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08-23-10 CC WS MinCITY OF SHORE WOOD CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2010 MINUTES CONVENE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Mayor Liz& called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS 6:00 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor Liz6e; Councilmembers Bailey, Turgeon, Woodruff and Zerby; Administrator Heck; Planning Director Nielsen; Director of Public Works Brown; and Engineer Landini Absent: None B. Review Agenda Woodruff moved, Zerby seconded, approving the agenda as presented. Motion passed 5/0. 2. COUNCIL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Administrator Heck stated it's his understanding that during the August 9, 2010, Council meeting there was a request to have a discussion about setting times for Council work sessions. The intent was to discuss amending the Council Policies and Procedures to address this topic. He explained that Councilmember Woodruff has provided draft language for a new Section 2.8 titled Notice of Meetings. The draft submitted by Councilmember Woodruff is as follows. " Work Sessions and Special Meetings of the Council shall be scheduled with Council Members at least five business days in advance. The City Administrator shall poll the Council, prior to finalizing the schedule with Council Members, to ascertain if a quorum of Council Members likely will attend. If attendance by a quorum appears unlikely, the Administrator will suggest an alternate schedule which would obtain a quorum. Meetings, once scheduled, may only be rescheduled with Council by following the five working day notice procedures above. Meeting schedules listed in the City's monthly calendar and similar places shall be tentative until confirmed per this section." Administrator Heck explained that state statute defines special meetings consistent language is in Council Policies and Procedures. Section 2.6 addresses work sessions, but it doesn't address how the time is set. He recommended Section 2.6 be amended to include something like "Work sessions will generally be held prior to the regular council meeting and shall begin at 6:00 P.M. unless other wise indicated and agreed upon by Council at the meeting prior to the scheduled work session." He thought that would address the concern that some of the Councilmembers have. Councilmember Woodruff stated the start time for work sessions was not discussed by Council when it was going through the process of amending the manual. He stated he thought it's good for Councilmembers to be aware of the start times for work session so they can set their own schedules. He commented when work sessions are scheduled or start times adjusted with just a couple of days notice there could be an issue with being able to have a quorum in attendance. He stated he could accept the amendment to Section 2.6 proposed by Administrator Heck. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES August 23, 2010 Page 2 of 5 Councilmember Zerby stated he did not think there is a need to amend the Policies and Procedures because a public notification policy exists. There is a state statute that declares how a public meeting can be called and how it must be notified. If the public is supposed to be aware of meetings with a 72 -hour notice he thought that should also be adequate for Councilmembers. He did not think it necessary to have a week or two -week notice of when a meeting will be held. He did not want to add to or override what is already specified in the statute; that would just add another layer of encumbrance to it. He noted work sessions have started before 6:00 P.M. because there was enough material to discuss to exceed a one hour long meeting. He thought limiting a work session to one hour is too restrictive. Councilmember Turgeon commented the monthly meetin calendar stated the August 9th work session would start at 6:00 P.M. as did the minutes for the July 26" Council meeting. The work session start time then changed to 5:30 P.M. She also commented that based on what was on the City's website a resident did not think he would hear a certain discussion until about 6: 30 P.M. on August 91h so by the time the resident arrived the conversation was pretty much over with. She then stated work sessions are different from special meetings. Special meetings can be called by the mayor or two council members. Councilmember Zerby stated that was true of regular meetings as well. Turgeon stated she thought it was easier to have a quonim if the start times are agreed to in advance. She conveyed she did not think amending Section 2.6 was an encumbrance. Zerby stated the statute does not talk about requiring a majority vote to determine a start time. Councilmember Bailey stated he thought it made sense to amend the Policies and Procedures to address the start times of work sessions. He noted it makes scheduling easier if the regular times for meetings can be put on the calendar in advance.. The Council can decide to start a work session earlier than 6:00 P.M. if they feel more time is necessary. If one or two people can't make the earlier start time that's the way it has to be. He thought agreeing to a regular start time for work sessions would provide some consistency. Mayor Liz6c stated sometimes agenda items will take longer than originally anticipated. She explained that during Council's July 26 "' meeting, the August 9 "' work session was discussed and it was anticipated the meeting would last one hour. Late in the week of July 26` State Senator Gen Olson and South Lake Minnetonka Police Department Chief Litsey both notified Liz6e that they would need 45 minutes. She stated she has trouble changing what is already established by statute. Councilmember Woodruff stated in spite of