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Minutes for City Council Combined Retreat/Special Meeting

COMBINED BUDGET RETREAT/SPECIAL MEETING
MONDAY - WEDNESDAY
DECEMBER 8-10, 2014
FLAGSTAFF AQUAPLEX
1702 NORTH FOURTH STREET
8:00 A.M.
 
 

COUNCIL RETREAT
 
1.
Call to Order

Mayor Nabours called the Retreat to order at 8:09 a.m.
 
2.
Pledge of Allegiance
The audience and City Council recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
 
3.
Roll Call

NOTE: One or more Councilmembers may be in attendance telephonically or by other technological means.

PRESENT

MAYOR NABOURS
VICE MAYOR BAROTZ
COUNCILMEMBER BREWSTER
COUNCILMEMBER EVANS
COUNCILMEMBER ORAVITS
COUNCILMEMBER OVERTON
COUNCILMEMBER PUTZOVA
ABSENT

NONE






Others present: City Manager Kevin Burke and City Attorney Michelle D'Andrea
 
4.
Purpose
Mr. Burke reviewed the process they would follow for the Retreat. Vice Mayor Barotz said that at some point she would like to have a conversation about the role of staff and Council as it relates to policy and subjectivity/objectivity and staff reports. She said that sometimes they are written with a subjective perspective. 
 
5.
Framework
Mr. Burke then reviewed the framework, as follows:

A.  At times, they will have just Council

i.   Council is their first constituency. Some are coming off victories and could not have gotten there without great campaign staff, a voting block, a party or action group endorsement, etc.  All are important and they will have to balance those going forward.
 
ii.   Only seven vote. They can employ strategies to load the Council Chambers, write editorials, use social media, etc.  These tactics have the effect of showing their colleagues that others think their position is right, but it may not persuade their colleagues.  It might, but he contended that their ability to discuss, compromise and civilly engage their colleagues will make a bigger difference. They are your constituents as well. 

B.  At times they will have a mix of Council and Leadership

i. Similarly, Staff, particularly Leadership, is also their colleagues. While they have very different roles, they need each other.
ii.Leadership is the filter. Council and staff actually speak different languages. Staff is often seeking to advance the values of consistent treatment, accountability and efficiency.  Council is often trying to advance the values of representation, individual rights and social equity.
iii. Very different filters. Leadership needs to be that translator between the two groups. How do you preserve and advance both in a policy debate. 

C.  He is their facilitator.

 
6.
Introductions
At this time each member of Council and Leadership sitting around the table introduced themselves, where they were born, went to high school; how many years they have been in Flagstaff, why they got into public service, and the first album they ever bought.
 
7.
Goals
The next few hours were spent with each Councilmember discussing their goals individually, reviewing the Mission and Vision, and an overview of the Regional Plan. Members of the leadership team then came forward individually and briefly discussed their top short-term and long-term goals.

A lunch break was taken from 11:36 a.m. to 12:08 p.m. and additional breaks were taken from 1:35 p.m. to 1:58 p.m. and 2:39 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
 
8.
Psychological Contract
Members of the City Council then discussed different scenarios of when items on the agenda worked smoothly and when they did not, and how changes could be made to have smoother meetings in the future.

Mr. Burke presented the Psychological Contract previously agreed to between the City Council and Leadership and Leadership and the City Council.

Both groups reviewed the contract with one another, and at 4:46 p.m. the Council Retreat recessed for the day.

Mayor Nabours called the meeting back to order on Tuesday, December 9, 2015, at 8:03 a.m. and after more discussion, both groups agreed to a new Psychological Contract, Exhibit A attached hereto and made a part hereof.
 
9.
Rules of Procedure
The City Council discussed various aspects of the Rules of Procedure and areas they felt should be addressed further. It was agreed that the Rules should be amended to clearly reflect that public hearings and public comment would be the same process. It was suggested that rules were not being followed consistently and this was a good time to start fresh and work together. It was also suggested that if there were concerns with the way a meeting was run that members should meet with the Mayor directly to discuss it and not let frustration build up.

