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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-17-13 Board of Ethics Minutes, draftMINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ETHICS DECEMBER 17, 2013 BOZEMAN, MONTANA These minutes are not word for word. Please refer to the audio of this meeting available at www.bozeman.net in the Board of Ethics minutes folder for further detail. The Board of Ethics of the City of Bozeman met in the Gallatin room, City Hall at 121 North Rouse on Tuesday, December 17, 2013. Present were board members Chris Carraway, Melissa Frost and Mary Jane McGarity. Staff present was Deputy City Clerk Aimee Brunckhorst and joining the meeting about 5:30 p.m. - City Attorney Greg Sullivan. A. Meeting Called to Order Chris Carraway called the meeting to order at 5:01 p.m. B. Public Comment Chris Carraway opened public comment. No person commented, so Mr. Carraway closed public comment. C. Approval of Minutes – September The minutes were not available yet. D. Disclosure of information or comments received Chris Carraway explained he received an e-mail from someone who wanted to know how to file a complaint. Mr. Carraway explained the process to the person who wanted to remain anonymous. E. Staff Report 1. Update regarding ongoing 2013 Ethics Trainings Aimee Brunckhorst explained she has been continuing Board trainings with two trainings remaining - one for the Beautification Board and a make-up training for board members who have not yet attended. Ms. Brunckhorst said they are going well, but some boards have been reluctant to get into much discussion. She feels that if she were to do the training in this manner again it would be wise to have about ten case studies written to choose from depending on the board. Ms. Brunckhorst said when boards are not talkative she brings up issues that other boards have dealt with. The Tourism Business Improvement District Board had their training today and they brought up how difficult it is to deal with conflict of interest because they are all hoteliers within the tourist tax district so they always have somewhat of an inherent conflict. Ms. Brunckhorst explained to them the difference between voting for something that helps the district as a whole versus voting on an issue that benefits only their hotel. They also spoke regarding meeting protocol, how to properly keep the meeting going and not have one person dominate. They are planning on making some changes to the way they conduct their meetings. They mentioned they would appreciate training on running a meeting. The board asked questions of staff regarding how the Tourism Business Improvement District Board works and is ran. They also spoke how this board spends money and is one of the boards that may require specialized training due to the nature of the board. Aimee Brunckhorst also provided them with the model rules of procedure and explained that they should look them over as they need to put forth the same or similar rules of procedure for approval by the Commission within the next six months. She explained to the Board of Ethics that this was a mandate for all the boards as part of the last revision to the City Commission Rules of Procedure Ordinance. This is the next project Ms. Brunckhorst will be working with the boards to accomplish. The Human Resources Department has been coordinating the employee ethics trainings with trainer Betsy Webb and has two more remaining. They will need to schedule a few make up sessions as well. Betsy Webb said the trainings are going pretty well. She feels the employees are getting used to it and opening up more. She especially noticed this with the police force as she had a hard time getting many of them to participate last year but they are taking part in the discussion this year. Becky Wilbert will be providing details on the employee trainings for the annual ethics report. Melissa Frost asked whether any complaints have been reported that the person thought were in the purview of the code, but maybe was not. Aimee Brunckhorst said she was not aware of any but they would more likely go to Mr. Sullivan. Chris Carraway explained the question he received may have been within the codes purview or was a human resources issue. Aimee Brunckhorst explained that Betsy Webb is finishing her research. She explained she will have an interview with the City Manager and has asked Ms. Brunckhorst for an upcoming interview. She also told staff at the employee trainings that she would like to do some one on one interviews and provided her business card for people to contact her if they were interested. The city will receive Ms. Webb’s research when complete. F. Action Items 1. Discuss Content for 2013 annual Board of Ethics Report Aimee Brunckhorst provided a partial draft of the new report - using last year’s report as a template and adding new information. She asked for input on what should be added. The board and staff discussed administratively looking the report over via e-mail. Ms. Brunckhorst will finish the draft and send it out to members for review. She will also send the 2012 report. Greg Sullivan joined the meeting about 5:30 p.m. The board discussed the code provision that was recently added that a report be submitted to the Commission with the names of board members who did not attend the annual training. The Commission can then do whatever they would like with that report. That report can be delivered via e-mail and will be sent in February after all the 2013 trainings are finished. Aimee Brunckhorst explained some of the content she placed in the draft report and some additional content she feels she should add including details about the trainings. Aimee Brunckhorst reported that she inadvertently over scheduled her calendar and missed the Bicycle Board Advisory Board training. Commissioner Carson Taylor conducted the training in her place. He and board members felt the training went well. Motion and Vote to approve the yearend report subject to edits via e-mail. It was moved by Chris Carraway, seconded by Mary Jane McGarity to approve the yearend report subject to edits via e-mail. The motion passed 3-0. City Attorney Staff Report Greg Sullivan provided a report regarding a written opinion given to the Deputy Mayor Jeff Krauss resulting from a November 19th letter to the editor in the Chronicle. Please see the written opinion available online on the ethics page. Greg Sullivan was also asked for an opinion from a board staff liaison regarding a board holiday party. The board asked about meeting at a restaurant that one of the members owns and taking care of a few business items, closing the meeting and then proceeding with a holiday party. Greg Sullivan responded that he preferred official business not being discussed outside of the regularly scheduled meeting time and location. There is not really an opportunity for the public to participate at a restaurant. Going to that restaurant after the meeting is not a problem as long as the agenda has a notice that a quorum may be present at that location and time and that no business will be conducted. The restaurant would also need to be open to the public at that time. If the owner of the restaurant who is also a member were to provide free or discounted meals would trigger the gift provision. If the monetary value were less than $25 reporting would be unnecessary. The board and staff discussed the intricacies of this issue and what constitutes a meeting. The board and staff discussed the consequences for an ethics violation and in particular open meeting laws. Greg Sullivan explained that a decision made in violation of an opening meeting may be declared void by District Court. In a law suit regarding the right to know, if the government is found in violation they would be required to pay attorney fees. Board and staff discussed conflict of interest again as it related to the board trainings. G. FYI / Discussion 1. Upcoming Schedule Aimee Brunckhorst spoke regarding needing to get the annual report done via e-mail with the report going to the Commission at the end of January or into February. Aimee Brunckhorst spoke about getting started on planning the 2014 ethics training. She wondered about prior conversations that the board had regarding upcoming trainings being handled during staff meetings throughout the year. The board discussed developing the training over the winter so the trainings could happen in the summer and fall. The board suggested inviting Betsy Webb to a meeting in February to provide them with insight regarding the trainings. They decided to move the meeting to February 19th at 5 p.m. for availability reasons. Aimee Brunckhorst also let the board know they will need to adopt rules of procedure based on the provided model within the next six months. The board discussed that chair nominations happen midsummer and were also wondering about two of the terms still being in conjunction with each other. Ms. Brunckhorst will look into the terms. I. Adjournment Chris Carraway adjourned the meeting at 5:58 p.m. Minutes prepared by: Aimee Brunckhorst, Deputy City Clerk Approved on: