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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Minutes 2006-02-06Special Meeting of the Ithaca Town Board Monday, February 6, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. 215 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, New York AGENDA 1. Call to order 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Committee Presentation of Draft Board Protocol and Procedures Manual 4. Consider motion to substitute Councilman Stein's draft manual in place of draft submitted by the Board Policy and Protocol Committee 5. Discussion of Draft manual and consideration of changes 6. Consider Adjournment February 6,2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March 13, 2006 Special Meeting of the Ithaca Town Board Monday, February 6, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. 215 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, New York CALL TO ORDER: Supervisor Valentino called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and led the assemblage in the-Pledge of Allegiance. THOSE PRESENT: Supervisor Valentino, Councilman Burbank, Councilman Engman, Councilman Stein, Councilwoman Leary STAFF PRESENT: Tee-Ann Hunter, Town Clerk; Susan Brock, Attorney for the Town; Dan Walker, Director of Engineering; Jonathan Kanter, Director of Planning; Al Carvill, Budget Officer; Judy Drake, Human Resources Manager EXCUSED: Councilwoman Gittelman, Councilman Cowie, Highway Superintendent Noteboom Agenda Item No. 3 - Committee Presentation of Draft Board Protocol and Procedures Manual (Attachment #1 - PowerPoint Presentation) Ms. Drake gave a brief presentation of the Draft Protocol and Procedures Manual Agenda Item No. 4 - Consider motion to substitute Councilman Stein's draft manual in place of draft submitted bv the Board Policv and Protocol Committee (Attachment #2 - Councilman Stein's version of the manual and committee's version) Brnr.k' s Version Councilman Stein proposed that the Board work from the copy of the draft manual that he circulated via email at 10:53 a.m. on Monday, February 6, 2006. Councilman Stein explained that he has been reading through the drafts as they came out of committee and made proposals for changes, some of which were accepted, some of which were not, some of which he has since thought not wise. After getting the final draft, Mr. Stein stated he went through it one more time and wrote down what he thought were changes that could be made to improve it. He spoke to various members of the Board about their opinions on what do, but the final version is his. After he sent an earlier version around to everybody via email a week ago Monday, he got Attorney Brock's marked up copy. He went through her copy and adopted most all her changes; with the exception of 4 that he thought might be controversial. Ms. Leary asked what would happen to the appendices. Mr. Stein told her the appendices stay in. He felt the manual was an ongoing effort and had read the appendices. He would tack the appendices on to his draft and that would be the document he would want to work with. Mr. Engman reported that the committee did not have a chance to go through the appendices carefully and he strongly recommended they hold off on them until they could take a better look at it. He felt there were quite a few changes that needed to be made and did not think there was time to do that before adopting the rest of the manual. He hoped they could adopt something without the appendices and do that later. n February 6, 2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March 13, 2006 Supervisor Valentino was hopeful the Board could, if they reached consensus, make a recommendation back to the committee for one more thorough review. In light of the many versions of the draft and Councilman Cowie's absence. Supervisor Valentino felt the committee should do a final review to make sure that everything the Board wants is in the manual. The Board could do their final adoption after the committee has done their final review. Supervisor Valentino did not have any difficulty working from Councilman Stein's latest version. In answer to questions from Ms. Hunter regarding the wording of the Board's motion, Mr. Stein stated he was moving his version as a substitution for the version that was presented. Supervisor Valentino asked if he was asking the Board to adopt his version as the draft to work from. She did not feel the Board could adopt something without going through it. Mr. Stein responded stating this was standard procedure in Roberts Rules; a committee presents a motion, somebody else on the floor has a right to move to substitute another motion for that motion, it isn't adopting it, it's substituting it, to then debate the motion. If that passes, then the substituted motion becomes the main motion and then is debated and amended and eventually disposed of. Mr. Stein stated he was moving to substitute his version for the original document that was passed around. Mr. Burbank added, "as a draft to be discussed". Mr. Engman stated that, in effect, it's a moot point because the Board is going to be discussing the draft and by voting on accepting Councilman Stein's version they have not voted on adopting It. At some point the Board will have to vote to adopt the manual. IB Resolution No. 2006-036: Approve Substitution of Councilman Stein's Draft Board f^j Protocol and Procedures Manual I BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca substitute, for purposes of review, the Draft Board Protocol and Procedures Manual circulated via email at 10:53 a.m. on Monday, February 6, 2006 by Councilman Stein for the draft manual presented by the Board Policy and Protocol Committee. MOVED: Councilman Stein SECONDED: Supervisor Valentino VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye Manual Forward Supervisor Valentino asked Attorney Brock if, at some point, they should think about putting a disclaimer that basically says if one part is found not to be part of the law it does not invalidate the rest of the document. Attorney Brock did not think it was needed because the document was not a law. The Board was satisfied with the Fonward as presented with the exception of inclusion of a ^ Resolution Number upon adoption. ! 