[0:03] Hi everyone. Thanks for joining us
today. We're getting folks moved over
[0:06] from the waiting room into the webinar.
Um, we appreciate you taking the time
[0:10] out of your day.
Um, this is a smaller form of Well, I
[0:14] shouldn't say smaller form of
government, but not as many communities
[0:16] have this form of government. So, we're
going to have a smaller group today. Um,
[0:20] so hopefully that gives us plenty of
time to answer all of your questions.
[0:24] Um, and if we have extra time, we can
always wrap up early. So, we appreciate
[0:27] you taking the time. Um, I'm Molly
Wheeler. I'm one of the deputy directors
[0:32] at the League. I'm joined today by our
legal director, Jared Tingey, who's
[0:36] going to be chatting about, um, how to
lead together through different forms of
[0:40] government. This is our third and final
webinar in this series. Um, it is for
[0:45] the council manager form of government.
So, if you are in a form of government
[0:50] that is either a five-member council,
six-member council, or the mayor
[0:54] council,
um, know that you're welcome to stay,
[0:57] but this isn't your form of government,
and so what you learn, um, isn't going
[1:02] to apply to you.
Um, some of the best practices are the
[1:05] same, but, uh, just just be aware of
that. Um, as per usual, we're going to
[1:09] record this webinar. We're going to
share the slides. So, if you have any
[1:12] questions, um, feel free to let us know.
And actually, if you have any questions,
[1:17] um, I'll also pop the link in the chat,
but feel free to ask them anonymously. I
[1:21] know sometimes, um, it's a little
complicated in some communities of
[1:26] different kind of power dynamics or
tensions that people are working
[1:29] through, and so,
um, you are welcome to enter your
[1:32] questions in the chat or the Q&A box.
Just know that your name will be
[1:36] attached to that. Um, if you'd like to
ask a question without your name being
[1:39] attached to that, please feel free to
use this link, and I will share that
[1:43] link in the chat with everyone as well.
Um, so with that, Jared, I'm going to
[1:48] hand it over to you.
[1:51] » Thank you, Molly. Can you hear me?
>> Yes, sir.
[1:56] » Okay, thank you.
Okay, well, thank you for being here and
[2:01] thank you Molly for that introduction.
Um
[2:04] You are all unique
because for the vast majority of folks,
[2:11] they are in different forms of
government and the form of government
[2:14] that you are in
is
[2:17] is a remnant
of what has happened
[2:21] prior to in 2008. So,
uh congratulations. So, today we are
[2:28] going to talk a little bit about
the key takeaways that I want you to
[2:33] take away from this presentation are one
we are all a work in progress.
[2:40] Um we can always do better. We can
always lead better. Um and it always is
[2:46] better if we can look at ourselves and
say, "How can I improve?"
[2:50] instead of they need to improve.
The second is just because you can
[2:55] doesn't mean you should.
Um
[2:58] as with as with everything in life. Um
and this is one thing that uh
[3:06] you may have the authority to do certain
things, but that doesn't always mean
[3:10] that that's the best way to do it.
The third is effective communication is
[3:15] the key to strong relationships
and those strong relationships are the
[3:20] key to effective leadership.
If there is strong communication, strong
[3:26] relationships, almost any problem,
almost any conflict can be overcome.
[3:33] And it may take a lot of work. It may
take a lot of uh
[3:39] humility
and a lot of leadership
[3:42] uh of trying to work with individuals
that are so extremely difficult
[3:47] sometimes and that there is conflict.
Conflict is a part of life and uh and
[3:54] especially in local governments. So, uh
with that, we're going to talk just
[4:00] briefly. I'm not going to go into uh all
of that all all that uh
[4:06] is there, but uh
related to the council-manager form of
[4:11] government. But, one thing um I
[clears throat] will say is that the
[4:16] city manager
is uh takes control and has the
[4:20] administrative and executive authority
uh and unlike other forms of government
[4:28] where the mayor or the council has that
administrative and executive authority,
[4:33] this is the city manager. They are the
CEO
[4:36] um while the legislative authority uh
remains with the council members and the
[4:42] council, which the mayor is a part of.