The City Council then reviewed the goals/objectives discussed previously and agreed on the 2015 Goals, Exhibit B attached hereto and made a part hereof.

A lunch break was taken from 12:06 p.m. to 12:39 p.m.
 
10.
Selection of Council Liaisons
Members of the City Council discussed the various liaison positions and agreed on the representatives as outlined in Exhibit C, attached hereto and made a part hereof.
 
11.
Budget Retreat
Mr. Burke reviewed the purpose of this portion of the Retreat:

  1. Understanding of initial budget outlook for FY16
  2. Establishing Budget Priorities for FY16
  3. Identifying Areas of Further Exploration & Information
  4. Identifying Budget Directions for Staff Regarding Base Budgets and RSL’s

Councilmember Brewster left the meeting at 2:00 p.m.

Human Resources Director Shannon Anderson gave a progress report on employee compensation and Public Works Section Head Rebecca Sayers, as Chairman of the Quality Infrastructure Cabinet, gave a progress report on their work.

Revenue Director Andy Wagemaker gave a report on the revenue projections, as shown in the attached PowerPoint.

A break was held from 3:30 p.m. to 3:40 p.m. at which time Finance Director Rick Tadder reviewed the fixed cost forecast.

Management Services Director Barbara Goodrich discussed the public safety pension system status and its impact on the City's overall budget.

The meeting of Tuesday, December 9, 2014, recessed at 4:41 p.m.

Mayor Nabours reconvened the meeting on Wednesday, December 10, 2014, at 8:07 a.m. Councilmember Oravits was not present.

Mr. Burke then reviewed the "color of money" and briefly talked about the past mini retreats and what the Council may wish to hold a mini retreat on this coming year.

Budget Manager Brandy Suda reviewed the overall budget book and asked if there were any changes in process requested.

Representatives of the Employee Advisory Committee then discussed their priority for the coming year. They said that they have lost good employees to other jurisdictions that can pay more money. They said that it was not only that they have not been receiving substantial increases, but they are not seen as a priority in the budget process.

A break was held from 9:27 a.m. to 9:37 a.m.

At this time different tables of Councilmembers and leadership were set up to discuss budget priorities and how the requests from each of the divisions fit into the goals of the Council. On further discussion, the budget priorities were set for 2015, Exhibit C attached hereto and made a part hereof.

Councilmember Oravits arrived at 10:27 a.m.

A lunch break was take from 11:55 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

 
12.
Retreat Wrap-Up
At this time a brief discussion was held on who would be traveling to Washington D.C. to meet with the Arizona delegation. It was agreed that the delegation would include Mayor Nabours and Councilmembers Brewster and Oravits.
 
13.
Adjournment


The Council Retreat portion of the combined Retreat/Special Meeting of December 8-10, 2015, adjourned at 2:37 p.m.
 


SPECIAL MEETING

To be held on 12/10/2014
 
1.
Call to Order
Mayor Nabours called the Special Meeting portion of the Combined Retreat/Special Meeting of December 8-10, 2014, to order at 2:58 p.m. All members of Council were present except Councilmember Brewster who initially participated via telephone and then arrived in person at 4:32 p.m.
 
2.
Recess into Executive Session
 

Moved by Mayor Jerry Nabours, seconded by Councilmember Jeff Oravits to recess into Executive Session.

Vote: 7 - 0 - Unanimously

 
3.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
 
A.
Discussion or consultation for legal advice with the attorney or attorneys of the public body; and discussion or consultation with the attorneys of the public body in order to consider its position and instruct its attorneys regarding the public body's position regarding contracts that are the subject of negotiations, in pending or contemplated litigation or in settlement discussions conducted in order to avoid or resolve litigation, pursuant to ARS 38-431.03(A)(3) and (4), respectively.
 
i.
Hopi v. City of Flagstaff; City of Flagstaff v. AZ Snowbowl
 
4.
Adjournment
The Flagstaff City Council reconvened into Open Session at 5:17 p.m. at which time the Special Meeting adjourned.


  _______________________________
MAYOR
ATTEST:  


_________________________________
CITY CLERK