0^ February 6, 2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March 13, 2006 Chapter 1 1.01 - Purpose of Board Protocol and Procedures Manual Supervisor Valentino asked that Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals be removed because, under law, those Board set their own rules and regulations. It is something the Town Board has no authority to do. TB Resolution No. 2006-036a BE IT RESOLVED that the words "Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals" be deleted from section 1.01. MOVED: Supervisor Valentino SECONDED: Councilman Stein VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye. TB Resolution No. 2006-036b BE IT RESOLVED that "agreement of the Boards'" be changed to read "agreement of the Board". MOVED: Councilwoman Leary SECONDED: Supervisor Valentino VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye. Oath of Office Councilwoman Leary reported having seen other oaths of office that ask, "do you swear or affirm". She stated she thought it goes to the meaning of the word swear where it kind of assumes belief in a deity. She felt so stating broadened the statement in case the person doing the swearing does not believe in a deity. TB Resolution No. 2006'036c BE IT RESOLVED that the Oath of Office read, "I do solemnly swear or affirm". MOVED: Councilwoman Leary SECONDED: Councilman Burbank VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye. February 6,2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March 13, 2006 n1.03(d) { TB Resolution No. 2006-036d BE IT RESOLVED that "The AUD must be filed within 60 days of the close" be changed to read, "The AUD must be filed 60 days after the close". MOVED: Councilman Stein SECONDED: Councilman Burbank VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye. TB Resolution No. 2006-036e BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca rescinds the resolution above. MOVED: Supervisor Valentino SECONDED: Councilman Burbank VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye. I TB Resoiution No. 2006-036f BE IT RESOLVED that "The AUD must be filed within 60 days of the close" be changed to read, "The AUD must be filed by February 28*^^ of each year". MOVED: Supervisor Valentino SECONDED: Councilman Stein VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye. 2.02 (A2d) - Role of Board Members TB Resolution No. 2006-036g BE IT RESOLVED that the phrase "or $20,000 if labor costs are included in the costs" be added after "Approved contracts over $10,000". MOVED: Supervisor Valentino SECONDED: Councilman Stein February 6, 2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March 13, 2006 VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye. 2.02 (A4) - Role of Board Members Flag - The Board agreed to revise this section to be consistent with whatever committee language ends up in the manual. Councilman Stein asked for a clarification of what "ratify" means. He stated he knew what "ratify," meant when the Senate ratifies treaties; it means the treaty doesn't go in effect until the Senate votes for it and if the Senate doesn't vote for it, it doesn't go into effect. He asked if that was what the term meant in this context. Attorney Brock thought the Board could come to a decision as to what they think it means and if, what Mr. Stein described, isn't what the Board intended they need to come up with some different words. Ms. Brock thought it was up to the Board to decide what they want it means and to come up with words to describe it. Mr. Stein stated that was what he thought meant. Supervisor Valentino if the definition of ratify as presented by Councilman Stein is in conflict with Section 63 of Town Law regarding reducing the authority of the Supervisor. Attorney Brock thought the Board needed to wait until they got their committee language. Flag - Use and meaning of the word "ratify". 2.03 (B) - Role of the Town Supervisor TB Resolution No. 2006-036h BE IT RESOLVED that the phrase, "except as provided by law" read "except as othenwise provided by law". MOVED: Councilman Stein SECONDED: Councilman Burbank VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye 2.05 - Appointment of Town Officiais Fiag - Supervisor Valentino did not know if the manual addressed as well as it should that the Highway Superintendent and Town Clerk are not just department heads, but are Town Officials under the law. Even though in the Town of Ithaca they are not elected, they both have very specific and sovereign duties that the Town Board is not entitled to "mess around with". Supervisor Valentino thought mention of this should be included in section 2.05 and asked that the committee look at his. Ms. Drake stated that the Town Clerk's job description was included in the appendix; the Highway Superintendents was not. In response to questions from Ms. Drake, Supervisor Valentino stated that the Highway Superintendent and Town Clerk were public officials that are not the same as department heads; they have special duties and obligations that are their sole purview and not something that the Town February 6,2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March IS, 2006 Board can dictate to them. Councilwoman Leary asked if it matter if they are appointed ^ versus if they are elected. Ms. Hunter told her that appointment did not change the nature of their responsibilities. 2.07 - Appointment of Boards and Committees Edit - Add "the" in front of ZBA in 2.07 (A1). Flag - 2.07 (B) "Creation and Role of Other Boards and Committees" Supervisor Valentino suggested the committee might want to go back to page 13 the original draft because some of the wording about the types of Boards and Committees she thought would be helpful. Edit - 2.07 (C2) - Delete extra "2." 2.07 (02) 76 Resolution No, 2006'036i BE IT RESOLVED that the phrase, "will strive to avoid appointing persons" read, "will strive to avoid appointing citizens". MOVED: Councilman Engman SECONDED: Supervisor Valentino VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye Councilman Burbank expressed concern over the use of the word "normally" in the opening sentence of this section. 