Mayor Liz6c notifying Staff on Monday August 9 Staff did not notify Council until late Thursday. He then stated he thought the statutory requirements for posting of meetings was being mixed up with a process where Council members would be notified with adequate time to meet their obligations. He stated he did not become aware of the change in start time until Friday August 6 "'. Mayor Liz6e stated Council had discussed Senator Olson and SLMPD Chief Litsey would both be on the August 91h agenda. When both of them asked for 45 minutes to discuss their topics she thought it appropriate to give them the time they requested. Councilmember Woodruff stated the person who put the two items on the agenda should have known how much time the speakers needed two weeks before the meeting. He then stated Council can continue meeting until 11:00 P.M. according to its Policies and Procedures. On many occasions, Council has recessed its work sessions and reconvened it after the regular meeting. He thought it appropriate to let speakers know how much time is available and ask them to be courteous to Council members by staying within the time allocated or that they may be continued to after the regular meeting. He noted he is unwilling to yield on this. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES August 23, 2010 Page 3 of 5 Councilmember Zerby stated he agreed on the point of common courtesy and the fact there was delayed notification from Staff that the start time needed to be changed for the August 9 1h work session. However, he still has a problem with making the change from a legal standpoint. He then read the subdivision which said "Regular meetings of the council shall be held at such times and places as prescribed by its rules. Special meetings may be called by the mayor or any two council members of a five member council or three members of a seven member council." He did not view work sessions as regular meetings. Councilmember Turgeon stated there is the risk there may not be a quorum. She then stated from her vantage point it was about respect for other Councilmembers. Councilmembers agreed to a 6:00 P.M. start time for the August 9 work session. Once it was known that the two individuals needed more time Council should have been sent an email explaining the situation and asked if it would be okay to move the start time of the meeting up to accommodate the speakers. Councilmember Bailey stated he thought the purpose of this proposed change was to establish consistency. The normal start time for a work session is 6:00 P.M. He expressed he would be open to changing the start time after the last regular meeting by polling the Council. Mayor Liz& stated this is centered on the change in start time for the August 9"' work session. Councilmember Bailey stated he wished it wasn't. He was trying to look forward. He understood that sometimes meeting start times have to change on relatively short notice. He thought Council should be polled about an earlier start time before it's changed. From his perspective it has nothing to do with the August 9` work session. Councilmember Zerby stated the proposed amendment requires a majority vote and that is not what state statute stipulates. Administrator Heck stated he has spoken with the City Attorney and she said there is nothing in state statute that covers work sessions. A work session is at the discretion of the Council. A special meeting is called when something specific comes up, and the timing is outlined in state statute. He thought the best way to approach changing times is to work through the city administrator. The administrator can contact the council members about a need to change the start time. This had worked in the past. Administrator Heck acknowledged the apparent issue with the August 9 change in start time was the result of the lack of communication between Staff and Councilmembers until later when the meeting packet was being prepared. Councilmember Woodruff asked Staff to prepare draft language for amending Council Policies and Procedures per Administrator Heck's recommendation. Administrator Heck stated he would draft language outlining the protocol for changing meeting start times. 1«K9311V"="i1T[# XV2 Administrator Heck stated the compensation plan is the last part of the Employee Policy Manual that Council and Staff have been revising. The City has changed to a performance based compensation system for non -union personnel. Council had discussed a draft compensation plan in previous meetings and it directed him to revise the plan and to involve Councilmember Woodruff in the process. The result of that CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES August 23, 2010 Page 4 of 5 process is the revised compensation plan included in the meeting packet. He commented the plan is close to what the City had before but it does not include step increases. Heck reviewed the proposed compensation plan. The League of Minnesota Cities (LMC) salary survey data for 2010 was used to help prepare the salary table. The actual compensation for those classifications the City has was averaged for all metropolitan cities. For classifications with a significant number of positions the three highest paid and the lowest three jurisdictions were dropped before the average was calculated. The "Actual Market Median" is the average of actual compensation paid. The Band "achieving expected performance range" represents the target compensation for each job classification.. The low end is equal to 90 percent of the classification's actual market median and the high end is equal to 105 percent of the median. The maximum compensation is equal to 110 percent of the actual market median. The is the average starting compensation of the survey group. These calculations put the City's classifications