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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Government Services Committee - Meeting Date: 5/16/2017REGULAR MINUTES GOVERNMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE MEETING (GSC) 5850 WEST GLENDALE AVENUE GLENDALE, ARIZONA Council Conference Room Tuesday – May 16, 2017 – 10:00 A.M. Councilmember Jamie Aldama called the meeting to order at 10:00 am. Present were Councilmember Jamie Aldama (via phone), Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff (arrived late), and Councilmember Ray Malnar. Also in attendance:  Michael Bailey, City Attorney  Julie Bower, City Clerk  Jenna Goad, Intergovernmental & Council Services Manager  Van Ornelas, Boards & Commissions  Brent Stoddard, Director, Department of Public Affairs 1. Approval of Minutes from GSC Meeting of April 18, 2017 Councilmember Malnar made a motion to approve the minutes from the April 18, 2017 GSC meeting. Councilmember Aldama seconded the motion. Minutes approved by Councilmembers Aldama and Malnar. 2. Resignations – Van Ornelas stated that Lorrie Moreno would not be seeking another term for Parks and Recreation Commission. 3. Council Committee Term Limits Clarification – Michael Bailey and Jenna Goad presented on the guidelines for Council Committee Term Limits. Ms. Jenna Goad stated Council will consider at the first Workshop in June of each year appointments for membership to standing Council committees for the following fiscal year. She further specified that in August 2013, Council amended the City Council Guidelines that states a two-year consecutive term limit with appointment annually for membership of councilmembers on Council subcommittees begins. Ms. Goad also mentioned that the reason behind this change was due to Council’s concern that a councilmember could spend too many years on the same committee and not allow for other councilmembers to participate. She indicated that a question was brought up regarding Councilmember Malnar and whether he would have another full term to serve since he came in the middle of former Councilmember Sherwood’s term. Ms. Goad identified that clarification was needed since the guidelines don’t specify whether Malnar’s partial term was being considered as a full term, or if he is eligible for another full term. Councilmember Malnar asked if this is a two, two-year term or two, one-year term. Mr. Bailey replied that the term is a two-year consecutive term. Councilmember Tolmachoff mentioned that the intention of the guideline was probably for a regular election cycle and not a special election and felt that Councilmember Malnar should be able to fulfil another full term since she herself is terming out. She also felt that the partial term should not count as a full term. Councilmember Malnar asked when the new term would begin and if it was from June to June. Mr. Bailey replied yes. Mr. Brent Stoddard also stated that if the interpretation is read literally, then another appointment would be required. He further mentioned that the goal was to always have the appointment filled at each fiscal year so there is no overlap or an out of cycle process. Mr. Stoddard also explained that this item will come up in the June workshop for Council discussion and that he will mention that this information was brought before the Government Services Committee for feedback. He further explained that the Council will have to determine which direction to go regarding the Council Guidelines and Councilmember Malnar’s term at their next meeting. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked a question regarding other Council committees and if they are in the same situation. Brent Stoddard stated yes and that there are similar committees like Councilmember Clark’s temporary committee and Vice Mayor Hugh’s committees. Once items are approved from the June 6 Council meeting, Council will then have to appoint for these newly created committees as well. CM Aldama asked for clarification about being off the Government Services committee in June. Mr. Stoddard responded that Councilmember Aldama and Councilmember Tolmachoff will be coming off in June and Council will have to replace both of them. He also added that the question for the Council will be should councilmember Malnar come off in November or be allowed to serve another term and come off in June of next year. Mr. Stoddard also mentioned that these types of questions/issues are generally brought before Government Services Committee to discuss and gather feedback. CM Tolmachoff agreed that if Councilmember Malnar is not allowed to continue another term, then the appointment will always be off cycle. She suggested that the Council make the adjustment in her opinion. Councilmember Aldama agreed that this would create an off-cycle issue for the Council and that the special circumstance that occurred was not the fault of Councilmember Malnar. 