The council can either be a five-member
[4:47] council or a seven-member council.
And the council uh must uh
[4:56] in order to hire a city manager, must
approve that city manager with a
[5:00] two-thirds vote. And to dis- dismiss
them with a majority vote.
[5:06] Um
for the most part, mayor is a ceremonial
[5:11] function and uh they still are the chair
and still have a vote uh on the council,
[5:18] but uh overall, it is uh
it is more so a ceremonial function.
[5:26] The city manager really takes care of
most of the administrative and executive
[5:31] functions. So, what are the top five
most common conflicts?
[5:36] Um
and I should say this that let me
[5:39] [clears throat] go back to this slide.
Um
[5:43] there are two uh two things. One is
there is the statutory council manager
[5:50] form of government. And there is, say in
a five and six member council, you may
[5:56] have a council manager. And even in a in
a mayor council form of government, you
[6:01] may have a city administrator.
Um, or otherwise called a city manager.
[6:09] So,
this form of government is actually a
[6:13] different form and a different setup.
The city manager is actually part of
[6:20] that statutory
uh, form of government as opposed to
[6:24] just being hired via an ordinance uh,
setting up that position. This is
[6:31] different. Um, although I should say
that for the most part, uh, there are a
[6:38] lot of similarities between a council
manager and when there is a
[6:44] a man city manager in a five and six
member council form, which means it's
[6:50] very flexible.
Um, the top five most common conflicts
[6:56] we'll go through and and starting at
number one is the authority to set the
[7:01] council agenda.
Typically, um,
[7:06] the best way I have seen uh, councils do
this is either to have two council
[7:14] members or a council member and the
chair, which would be the mayor, um,
[7:21] have something be put on the agenda.
Typically, the conflict is that a
[7:26] council member wants something on the
agenda
[7:29] and the mayor or the the chair uh, does
not want to put that on the agenda. And
[7:36] so, it really hamstrings the council of
being able to uh, move forward with
[7:43] policy decisions.
Um and so the best way I've seen is in
[7:48] your rules and uh policies for the
council to put uh how that is going to
[7:57] work within your council.
How is How are agenda items put on the
[8:03] agenda? And how many council members
have to
[8:07] uh
uh agree to put it on.
[8:10] Um some have council chairs and then uh
vice chairs.
[8:15] Um
but
[8:18] generally speaking, it's usually
surrounding one of those ways, uh but it
[8:25] must be put in your rules and uh
procedures for the council.
[8:31] The second conflict is the authority to
appoint or dismiss.
[8:36] Now,
in a council-manager form of government,
[8:42] I should say that overarching
uh across all of these conflicts,
[8:48] when it's between a council member
or the mayor and the city manager, the
[8:55] city manager,
generally speaking,
[8:59] is uh must be careful
on following the guidelines and uh of
[9:07] the entire city council, not just one or
two
[9:11] uh
members of the council, but what does
[9:14] the whole council want uh
as it relates to the policy or even the
[9:20] administrative part? Because again,
the city manager can be removed by the
[9:26] city council. So, all of these conflicts
have this overarching or overriding uh
[9:36] tone behind them to say, "Look, if the
city manager is not doing exactly what
[9:42] the city council is looking for them to
do, there is a risk of that being a
[9:48] conflict between the city manager and
the council." Um and so, the authority
[9:53] to appoint or dismiss, typically that uh
still runs with the council.
[9:59] Um it is flexible, however. It depends
really on to what level of authority uh
[10:06] the council gives to the city manager.
Now, the city manager is the CEO. They
[10:13] do have the authority to take care of
executive functions.
