HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommittee of the Whole May 8 2007WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
Committee Of The Whole
May 8, 2007
Council Chair Carl Weimer called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Council
Committee Room, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington.
Present: Absent:
Barbara Brenner None
Dan McShane
Sam Crawford
Seth Fleetwood
Laurie Caskey- Schreiber
L. Ward Nelson
1. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON FILLING THE COUNCIL'S VACANT
PLANNING AND POLICY ANALYST POSITION (AB2007 -018)
Weimer stated Councilmembers McShane and Crawford put together some ideas for
how this position would work.
McShane stated the Council should have regularly scheduled meetings with the policy
analyst, at least once every two weeks. Initially, the Council can identify main areas of
assignment, and then get more specific. The administration will also bring up issues.
Brenner stated she's not sure she wants to do this. Don't start with someone who
has an agenda. Anyone may have one, which will make her feel uncomfortable.
Weimer stated that's why the Council is discussing the framework now. Anyone they
hire wil,l.::,have some kind of agenda. A question is how to manage that person so their
agenda doesn't affect the issues.
McShane stated the person will work on the agenda of a majority of the Council. The
person should work on issues that receive a vote of at least Five councilmembers. The
policy analyst could assist in a discussion by focusing on consequences, so the
councilmembers have all the same facts.
Nelson stated make sure the policy analyst works only on issues that at least five
councilmembers approve of. Maybe five councilmembers won't be in favor of the issue
itself, but will agree to have the policy analyst work on the issue. The policy analyst should
focus on the pros and cons of an issue and the options available to the Council to achieve a
particular outcome. Don't leave that staff person on one side or another of an issue.
The Committee concurred.
Nelson asked if the policy analyst should meet regularly with the Council or report to
the appropriate Council committee as needed on particular projects and issues, as
Councilmember Crawford suggested. He would rather leave it on an as- needed basis to
begin with.
Committee of the Whole, 5/8/2007, Page 1
1 Weimer stated begin with meetings during a Committee of the Whole meeting to
2 give all the councilmembers a sense of involvement with the new person.
3
4 McShane stated those meetings may become shorter over time, also. It could be at
5 the discretion of the chair how often the committee needs to meet with the policy analyst.
6
7 Weimer stated the Council will begin with assigning the policy analyst large issues
8 that will take up most of the person's time. They will fail if the Council tries to give the
9 person a bunch of new issues every two weeks. Once the staff person begins, he or she will
10 present updates on those larger issues to the Committee of the Whole.
11
12 Nelson stated make sure the public is aware that the Council votes on the issues on
13 which it would like more information, not on the issue itself.
14
15 Karen Goens, Administrative Services Department, stated its possible to ask the
16 policy analyst to do some fact finding on a narrow issue.
17
18 Nelson stated that any formal vote has to be made public.
19
20 McShane stated one question is whether it's appropriate for the policy analyst to
21 assist a councilmember write an emergency ordinance, or whether it would be up to the
22 discretion of the Chair.
23
24 Nelson stated he would rather require councilmembers to write an emergency
25 ordinance on their own first, to limit the number that come forward.
26
27 The Council concurred.
28
29 Nelson stated that once the emergency ordinance is approved, then the Council
30 could assign the policy analyst to do all the work in terms of writing the State
31 Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) checklist and other work associated with bringing forward a
32 more permanent ordinance.
33
34 McShane stated Councilmember Crawford talked about doing a Council committee
35 pass- through approach involving the Clerk of the Council. However, they shouldn't involve
36 the Clerk of the Council that much.
37
38 Dana Brown- Davis, Clerk of the Council, stated she doesn't need to assist with
39 scheduling the policy analyst's time. She can assist with getting the analyst's information
40 scheduled on the agenda. Also, the policy analyst doesn't need to submit reports to her to
41 distribute to the councilmembers. The policy analyst can submit and distribute reports to
42 the councilmembers directly.
