Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 1/9/2015 City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 '171,1 Jib GLE Meeting Minutes - Final Friday, January 9, 2015 9:00 AM Special Council Workshop Renaissance Glendale Hotel and Spa, Cira Ballroom A & B, 9495 W. Coyotes Blvd. Glendale, Arizona 85305 City Council Workshop Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Ian Hugh Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Samuel Chavira Councilmember Gary Sherwood Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 CALL TO ORDER Present 7- Mayor Jerry Weiers, Vice Mayor Ian Hugh, Councilmember Jamie Aldama, Councilmember Samuel Chavira, Councilmember Gary Sherwood, Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff, and Councilmember Bart Turner WORKSHOP SESSION • 1. 15-060 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT Staff Contact: Brenda S. Fischer, ICMA-CM, City Manager Facilitated by: Patrick Ibarra, Co-Founder and Partner, Mejorando Group Patrick Ibarra provided the itinerary for the day. He said the morning session would focus on the Council as a governing body and how they are coming together as a group. In the afternoon, they will focus on the February 12th session, which is about goal-setting and what the future looks like. He said implementation is the hardest part of being in a group and he hoped the Council can transition to making changes and working toward a more trusting partnership. He explained growth and comfort don't coexist. Some growth and transitions will be painful as the Council tries to adopt new ways of doing the public's business. He explained that the Council has a sense of ownership about the community and what they are going to accomplish. Everyone there that day cares about the relationships and is a community builder. There was discussion about the order items that will be presented. 2. 15-058 OPEN MEETING LAW TRAINING Staff Contact: Michael D. Bailey, City Attorney Mr. Bailey spoke about open meeting law and said although most of the Councilmembers had been to training regarding open meeting law, the training should be ongoing. He explained OMLET is the open meeting law enforcement team. The Attorney General is tasked with enforcing open meeting law, and the enforcement team operates under that authority. Mr. Bailey next discussed social gatherings and the fear of committing an open meeting law violation. He explained Councilmembers can attend a party or event and not be in violation of open meeting law, but they are not allowed to talk about city business. He recommended the Councilmember not congregate in groups of four which is a quorum and not talk about city business during events, etc. The next item discussed was walk-arounds. He said staff can walk-around and provide Councilmembers factual information. Staff should only be providing information and Councilmembers should only receive the information. Neither should inquire about someone's position on that information. Mr. Bailey suggested keeping the conversation strictly to the facts. He also said staff should maintain some record of what was discussed. Councilmember Turner asked what Mr. Bailey meant by walk-arounds. Mr. Bailey provided the example of staff providing each Councilmember with background information on an issue in a series of meetings. Councilmember Turner asked if he was speaking of a situation where staff would meet consecutively, but separately, with different Councilmembers. City of Glendale Page 1 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 Mr. Bailey said that was correct. He also said email should be provided for information purposes only and to provide background on an issue, or to answer a question. Next, Mr. Bailey said there haven't been many updates that have recognized technology pertaining to open meeting laws. He explained how violations can occur in an email, text messaging or in a biog. He also recommended not forwarding emails from others. He said although they allow phoning into a regular Council meeting, they do not allow phoning into an executive session. He said there is no way to confirm the Councilmember phoning in is on a secure line. He also explained that they are allowed to hold a meeting by technological means, but must be able to allow the public to attend those meetings as well. Mr. Bailey next discussed responding to all in emails. He said there is no problem collectively receiving factual information, but if one person replies to all and proposes an action in that response, this can be a violation. He recommended that Councilmember do not respond to all when replying to emails. Councilmember Aldama asked what the protocol should be if he accidentally does reply to all. Mr. Bailey suggested notifying the City Attorney or City Manager was the best way to handle the matter. He said mistakes do happen, and OMLET is looking at serial events and possible subject matter. Ms. Fischer said a Councilmember's response can make a difference as well. She explained a simple thank you is much different than a response of yes, move forward. Mr. Bailey explained the hub and spoke concept where one person contacts multiple Councilmembers one on one. He said both Councilmembers and staff can be in violation. He advised Councilmembers to be cognizant of their individual communications and activities. Councilmember Hugh asked if the hub can get in trouble for an open meeting violation. Mr. Bailey said staff can be violation of the open meeting law. He said it is a terminable offense under city employee policies. Ms. Fischer asked if it was possible for the spoke to be in violation as well by not only talking to the hub, but also talking to each other. Mr. Bailey said OMLET will talk about the daisy chain, which is the serial communication, and the hub and spoke. He explained they are similar. He said Councilmembers have to be careful. Mr. Bailey also said the open meeting law also applies to Boards and Commissions members and recommends Councilmembers not attend those meetings and do not speak. He explained those boards are making decisions regarding items that will come before Council and Councilmembers would not want to say anything at one of those meetings that would prevent them from performing their duties as a Councilmember. He suggested getting copies of agendas and minutes from the Boards and Commissions meetings to find out what is going on. Councilmembers need to be aware how their position and title can influence board members. Mr. Bailey explained the various reasons for an item to be discussed in e-session and said that is Council's opportunity to speak with the attorney to get legal advice. He said City of Glendale Page 2 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 the Council as a whole can release e-session information, but they cannot do it individually. If Council agrees to release information, an item is put on the agenda and the Council votes on whether or not to release the information. He also explained the attomey/client privilege. • Councilmember Turner asked about conversations with Boards and Commissions members outside of meetings. Mr. Bailey said a Board and Commission member should be treated the same as a Councilmember, and avoids speaking about sensitive topics. Ms. Fischer referenced page 8, tab 9, regarding the Code of Conduct, which will be discussed today. Councilmembers can recommend changes today to the Code of Conduct. Councilmember Turner said they needed to avoid the daisy chain and spoke and hub. Mr.Bailey discussed an example where a Board and Commission member could be the hub and use information to influence the Board. Ms. Fischer said Boards and Commissions members need to abide by open meeting law as well. Mr. Bailey explained the penalties for an open meeting law violation and said the fine and legal representation are the responsibility of the Councilmember in violation. He said the Councilmember could also be responsible for the complaining party's attorney's fees and costs. He explained there is also harm to the city and any action taken is null and void and the employee can be terminated. He said the Councilmembers, staff and boards and commissions members will also receive this training. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the personal emails of a Boards and Commissions member can be subpoenaed if there is a complaint. Mr. Bailey said the Attorney General has the power to subpoena in that regard. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if that was part of the Boards and Commissions training. Mr. Bailey said yes it was part of the training. He said if there are any questions about this, talk to his office as soon as possible. Mayor Weiers said they still need to give and receive information, but said Councilmembers should not voice their opinion or ask what someone else is going to do. Mr. Bailey recommended each Councilmember watch the perceptions they create with their actions. Ms. Fischer asked if there was an obligation of Council or staff to report observations of open meeting law violations. Mr. Bailey open meeting law violations can occur very quickly. He asked Councilmembers to get in touch with his office or the City Manager if they felt there was a problem. He explained errors can be fixed, but must be done in a timely fashion. City of Glendale Page 3 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 Mayor Weiers said if a Councilmember did not say anything about an issue they are aware of, and then took part in a vote on that issue, they would have to say something. Mr. Bailey said it is difficult to know when the line has been crossed because no knows all the information. Councilmember Turner provided an example where two Councilmembers have discussed their opinions on an issue, and they need to talk to other Councilmembers to see if there is support to put this item on an agenda. Ms.Fischer said that is the point of the Council Item of Special Interest, so it can be brought to a workshop so the Councilmember can see if there is support for the item. Mr. Bailey said in other jurisdictions, there are other means of getting an item on an agenda. At the workshop, Council would determine if there was consensus to move forward. Ms.Fischer said in the current process, three Councilmembers can request a special meeting, but not put it on the agenda. She said she looked to the Council for direction on this three Councilmember issue, because a Councilmember might have to talk to four Councilmembers to get three to agree. She asked the Councilmembers to consider changing that number to two and to allow two members to request something be put on the agenda. It will allow items to get on an agenda more quickly. Councilmember Turner said this is an issue when a Councilmember wants to get an item on the workshop agenda more quickly. Mr. Bailey said having three members to put an item on agenda is a problem, because if you didn't support it,you wouldn't want to discuss it, and speaking to a fourth Councilmember is a violation. Councilmember Aldama questioned whether, for example, Mayor Weiers was an applicant for a Community Development grant and he was a Commissioner could they meet and discuss it. Mayor Weiers explained this was a hypothetical situation. Councilmember Aldama asked if there was a problem with that. Mr. Bailey said they have to be careful not to let the conversation move to how they are going to vote, or others are going to vote, on issues. Mr. Bailey said it was acceptable for the Councilmember and the Mayor to meet in the example given by Councilmember Aldama. Councilmember Sherwood explained staff will speak to Councilmembers on issues, and asked if it was acceptable that a Councilmember speaks to them and just provides information only. Mr. Bailey suggested allowing that board member or staff to provide a report to the entire Council. He suggested a special meeting be held if it is an urgent topic or do a white paper and send it to Council staff. Mayor Weiers said the safety in doing that is everyone gets the information and not just a few get it. City of Glendale Page 4 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 Mr. Bailey said everyone gets the information and itis consistent. Patrick lbarra said the transition to Council can be overwhelming. He said one thing the new members need to remember when they get elected is the microphone is never off. 3. 15-049 CITY CHARTER Staff Contact: Brenda S. Fischer, ICMA-CM, City Manager Facilitated by: Patrick lbarra, Co-Founder and Partner, Mejorando Group Patrick lbarra moved onto the next item, governance. He said he wanted to go back to the basics of what local government is trying to accomplish. He said local government was established to try and make services more equitable. He asked what the role was of local government beyond providing the basic services of water and public safety. He said local government's role is to be a protagonist for a better quality of life. He asked participants what was the role of the Councilmembers and the Mayor, what are the expectations they have of each other, and what is the role of the community. He said there are no right answers to these questions but he wanted these issues to be considered by the Councilmembers. He asked the Councilmembers about their thoughts on what each saw as their role. Councilmember Sherwood said one role was policy. Patrick lbarra said the adoption of policy was the role of the Mayor and Council. Councilmember Chavira said representation for the community. Councilmember Aldama said unity, but not individualism. He explained they are not always going to agree, but it is how they disagree. He said they need to work as one, not one individual. Patrick lbarra said it was all about how they define unity. Sometimes it is defined as sameness. He said during a Council meeting, staff wants the Councilmembers to ask questions and probe the issue. Ms. Fischer mentioned being a visionary. Councilmember Chavira said there is a responsibility to show decorum. Patrick lbarra said there are going to be differences and it is important how they work through those differences. Councilmember Chavira mentioned promoting the city for economic development. Patrick lbarra said they are the advocates for the city. Councilmember Turner said budget and finance. Councilmember Aldama said leadership and bringing leadership to the city. It is important to always be in that role. Councilmember Chavira said accessibility and transparency. Patrick lbarra said these terms have gotten a lot of attention recently and governing City of Glendale Page 5 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 bodies are trying to define what that means. Councilmember Tolmachoff said none of those were possible without being an effective communicator. It is important they communicate with each other, staff and the public. Mayor Weiers said promoting the opportunity for citizens to have a voice. Patrick lbarra explained each Councilmember plays a role as a puzzle architect. He said they create community as the community is evolving. He said the visionary helps the Councilmember sketch out what the vision is going to look like. He asked the Councilmember what kind of changes they want to make. He said the Councilmembers are put in a tough spot as sometimes the public only knows what it does not want. Councilmember Aldama said they need to recognize their roles as policymakers and be respectful of the process, even when the process is slow. Patrick Ibarra said there is elasticity. Ms.Fischer said to let them know if they don't like the process. She encouraged them to share suggestions for improvement. Patrick Ibarra asked what they expected from the community. Mayor Weiers said he wants the citizens to tell him what they want. This all goes back to giving the citizens a voice in the process. Councilmember Chavira said the role of the citizen is representation. He wants the citizens to let Council know their concerns, their issues and their needs. He felt it was his responsibility to share that information by his leadership. Patrick Ibarra said part of the Councilmember's role is that of a translator and to interpret the public need. Councilmember Chavira said the bottom line is how each Councilmember empowers the others, the citizens and what they do with that power. Councilmember Aldama would like to see more engagement by citizens, more positive comments from citizens. He said the citizens help promote the city. He said it all starts with the Councilmembers as the leaders. He said this year they had the lowest voter turnout and they need to engage the community to get out and vote. Mayor Weiers called for a five minute break and a break was taken. Councilmember Turner said they represent the citizens, but also represent the city on a much larger arena. Councilmember Turner said this representation is sometimes difficult as it might look like the Councilmember are getting privilege from this representation. Patrick Ibarra said it is important to note how each Councilmember defines their role. They shouldn't let others define the role for them. Councilmember Tolmachoff said sometimes the perception is created by airing things in public that weren't meant to be aired in public. She said everything they do is available for public consumption. She said it is important to be an effective communicator and be respectful of others. Councilmember Chavira said they are officials and they need to keep in the back of their City of Glendale Page 6 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 minds whether it is going to pass the headline test. Patrick Ibarra said the Councilmembers have so many relationships and itis important for them to decide how they want to make it all work. Councilmember Turner said they are the board of directors for the organization and have an employer responsibility to the employees. Councilmember Aldama said the City Manager also falls under all the guidelines they have previously discussed. He said she has displayed great leadership since her arrival at the city. He wanted Ms. Fischer to know the ideas they are discussing today is the Council's expectation of the City Manager. Patrick Ibarra said an important word is focus. Effective governing bodies exhibit discipline and focus. He said priorities are always shifting and it's important for the Council to maintain the vision. Councilmember Chavira said they have to have a broad vision. Patrick Ibarra said some Councilmembers are big picture thinkers and other are more detailed oriented. A healthy Council will have a good blend of both. Councilmember Chavira said you have balance. Patrick