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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 6/25/2019 City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 c-a Glendale ARIZONA Meeting Minutes Tuesday, June 25, 2019 12:30 P.M. Workshop Meeting Council Chambers City Council Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Joyce Clark Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner CALL TO ORDER Mayor Weiers called the meeting to order at 12:31 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Joyce Clark Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Also Present: Kevin Phelps, City Manager Michael Bailey, City Attorney Chris Anaradian, Assistant City Manager Vicki Rios, Assistant City Manager Julie K. Bower, City Clerk WORKSHOP SESSION 1. COUNCIL COMPENSATION COMMISSION Presented by: Michael Bailey, City Attorney Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mr. Bailey said Article 2, Section 8 of the City Charter set forth how the City Council could go about looking at its compensation. It was last reviewed in 2005 and prior to that was done in 1998. In 2005, the Council Compensation Commission recommended the Mayor's salary to be $65,000 and Council's salary to be $45,000. The Council modified the recommendation and in 2006, voters approved salaries of$48,000 for the Mayor and $34,000 for the Councilmembers. Mr. Bailey said any proposed increase or change in methodology must be approved by voters at an election. Mayor Weiers clarified that the vote which approved the salary increase occurred in 2006. Mr. Bailey explained the Commission met in 2005 and the question went to the voters in 2006 after which the current salaries were put into effect. Councilmember Aldama asked for clarification of how the second recommended figures came about. Mr. Bailey said Council discussed and debated the recommendation but did not send the initial recommendation to the voters of$65,000 for the Mayor's salary and $45,000 for Councilmembers. Instead, Council sent a salary recommendation of$48,000 for the Mayor and $34,000 for Councilmembers. Council was not bound by the Commission's recommendation. Mayor Weiers confirmed that it was 13 years ago. Mr. Bailey confirmed, it was 13 to 14 years ago since the salaries were last reviewed. Mr. Bailey presented a timetable to hold a special election on November 4, 2019. There would be City Council Meeting Minutes -June 25, 2019 Page 2 of 9 a second question on the ballot regarding new state legislation for election dates. Mr. Bailey requested the names of the appointees to the Compensation Commission and a due date for recommendations to Council. An action item was noticed on the voting meeting agenda. He and Ms. Bower would be available to assist the Commission, if the Commission was formed by Council. The form of the resolution had already been posted with the voting meeting agenda packet but names and dates must be added. Mayor Weiers asked if the appointees' names were needed right away or at the voting meeting. Mr. Bailey said if Council wanted to move forward, the appointees' names, and the due date for the report was needed. Councilmember Turner asked if the Commission would be required to post agendas and minutes. Mr. Bailey said that was correct. Councilmember Turner said if the question was to be placed on the November 4, 2019 ballot, the Commission recommendation process must be completed by July 17th. He said there was not a regular Council meeting scheduled before July 17th, therefore a special Council meeting would be required. Mr. Bailey said that was correct. Councilmember Turner asked for the next available election date if the July 17th deadline was not met. Ms. Bower replied the next consolidated election date was March 10, 2020. Councilmember Turner asked if there was any other City business on that ballot. Mr. Bailey stated there would be a second question regarding the City's primary election date on the November ballot. Councilmember Turner asked if Council was required to have the primary question on the November ballot. Mr. Bailey said the election must occur before the November 2020 election. Ms. Bower said there was also a consolidated election scheduled for May 19, 2020. Councilmember Turner asked how much it would cost to refer the question to a public vote. Ms. Bower said it would be approximately $70,000. There was a possibility of a school district question on the November ballot so some of the election costs would be shared with the district. Councilmember Aldama inquired about the cost if the election was done in 2020. Ms. Bower replied the March and May elections would be special elections. She did not know what other items would be on the ballot, which determined how the costs were shared with other participants. Councilmember Aldama asked about the August 2020 ballot. City Council Meeting Minutes -June 25, 2019 Page 3 of 9 Ms. Bower replied there would be other candidates on the August 2020 ballot and it would likely cost less. Mr. Bailey clarified that the City's Charter was not in conformance with state law. The second question would be to conform the Charter to state law. Mayor Weiers said the City should conform with state law and the election allowed the City to get both issues done at the same time, which would be a cost savings. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the Charter could be amended without being date specific and in accordance with state statute and if the Legislature changed that date again, the Charter would not have to be amended. Mr. Bailey said that was his recommendation. Councilmember Turner confirmed that the City was not mandated to change the Charter as long as the City was acting in accordance with state law. Mr. Bailey said there was a risk if the City did not conform to state law, but agreed it was not mandatory. The best practice was to take the vote to the public. It would be better to discuss possible hypothetical exposure in executive session. He said if Council wanted to move forward with a Compensation Commission to forward a question to the voters, he recommended also taking the primary date question to a vote to align the Charter with state law. Councilmember Aldama confirmed that it was regardless of either election date. Mr. Bailey said that was correct. Council would decide when to take the questions forward and staff would have the items ready. Councilmember Malnar said the City's Charter was not in conformance with the state which opened the City for potential risk. Council would determine whether or not to put a public vote on Council salaries on the same ballot. In order for Council to change the Charter to be in compliance with state law, it needed to be done at the November 2019 or March 2020 election. Mr. Bailey said there was also an election date in May 2020. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if May 2020 was the last possible election date to amend the Charter to conform with the state's election dates. She confirmed that November 2019, March 2020, and May 2020 would all be special elections. Mr. Bailey said that was correct. Councilmember Turner asked what would happen if the voters rejected the question on conforming the Charter to state law. Mr. Bailey said the City would follow state statute. Mayor Weiers said it gave the public the chance to vote on what it would like the City to do and saved money by placing two items on one ballot. Mr. Bailey agreed. He did not recommend challenging state law on the issue because the cost of a challenge would be significant. Mayor Weiers said conformance would be the least expensive method. City Council Meeting Minutes -June 25, 2019 Page 4 of 9 Vice Mayor Clark said it would be voter ratification of a state-mandated Charter change. She recommended moving forward with the special election for the Charter change and the Commission for Council salaries for the November 2019 election because there was no reason to prolong the issues. Councilmember Turner said the Commission would have to make a recommendation no later than July 17th for the salary question to be on the November ballot. November 2019, March 2020, and May 2020 would be low turnout elections because there were no candidates on the ballots. The salary question could be placed on the August 2020 or November 2020 candidate elections where the voter turnout would be higher. It was incumbent on Council to assess the risk of haste and to consider placing the questions on a higher turnout ballot. Councilmember Tolmachoff questioned setting a timeline before having a recommendation from the Commission. Councilmember Hugh was ready to move forward with making recommendations for the five-member Commission. Council could decide the election date once the Commission came back with recommendations. Councilmember Aldama had no issue with creating the Commission but expressed concern with who would be on the Commission and when the election would be held. He asked when the discussion would be held regarding the election date. Mr. Bailey said the discussion could be held during the meeting. Council could set the election date and staff could provide the timeline or due date for when a response was needed from the Commission. Mayor Weiers said there was Council consensus to move forward with establishing the Commission. Mayor Weiers asked if Council wanted to set the date for the election in November or wait for the Commission's recommendation before setting a date. Vice Mayor Clark said Council could set a due date for the Commission and the Commission could let Council know if it needed more time. The timeline was up to the Commission and how quickly it could get the work done. Council needed to appoint the members so the Commission could begin its work. Mayor Weiers suggested providing the Commission due dates for the three election cycles. Mr. Bailey stated the drop-dead date for Council action for the question to be on the November ballot was July 17th. Mr. Bailey said, if Council wanted, staff could determine a drop-dead date for the Commission recommendation. A special Council meeting would need to be called with 24-hour notice, if it was to be held in July. Mayor Weiers suggested July 12th as the first deadline for the Commission. If the Commission could not meet the deadline, the November 4, 2020 election date would not be an option. Councilmember Tolmachoff confirmed that the Commission would be given three timeline options for elections. It should be up to the Commission. City Council Meeting Minutes -June 25, 2019 Page 5 of 9 Mayor Weiers said that was correct. It was not fair for Council to assume the Commission would meet the Council's deadline. Mr. Bailey would work with the City Clerk's office on the dates and would provide the dates at the voting meeting. Councilmember Hugh said if the Commission made a recommendation by July 12th, the Mayor could call a special meeting to have the question ready for the November election. Councilmember Turner said there should be five business days between the time the recommendation was made and Council discussion. Council had the right to call a special meeting. He supported the idea of informing the Commission of the approved consolidated election dates. Council had to make the decision about referring the question to a low turnout election. He said Council might not agree with the Commission recommendation. Councilmember Aldama had no issue with creating the Commission but could not support the November election date. It did not allow enough time for research on peer cities and other municipalities, what was done in the past, and to obtain information from constituents. The November date sent a message that Council was in a hurry. The timeframe for the November election was too quick for the Commission to provide a recommendation. Mayor Weiers commented with proper research, it could be done but it depended on the Commission. Council needed