43
44 McShane stated that the Council didn't budget for administrative assistance for this
45 person. The policy analyst is on his or her own to do those things.
46
47 Nelson asked how the Council evaluates this person's productivity.
48
49 Caskey- Schreiber asked if the Council expects the person to be in the Council Office
50 on a 40 -hour work week, whether the staff position has some flexibility, and whether the
51 person will get comp days for being at late meetings. Goens stated the staff person should
52 be able to come up with a timeframe and set of deliverables, like a contract. Everyone will
53 know when the work is done. Everyone will know when the report is due. The
Committee of the Whole, 5/8/2007, Page 2
I accountability comes when the staff person submits reports or other work done. One
2 applicant suggested putting a status report on key projects online. There are various ways
3 to map out work plans. Come up with a format in which everyone can see where the time is
4 being spent.
5
6 Weimer stated the person can bring forward a work plan and tasks during the
7 meeting every two weeks. The Council can see if the tasks are being checked off. Goens
8 stated another option is for the staff person to make his or her calendar available for
9 everyone to see. The calendar is a vivid, neutral account of where the person spends his or
10 her time. They have good tools for making the work visible.
11
12 Weimer stated this has to be a flexible position that may attend evening meetings on
13 behalf of the Council.
14
15 Nelson stated he suggests that the Chair be responsible for communicating with the
16 Council about the policy analyst's work load and any conflicts that may arise.
17
18 The Council concurred.
19
20 Brenner asked the kind of protection there is for this person if the Council decides it
21 no longer wants to staff this position.
22
23 Caskey - Schreiber stated it would take a 5 -2 vote in favor.
24
25 Goens stated they have to still document any issues or problems. A worst case
26 scenario is that a person can claim a public policy violation, and say the Council asked him
27 or her to do something illegal.
28
29 Nelson stated the Council still needs to have documentation in the form of annual
30 evaluations. If they are having problems, the Council can discuss it in executive session
31 and document the problem. The Chair would be responsible for sitting down with the
32 person to explain any problems and work out a solution. Don't have seven people take on
33 that task.
34
35 Caskey- Schreiber stated the reverse is true, also. If the person is doing really well,
36 and the Council wanted to give the person a raise, it would have to come through the Chair.
37 The councilmembers can't do anything for the person individually.
38
39 Caskey- Schreiber moved to go into executive session to discuss the qualifications
40 of the applicants for public employment.
41
42 Motion carried unanimously.
43
44 McShane moved to allow the Chair to select the policy analyst position based on
45 the Council's deliberations on the merits of each individual (inaudible).
46
47 Brenner stated she is opposed to the motion. This is everyone's issue. Everyone
48 needs to vote on the issue. If it's not going to be a strong consensus for either candidate,
49 they should go back out.
50
51 Crawford stated he is against the motion. They have spent a tremendous amount of
52 time in a process where it was agreed that all councilmembers would participate.
53 Delegating that to the chair now is inappropriate at this 11th hour.
Committee of the Whole, 5/8/2007, Page 3
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2
Motion failed 1 -6 with McShane in favor.
3
4
Caskey - Schreiber nominated !Craig Olason and Rebecca Craven.
5
6
McShane voted for Olason.
7
8
Caskey- Schreiber voted for Olason.
9
10
Crawford voted for Craven.
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12
Brenner voted for Craven.
13
14
Weimer voted for Craven.
15
16
Fleetwood voted for Craven.
17
18
Nelson voted for Craven.
19
20 Weimer stated Rebecca Craven was voted as the new hire for the policy analyst
21 position.
22
23
24 OTHER BUSINESS
25
26 AD30URN
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28 The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:00 p.m.
29
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32 Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription
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The Council approved these minutes on June 19 , 2007.
36 ATTEST:
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42,1,0JDanarqt:1
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Carl Weimer, Council Chair
Committee of the Whole, 5/8/2007, Page 4