[10:18] Again, going back though,
to ensure that the city manager is doing
[10:27] what the majority of the council is
wanting,
[10:31] they typically take everything to the
council.
[10:34] Um
it it does go both ways. I've I know
[10:38] that there are some cities in this form
of government that have
[10:43] um
have decided to give the city manager
[10:46] that authority cart blanche and say,
"You can appoint and dismiss."
[10:52] But typically,
it's usually always with the advice and
[10:56] consent of the council.
Um
[11:00] with the with the authority to direct
staff, city staff, generally speaking,
[11:06] the best uh working, the most effective
uh cities with this form of government,
[11:13] you will find will give the city manager
that authority to direct staff city
[11:20] staff. And without any sort of uh
strings or without any sort of
[11:27] because there is trust there. And so,
this is something that the city manager,
[11:33] as well as the city council, can try to
establish is that there is trust between
[11:40] uh those two individuals, two two the
council and the city manager.
[11:47] Um
>> [clears throat]
[11:48] » So, generally speaking,
um
[11:52] when it comes to the authority to direct
staff, it's usually lies with the city
[11:57] manager, but again, it comes back down
to what is the city council wanting
[12:04] um and it it typically comes back down
to the city staff. Now, be aware though
[12:11] uh that again,
[12:15] a one member of the council cannot make
decisions
[12:21] uh
and policy direction and administrative
[12:26] decisions
in and of themselves
[12:29] to
um to guide the city. It is a majority
[12:34] of the city council.
Um and so, be aware of that that
[12:41] I've seen at some points a a city
council say,
[12:46] "Hey, you you know what? Or or I'm
sorry, a city council member say,
[12:52] "Staff, you need to do this." And that
puts the staff in a really awkward
[12:58] position.
Do I uh go and ask my city manager who
[13:03] has the authority? Should I because this
the the council member's asking me to do
[13:08] something?
Um and change uh a certain policy,
[13:12] should I do it?
Again, coming back,
[13:16] the city council
has the authority to decide what the
[13:21] policy is. And
although to a large degree, this form of
[13:28] government gives that executive power to
the city manager.
[13:33] There's always that overriding concern
of am I doing what city
[13:38] uh
majority of the city council have asked
[13:42] me to do.
Uh the fourth is the authority to
[13:45] develop and adopt a budget.
This is typically presented uh either by
[13:52] the city manager or a budget officer
that's hired by
[13:57] uh
by the city to uh to run the budget, to
[14:02] do the budget and the finances.
And with the help of the city manager
[14:07] they develop a budget and present that
to the city council. Obviously the city
[14:12] council still has the authority to say
this is what our budget will be
[14:17] and to change or modify that, but that
is the uh generally the the the
[14:25] mechanism and the way of which a budget
is uh adopted and passed.
[14:31] The fifth is the authority to enter into
contracts for the city.
[14:36] I've seen it both ways. Some sometimes
cities in this form of government will
[14:42] allow the city manager to
sign and enter into contracts that are
[14:48] below a certain dollar amount.
Um other city councils have said we want
[14:55] to see every contract.
Um and even for those that uh give the
[15:02] authority, give that that authority to
the city manager
[15:07] typically the city manager still takes
those contracts to the city council for
[15:14] consideration.
But it all depends on on really how
[15:19] those how you would like those uh that
process to work within your city.
[15:25] Um
here are the top five really most
[15:29] unhelpful responses.
Um airing your dirty laundry in a public
[15:34] forum. If a city council member
has a
[15:39] is having challenges with either a city
manager or the mayor or another city
[15:44] council member
or staff.
[15:47] City council
uh meeting is not the place to
[15:53] uh have that
fight, to have that conversation.
[15:58] Can there and will be will there be
conflict? Will there be challenging the
[16:04] ideas? Yes. But it doesn't become
personal against the individual. It
[16:08] becomes an attack on the idea.
We'll talk a little bit about that in in
[16:13] a moment.
