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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-28-05 Minutes, Study CommissionMINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CITY OF BOZEMAN, MONTANA LOCAL GOVERNMENT STUDY COMMISSION June 28, 2005 The Study Commission met in regular session in the Conference Room of the Municipal Building, at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 28, 2005. Present were Chair Loren Olsen, Bill Hayward, John Trull and Marilou Turrentine. Also present was Secretary of the Study Commission Celeste Janssen. Brian Close was absent. The meeting was called to order by Chair Loren Olsen. Minutes - March 8 and 15, 2005 Motion to approve minutes as previously amended for March 15, May 10 and May 241h. Bill Hayward motioned and John Trull seconded. Minutes passed unanimously. Marilou Turrentine would like to see the minutes with the changes before they are posted on the web. Loren asked for public comment. Karren Jacobson stated that she was very impressed by the Study Commissioner's discussion on citizen juries. John Trull noted that he and Loren Olsen will meet with Tracy Oulman and JP Pomnichowski tomorrow. Public comment No comment was received under this agenda item. Loren asked the public to introduce themselves. Present is Regina Demis and Kaaren Jacobson. Ms. Jacobson is running for city commission. Discussion of research tonics Bill Hayward met with Tracy Oulman to follow up on the last meeting. He informed her on the vote of the Study Commission and described the topics as best he could. November 1 and October 4th are the two suggested dates. Her office will be unable to fund the moderator, so the Study Commission must budget the panels. Tracy Oulman, Bill Hayward, and Marilou Turrentine met on June 24th. The subcommittee looked into two- way communications, notification issues and financial transparency. Communications consisted of looking at timeliness, responsibility around notification, and the best medium for communication (surveys, websites, workshops, broadcasting local meetings.) The subcommittee talked about a public information officer, as the office does not exist in Bozeman. The subcommittee was considering lumping financial transparencies with communications in one panel session. Regarding financial transparency, the subcommittee spoke about a need for a CIP board. They questioned public access to fiscal reports. Bill Hayward announced that he has contacted Jeff Krauss to discuss some of these issues. Ms. Oulman suggested sending Mr. Krauss the Study Commission's questionnaire. The City Manager might also offer some valuable information, especially with performance evaluations. Bill Hayward noted that the planning department sent out a survey last week to a sample group of folks. The results might be interesting in terms of measuring citizens' feelings about city government. Bill Hayward has reviewed the financial management section of the charter. The Charter mostly deals with timelines for public notice and availability of public records, a budget, and a Capital Program. Bill Hayward noted that Capital Programs are an important part of city government, and he is unsure of what Bozeman is currently doing. He stated that he is opposed to taking financial elements out of the charter. He believes that Bozeman needs a financial plan, and they need to work with people in the city's financial office. John Trull believes that both financial transparency and communication could be separate topics on their own merit. Bill Hayward responded by stating that budgets are a form of communication, and citizens must get involved. Loren Olsen believes that the Study Commission must have some financial discussion in the charter, and he likes inclusion of the CIP, reserve fund, and financial management. Chair Olsen said that Bill Hayward and Marilou Turrentine will continue to work on topics. Chair Olsen asked if the public had any comments. Kaaren Jaccobsen noted that she spoke with Merril Gammradt about the city budget, and he believes that a city improvement plan should be updated every other year. She also has learned that all city funds have a cash reserve. Harold Fryslie said that the specification of the reserves used to be looser. The most the Study Commission could do is recommend a percentage. He believes we need to look at bonding capacity at least once a year. Actions to be taken: Marilou Turrentine and Bill Hayward will come up with an agenda. He asked that subcommittee reports be included on every agenda. Loren Olsen stated that having the Chamber of Commerce weigh in would be a great idea. Marilou Turrentine said that Paul Reichert may want to do a presentation. Discussion of choice voting John Trull reported that he has done quite a bit of research on choice voting, and he explained the process. Voters vote for more than one candidate, and they rank whom they like best to least. There is a simple formula for determining a winning threshold called the "droop formula." If no candidate has enough votes to pass the winning threshold, then the candidate with the lowest number of votes is dropped off and the votes are redistributed among the candidates still in the running. After a candidate reaches enough votes to reach the winning