Ibarra said the differences are the contributions to the process. He said sometimes the sense of empathy for a differing opinion gets lost, but all points of view are valid and should be recognized. Mr. Bailey said a Charter change has to go to the voters and the governor has to sign off on it. He said they usually want to implement a charter committee to guide them through the process. He said this is a time consuming process. Ms. Fischer said that is why Charters are general and Codes are set to support it. That way you don't have to go to the voters and do this process every time you have an election. She said sometimes Charter changes are driven by personality disagreements versus practice form of government. She explained the Charter was the long term guiding principle. Patrick Ibarra began the process with the issues that were brought up during his interview process and asked for any questions. Mayor Weiers hoped whoever brought the issue up would speak on it. Councilmember Hugh hoped to do a quick interpretation of the item and move on. Patrick Ibarra asked for any discussion around section 19, interference. Mayor Weiers asked for clarification of the word interference. Ms. Fischer said there was not an issue from her perspective. These were brought up by Councilmembers. She said it is very difficult to run an organization with eight CEOs. She said with the Council/Manager form of government, there are 7 policymakers and one CEO. She said most charters include this kind of language and explained the concept of the hourglass form of government and it is meant to keep a solo Councilmember from directing staff. City of Glendale Page 7 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 Councilmember Chavira said they are a team and not working for individual causes. Ms. Fischer said each person has a role and she said this protects the integrity of the operation. Mayor Weiers mentioned an issue they had when the city had a big storm. Ms.Fischer said in that situation she would expect the staff member to either handle the problem or contact the person who could handle the problem. She also said they can contact her and she will make sure the problem is resolved. Patrick lbarra said the Council concentrates responsibility in one person, the City Manager and they hold her accountable. Councilmember Turner mentioned some key phrases that said for purposes of inquiry, Councilmembers had the right to go to any staff member if they have a question, and do not have to funnel all questions through the City Manager. He also mentioned language that said the Council shall not give orders to a subordinate of the City Manager. He said this process is helpful to make sure questions get answered and issues get resolved. Councilmember Aldama said he has met with staff with community concerns, but said • they are responsible for evaluating the City Manager. He said she will be evaluated on her effectiveness and responsiveness to the Mayor and Council. Councilmember Chavira said the City Manager knows it is an official question when coming from a Councilmember, and she will get the appropriate person on the task. Councilmember Turner asked if the posted agenda was broad enough for them to discuss other items not on the list. Ms. Fischer said they are able to talk about any sections of the Charter that they want to discuss. Councilmember Turner wanted to discuss the item regarding Vice Mayor. Patrick lbarra asked if there was any discuss on the City Manager's powers and duties. Councilmember Tolmachoff understands that all personnel matters go through the City Manager. She said she had already discussed this issue with Ms. Fischer. She said the issue is where Mayor and Council staff report. She said Council staff has access to the Councilmembers'email and calendars. She explained that staff report someplace else and felt they would be best evaluated by the people they are working for. She also felt it could put an employee in an awkward situation. She wanted to discuss what would prevent making changes with regard to that. Ms. Fischer said all employees other than the four appointed positions are under the merit system. For those positions to report directly to the Council would make them Charter positions. She said Council does not have managerial authority over any other than the four appointed positions. Councilmember Tolmachoff said other cities have unclassified employees and asked if this was different than at-will employees. City of Glendale Page 8 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 Ms. Fischer said unclassified positions would be considered at-will based on the merit system. She said if those positions were made at-will positions, they would serve at the pleasure of the City Manager, not the City Council. To change them to report to the Council would require a Charter change. She said those positions support the Council and they work for the Council on a daily basis. She explained they do get input from the Council when they had vacancies changing the job description was discussed with the Councilmembers. She also said it is standard practice to get feedback from the Councilmembers regarding how that person did. She said there is involvement,just not a direct reporting responsibility with regard to hiring and firing. Councilmember Tolmachoff said because of the different nature of what happens in both the Mayor's and Council office, it might be uncomfortable for the employee knowing information they might have to share with the City Manager. She was concerned about losing a good employee due to this structure. Councilmember Turner said one of the concerns might be about confidentiality among Council administrative staff. Ms.Fischer said confidentiality is covered in city policy. Violating confidentiality is a performance issue and they would be counseled and given a corrective action. In a public entity, she said very little is confidential. She said if any misbehavior is witnessed by a Councilmember, they should let the City Manager know so it can be addressed. Mr. Stoddard said they are aware of the need for confidentiality within those positions and they will put a priority on hiring employees with that background. He said they appreciate any input from the Mayor and Councilmembers in that regard. Mr. Stoddard said most information is public record, but staff understands the relationship of trust. He said the only line they have drawn with staff is the campaigning and political support role. He said no Councilmember has ever asked their staff to engage in a political role. He said they require and expect political sensitivity and confidentiality for those positions. Councilmember Tolmachoff said her concern that the staff would have split loyalty. Ms. Frisoni said she has heard exactly the opposite. She said those employees appreciate being part of the merit system and having a reporting structure through administrative staff. She said occasionally there might have been a problem on the Council relationship side and them working through their staff liaisons to get that resolved. She said she can bring up the duress and concern these employees would have if this were to move forward. She said there have been issues between the employee and some Councilmembers, but not staff, and those employees have brought up concerns that this is being discussed as a Council initiative. Mr. Stoddard said there are pros and cons, but it brings consistency to staff to provide the Councilmembers the professional services that they need. Councilmember Hugh said they have no input on hiring or the interviewing process. He said the Councilmembers might have issue that the employees report to so many people, but not to the Councilmembers. Mr. Stoddard said when the last Council assistant retired;staff sat down with each Councilmember and asked them what their expectations were of the employees. He said they significantly changed the job description of the Council assistant to reflect Council needs. He said although those employees report to staff, they look for feedback from City of Glendale Page 9 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 the Councilmembers on their performance. Ms. Fischer said the Councilmembers do not have direct managerial responsibility. For the Councilmember to be part of the interview process would require a posting, an e-session interview with the six Councilmembers. She said the Charter is not set up so Councilmembers have individual responsibility over employees. Mayor Weiers said they could have contract labor fill those positions. If that contract employee did not do their job, the Councilmember would have to answer to the public why the employee was not doing their job. Ms. Fischer said staff will do research on contract employees. She said it would change the format for the current employees, basically laying them off. Mayor Weiers said he was not saying that,people could stay there and still do the job, but each Councilmember could have their own person in addition to the people there. He said they cannot effect change if they do not have someone who answers directly to them. Councilmember Tolmachoff said they could have contract employees, even if one person worked for two Councilmembers. She said different issues are present for those employees who work for