to trust the people nominated for the position. Mayor Weiers asked for a consensus to move forward with providing the Commission with deadlines for the three election dates. Councilmember Turner wanted the Commission to be informed regarding the deadlines for the City's primary and general elections in August and November 2020. Vice Mayor Clark said the Charter question could not be placed on a primary or general election ballot because it would not be in conformance with the state mandate. The City Charter amendment must be dealt with and since there was a Council Item of Special Interest regarding salaries, it made sense to handle both items at the same time. Councilmember Tolmachoff asked if the election date question would be a topic of discussion for the Commission. Mr. Bailey said the Charter authority for the Commission was strictly in regard to the salary question. Council had the authority to refer questions directly to the voters for a Charter amendment. It could choose to create a committee for a Charter change but was not required to do so. Mayor Weiers said there was consensus to ask the Commission for a recommendation to meet the election dates of November 4, 2019, March 10, 2020, or May 19, 2020. Mayor Weiers asked for nominations for the Commission. Councilmember Hugh recommended Jack Rose, Tom Traw, John Crow, Diane McCarthy, and Vern Crow. Councilmember Aldama recommended John Geurs, Alicia Rubio, Carl Dietzman, Lauren Wilfong, and Monica Pinentail but did support the recommendation of Diane McCarthy. City Council Meeting Minutes -June 25, 2019 Page 6 of 9 Mayor Weiers said there was consensus for Jack Rose. Mayor Weiers said there was consensus for Tom Traw. Mayor Weiers said there was consensus for John Crow. Councilmember Aldama asked for a point of order regarding the manner of gaining consensus on the recommendations. He asked for the names to be mixed to include his nominations. Mayor Weiers had been stating them in the order they were recommended. Mayor Weiers said there was no consensus for John Geurs. Mayor Weiers said there was no consensus for Alicia Rubio. Mayor Weiers said there was no consensus for Carl Dietzman. Mayor Weiers said there was no consensus for Lauren Wilfong. Mayor Weiers said there was no consensus for Monica Pinentail. Mayor Weiers said there was consensus for Diane McCarthy. Mayor Weiers said there was consensus for Vern Crow. Mayor Weiers announced the members as Jack Rose, Tom Traw, John Crow, Diane McCarthy, and Vern Crow. He noted John Crow and Vern Crow were not related. He asked who would notify the appointed members for the Commission. Mr. Bailey said the City Clerk's Office would make the notifications. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT None CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT None COUNCIL ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST Councilmember Turner suggested signage regarding panhandling in the community and that the City was a hands-free device community. He noted Scottsdale was implementing panhandling signage and Prescott Valley already had signs regarding hands-free. Councilmember Malnar had previously asked for a similar item and a committee had been formed and was working on panhandling signage. Vice Mayor Clark requested a full Council review and discussion of the City's cable television department. The current budget for the department was $914,534 with 4.5 full-time employees. She said more than triple the number watched her district meetings on Facebook than attended in person. She wanted to know how many Glendale subscribers had access to cable. There were newer, more technologically-savvy ways of reaching out to the residents of the City. She wanted to review the form, City Council Meeting Minutes -June 25, 2019 Page 7 of 9 function and purpose of the cable television department and whether it was meeting its purpose. Mayor Weiers agreed with both items presented by Councilmember Turner. There could be signage on the City's garbage trucks regarding hands-free requirements. He also wanted to stress education regarding the hands-free requirements. MOTION AND CALL TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion was made by Vice Mayor Joyce Clark, seconded by Councilmember Ian Hugh to hold an executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Joyce Clark Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Passed EXECUTIVE SESSION Council entered into executive session at 1:36 p.m. for discussion/consultation with the City Attorney to consider its position, and to provide instruction/direction to the City Attorney regarding Glendale's position in connection with a contract relating to the purchase, sale or lease of property in the area of 61st Avenue and Northern pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 38-431.03 (A)(7) and for discussion/consultation with the City Attorney and City Manager to receive an update, to consider its position, and to provide instruction/direction to the City Attorney and City Manager regarding Glendale's position in connection with property in the area of 55th Avenue and Northern Avenue pursuant to (A.R.S. §§ 38-431.03 (A)(3)(4)(7). A motion was made by Councilmember Ian Hugh, seconded by Councilmember Jamie Aldama to adjourn the executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Joyce Clark Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Bart Turner Passed Mayor Weiers adjourned the executive session at 2:25 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Weiers adjourned the meeting at 2:25 p.m. City Council Meeting Minutes -June 25, 2019 Page 8 of 9 I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the meeting of the Glendale City Council of Glendale, Arizona, held on the 25th day of June, 2019. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 30th day of July, 2019. •1#1. J irK. Bower, MMC, City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes -June 25, 2019 Page 9 of 9