howard L. Hoy Associates, regarding their ability to provide a City Manager search service. He explained that Mr. Richard Klein of the Hoy firm, a former personnel manager for Midwest Coca Cola Bottling Company, responded by submitting a letter G_In 17 M explaining that firm's consulting service which Council- man Britts distributed to members of the City Council. The Councilman then proceeded to briefly review the points of Mr. Klein's letter and stated that he is in agreement with the point where it is proposed that the search include the development of a composite of the City Council's views on what is expected of a new manager. Councilman Britts stated that although the cost per hour of the service is somewhat higher than Mr. Law's, the Hoy firm does not anticipate that as many hours would be needed for the selection process as Mr. Law's firm anticipates. Mayor Cohen pointed out that Law Associates also provide a composite based on individual interviews with members of the City Council and that there would not be much difference in the total costs associated with either firm: Councilman Kuefler stated he favors hiring a professional consultant to bring a new City Manager on board as soon as possible. He added he would feel comfortable retaining Loren Law Associates over the Hoy firm because the costs in total do not vary much, and also because Law Associates are a locally based organization with a proven track record and have a familiarity with the local problems and concerns of a Twin City metropolitan municipality. Councilman Fignar concurred with Councilman Kuefler stating that he appreciated Councilman Britts' efforts in contacting another consulting firm but favors retaining Loren Law Associates. Councilman Lhotka stated that he too feels that a con - sultant should be retained. He commented that he is not adverse to retaining Mr. Law's firm based on the reports received. Councilman Britts explained that he too was in favor of hiring a consultant to maintain objectivity in the selection procedure. He pointed out that one of his other concerns has to do with information he has received that alleges that the selection of a manager through the use of Law Associates is a case somewhat of "musical chairs" with one manager moving from one Job to another. He explained that there seems to be a lot of� manager movement through Mr. Law's firm and added that he would be interested to see who are the top five candidates for the present manager vacancies in other communities. He wondered about the possibility of the same five appearing as top candidates for a number of the openings. He suggested the possibility of inviting Mr. Law and also Mr. Klein of Hoy Associ- ates to an upcoming City Council meeting for further discussion. He stated that the Council should retain a local firm and questioned the amount of national exposure Loren Law Associates have which might affect their ability to attract candidates nationally. Councilman Kuefler pointed out that the information he obtained from his research indicates that both of the positions h inquired about were filled by persons from out of state and that Law Associates had been the consultants in both instances -3- 6 -29 -77 Mayor Cohen commented that of the three prominent management search consultants that advertise nationally, Loren Law Associates is the only one that is a local firm, which may give some indication of that firm's' national stature. The Mayor further commented that the Council seems to lean in favor of Mr. Law's firm and suggested that the Council might want to take the first step in the selection procedure by proceeding to advertise the position and utilize Mr. Law for individual Council member interviews to develop a composite for a City Manager. He added that if the Council is not satisfied with the process, at any phase, the contract with Mr. Law could be terminated and if, on the other hand, the Council is satisfied with the process it could be continued. Councilman Lhotka inquired as to how long Mr. Law's firm has been doing this type of consulting work. Council- man Kuefler responded by stating that Mr. Law indicated in his letter that he has been in the management - executive search business for both the public and private sectors for eight years and has been in the personnel profession for 30 years. Councilman Lhotka stated that he felt it was important that the City retain a consultant that is familiar with the workings of public sector management. He questioned Mayor Cohen as to why he feel Mr,. Law is the best choice. The Mayor responded that he favors that firm first of all because it is a locally based firm with a proven track record for placing able and competent City Managers and secondly, because Mr. Law handled the search for the City of Robbinsdale. The Mayor stated that he has had personal contact with the new Robbinsdale City Manager who has an excellent understanding of the operations of state, local, and regional government. He added that the Mayor of Robbinsdale has also commented on the qualities of their new City Manager. Councilman Kuefler stated that it is not imperative that the City Council retain the best firm in the country but rather choose a respectable local firm with a proven record. He further stated that the City Council is capable of deter- mining whether or not they are satisfied with a consultant once they are working with that firm and if the City Council is not satisfied, the contract can easily be terminated. He recommended that the City Council retain Loren Law Associ- ates for the management search. Further discussion ensued relative to the selection of a consulting firm to advise the City Council on the replace- ment of the City Manager. Following the discussion it was the consensus of the Council that any contract executed should contain a clause stating that the contract can be terminated at anytime at the option of the City. Motion by Councilman Lhotka and seconded by Councilman Action Authorizing the Fignar to authorize the Mayor and the City Manager to Execution of an Agree t execute an agreement with Loren Law Associates for con - sulting services relating to the selection of a new City Manager with the understanding that the agreement can be terminated by the City at anytime. 6-29-77 -4- Following a motion and second thereof, Councilman Fignar inquired if it was necessary for the City Manager to co- execute such an agreement. The City Manager responded that the City Charter requires that the Mayor and the City Manager execute all agreements on behalf of the City. Councilman Britts inquired of the City Attorney if this agreement is different and would not require the present City Manager's signature. The City Attorney responded that the City Charter does not specifically address the matter of an agreement relating to the hiring of a new City Manager, but does specifi- cally state that all contracts must be executed by the Mayor and the City Manager. He stated that since there is still a City Manager he must be a party to that: execution. Following the discussion a vote was taken on the motion. Voting in favor: Mayor Cohen, Council men Britts, Kuefler, Fignar, and Lhotka. Voting against: none. The motion passed unanimously. Adjournment Motion by Councilman Fignar and seconded by Council- man Kuefler to adjourn the meeting. Voting in favor: Mayor Cohen, Councilmen Britts, Kuefler, Fignar, and Lhotka. Voting against: none. The motion passed unanimously. The Brooklyn Center City Council adjourned at 8 :40 p.m. le k Mayor _5_ 6-29 -77