the Mayor and Councilmembers. Councilmember Turner said he has been very impressed with the professionalism and expertise he has received from the Council assistants. He had concerns about political patronage and has no desire to see existing or new positions being used in that fashion. He thought temporary or contract employees are still hired through the managerial side of the city government. He would like to see the confidentiality portion of the employee manual. He said he has no concerns at all with any of these issues with the current staff in place at this time. Councilmember Hugh said the plan to make them non-merit employees has been discussed. Ms. Fischer said it was discussed that they serve at the pleasure of the City Manager, not the Council. Councilmember Hugh said Councilmembers are trying to determine who they work for. He said they do represent the Councilmember, and they need to feel better ownership of the staff member. He asked who oversaw those employees. Ms. Frisoni said Mr. Stoddard oversaw the employees. Ms. Fischer said every employee technically reports to the City Manager, but they do so through the organizational structure. Patrick Ibarra clarified this issue was going to be on a future Executive Meeting and wanted to be sensitive to the time spent on this issue. He asked Council agree to a few more comments then to move onto the next topic. Councilmember Aldama asked if the Councilmember can have some input into what attributes they are looking for in a Council assistant. He asked if they were able to do that until something changes. Ms. Frisoni said that is what they are doing now. City of Glendale Page 10 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 Mr. Stoddard said the job description was rewritten with significant input from both the Council assistants and the Councilmembers just a few months ago. Councilmember Aldama said changing the job description was good, but there are new Councilmembers that haven't taken part in that process. He said it would be simpler to just ask the new Councilmembers what they are looking for in a Council assistant. Councilmember Hugh mentioned having the Council assistant appear at various functions on his behalf. Mr. Stoddard said that was absolutely part of what they were trying to do when they upgraded this position and they wanted to obtain professional staff to assist the Councilmembers in whatever capacity they would like. He also said that additional responsibilities can be added to the Council assistant's duties based on the needs of each individual Councilmember. Staff expects the Council assistants to be flexible and perform the job duties in the way the Councilmember expects. Mayor Weiers said Councilmember Aldama's interests may be completely different than his own interests in certain situations. He said the Mayor and each Councilmember should have one person that works for them and that employee would know when they left office, the employee's job would be over. Councilmember Chavira said each Councilmember is unique because they don't have term limits. He was happy with the clarification of who works for whom and who they represent. He said most cities have staff that go beyond just clerical staff and represent the office. He was glad those points were covered. Councilmember Turner said he would like to have a copy of the current job description for the Council assistant position. Ms. Frisoni said she would be happy to meet with the new Councilmembers to discuss their thoughts on the job description. Patrick lbarra moved on to the next item, role of the City Manager. Councilmember Turner said this has been brought up by the public and wanted to know how that was clarified. He also wanted to discuss clarification of which Assistant City Manager would act in the City Manager's absence. Ms. Fischer said she would designate an Assistant City Manager to act on her behalf. She explained this section defined the function of that position, not the quantity. She provided an explanation of this issue, and she said there is only one city in the valley that has one Assistant City Manager. She said having more than one Assistant City Manager was recommended by the consultant. She said for a period of time there was only one Assistant City Manager and Ms. Fisher explained she was not able to serve the Council as needed due to her limited availability. Councilmember Turner said his concern was in the event of an unplanned absence, it would be helpful to have a policy on this. Ms. Fischer said usually the duties would be passed to the most senior employee, who would be Ms. Frisoni. Councilmember Turner said he would like to see it clarified, and it doesn't need to be a Charter provision. City of Glendale Page 11 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 Patrick Ibarra said most Charters do not refer to any staff other than the City Manager. Councilmember Aldama said there needs to be language regarding exactly who would be in charge if something happened to the City Manager. Patrick Ibarra next discussed administrative departments and offices. Ms. Fischer said this is done every year as part of the budget, adopting the organizational chart. This is discussed at a public meeting so there is a paper trail of how it evolved. Councilmember Hugh asked if this would help them with their office staff. Ms. Fischer asked if he was talking about the organizational structure and number of employees. She said if Council wanted to change the quantity, it would be part of the budget process. Councilmember Hugh said he was talking about having Council staff work directly for a Councilmember. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if a Councilmember or the Mayor wanted to see • something structurally different in the organizational chart of the city, would it be done as an item of special interest. Ms. Fischer said she hoped the Councilmember would speak with her about this. She said the organizational structure is supported by best practices and that is why she brought in a third party to make those recommendations. Councilmember Tolmachoff explained it was the responsibility of the Council. Ms. Fischer said Council approves this through the budget process. If a Councilmember wanted to change something, Ms.Fischer would provide information regarding the consequences of that action. Patrick Ibarra said they have budget discussions and look at staffing levels and they have those discussions before it comes before Council for approval. Councilmember Tolmachoff was talking about all the divisions and the city, the complete organizational chart for the entire city. She wanted to know how a Councilmember would move an idea forward to change or modify the organizational chart. Patrick Ibarra said those are conversation the Councilmembers can have with the City Manager then examine those details when the Councilmembers review the budget. Councilmember Turner asked how they handle the City Treasurer. • Ms. Fischer said the City Manager is the City Treasurer and she delegates that responsibility to the Finance Director. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if that was spelled out in the charter. Patrick Ibarra said the Council gave the City Manager that authority during a public meeting and at some point that became the practice. City of Glendale Page 12 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 Councilmember Turner said if that is practice, it should be discussed every time they get a new City Manager. Ms. Fischer said part of the manager duties is she is responsible for the financial aspects of the city. Councilmember Turner said how they handle the City Treasurer is not the same way they handle the City Clerk and the City Attorney, which are in the same article of the Charter and thought they should be handled similarly. Ms. Fischer said when the Finance Director was hired;he was approved by Council and appointed that additional title. Councilmember Chavira said he remembered that very clearly. Councilmember Turner asked if Ms. Fischer or Mr. Duensing was the City Treasurer. Mayor Weiers said the critical issue is that he will serve at the pleasure of the Council. He would answer to the Council and also to the City Manager. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if other cities had a Council appointed City Treasurer. Patrick lbarra said the only city he knew of that had a City Treasurer was Scottsdale. • Mayor Weiers said in the Charter it states that he will answer to the Council and they are not doing that. He said they are in violation of the Charter right now. Ms. Fischer said ultimately that is her job and she delegates the day to day operations and implementation to Mr. Duensing. Patrick lbarra said they made that decision as a Council body, so they are not out of compliance with the Charter. Councilmember Turner said he was not sure that was factual. He said there seems to be a conflict between the charter and practice and it needs to be clarified. He said there may need to be a Charter change at some point in the future. He also said at some point they might want to consider the City Treasurer position as that of the City Auditor. Councilmember Aldama said if the average citizen looked at this issue, they would think it is not happening and they need to be able to defend that if the practice is questioned. Councilmember Chavira said that was the point he was trying to make. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the Charter spells out there is supposed to be someone designated as the City Treasurer. Ms.Fischer said back in September of 2013, they listed her as the Treasurer, with signature authority. She said there was a Council item to name the City Manager as the City Treasurer. Councilmember Turner asked about the City Judge. Ms. Fischer said there was a separate section on that. A break was taken for lunch. City of Glendale Page 13 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 4. 15-029 COUNCIL CODE OF CONDUCT FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS Staff Contact: Brenda S. Fischer, ICMA-CM, City Manager Facilitated by: Patrick Ibarra, Co-Founder and Partner, Mejorando Group 5. 15-030 CODE OF ETHICS FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS AND BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS Staff Contact: Brenda S. Fischer, ICMA-CM, City Manager Facilitated by: Patrick Ibarra, Co-Founder and Partner, Mejorando Group [The discussion for the Council Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics were combined into one discussion.] Mr.Duensing was speaking about the bid process and taking a comprehensive look at the procurement process. He said it will be in the bid documents that the bidder has to disclose whether or not they have a potential conflict with anyone at the city. Mr.Bailey said there is language addressing it in the bid documents. Mr.Brown said they have a process for procurement and policies in place for addressing • specific issues in contracts like conflict of interest. He said they would get notice of a complaint that comes into human resources or on the fraud hotline which is monitored by the city auditor. He said the city will take appropriate actions if there is a finding of fraudulent activity. Mr. Bailey said there is also a statutory complication in the event there is a conflict;the city has three years after execution to cancel the contract without penalty. Councilmember Hugh asked what would taking appropriate action entail. Mr. Brown said first an investigation would be done. if there is a finding, depending on the level of the issue, there would be discipline for the employee. The contract would be turned over to the attorney's office for their review and further action. Councilmember Turner asked if there was a disclosure process from the committee awarding the bid regarding any contacts they may have had with bidders. Mr. Duensing said they sign a document which includes conflict of interest language. He said if there is a relationship, they just pull out. He said they have had situations like that. Councilmember Turner said he was talking during the process, rather than at the beginning, where members of the award committee would disclose whether there have been contacts with the bidders, either intentional or inadvertent. Mr. Duensing said a contract analyst is assigned to handle the committee. They are given direction about not having any contact with anyone except the contract analyst about this issue. Mr. Bailey said they can only go so far in an investigation and it depends on the information they receive. He said they are trying to create a more uniform process. He also said it needs to be a substantive complaint rather than just a rumor. Councilmember Hugh asked him to give an example of what they can and cannot do and City of Glendale Page 14 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 provided an example. Mr. Bailey said that is a statutory conflict of interest. He said the attorney's office would prepare a formal opinion and that would be filed with the clerk's office. He said it is difficult to answer the question based on a hypothetical situation. He said the white noise harms their process and is not an accurate reflection of what they do. Councilmember Hugh said he thought they just couldn't have a financial interest. Ms. Fischer said there is also the brand, the perception. Mr. Bailey said this is defined by state statute. Councilmember Tolmachoff said it is the public's perception that no one is minding the store and people might be benefitting inappropriately. She said they should do everything to make sure if there is a question of something inappropriate, that there is a process to address that issue. Mr. Bailey said Ms. MacLeod has audited the contractual process and corrected deficiencies. He said there is always a back end review. Mayor Weiers said this might have come from an incident recently regarding fire trucks, and it was a perception issue. He said they owe it to the citizens and taxpayers to look at lower bids before making a decision. Mr. Bailey said be cautious about the low bid. He also talked about change orders making costs higher. He said the city completes the budget before bidding, so a sophisticated bidder would look at the budget to see how much the city intends on spending on a project. Mayor Weiers referenced Councilmember Hugh's comments and suggested opening up a bid to see if they can get the same product for a cheaper price. Councilmember Hugh asked for a copy of the state law. Mr. Bailey said he would get it for him. Councilmember Turner said they have to look to state law as well. • Mr.Bailey said that is one of the limitations he has seen. Councilmember Turner said it appears that if the laws of the state are coming into place, someone should get a formal opinion from the City Attorney and have it on file in the City Clerk's office. Mr.Bailey said that was his recommendation. Councilmember Turner said if an employee is doing business with the city, best practice is there is a City Attorney's opinion on file with the City Clerk's office that would relate to that and explain how it deals with the laws of the state. Mr. Bailey said that was correct. Councilmember Aldama said marketing advertising has a large value to it. He asked if the city buys product with the seller's name on it, is it in the contract that the seller's City of Glendale Page 15 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 name would have to be removed after purchase. Councilmember Aldama gave another example of purchasing items with a well-known logo and the advertising issues that come with that. He wasn't sure if the city is giving those companies free advertising. Mayor Weiers said they will charge the city extra to take their name off of it. Patrick lbarra said this is to do with paying for ads for contracts, legal ads in newspapers, RFPs,postings. He went on to public records. Councilmember Turner said he addressed this item in a Council item of special interest. He said it will be addressed later and they didn't need to stay on this topic. Patrick lbarra asked if the City Charter,Article VII, Ordinance and Resolutions was part of that same request.Also, he referred to the penalties in the City Code for violation of the ordinances. Councilmember Hugh said the violation of ordinances can result in misdemeanors. He said it looked like harsh punishment and he picked it just to hear about it. Mr. Bailey said when you read that section;it appears that prosecution is at the option of the Council. (inaudible) Councilmember Turner said as it relates to violations of the Charter, it is a little concerning. He said it is where the city derives the power for ordinance enforcement. He understands it to mean it applies to anyone, not specifically city officials. He said he did not know that Charter violations were equivalent to ordinance violations. Mr. Bailey(inaudible) Councilmember Turner had additional questions and comments regarding civil versus criminal violations. Mr. Bailey said that was a civil violation. (inaudible). Patrick lbarra asked Councilmember Turner if he still wanted to discuss Article II regarding the Vice Mayor. Councilmember Turner spoke about a line of succession and asked what happens if the city does not have a Vice Mayor and should need one. He spoke about the qualifications and expectations of the Vice Mayor, they should be noted somewhere. Ms. Fischer provided everyone the location of the information regarding the date and timing of selection and responsibilities of the Vice Mayor. Patrick lbarra asked if the Council wished to transition to discussion about the Vice Mayor now. He moved to City Council Guidelines and discussion about the Vice Mayor. Ms. Fischer explained the timeframe and how the Vice Mayor is selected. She discussed the various options Council had for changing this provision. Councilmember Turner suggested adding a provision in the event of a vacancy in the Vice Mayor position, such as the most senior Councilmember will serve as acting Vice Mayor. City of Glendale Page 16 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 Ms. Fischer said technically the language was already in there. Councilmember Sherwood said normally Councilmember are sworn in sometime in January, but the Council moved it up to December, otherwise this followed suit with the past. Mayor Weiers said typically it is at the first regular meeting in December. Councilmember Hugh suggested having a designee to convene meetings in the event of the absence of both the Mayor and Vice Mayor. Ms. Fischer said a meeting could still be called if there was quorum. Mr.Bailey said the issue would be who presides over the meeting. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked who would call the meeting. Ms. Fischer said it would be the most senior Councilmember. Mr. Bailey(inaudible). Councilmember Turner suggested putting some sort of catch-all language in there for an acting vice mayor. Councilmember Tolmachoff discussed a scenario of calling an emergency meeting and who would preside over that meeting. • Ms. Fischer said if a meeting is called and there is a quorum, they have a meeting. She said it would be good to have something in the event of absence of the Mayor and Vice Mayor. Mr. Bailey discussed seniority and the number of years served. Councilmember Hugh spoke about no one having the authority to call a meeting. Mr. Bailey(inaudible)ceremonial positions. •• Mayor Weiers asked if three Councilmembers called a meeting, who would approve it. Councilmember Aldama asked if a majority of the Council voted on a motion to nominate a vice mayor. Mr.Bailey(inaudible) Mayor Weiers asked if it would solve a lot of problems if they could vote on a Vice Mayor at the same time the Mayor is brought in. Mr. Bailey(inaudible) Ms. Fischer suggested adding a paragraph that said in the absence of the Mayor and the Vice, Mayor, the Councilmember with the most number of years on the Council is the presiding officer and if there is a tie, the decision is made alphabetically. City of Glendale Page 17 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 Mayor Weiers asked about the remaining Councilmembers just agreeing upon a Vice Mayor. Mr. Bailey(inaudible) Ms. Fischer said this has to do with continuity of operation. Councilmember Turner said in the event of the vacancy of the position of Vice Mayor, the Councilmember with the most seniority shall serve as Vice Mayor. Mayor Weiers asked if they wanted to change the date the Vice Mayor took office and asked wouldn't it go back to when the Councilmember would normally be sworn in. Ms. Fischer said that would just change the dates to December. She said at the first workshop following the swearing in. Councilmember Sherwood said there is not a swearing in every year. Mr. Bailey spoke about having a defined date. Councilmember Tolmachoff said if the meeting wasn't cancelled, this would have been done at the December workshop to fill the vacancy at the next meeting. Mr. Bailey said if the Vice Mayor is no longer in office, then at the next voting meeting. Councilmember Turner said Council approved this happening at the January meeting. Councilmember Sherwood said going by seniority in the absence of the Mayor and Vice Mayor covers everything they need to. Ms. Fischer said that would be the only change they need to make. Patrick lbarra next discussed the Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics and City Council Guidelines. He asked how the Council wanted to implement these to have staying power. Councilmember Turner asked if any of these items were brought up in Patrick Ibarra's discussions with individual Councilmembers. Patrick lbarra said no, and asked if it would be beneficial to incorporate these into one document, or would Council prefer to keep them separate. Councilmember Sherwood spoke about the first two documents and said it might be a good idea to combine those. He said the guidelines were just updated recently. Patrick lbarra said these documents were created to address an issue and wanted the Councilmembers to think about the relevance of these documents. Councilmember Sherwood said the Council Guidelines get more specific and detailed. He said he was in favor of combining the Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics documents. Patrick lbarra asked if the Council wanted to continue or make changes to these documents. Ms. Fischer said the Code of Ethics would fit right into the Code of Conduct. City of Glendale Page 18 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 Councilmember Turner suggested the new Council adopt these as they were created by a previous Council, so they are on record as subscribing to these principles. Patrick/barna said Council needed to make sure these documents were relevant to what they are dealing with right now. Ms.Fischer asked about any changes the Councilmembers wanted to the Boards and Commissions section. Patrick Ibarra asked who drafted these documents. Mr. Stoddard said these were the Council's Guidelines and Policies and they looked at best practices and other city models. He explained they were not staff driven. Councilmember Turner proposed putting an item on the agenda to adopt these as is and possibly set up a committee to review them. There was discussion between Councilmember Sherwood and Councilmember Turner as to the process suggested by Councilmember Turner. Councilmember Chavira asked what the makeup of the committee would be. Ms. Fischer said they will still continue to operate under these guidelines until such time as they have been changed. Ms. Fischer said it is good to adopt them, but previous ordinances that have been adopted still apply and stand. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if it was better to adopt them before making any changes. Mr.Bailey said there is some need for change. He said it may take time to make changes, so if Council wished to adopt them, he recommended they do that and then form a committee to look into making changes. Ms. Fischer asked if there was anything anyone wanted to change now. She mentioned it taking three Councilmembers to call a meeting. • Mr. Bailey said some of the changes that needed to be made in the guidelines needed to be changed by ordinance. Councilmember Turner asked if these were considered at a meeting, he asked if there could be amendments at that time. Mr. Bailey said that is the case. Councilmember Sherwood asked if this should take place in a workshop setting. Ms. Fischer said it would be best to bring these to a workshop, following past practice. Councilmember Sherwood agreed with adopting these documents, then forming a committee to determine any changes that need to be brought forward. Ms. Fischer said the direction is to combine the two documents by putting the Code of Ethics under the Code of Conduct, then bringing that forward for consideration in an ordinance. At that time, they will designate a Council committee to look deeper into the City of Glendale Page 19 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 document to recommend changes. There was agreement. Ms. Frisoni said the one change would be the change they made to the Vice Mayor. Ms. Fischer discussed making changes to the Vice Mayor process and placing items on a workshop agenda. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if this could be added as a way of getting something on the agenda in addition to Council items of Special Interest. There was further discussion on calling a meeting. Ms. Fischer said from staff's perspective, the process seems to be working well. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked how those items were moved ahead. Ms. Fischer explained the process and how they have to determine the timing of the issue and scheduling of partners who might be involved. If Councilmember ask for an item to move a little faster, she explained they will work with that Councilmember individually. She explained some items do not meet that 60 day requirement and it is because they are relying on other experts or other extenuating circumstance. She also said that sometimes an item may seem very simple to a Councilmember, but may be extremely complicated and technical for staff. Councilmember Sherwood said he has been told in the past that his item will not make the agenda for a specific reason. He said the process seems to work well. Ms. Fischer said the three Councilmember requesting a meeting is in the Code, so the Code would have to be changed. 6. 15-037 CITY COUNCIL GUIDELINES Staff Contact: Brenda S. Fischer, ICMA-CM, City Manager Facilitated by: Patrick Ibarra, Co-Founder and Partner, Mejorando Group 7. 