Uh the second is officially censuring
[16:17] the elected official.
I can't unless there is some criminal
[16:23] unethical
action.
[16:27] I have not found any benefit of
officially censuring
[16:33] a city council member
uh for
[16:38] for doing um or acting the way that
they're acting.
[16:43] Now,
is the chair responsible for making sure
[16:47] the meetings
uh are orderly? Yes.
[16:52] But those mechanisms can typically be
pointed out and written down in a
[16:59] rules and procedures of the council
such that it is defined of this is what
[17:07] um
this is what will lead to the
[17:12] uh expelling of a city council member
from the meeting. This is what a- and
[17:17] writing that out and having that down.
It's really all about the process.
[17:21] Again, the communication. If everyone is
on the same page, then
[17:26] there isn't this surprise that this
behavior is going to be treated this
[17:32] way.
Uh the third is discussing the conflict
[17:35] with others just for the sole reason to
gain allies.
[17:39] This is not the same as discussing the
actual idea
[17:45] and
trying to persuade others about that
[17:50] idea.
But if the sole reason that you or
[17:54] others are going to
other individuals is to gang up or to
[18:01] um
[18:03] to gather allies
uh against that individual for their
[18:09] personality or for their just as that
individual, that's not helpful.
[18:15] Um focusing on the actual ideas and
policy is what will be helpful.
[18:24] Uh the fourth is believing and acting as
though your behavior or political
[18:27] position is 100% defensible and
justified.
[18:32] It's not,
but even if it is,
[18:35] uh and even if you believe it is, there
there are back to one of the key
[18:39] takeaways,
there is always room for improvement.
[18:44] Uh we all have things that we can
change.
[18:47] And
and so recognizing that
[18:51] and moving forward in effective
communication can lead to a uh
[18:56] a well-run smooth city. That doesn't
mean that there won't be conflict.
[19:01] There's always conflict. In fact, I
would say conflict is very good uh
[19:07] because it can vet out ideas that are
not uh practical or not the direction
[19:13] that the city should be taking.
But, it's how it's done. And the
[19:18] behavior uh
that it's done in that makes a
[19:22] difference.
The fifth is mistaking policy difference
[19:26] for character flaws.
Again, um I should say
[19:30] focusing on the policy is what matters
most, not on Everyone has character
[19:35] flaws.
Um and if you don't think that,
[19:39] that's a character flaw.
Uh
[19:41] and so, everyone has room for
improvement. So, those are probably the
[19:47] five most unhelpful responses I've seen.
And um and that leads us really into the
[19:55] the top five practical solutions. And
I'll give this over to Molly to discuss
[20:01] uh to discuss those solutions.
>> Thanks, Jared. And thanks, everyone. Um
[20:06] as a reminder, you're welcome to enter
your questions either into the Qualtrics
[20:10] link that we have in the chat um to ask
an anonymous question or if you're
[20:15] comfortable asking the question with
your name, um you're welcome to use the
[20:18] chat or the Q&A function for that. Um
so, a couple of things that we wanted to
[20:23] walk through. We've been working over
the last year with um Professor Danya
[20:27] Redmore, who's now up at Utah State. And
she does a lot of work on negotiation
[20:32] and conflict and really helping people
build a practical skill set to navigate
[20:37] conflict. I think a lot of times we see
different um initiatives and
[20:44] uh
kind of goals um
[20:47] around disagree better or the dignity
index or um you know, reaching across
[20:52] the aisle, but we don't necessarily
always get the practical tools to do
[20:55] that. And so, we've really worked with
Danya over the last year to help build a
[20:59] curriculum that helps people build the
skill set they need to navigate conflict
[21:04] and negotiate effectively. Um it'll be
in a future slide, but after annual this
[21:09] year, we're going to have a like a 3/4
day training with Donya at Murray City
[21:14] Hall that we encourage folks to sign up
for. You can either sign up for it as an
[21:18] addition to your annual registration or
um, if you're not able to attend annual,
[21:23] you can just attend that as a solo
event. Um, it's always been a really
[21:27] successful thing and folks have really
enjoyed it. So, we would encourage you
[21:30] to check that out. Um, so first, I think
it's really important as we are seeing
[21:35] more and more uh
kind of folks reaching out to us talking
[21:40] about how they are navigating different
types of conflict in their
[21:43] municipalities and how they can go about
it. I think one of the most important
[21:48] things to keep in mind is that conflict
just is.
