11-22-2004 CC MIN - SPECIAL - Laserfiche WebLink

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SpecIal City Council Minutes November 22, 2004 Page 8 ----------------------------- and discuss the October 11, 2004 minutes at the December worksession and discuss the appropriate way to follow-up to the October worksession. !vir. I<laers indicated d1at the Council may need to have individual worksessions with the Planning Commission and the Parks and Recreation Commission to discuss recommendations that are being made on development proposals. Council! 5 talf Rdationf Mr. Klaers indicated the monthly Council worksessions seem to be working out well to provide more informal Council discussions to evaluate proposals and policies prior to formal Council approval. He stated that "acceptable rules of behavior" for Council, staff, and administrator interaction was an action step identified in the Brimeyer worksessions. 11r. Klaers indicated that he was not in attendance at the meetings at which this was discussed and asked the Council for direction on this issue. Councilmember Kuester stated that she believes there is confusion on when it is appropriate for Council to contact staff directly and when Mr. Klaers should be contacted first. She indicated that there is no indication of which way is correct. Councilmember Tveite indicated that he believes staff and Council should use common sense and professional courtesy when determining if direct contact is appropriate. Mayor Klinzing stated that she would like to find out if other cities have code of conduct policies in place regarding staff and Council communication and communications with boards and commissions. 1vfr. Klaers noted that the communication with boards and commissions has been addressed in the new board and commission policy adopted August 2, 2004. Councilmember Dietz stated that he believes that direct communication between the department heads and the City Council should not be limited and that the department heads should be able to contact the Council without notifying the city administrator at anytime if they deem it appropriate. On the topic of staff training, Mi. Klaers stated that he would like tl1e city to hire the Stanton Group to provide on-site management/ supervisory training to department heads and other fu:st-line supervisors. The plan is to hold the training on December 15, 2004. It was the consensus of the City Council to use contingency funds for this training. OrEani:::ational A1anagement Ivir. I<laers stated that the hiring of a parks and recreation director was one part of the staff reorganization plan that has been implemented and it is working out well. He stated that he believes that the next step, as highlighted from the Brimeyer sessions, should be to hire a community development director. It was the consensus of the Council to support this position. This position is in the 2005 budget. :NIt. I<laers stated that in order to proceed with this position in a timely manner, the job description and pay grade need to be established this winter and advertisement for this position needs to begin in March. The Council directed the Personnel Committee to review the pay of the community development director at their December meeting.