threshold, the rest of the votes are redistributed by percentage. John Trull had San Francisco's charter as an example (they recently switched to choice voting). He noted that machines with special software are required. He has spoken with Paul Luwe, City Attorney, who recommended getting the Montana Attorney General's opinion. The Study Commission had a discussion about bringing choice voting to Bozeman. They wondered if the town is ready, or is able to understand the process. Is the highest vote getter in today's system always the most popular mayoral candidate? Loren Olsen said that this is a great exercise for studying a mayoral election. Bill Hayward said that the voter registration records will be consolidated. He suggested having the charter require a review of the election process every ten years. Every three years, voters could look at purchasing the software. John Trull made a motion to request the City Manager to ask the City Attorney to seek the opinion of the Attorney General on the matter of implementing choice voting in Bozeman. Marilou Turrentine seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. John will inform Mr. Luwe and Mr. Kukulski by email, and he will cc Loren Olsen and Celeste Janssen. On a side note, the members of the Study Commission agreed that no one member should represent the body of the study commission until there has been a motion to do so. Budget Loren Olsen stated that he is not prepared to discuss the budget right now. The Study Commission's budget must be done in a timely manner, to present the preliminary budget to the City. Bill Hayward noted that over a month ago, the Study Commission received a year-to-date expenditure report. He suggested looking at the budget at the first meeting of each month. The Study Commission discussed expenditures. Current costs have been low. The Citizen Panels require a mediator and postage. Loren Olsen believes that the Citizen Panel should be line item. Other expenses are the Study Commission secretary's salary and advertising money. Bill Hayward agreed to help Loren Olsen with the budget. Marilou Turrentine asked if the Study Commission could receive a formal financial report from the city once a month. Bill Hayward made a motion to ask Robin Sullivan for financial report for every second Tuesday meeting. John Trull seconded the motion. Loren Olsen asked Celeste Janssen to put the budget on the next agenda. Radio Show George Carter has an hour-long radio show, which he has invited the Study Commission to appear on. Loren Olsen reported on his recent radio appearance. He believes the radio show is an excellent way to get feedback from the public. Chair Olsen would like everyone to have the opportunity to go on the radio, and he suggested having a Study Commissioner on the show every other week or every third. He suggested speaking to Mr. Carter about a time commitment, and then scheduling pairs of Study Commissioners on the show. Chair Olsen asked Celeste Janssen to have the radio show be a future agenda item. John Trull suggested having a radio topic correspond to agenda items or controversial issues. New business The Study Commission discussed the current form of the charter. John Trull suggested doing a quick voter info guide, similar to what the 1975 Study Commission created. Bill Hayward would like a process of going though the charter and discussing topics step-by-step. He suggested starting off on the whole document, and then later going back to fine tune sections of it. He believes that the financial part will have problems. Loren Olsen said that when the five of Study Commissioners agree, the financial section can be presented to Anna Rosenberry for input. Staff buy -in is important. John Trull would like to start having working sessions. Loren Olsen stated that new members seem to be caught up, and now it is time to start looking at the charter again. Confirming date for next meeting Tuesday, July 12 in the upstairs Conference Room at 7:00 p.m. Loren Olsen informed the Study Commission that the planning board would like be involved on the last meeting in July. Bill Hayward said that he would first like more background information. The Study Commission has not reached an agreement on how or if the planning board will be mentioned in the Charter. Loren Olsen said that he has heard about many planning problems. Bill Hayward stressed that the Study Commission must focus on the charter, and he isn't sure that this issue belongs in the charter. John worried that the inviting the planning board, with the knowledge that they want to be an authority board, would be unwise without first seeking input from the City Commission and City Manager. John Trull believes that these actions should be addressed internally before formally inviting the planning board. Marilou Turrentine agreed. Loren Olsen asked that Celeste Janssen have boards and appeals as a future agenda. Mr. Olsen would volunteer to be on this subcommittee, and so would Mr. Trull. Adjournment - 9:55 p.m. There being no further business at this time, it was moved by Marilou Turrentine, seconded by John Trull, that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried unanimously. LOREN OLSEN, Chair ,C721LTG\V21911 'ii CELESTE JANSSEN, Secretary of the Study Commission