[21:51] Um, it's not good, it's not bad. I think
a lot of us are raised um, to be pretty
[21:56] conflict averse. I know that conflict
makes me pretty anxious. I'm pretty
[22:00] conflict averse.
But, I think it's worth remembering that
[22:03] conflict is really normal. Um, and
conflict [clears throat] is normal even
[22:08] within ourselves. Um, right? You might
wake up and wonder uh if you should
[22:12] sleep in or go to the gym. That is
conflict, right? And that is within
[22:16] yourself and something that you are
actively navigating.
[22:19] Um, and I think when you are in a
community and you're a municipal leader,
[22:25] it's really natural for people to have
that level of concern, right? Because
[22:31] people just want what's best for their
community and those can be different
[22:35] visions at times.
Um, and so I think it's worth
[22:38] remembering that we don't need to
eliminate conflict, we just need to
[22:41] figure out how to navigate it
effectively. And we don't necessarily
[22:45] need to always be in agreement, but we
just need to figure out how we can
[22:49] navigate disagreement to move forward.
So, the second thing with that is to
[22:55] really make sure that you are listening
actively and seeking to understand
[22:59] folks. Um, I think a lot of times when
we get into conflict, it's very easy to
[23:05] make assumptions about what folks are
thinking and why.
[23:11] Um, so really try to listen to folks
that you are disagreeing with and
[23:16] do so to understand them, not to
formulate your response or your
[23:20] rebuttal.
Um, don't assume that you know what
[23:22] they're going to say. Don't assume that
you know why they're going to say it. I
[23:26] think a lot of times you can do well if
you slow down, ask questions, um, and
[23:32] specifically open-ended questions.
Things like, "Tell me more about your
[23:36] concern. What are you most worried
about? What would a good outcome look
[23:40] like for you?
What am I missing?"
[23:43] And then try as you can to reflect back
what you've heard, right? So, if I'm
[23:47] understanding you correctly, then this
is what you're trying to communicate.
[23:52] And you don't have to agree with someone
to make them feel heard. And I think
[23:55] that you see this often times if you're
on council or working for a city, right?
[24:01] There are times that someone may come in
for public comment and the city or town
[24:05] is going to go a different direction but
then what they are asking for, but the
[24:10] process of making them feel heard and
respected goes a long way. Um, so we
[24:16] encourage you to do that with one
another as well.
[24:19] The third is to really making sure that
you are regulated,
[24:23] um, in both your body and your mind. I
think we live in a very disregulating
[24:26] time with our phones and the news being
what it is, there's always um, you know,
[24:31] a lot of stimulus out there and it is
very easy for us to get pretty activated
[24:37] and conflict activates us. And when you
are activated in conflict, you're not
[24:42] really using your higher thinking,
you're definitely more in your lizard
[24:46] brain. And so, notice as best you can
when you are getting defensive,
[24:52] frustrated, angry, anxious. Um, and it's
fine to take some time and calm down or
[24:58] really get a level. Um, we encourage you
not to respond at your highest level of
[25:03] emotion. Take a breath, slow down.
Be careful with your texts and emails,
[25:08] especially since those can be records or
frequently records. Um, that can be
[25:13] accessed later. And just remember that
usually regulating yourself is the first
[25:18] step towards de-escalating a situation.
Um, the fourth is something that I think
[25:22] is really helpful for us to consider.