in the middle of the metro cities compensation. Heck stated under this compensation plan Council would establish a performance pool for pay increases. The closer an employee is to the maximum for their pay classification, the smaller their increase. Employees who continually exceed performance expectations will move faster through their pay range than those who don't. Councilmember Turgeon asked if employees are earning the maximum for their salary range and are exceeding performance expectations can they earn a lump -sum payment. Administrator Heck explained the Policy Manual allows for an employee who is at or above the maximum pay threshold to be eligible for a lump -sum performance payment, noting it is not guaranteed. Turgeon then asked how often the City would conduct a market comparison. Heck explained a market comparison is proposed every two years. If a new classification were added, a comparison for that classification is completed. Turgeon also asked if it would make any sense to adjust the pay ranges, particularly the maximum threshold, annually based on the consumer price index (CPI). Heck stated the market comparison should keep the City's salary schedule within the market range. In response to a question from Councilmember Bailey, Administrator Heck explained the intent is to start new employees at the average market minimum for their salary range. Bailey asked how they get to the low end of the achieving expected performance range. Heck explained an employee who is performing well would reach the range faster than an employee who is just meeting expectations. The percent increase for employees is on performance as well as their placement within their salary range. For two employees who are performing at the same level, an employee with a salary beneath the lower end of the range would receive a higher percent increase than the employee with a salary within that range. Councilmember Woodruff stated the Policy Manual, which was not included in the meeting packet for this meeting, states the City's policy is to hire employees at or above the average market minimum. It's also to move someone who is below the achieving expected performance range up faster if they meet performance expectations than someone who is in the range. Councilmember Bailey asked if all new employees will be hired at the average market minimum. Councilmember Woodruff responded no. Administrator Heck explained the entry salary would be based on years of experience and other qualifications. Woodruff stated the City wants to be market competitive. Woodruff then stated an employee has the opportunity to earn 105 percent of the average market median if they are achieving expectations and 110 percent if they are exceeding expectations. Councilmember Zerby stated he thought the intent of the compensation plan was to create an incentive for employees to perform at a higher level and to continue to exceed performance expectations. He asked if staff thought the proposed plan would do that. Heck stated he has spoken to staff generally about this CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES August 23, 2010 Page 5 of 5 during a staff meeting, but it hasn't been discussed since then. Zerby then asked staff if the plan is easy to understand. Heck stated if he were to guess, the concern would be that once an employee's evaluation is completed the employee's performance increase is determined, along with all of the other employees' increases, by the Administrator based on the total amount allowed by the pool. Staff helped develop the new performance evaluation system and the salary adjustment methodology was briefly discussed. Councilmember Zerby stated ideally the goal is for the City to get more for its money; by achieving more efficiencies. Administrator Heck stated from his perspective the goal is to incentivize and encourage employees to do their best all the time and he hopes the compensation plan will provide additional compensation to employees who continually exceed performance expectations. Employees who just meet expectations will not realize the same financial rewards. Councilmember Turgeon stated she did not like to use the phrase get more for its money or achieve more efficiencies. She thought the intent of the plan it to reward those who go above and beyond their job description. Councilmember Zerby stated that as a taxpayer, he would want the City to get more for the taxpayer's money. He asked if the proposed plan results in an increase in salaries over the next two, five or even ten years. Councilmember Woodruff stated Council has total control over how much the total amount for salaries because it establishes the performance pool for each year. For example, based on the proposed draft 2011 operating budget Council has allocated approximately $19,000 to cover the cost of salary increases. In response to a question from Councilmember Zerby, Administrator Heck explained the salary for the finance director position in the salary table is the average market minimum for a new employee. However, based on experience, qualifications, etc, the actual starting wage could be more. Councilmember Bailey asked what the next step is for the plan and if the compensation plan and the related part of the Policy Manual will be on the agenda for the first Council meeting in September. Councilmember Turgeon stated it's on the agenda for the meeting following this work session. Heck recommended removing this item from that agenda as Council was not provided with the narrative about the compensation plan. 4. ADJOURN Turgeon moved, Woodruff seconded, Adjourning the City Council Work Session of August 23, 2010, at 6:47 P.M. Motion passed 5/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED Christine Freeman, Recorder a tQ 1 Christine Lizee, Mayor