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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-11-19 City Commission Packet Materials - A1. Resolution 5124, Establishing Norms for City Commission Interaction1 Commission Memorandum REPORT TO: City Commission FROM: Mayor Andrus SUBJECT: Resolution 5124 - Establishing Norms for Interactions Between City Commissioners and City Employees Who Are Subject to the Supervision and Direction of the City Manager MEETING DATE: December 11, 2019 AGENDA ITEM TYPE: Action RECOMMENDED MOTION: I move to adopt Resolution 5124. BACKGROUND: The Bozeman City Charter was adopted by voters in 2006 and has been the controlling document for the city since 2008. Resolution 5124 seeks to recognize the Charter’s requirements regarding the role of the city manager and staff in a form that is readily available to assist commissioners in understanding the balance between the role of the city commission and the city manager. With the departure of City Manager Surratt, and in preparation for a new city manager and a new commission, I believe this is an opportunity for the Commission to reiterate norms regarding the Commission’s interaction with city staff. NEXT STEPS: None. UNRESOLVED ISSUES: None. FISCAL EFFECTS: None. ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by the City Commission. Attachments: Resolution 5124 Page 1 of 10 RESOLUTION NO. 5124 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BOZEMAN, MONTANA, ESTABLISHING NORMS OF BEHAVIOR FOR INTERACTIONS BETWEEN CITY COMMISSIONERS AND CITY EMPLOYEES WHO ARE SUBJECT TO THE SUPERVISION AND DIRECTION OF THE CITY MANAGER NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the City Commission of the City of Bozeman, Montana, as follows: Section 1: Introduction In 2005, the city commission adopted the core values of the City of Bozeman as identified by its employees and commissioners: “Integrity, leadership, service, and teamwork are the core values of our organization and provide a framework for our employees, community volunteers, and citizens.”1 This statement is on display in city facilities as well as in the City of Bozeman Ethics Handbook and the City’s employee handbook. By adopting Resolution 3832, the commission encouraged all employees and commissioners to personally adopt these core values and perform their duties in compliance with them. In addition, in 2018, the commission adopted a strategic plan (the “Plan”) which includes Section 7: a High Performance Organization. The vision statement of this section is to “operate as an ethical high performance organization, anticipating future needs, utilizing best practices, and striving for continuous improvement.” The Plan indicates the City “promotes a values-driven organizational culture that reinforces ethical behavior, exercises transparency and maintains the 1 City of Bozeman Resolution No. 3832. Resolution 5124, Establishing Norms for City Commission Interaction Page 2 of 10 community’s trust.” (See Plan at 7.1). In addition, Section 7.2 of the Plan indicates the City must “recruit, retain and value a diverse, well-trained, qualified and motivated team capable of delivering superior performance.” Section 2: Background Sec. 2.05(c) of the Bozeman City Charter states: Interference with Administration. Except for the purpose of inquiries, and investigations under §2.09, the commission or its members shall deal with city officers and employees who are subject to the direction and supervision of the city manager solely through the city manager, and neither the commission nor its members shall give orders to any such officer or employee, either publicly or privately. The general rule as stated in the Charter is the commission and its members are prohibited from “dealing” with city officers and employees who are subject to the direction and supervision of the city manager. A corollary to that rule is individual commissioners are to deal with such officials and employees “solely through the city manager.” In addition, the Charter prohibits the commission or individual members from giving “orders” to employees or officers either publicly or privately. The Charter provides two exceptions to the above rules: (i) formal investigations initiated by the commission under Sec. 2.09 and (ii) “inquiries.” The Charter does not provide any specific description of the scope of the term “inquiry.”2 Commissioners, including the mayor, can only act through the commission; except in limited circumstances such as the mayor’s authority to schedule items for a commission meeting individual commissioners have no authority under the Charter to act individually.3 Certainly, 2 Merriam-Webster defines “inquiry” as (1) a request for information; (2) a systematic investigation often of a matter of public interest; or (3) an examination into facts or principles. 3 References to a “commissioner” include the mayor. Resolution 5124, Establishing Norms for City Commission Interaction Page 3 of 10 individual commissioners are free to work with constituents, address concerns with the city manager, engage the community to develop policy solutions to issues, and communicate their position and views on operational and service issues. Nevertheless, to take action an individual commissioner may do so only through action of the commission as a whole. Under Bozeman’s form of government, the commission generally acts legislatively to make policy decisions, which are then carried out by the city manager. In addition to managing the operational and service delivery of the City, the general role of the city manager is to promote partnerships among the commission, city staff, and the public and to assist the commission in developing public policy and building a sense of community.4 The Charter