Um, and that's to differentiate your
[25:27] position from your interest. And what
does that mean? So, a position is what
[25:32] you want, but an interest is why you
want it. And I think often times in
[25:36] public policy, and in life in general,
we talk about things in the realm of
[25:42] positions. So, I do or don't want to
approve of this, um,
[25:48] housing development, commercial use,
mixed-use rezone, what have you, right?
[25:53] We talk about the thing itself, and
whether or not we support or oppose it,
[25:57] but we rarely get to the underlying
issue of why, right? Are we concerned
[26:02] about traffic? Are we concerned about
infrastructure?
[26:05] Are we concerned that we're losing jobs,
and that this could be a really good
[26:10] economic motor for our community?
Um, so don't get stuck arguing over
[26:15] positions with folks. Really try to chat
with them and understand what is
[26:20] underneath it. And I think a helpful
exercise can be for yourself and others
[26:24] to to keep asking why. So, if you do or
don't support, you know, we'll say you
[26:29] are opposed to
a mixed-use rezone. Why are you opposed
[26:34] to that? And maybe you get another
answer, right? Of like, well, I'm
[26:36] concerned about traffic in the area.
Okay, why are you concerned about
[26:39] traffic in the area? Are you concerned
about safety, right? Is it, well, my
[26:43] kids walk on that road to go to school.
And so, really maybe the issue isn't
[26:48] that it's a mixed-use development, maybe
it's that you're worried that it's going
[26:51] to bring more traffic to the area and
make the roads less safe. And that's a
[26:55] different problem to solve than just
objectively saying yes or no to a
[26:59] development from the beginning. It gives
you more interesting problems to solve
[27:03] and solvable problems more than just a
yes no um across the board on a lot of
[27:09] those things. It lets you be a pretty
collaborative negotiator.
[27:13] Um and then the final one is that
process matters. And I think that this
[27:16] is something that we are seeing again
and again um across different forms of
[27:21] government. In Utah, as we've been
chatting about, we have multiple forms
[27:25] of government. And so the way that
something works in your community based
[27:29] on the way statute has established your
form of government isn't necessarily how
[27:34] it's going to work in a different form
of government. And even even though,
[27:37] right, we have council manager for this
form of government,
[27:41] the ordinances and resolutions you pass
as your community will change what your
[27:45] processes look like. And so if you don't
have good processes, you should
[27:49] establish them. You should make sure
everyone knows them. And recognize that
[27:54] how you go about making decisions is
just as important as the decisions you
[27:58] make often. And so making sure that
people feel heard, understand the
[28:03] process that you're going to follow so
that even if you they don't get their
[28:05] way, they understand why and how that
decision was made. Um and be really
[28:11] clear about how people can participate.
When are things a council decision? When
[28:15] are things a mayor's decision? When are
things a city manager's decision or
[28:18] staff? Um the more processes that you
can have and making it clear what
[28:25] individuals lanes are and are not, the
more you're going to be able to cut down
[28:29] on conflict just because that general
confusion of who has what job isn't
[28:35] there.
Um so those are kind of our big
[28:38] takeaways. Um again, credit to Professor
Tanya Moyle. We definitely encourage you
[28:43] to come check out her training um at the
end of October, Uh but with that Jared,
[28:50] I will hand it back to you and again
encourage folks to submit questions
[28:54] either in the chat or
through that Qualtrics link. And I will
[28:58] say as of right now we don't have any
questions, which is
[29:01] fine,
but if you do have questions, please
[29:04] please let us know so we can make sure
we take the most advantage of this time.
[29:12] And I saw someone raise their hand. We
can't since we're in a webinar, we can't
[29:16] have you speak, but
Council Member Burrell, if you can enter
[29:21] your comment into the chat or through
that QR code, we can make sure that we
[29:30] cover what you want to discuss.
[29:42] Excellent. I'll flag again after looking
at our participant list.
[29:46] We have a handful of folks who are from
the council manager form of government.