4. Plaque/Recognition Process and Policy – Mr. Brent Stoddard provided background on Board and Commission Member Recognition. Mr. Stoddard stated the following: x In 2014/2015, council had some discussion about the awarding of plaques for their appointed committee members during council meetings. x Feedback from commission members indicated that they did not care to have public recognition in a formal setting. x Some committee members at the time were considering a run for elected office and could be perceived as political campaigning using local cable channel and council meetings for public recognition and Council had concerns. x Solicited committee members and learned that the general preference was that recognitions would occur at the committee level, but also leaving it open-ended to allow for the opportunity to recognize at a public council meeting. x Staff works with board members to determine whether they want their plaque mailed, presented at their commission meeting, or presented at a formal City Council meeting. x All board members who wish to receive their plaque at a Council meeting will have the opportunity at the first meeting in February of each year. x It was also determined in 2014 through a Council Item of Special Interest from Vice Mayor Hugh, that staff look at other forms of recognition for board members. There are two options that Glendale uses to recognize board members. o The first option is to utilize the City suite at Gila River arena and invite board members to attend one of the Coyotes’ games. o The other form of recognition is through Glendale Volunteer recognition lunch/dinner coordinated by the Glendale Volunteer program. Councilmember Aldama asked about how the previous Council was uncomfortable regarding campaign- related plaque recognition. Brent Stoddard responded that one of the reasons why the Council chose this policy was due in part by committee members not attending their recognitions. Also, in late 2014, board members had the flexibility to determine their plaque recognition process and several members were considering a run for City Council. He added that committee members were choosing council meetings to help promote their campaigns and take advantage of the visibility. This was one of the other issues that help develop this policy of only having a once a year recognition. 5. Boards and Commissions Presentation – Julie Bower presented on Boards and Commissions at the request of Councilmember Malnar. She stated that her purpose was to discuss the possibility of the Clerk’s office taking over the responsibilities of the Boards and Commissions. Ms. Bower mentioned that she has been working with Van Ornelas regarding the process and has already identified inefficiencies with the current system. She feels that the Clerk’s office can streamline the databases and the agenda process through Agendaquick. Ms. Bower further stated that she would recommend changing the term expirations to annually in June or December; which would allow for recruitment once or twice a year. She further suggested that without having to add more staff to the Clerk’s office, the Council office should still staff the Government Services Committee. Ms. Bower also explained that the Council staffing of GSC should stay with one person and not rotate around regardless of where Boards and Commissions is housed. Ms. Bower concluded that the clerk’s office could run Boards and Commissions if allowed to streamline and make the necessary changes. Councilmember Malnar asked about the possibility of large groups being sworn in, the amount of time it would take to recruit new applicants once or twice a year, and it both issues pose a problem. Julie Bower answered that if proper recruitment and advertisement took place that could elevate the problem and help notify the public when the application process begins. Councilmember Tolmachoff mentioned the use of the Connection insert and its success reaching new commission applications. Councilmember Tolmachoff also asked about having to change an ordinance possibly for several commissions that require certain meeting criteria. Julie Bower replied saying yes that could be done and that she would work with the City Attorney’s office to see where adjustments could be made. Councilmember Tolmachoff agreed by saying this would help with quorum issues and from people dropping off at various times due to different terms. She also asked about banking the applications. Julie Bower replied that applications would be kept in a databank and auto responses would go out notifying applicants and the process using AgendaQuick. Councilmember Malnar had several questions about the Clerk’s ability to handle this new responsibility, how much time would it take to transition it over, and what the time commitment be just to staff the Government Services Committee. Ms. Bower said she believes her office could handle the new responsibility by streamlining and automating much of the process. Van Ornelas also replied that the time commitment and workload would be minimized for Council staff once Boards and Commissions is handed over to the Clerk’s office. Ms. Jenna Goad also mentioned that Government Services Committee would be meeting left often if the new changes occur with the commission terms and thus lessening the burden on Council staff. Councilmember Tolmachoff inquired about new Council staffing. Mr. Brent Stoddard stated that he was unaware of what the possible new changes will be regarding staffing. He further mentioned that his office was looking into how the minutes are being taken by each commission. He noticed that each commission was doing the minutes slightly different, some use an outside contractor and others use staff. Mr. Stoddard is now looking at combining minute services for all commissions to help reduce costs and help with consistency. Councilmember Malnar asked if a recommendation was needed to move forward with the Boards and Commissions item. Councilmember Tolmachoff expressed concern regarding June meeting appointments and the possibility of a full agenda. GSC recommended to have item sent to Council workshop for further discussion. 6. Next GSC Meeting: Tuesday, June 6, 2017 – Councilmember Aldama discussed the meeting time and inquired whether this was the last meeting for him and Councilmember Tolmachoff. 7. Request for Motion to Adjourn - At 10:33 a.m. Councilmember Malnar made a motion to adjourn. Councilmember Tolmachoff seconded the motion. Motion approved unanimously.