Discuss Council Organization

Purpose:  The purpose of this report is to determine the committees, boards, or authorities to which Council members 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, Council members are appointed to serve on different committees, authorities and boards. Attached is a list of the committees as well as a description of what they are and when they meet.  Council members are asked their preference for appointment, and a resolution with the final selections will be adopted by Council at their meeting later this evening.  Tenative positions have been listed (on the attached resolution) based upon stated interests plus staff distribution of remaining positions to balance out the obligations.  Each Council member needs to consider individual time of meetings as well as overall commitments.  These assignments can change based upon council input and discussion.

The Chair and Vice-Chair positions for each committee will be appointed at that committee level.  With regard to EDA appointments, the Code states that the appointments shall be made by the Mayor with the approval of the City Council.  A question has been raised whether there should be Council appointments (ex-officio) to the Planning Commission and the Park and Recreation Commission.  The City's Code states the following with regard to such appointments:  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.  It should be noted that each board and commission does have a staff liaison and the EDA and the EPB have Councilmembers appointed.

Attached is the resolution that is on the Agenda this evening for formal adoption.  Please note:  The 2019 appointments are printed in Italics, which means they are open for discussion.  If there are any changes to the appointments based on discussion this evening, those changes will be incorporated in the resolution that is on tonight's agenda, prior to execution.  If there are any changes, it should be noted during the adoption which changes were made.  .  

The organizational resolution includes declaring the City's official newspaper.  City staff has received two proposals - ABC Newspapers (the Anoka County UnionHerald) and the StarTribune.  Both proposals are attached to this case.  The Anoka County UnionHerald has historically served as the City's official newspaper and currently provides regular coverage of the City as well.  The proposal from ABC Newspapers states the rates for 2019 will remain unchanged at $10.75 per column inch.  The rate received from the StarTribune is at $11.79 per column inch.  Their typical open rate for legal is $5.61 per line and this would be a decrease in that rate to $1.31 per line.  There are currently 1,183 Ramsey subscribers to the Anoka County UnionHerald and 5,317 Ramsey subscribers to the StarTribune.   That appointment is left blank as Council will need to determine who is awarded the bid.

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, 2019 (attached).  The addendum shows a less than  2.5 percent increase in the rates.  Approval of the contract with TOSS is part of the resolution.

Appointing legal services is another part of the Organization Resolution.  The City's Attorney Joseph Langel of Ratwik, Roszak & Maloney, P.A. submitted a two year extension proposal.  The flat fee for meetings stays the same.  The hourly rate is increased from $145 per hour to $150 per hour.  This is the first hourly rate increase in several years.  The monthly retainer amount was not increased in 2018.  This agreement has a 2.5% increase per year.  The contested case hourly fee remains the same as the regular hourly rate ($150/hour).  As a note, in most cities, the litigation rate is substantially higher (minimum of $175/hour).  The developer rate ($185/hour) remains the same as before,  This rate is paid by the developers, not the City.  The rest of the document remains the same as before.  The contract extension proposal is attached.  Staff is recommending Council extend the contract another two years, through December 31, 2020.  Adopting the organizational resolution will extend the contract with Ratwik, Roszak & Maloney, P.A. (Joseph Langel).  The firm of Eckberg Lammers was contracted with in January 2018, for prosecution services through 2021.  The City's policy has been to review outside professional contracts on a three to five year basis.  

Approximately 15 minutes

N/A

City Administrator
City Clerk

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