[29:51] We also have a lot of folks who are
have are from forms of government that
[29:56] have managers or have
chief administrative officers, but
[30:00] aren't necessarily this form of
government. So keep in mind there's only
[30:04] a handful of communities that follow
this form of government. It's Brian
[30:09] Head, Cottonwood Heights, Holiday, Orem,
and West Valley. This is that
[30:13] grandfathered form of government. So you
may not have this even if you do have a
[30:18] five-member council and a city manager,
and we can make sure we get you the
[30:22] resources for that as well.
[30:33] All right, I'm not seeing any questions
come in or anything from the chat.
[30:37] Council Member Burrell, I want to make
sure we cover your
[30:41] uh
question if you have one. So, I'll we'll
[30:44] hang on for a moment um if that comes in
and if not, we're happy to touch base
[30:48] with you offline as well.
So, we'll just give it another moment or
[30:53] two to see what comes in.
[30:57] And as a reminder, I know we were just
discussing on the conflict competence
[31:02] workshop that we're going to do with
Donya. Um also encourage you all to sign
[31:06] up for annual. This is the last time
we'll be in Salt Lake for a while as the
[31:09] Salt Palace gets ready uh to shut down
temporarily for renovations ahead of the
[31:14] Olympics. So, definitely encourage you
to join us for that. I'll drop the link
[31:19] in the chat for anyone um who still
needs to sign up.
[31:23] Uh we've been working really hard on the
programming. Um our keynote speaker is
[31:27] going to be uh Frank Abagnale from Catch
Me If You Can, the guy uh the former
[31:33] fraudster turned um
fraud prevention expert for the FBI. So,
[31:38] that should be a good time as well. Um
here we go. Council member Burrell, um
[31:43] can you give an example of how a council
creates a policy to change from a city
[31:49] manager um appointing an all citizen
committee assignment? So, Jared, kind of
[31:54] how do you how could the council go
about changing
[31:59] the um
that kind of domain within the city
[32:04] manager's authority?
[32:13] And you're muted, Jared.
[32:28] Um
Jared, I'm requesting to unmute you, but
[32:32] I think you need to select it.
[32:45] » And maybe we can stop screen sharing if
that makes things
[32:49] easier.
[33:02] And if not, Councilmember Bro, we might
just have to follow up with you offline.
[33:06] » Oh, there we go. Okay.
>> There we go. Never mind.
[33:09] We can hear you, Joe.
>> Okay.
[33:11] I'm I'm sorry. I don't have access to
what the question was. Molly, would you
[33:15] mind
>> Yeah, absolutely. So, um the question
[33:19] was about how you amend or adjust the
city manager's authority within this
[33:25] form of government. So, one of the
examples was right now, if the city
[33:30] manager has the authority to appoint all
the citizen committee assignments, is
[33:35] there a way to
pass ordinance or resolution to make it
[33:39] so that the council could have more
discretion um as to who that is.
[33:44] » Yeah, it would just be uh like uh
like was said, just passing an ordinance
[33:51] and uh getting it on the agenda and
passing an ordinance.
[33:55] And uh that really controls. I think
that one of the um the things that city
[34:01] managers do have to have at the back of
their minds is that things
[34:06] uh if they're not done according to what
the city council is looking to to uh
[34:12] to run as their policy, then
uh they may they may face some some
[34:18] challenges [clears throat]
uh
[34:20] up to and including um the city moving
on from that city manager.
[34:25] Um and that's just the reality of this
form of government.
[34:29] Um
>> Mhm.
[34:31] And I think the next question goes along
a little bit with that as well.
[34:35] Best practices for kind of advice and
consent from the council
[34:39] and how you can create more transparency
with that.
[34:44] » Yeah,
when when you are appointing or
[34:47] dismissing
>> [clears throat]
[34:49] » I've seen
I've seen
[34:52] see if I can
[34:59] Am I still there?