15-046 COMMUNITY VISIONING Staff Contact: Brenda S. Fischer, ICMA-CM, City Manager Facilitated by: Patrick Ibarra, Co-Founder and Partner, Mejorando Group Patrick Ibarra said they will now move into the strategic planning and to look to the future of the community. He wanted to talk next about change. He said old mental models sometimes get in the way of change. He asked what is the community's potential and said it is only limited to the imagination. He asked Councilmembers to consider the external and internal forces governing change. He said the new legislature starts Monday with a deficit and said many communities are concerned about the state shared revenue. He asked the Councilmembers what are some of the other external forces. Councilmember Aldama mentioned relationships and said there are organizations that won't embrace the city for the good they are doing. This sets a negative tone on the city leaders. Councilmember Chavira said sometimes you have to leave things in the past. Patrick Ibarra said when he first moved to Glendale, it was an exciting place to be. He City of Glendale Page 20 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 asked what kind of brand the city wanted to reestablish. He explained the brand is the city's reputation and the Councilmember's individually and collectively have a brand. He said the brand of the city has been bruised. Ms. Fischer said the city's reputation is important. Patrick Ibarra asked what do people base their opinions on, fact or experience. He said it is experience. Governments try and shape opinions by providing more facts. He said things don't always get better with time. He asked what some of the internal forces were. Councilmember Aldama added an external force of the economy. He said the city has to change the way it does business. Mayor Weiers said federal legislation is also an external force that covers almost everything. Patrick Ibarra said sometimes unfunded mandates are a burden to the operation. Mayor Weiers said the population demographics are huge for the city. Patrick Ibarra said communities are often getting older and younger at the same time, which can cause big problems. Mayor Weiers said older parts of town do not get newer, they stay older and the city bypasses them. The city ends up with blighted areas and brand new areas in other parts of the city. Patrick Ibarra asked about the maturation of the community and how it has evolved. He said Glendale has big city problems. Ms. Fischer said this also comes with the digital divide, so the city has to adjust for that as well. Patrick Ibarra said there isn't much they can do about that, as it is a trend. Councilmember Sherwood said the relationship to the city, especially on the west side. • He also mentioned regionalization. Patrick Ibarra mentioned transportation. Ms. Fischer mentioned land development and growth, as well as the city's boundaries. Councilmember Tolmachoff mentioned annexation. Ms. Fischer said the newness of executive staff and Council can be both a positive and negative. Patrick Ibarra said that allows staff to be unbound by the past. Councilmember Turner said the city has both a terrific and a checkered past which has brought the city where it is today. He said the city has a terrific community. He said it is time for the city to stop painting a target on its own back. They need to start telling good stories which are based in fact, such as the strong financial positions the city has taken recently. He said the city does a great job of service delivery, has a strong employee City of Glendale Page Y1 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 core and has a lot of good going for it. Councilmember Aldama said the media is an external force and sometimes the city is providing the media the reason to report on the city. Councilmember Chavira agreed with what has been said. He said they have a choice to give the media the target or the map to go forward. They have difficult decisions to make, but the Councilmembers need to be the new storytellers and give the facts. Councilmember Sherwood said they have tried to get the good information out to the media, but the bad stuff sells. He said the communications department has done a good job of trying to get the good stories out. He said internal forces are the past decisions that have been made. Patrick Ibarra said he is not a big fan of best practices. He is a fan of next practices, where the city is going, not where it is. The Councilmembers have to determine what the next practices are. Councilmember Chavira said it is not the next practices, but how they are implemented. He said they are moving in a forward direction at a prudent speed, and the city has a great working team. Patrick Ibarra said the more the relationships are solidified, they will be able to drive the car faster and smarter. Ms. Fischer said turnover is an internal force that has been an issue, although it is slowing down. Councilmember Aldama said employees are an internal force. The city has lost so many employees, but the employees who are here have done a wonderful job of doing more with less. Patrick Ibarra said staff heard the words tighten your belt so many times, that they finally just changed their pants. Councilmember Chavira said hard decisions were made that weren't nice, but they have made the city healthier. He mentioned how the external and internal forces can oppose each other. Patrick Ibarra said the important thing to ask is what you can do with both internal and external forces. Councilmember Chavira said they have to get the forces in the same direction to benefit the way they are going. He said they have to remember the past, but have a focused vision of the future. Patrick Ibarra said the next subject is recognizing the city's future potential, and asked what the city wants to be the best at as a community and organization. Councilmember Sherwood said he would like the city to be the employer hub of the west valley for good paying jobs and the leader of the west.valley. He also mentioned economic development. Patrick Ibarra said he has done several of these types of meetings in the valley, and each city has their own interpretation of what economic development means. He asked City of Glendale Page 22 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 what the city wanted to be the best at. Councilmember Chavira wanted to be the best at providing the services the city is obligated to provide, such as public safety,parks and recreation. Ms. Fischer said she would like to see citizen satisfaction. Councilmember Tolmachoff said transparency. Councilmember Aldama would like Glendale to be a leader in the west valley and to be the absolute best city in the valley by definition of the citizens. He also mentioned servant leaders. Councilmember Tolmachoff said providing transparency to the citizens is important. Ms. Frisoni said she would like to see the city build trust and be held as a model. Patrick lbarra said building trust internally and externally is very important. Councilmember Sherwood said the most important thing is being a destination city by having the best of all the ideas presented. Ms.Fischer said she would like the city to be the best host of mega events. Councilmember Turner mentioned fiscal stewardship. Patrick lbarra asked what was the best measure of how well the city is doing. He said the city counts a lot of things and he asked what do the citizens think or how do they feel. Ms. Fischer said in her experience it's not about the number of outputs or building permits issued. She said you have to quantify how well you are treating things, not just how many widgets you make. She said it is a quality based measurement, not a quantity based measurement. Councilmember Turner said one measure is the fewest number of callbacks. Councilmember Tolmachoff said a measure is having business already in Glendale willing to share their experiences to bring other businesses to the city, as in a referral network. She said those businesses become a resource to move forward and get another resource. Mayor Weiers said providing quality over quantity, across the board. Councilmember Sherwood said job creation. Councilmember Turner said one way to measure is constituent feedback. Patrick lbarra said they can look at the bond rating as a unit of measure, as well. (A ten minute break was taken.] Patrick lbarra moved from the present to the future, and asked how prepared the city was to handle all the opportunities and service demands that will occur in the next few years. City of Glendale Page 23 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 Councilmember Sherwood said the city is running at optimal staff, but to handle anything more, it will create budget concerns for more employees. Ms. Fischer said if the city invests in technology and making more things automated, they might be able to free up some positions, but overall,people have been doing more with less for several years. Councilmember Chavira said the city is much more prepared now than it has been in the past. Patrick lbarra asked how the Councilmembers were going to maneuver through some of the big and smaller items on the horizon. He asked about the Council's capacity to make those decisions. Councilmember Chavira said they should never be satisfied with the current performance and always try and raise the bar. He also said they need to continue to be realistic in their expectations. Patrick lbarra asked how prepared the Councilmembers thought the city was to deal with the changes happening. Councilmember Aldama said he likes what he sees so far and likes how the mayor and Council work together. He said this Council is prepared to move forward in a positive direction and handle the challenges ahead. Councilmember Chavira said this Council is no longer kicking the can down the road and this Council strives for financial stability. Councilmember Tolmachoff said they all like and respect each other. They understand they are not going to always agree, but there is a foundation of mutual respect and will be able to move forward. Patrick lbarra said that when the Council is fractured, it is hard to get things done. Ms. Fischer said this doesn't just go from Council to Council, but also from Council to staff and from staff to staff. She said she has seen a cohesiveness of staff where it had been broken in the past. Patrick lbarra said this comes from having a shared set of values. He said they can start fresh. Councilmember Chavira said the city has an incredible team with the City Manager and City Clerk's