establishes a framework for the specific powers and duties of the city manager. See Sec. 3.04. Under the Charter, the city manager is responsible for, among others, the following: (2) Direct and supervise the administration of all departments, offices, and agencies of the city, except as otherwise provided by this charter or by law; (9) Make recommendations to the city commission concerning the affairs of the city and facilitate the work of the city commission in developing policy; (10) Provide staff support services for the mayor and commission members subject to the provisions regarding the city clerk under §2.08; and (11) Assist the commission in developing long-term goals for the city and strategies to implement these goals. Several years ago, the commission and city manager as the “2013 Leadership Team” adopted a set of “expectations and obligations” between commission and staff, attached as Exhibit A. They include mutual respect, being prepared, respecting constraints, and understanding the value of citizen trust of our local government. 4 Everyday Ethics for Local Officials (Elected Official Direction to Staff), Institute for Local Government, December 2004. Resolution 5124, Establishing Norms for City Commission Interaction Page 4 of 10 Section 3: Purpose The commission understands and respects the commission/manager form of government set forth in the Charter. As such, the commission desires to establish “norms”5 to assist commissioners and the mayor in complying with the Charter requirements when interacting with city employees who are subject to the supervision and direction of the city manager. The purpose of this resolution is for the commission to establish norms for how individual commissioners will interact (i.e. “deal”) with officials and employees who are subject to the direction and supervision of the city manager. The commission recognizes the benefits of establishing norms include recruiting and retaining a highly talented workforce in a highly competitive labor market. The commissioners recognize their success as elected officials depends on the assistance of capable staff and the commissioners desire to cultivate their relationships with those in a position to help them achieve their goals.6 In addition, the commission recognizes fostering mutual respect between the commission and staff and enabling the commission to request and staff to provide information is critical in maintaining and improving public trust in the city. The commission adopts these norms to ensure interactions between commission and staff, both in private and in public, support this effort. Given the powers and duties of the city manager and the prohibition on the commissioners interfering with the administrative responsibilities assigned to the city manager, the establishment of norms for interactions between commissioners and staff will facilitate more effective relationships, enhance communication, assist in maintaining employee morale, and result in increased trust of Bozeman’s citizens through more effective government services and operations. 5 Merriam-Webster defines a “norm” as (1) an authoritative standard (model); and (2) a principle of right action binding upon the members of a group and serving to guide, control, or regulate proper and acceptable behavior. 6 Everyday Ethics for Local Officials (Elected Official Direction to Staff), Institute for Local Government, December 2004, pg. 5. Resolution 5124, Establishing Norms for City Commission Interaction Page 5 of 10 Section 4: Norms 1. Individual commissioners and the commission as a whole should treat all city employees with respect as professionals, and in doing so recognize staff in performing their work strive to always serve the public to the best of their abilities. 2. Commissioners should be mindful of arguing or debating the merits of a staff person’s professional judgment; rather, should commissioners disagree with an employee’s professional judgment a commissioner should direct such disagreement to the city manager. 3. Commissioners should be mindful of the imbalance of power between themselves and city employees and should take proactive steps to ensure that in all interactions with city employees the employees recognize the role of the commissioner in the interaction. As such, commissioners must seek to ensure an employee recognizes the commissioner’s questions are for purposes of inquiry only and should in no way be taken as an order, a request to take action, or a directive. 4. Commissioners should not use language or communication methods that a reasonable person would find humiliating, intimidating, hostile, or offensive. 5. A commissioner may not take any action that could be construed as a directive or order to staff. 6. Individual commissioners should limit their contact with staff. In addition to helping individual commissioners comply with Sec. 2.05(c) of the Charter, this limits disruption of staff work and recognizes staff have significant obligations to provide service to the public that are unrelated to commission policy making objectives. Resolution 5124, Establishing Norms for City Commission Interaction Page 6 of 10 7. A commissioner must not attempt to pressure or influence discussions, recommendations, workloads, schedules, or department priorities absent the approval of the city manager and only then upon an action of the majority of the commission. 