>> You're still here.
[35:01] » Okay, I'm sorry. I'm having technical
difficulties all over here.
[35:04] » All good. We're doing this from the road
today, so we're making the most of it.
[35:09] » Yes, apologies.
So
[35:12] I would say that that it really comes
down to
[35:18] if the city wants to
[35:23] I would recommend having an ordinance
that says that it comes to the city
[35:28] council for advice and consent.
Advice and consent really means that
[35:34] they are taking the city manager's
suggestion
[35:39] and either saying yes or no.
That's really what it comes down to.
[35:44] And so if there is someone that does not
if the council does not like
[35:53] an appointment
they can then say, you know what, we're
[35:58] not we don't want to appoint them to
this and then the city manager will have
[36:03] to come back with another name.
Someone else.
[36:07] And they can then decide
the city council do we want to accept
[36:12] this individual or not?
[36:16] And sometimes
the city council has just given the city
[36:22] manager the authority to make certain
appointments.
[36:26] Um
and have that ability and that
[36:30] flexibility. So,
it it all comes down to to to a great
[36:35] degree what your city
council's looking to
[36:40] um
run as their policy.
[36:43] » Excellent. Excellent. Um what about are
is it um
[36:48] requirements that the city manager lives
within the city? Can you speak to that a
[36:51] little bit?
>> Uh it is not uh required. That would be
[36:56] a city policy.
>> Okay. Excellent.
[36:58] » may be.
>> Um perfect. I'm going to give it just a
[37:02] couple more questions or moments to see
if another question comes in, but
[37:07] otherwise,
um
[37:11] yeah, and then uh just do you have any
feedback on
[37:14] um
I guess kind of again like standardizing
[37:18] processes so that um
maybe council members can provide
[37:23] feedback to the city manager it appears
in the council agenda. So, maybe kind of
[37:28] more
um
[37:30] » I highly highly recommend
that there be a communication. Again, it
[37:36] goes back to that effective
communication. And if that's set out in
[37:40] rule that if anything is on the agenda,
it must be
[37:44] uh
you know, you can set it up however
[37:47] you'd like, vetted through
uh at least two members of the council
[37:50] or three members of the council. It
really um the city council
[37:56] as they describe and rule what they
would like to see on the agenda,
[38:01] they really have that ability to say,
"We want
[38:06] we want to have discussions before
it's in
[38:12] in city council meeting." Now,
to be clear, that doesn't mean that city
[38:17] council meets outside of an open and
public meeting.
[38:21] What that means is that there are
discussions with the city manager about
[38:26] specific um
about specific
[38:31] issues that uh will be heard in the city
council meeting. So, it really depends
[38:36] on how your city sets it up. And I would
highly recommend that anything that goes
[38:42] on the agenda
be
[38:45] you can discuss it in a work session.
You can discuss it outside of the
[38:49] meeting so long as a quorum is not
present and the intent is not to avoid
[38:54] or skirt the open and public meetings
act.
[38:58] Um
highly recommend that.
[39:02] Fine.
>> Perfect. Um it looks like that has
[39:06] covered all of our questions.
Um so, with that I think we'll go ahead
[39:10] and wrap this up a little early today.
Um thank you all so much for taking the
[39:14] time to join us.
Um again, uh if this was your form of
[39:18] government, we hope you found it
helpful. If this wasn't your form of
[39:21] government, um we uh hope you also found
it helpful. A lot of the key takeaways
[39:25] are the same. Um although the authority
looks different. So, um we can get you
[39:29] the resources to those forms of
government and um
[39:33] Jared runs our legal Q&A and you can
find that on our website. So, if you
[39:37] have questions about your form of
government, um navigating some of these
[39:42] policies and procedures, or just other
kind of general legal Q&A type
[39:46] questions, um we encourage you to uh
submit those to Jared so we can try to
[39:50] help you out.
Thanks for joining us, everyone.