Office. He said none of them are willing to sacrifice the relationship for an outcome. He said they might be on different sides, but still get along. Patrick lbarra said they have a sense of commitment and want to work together. He said this Council is ready to shed the past and move toward the future. Ms. Fischer said there is an alignment in successful communities. Patrick lbarra said there are either successful or unsuccessful on purpose, there are no accidents. He knows this Council does not want success in the community to be random. Councilmember Turner said the city is coming out of an era of pessimism and moving into optimism. He said the city is setting a good foundation and he wants to keep the City of Glendale Page P4 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 optimism going. Ms. Fischer said they need to celebrate and acknowledge the collective successes. Councilmember Turner said Glendale Glitters had a different feeling this year. The numbers and feedback have been positive. He feels fortunate to be a part of it right now. Patrick lbarra said the City Council can be a symbol of community self-esteem. Councilmember Tolmachoff said an indirect measure is that the Glendale Chamber of Commerce reached over 200 members in 2014. She said that is not an accident. She said it points to success and a trend. Patrick lbarra said the Council is the community storyteller. He next asked what barriers were on the horizon that could impede progress. He mentioned the volatility of the economy can slow things down. Councilmember Sherwood said the city cannot afford any kind of downturn and they need to continue a slow upturn. He said if the upturn doesn't continue, the five year plan will collapse. He also said they need to continue to get the salary structure in place to keep the employees and to bring new people in. He also said they need to continue the 2.5 percent increase in salaries to stay competitive in the workforce. He said they have lost a lot of talent to other west side cities. Councilmember Tolmachoff said the city is behind in technology due to its financial situation. Ms. Fischer said the technology steering committee has a very aggressive plan. Patrick lbarra technology has become a big expense on the budgets and cities are developing technology master plans, including how to continually invest in it. Ms. Fischer said sometimes there is a general resistance to change. Patrick lbarra said this applies to a lot of communities, even if they want things to stay the same, they still have to change. Councilmember Turner said there is a certain amount of unfinished business concerning the arena and Camelback Ranch, and possibly other issues they still don't know about. Patrick lbarra suggested they think about the community as a boat. He said the Council are boat builders and steer the boat. He said they need to be aware of the direction they are,trying to go and look for sunnier skies. Councilmember Aldama would like to change the word barrier to adversity. He said staff has learned how to work in adverse conditions. Councilmember Chavira agreed with that statement and staff has to weather the storm and every Councilmember and staff member have learned how to multitask. He said they will appreciate and respect the good times so much more. Patrick lbarra said they have to be versatile. City of Glendale Page 25 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 Ms.Fischer said teamwork is a necessity. Patrick lbarra said everyone has experienced adversity and this builds up resilience. He said we put ourselves in positions where we are tested. He said staff underestimates their resilience and we love to be self-reliant. He said the city has gotten knocked down, but it still gets up and is ready to fight. He asked to what level harmony and cooperation exist. He said they feel pretty good about the relationships that are being built. He said they still have tough decisions to make. He asked staff what they think they are doing well. He also asked what they think is holding them back. Councilmember Sherwood said staff reports and availability ahead of time with opportunity to ask questions. He said staff is always responsive. Councilmember Aldama said the ability to meet with staff and directors saves a lot of time and helps keep everything moving. Patrick lbarra said they need to make sure they continue the practices that help them be successful and to acknowledge and try to rectify the things holding them back. Ms. Fischer said she has tried to tell the whole story, both the good and bad, so they feel good about the risks they take. She said that might make negative headlines, but in order to have good decision making, you have to have both the good and the bad. Patrick lbarra said they need to try and solve the problems, not just treat the symptoms. He said a lot of organizations don't have a healthy diet. Councilmember Chavira said one thing helping the city is how they are starting to embrace technology. Councilmember Aldama said getting the agenda packet in a timely manner helps him make accurate decisions. Patrick lbarra said it matters to staff, who are working hard on those issues, that it • benefits the Councilmembers. Councilmember Sherwood said if they have questions about the information they receive, they can ask them ahead of time and staff will get the answers. Ms. Fischer said staff does appreciate that. She said it makes the discussion more enriching. She said Council can provide insight into an issue that staff might not have thought about when they ask questions. Patrick lbarra asked about practices that might be holding the Council back. Ms. Fischer said when the current process is rushed or bypassed, that is when mistakes get made and people don't feel like they are involved in the process. Patrick lbarra said these processes take time and should be available for public consumption. He also said there needs to be consistency in operational models to ensure all the steps are achieved. Patrick lbarra said the final segment is expectations. He said this will be revised at the February 12th meeting on goals. He said one of the most important aspects are shared or agreed upon priorities between the Council and the City Manager. He said money is not the most precious resource, time is. He said the goals flush out where they should be spending their time. He explained the goals help flush out whether staff is meeting City of Glendale Page 26 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 Council's needs. He asked Council what some of their goals are for the February 12th meeting. Councilmember Turner would like to discuss some of the challenges and opportunities that might come up over the next five years. He said they need to be thinking forward. He also said he would like staff to contribute to the discussion to get thoughts from their perspective. Patrick lbarra spoke about strategic planning and having a contingency plan. Councilmember Sherwood said another specific item they might want to address is light rail. Ms. Fischer said it would be helpful, as organizational values don't normally change from year to year. She said it is more beneficial if the priority is specific to what they want to achieve and talk about where they want to be in five years. She also wanted to have that coincide with the fiscal forecast. She would like to see more measurable goals, so they can check off whether they accomplished that goal or not. Patrick lbarra said the priorities seem to be how and Ms. Fischer is looking more toward what would benefit the organization, as in the what. Mayor Weiers asked if they were behind on the city's general plan right now. Ms. Fischer said the general plan is moving forward. Mr. McAllen explained the general plan is on track and will come before the voters in 2016. Mayor Weiers said is something he would like to see to get a timeline on it. He said it addresses a lot of the other issues. Ms. Fischer explained how the general plan progress works. Mayor Weiers said that is something they should get caught up on and it needs to be a priority now, because it needs to happen within a couple of years. Ms. Fischer said this goes to the voters in 2016. She said they are breaking this down so they know specific deadlines for each piece of the general plan update. Mayor Weiers said it should be a priority. Patrick lbarra said it is important to figure out the steps in order to reach goals. He said some of these projects are very sequential and need to follow all the steps. Councilmember Sherwood added light rail and the centerline alliance. He said Camelback Ranch should be put on the list. Ms. Fischer said they will talk about each of these and what they mean. Councilmember Tolmachoff also suggested putting the arena and the Coyotes on the list. Patrick lbarra said as the Councilmembers think of other ideas, he asked they share them with Ms. Fischer so they can put the February 12th agenda. He wants to come away from the February 12th meeting with goals and a timeframe to meet those goals. City of Glendale Page Y7 Printed on 3/5/2015 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes-Final January 9,2015 ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 3:40 p.m. f1..�" /- -,111. Pamela anna- City Clerk City of Glendale Page 28 Printed on 3/5/2015