Discuss Council Organization

Purpose: The purpose of this report is to determine the committees, boards, authorities or other groups to which Councilmembers will be appointed. Also to be determined are the appointments for the official newspaper, approval of the annual contract with TimeSavers Off-Site Secretarial Service (TOSS), and appointment of legal services.  

Background: Each year, Councilmembers are appointed to serve on different committees, boards, authorities or other groups. Attached is a list of the committees as well as a description of what they are and when they meet. Staff will make note of the final selections to be adopted by Council at their meeting later this evening.  

The Chair and Vice-Chair positions for each committee will be appointed at the committee level. It should be noted that each board and commission has a staff liaison, as well as Councilmember(s) liaison.

As a reminder, the City's Code states the following with regard to Ex-officio members. The City Council may appoint, by majority vote, a Councilmember or City staff person as ex-officio members of any board or commission privileged to speak on any matter without a vote, and the ex-officio members shall provide a liaison between the board or commission and City Council. The City Council members appointed to the EDA are voting members. 

Attached is the resolution that is on the Agenda this evening for formal adoption. Please note: The highlighted 2025 appointments are open for discussion. The appointments discussed will be incorporated into the resolution before tonight's meeting. Last year, it was discussed to remove the Highway 10 Committee appointments; the committee did not meet in 2024 and there are not any meetings currently scheduled. The QCTV Communications Commission historically has had a city administrator and Councilmember from each member city sit on the board. In 2023, two Councilmembers had an interest in serving on the board, so the city administrator has not been a member for the past two years. QCTV has requested that membership remain consistent from city to city and include the city administrator and one Councilmember moving forward.  New in 2025 will be membership to the Twin Cities Gateway Board.  The city is automatically given one seat on the board each year, with additional seats based on revenue generated through lodging taxes collected.  If the City were to receive additional seats on the board, by-laws for the group determine where that person should be chosen from (i.e. hotel representative, connected community member).  Other cities for this board have appointed Councilmembers and staff.

The organizational resolution includes declaring the City's official newspaper. At the time of this writing, the City has received one proposal from Adams Publishing Group - the Anoka County UnionHerald. Such proposal is attached to this case. The Anoka County UnionHerald has historically served as the City's official newspaper and currently provides the most regular coverage of the City. 

Also included for Council review and approval is the Addendum to the Recording Secretary Service Agreement between the City of Ramsey and TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial (TOSS) that extends the expiration date to December 31, 2025 (attached). The addendum shows a less than 3.50 percent increase in the base rate. Approval of the contract with TOSS is part of the resolution.

Appointing legal services is another part of the Organization Resolution. The most recent agreement with the City's Civil Attorney, Frederic Knaak of Holstad & Knaak, PLC is effective November 1, 2023, through October 31, 2025. The monthly fee is $4,150.00. Any time over the 10 hours included in the monthly fee is billed at a single rate of $150.00 per hour. The firm of Eckberg Lammers was contracted for prosecution services; the current agreement is effective through December 31, 2027.

Approximately 15 minutes 

N/A

Based on Council direction. 

To receive clear direction from the Council with regard to the appointments to committees, boards, authorities and other groups, designation of the official newspaper, the addendum to the Recording Secretary Service Agreement and appointments for legal services.