8. Specific norms for communications with city staff outside of city commission meetings: a. Questions of city staff and/or requests for additional information or services should be directed only to the city manager, who will then determine how best to respond. If, in the opinion of the city manager the request should be fulfilled, given limited staff time and/or resource constraints the city manager may direct the appropriate department to fulfill the request. b. Prior to a commission meeting, questions regarding items on the agenda should be directed solely to the city manager. c. Requests for an employee to contact a constituent must be directed solely to the city manager. d. Requests for an employee to attend a meeting at which less than a quorum of the city commission will be present must be directed solely to the city manager. e. If extenuating circumstances exist and a commissioner must communicate directly with an employee, the commissioner will attempt to seek the consent of the city manager or an assistant city manager in advance of any such direct communication. If prior notification is impractical, the commissioner must, at a minimum, copy the city manager on any written correspondence directed to staff and, for oral communication, must communicate to the city manager the contents of the communication. f. A commissioner must seek to speak to a department director prior to making inquiries of non-director employees. Resolution 5124, Establishing Norms for City Commission Interaction Page 7 of 10 g. The city manager may restrict an employee from interacting with a commissioner; in doing so, the city manager may not limit the ability of a commissioner to obtain the information desired by the commissioner. h. City employees are empowered and encouraged to inform a commissioner that inquiries need to be directed to or requested from the city manager. i. An individual commissioner may make direct inquiry to the city attorney without notifying the city manager. Communication with an assistant city attorney should be made only if the city attorney is not readily available. j. An individual commissioner may directly communicate with the city clerk or a deputy city clerk regarding procedural matters regarding meetings, packet materials, and other matters under the responsibility of the city clerk. 9. Commission interaction with staff during city commission meetings: a. Criticism of staff by a commissioner should be made in private to the city manager. Commissioners are encouraged to provide commendation to staff in public. b. Commissioners must be aware of the prohibition in the Charter on directing or issuing orders to staff; as such, commissioners must direct all statements regarding future actions they desire city employees to take only to the city manager. c. Commissioners may direct questions regarding the factual basis for an item or a question soliciting staff expertise to the city employee presenting the item; questions other than those directly related to the factual basis of an agenda item should be directed to the city manager who may request the assistance of other city employees in answering the question. Resolution 5124, Establishing Norms for City Commission Interaction Page 8 of 10 d. Commissioners should refrain from asking major policy questions of employees during commission meetings; rather, commissioners should direct major policy questions to the city manager who may then determine to seek the assistance of an employee to assist in answering the question. e. Criticisms of grammar, typos, etc. in employee staff reports and memoranda should be made to the city manager. 10. Specific provisions for commissioner’s attendance at meetings other than city commission meetings: a. Commissioners must not attend staff meetings unless requested by the city manager. b. Commissioners must refrain from attending public meetings called or held by city staff unless requested by the city manager. 11. Commissioners appointed to city boards or committees or serving as a commission liaison to a board or committee should be mindful the Charter provisions regarding interference with administration and the provision of this Resolution apply in their liaison or appointee context. Resolution 5124, Establishing Norms for City Commission Interaction Page 9 of 10 PASSED, ADOPTED, AND APPROVED by the City Commission of the City of Bozeman, Montana, at a session thereof held on the 11th day of December, 2019. ___________________________________ CYNTHIA L. ANDRUS Mayor ATTEST: ____________________________________ ROBIN CROUGH City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: ___________________________________ GREG SULLIVAN City Attorney Resolution 5124, Establishing Norms for City Commission Interaction Page 10 of 10 EXHIBIT A Expectations and Obligations of Commission and Staff • Commission Expectations of Staff: o Be diligent and prepared; o Communicate simply and thoroughly; o Minimize surprises; o Be ethical and objective; o Be dedicated; o Be creative and take risks; o Be experts in your field; o Implement policy skillfully; and o Understand the value of citizen trust of our local government. • Staff Expectations of the Commission: o Provide clear direction – speak as a “body”; o Realistic expectations – time and resources to do a good job; o Acknowledge work; workload; professional perspective; o Provide the opportunity for constructive dialogue and feedback; o Minimize surprises and frontload questions when possible; o Provide mutual respect; and o Be prepared. • Commission Obligations to Staff: o Act in a transparent, ethical, respectful manner; o Be prepared and ask good questions; o Respect constraints; o Set policy, goals, and priorities – then fund; and o No ad hoc decision. • Staff obligations to the Commission: o Anticipate issues and provide options and solutions; o Maximize our resources; o Providing accurate and complete information – candid advice; o Coordination amongst our staff; o Provide sound recommendations with highest probability of success; o Mutual respect; o Be available and to listen; and o Carryout whatever decision is made.