76 Resolution No. 2006-036] BE IT RESOLVED that the word "normally" be stricken from the first sentence of the paragraph. MOVED: Councilman Stein SECONDED: Councilman Burbank VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye Flag - The entire paragraph was flagged for further committee review of the wording. Mr. Burbank stated that part of what was hanging him up was the "equitable" balance; we never have total equality but we are trying to get diverse representation. « February 6,2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March 13, 2006 2.07 (C4, 5, 6) Edit-Wording as is, not italicized. 2.07 (E1) Edit - Add "Members" to heading 2.07 (E2) Flag - Pending decisions regarding committee structure. 2.07 (G1) Edit - Correct spelling of "public" 2.07 (H) Edit - change "whom" to "who" in "b". 2.07 (I) Supervisor Valentino questioned the omission after the phrase "will represent the consensus of the Board, except where" of "where one has not been expressed". Attorney Brock stated she had put in that suggested phrase with a question mark because the original said, "Board members participating in policy discussions at regional meetings will represent the consensus of the Board". She thought the Board may want to say, "where one has been expressed" because what if somebody is coming to a meeting and the Board hasn't made a determination or the issue has not come before them. Mr. Stein stated the reason he didn't put it in was it stuck him that the alternate explanation was so absurd nobody would hold it; if in fact the Board had not expressed an opinion that meant that the representative had to sit there with his mouth taped closed was absurd to Mr. Stein. Supervisor Valentino liked the phrase because it does make it clear that the person can speak if asked questions or bring things back to the Board to talk about. Ms. Leary stated there another spot they will be coming to that is related to this issue. Ms. Leary suggested leaving it the way it appears in Councilman Stein's draft. 2.07 (H a and b) TB Resolution No. 2006-036k BE IT RESOLVED that 1) the phrase "or his/her designee" be added after "The Town Clerk" and before "will:" in the subheading; and 2) the word "attempt" be added before "notify residents" in "b." MOVED: Councilman Burbank February 6,2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March 13, 2006 SECONDED: Councilwoman Leary VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye TB Resolution No. 2006-0361 BE IT RESOLVED that the phrase "for appointed positions" be added after "committees" in the head for "H". MOVED: Supervisor Valentino SECONDED: Councilwoman Leary VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye 2.07 (J1) Supervisor Valentino questioned the use of the word "doctrines" in paragraph "1". Attorney Brock stated the word had been "requirements" in previous drafts. The board agreed to eliminate "doctrines". TB Resolution No. 2006-036m ^ BE IT RESOLVED that the word "doctrines" be replaced by the word "requirements" in | paragraph "1". MOVED: Councilwoman Valentino SECONDED: Councilman Stein VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye 2.07(J2) and (K3) Edit - Change subsection numbers 1 through 5 to a, b, c, d, e. Councilwoman Leary questioned the phrase "members of Town Boards and committees will not speak in their capacity as a board or committee member, before any other board". Supervisor Valentino expressed her understanding giving the example of going to the Zoning Board of Appeals because she would like them to change something personal to herself or her street. In that case, wouldn't she have to make it perfectly clear that she was speaking as a private citizen? Ms. Leary agreed she would need to identify herself as a private individual. Ms. Leary recommended changing the wording in (K 3 1) stating there are some cases where she can imagine a Board member wanting to speak not just as a private citizen. The example Supervisor Valentino gave earlier regarding changing something on her street, ! | Ms. Leary agreed was totally "out", that would obviously be as a private citizen. However, ' there may be cases where a Board member may want to speak as a Board member as long 8 February 6,2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March 13, 2006 as they make it clear that they're speaking as an individual Board member and not representing the whole. Ms. Leary could see that as okay. Supervisor Valentino was not sure she saw that as okay. Ms. Leary gave the example of the Chair of the Planning Board coming to speak at a Town Board Meeting. She stated he is speaking as chair of the Planning Board, not an individual citizen; it's sort of obvious that he is speaking as the head of the Planning Board. Ms. Leary felt there were cases where a Board member might go before another board and identify themselves as a Board member, but make it clear that it's not the opinion of the whole Board unless they've been designated. Mr. Engman felt it was taken care of in the (2.) where it says "shall refrain from stating or implying that the Board Member's position or opinion is that of the Town Board". Ms. Leary felt that (3. subsection 1.) seemed to take it a step further in that they can't even identify themselves as a Board member and that they are speaking as an individual Board member. Ms. Leary was concerned about limiting it to just being a citizen. Ms. Leary felt that as long as you are declaring what it says in (2.) you could speak as a Town elected official, in that capacity, as long as you make clear that it's not for the whole Board. As written, Ms. Leary felt it meant you could only speak as a private citizen. Mr. Stein stated he did not read it that way. Ms. Leary suggested changing it to read "is present in his or her capacity as an individual Board member or individual elected official, not on behalf of the whole Town Board". Attorney Brock felt that statement changed the meaning and thought what they might want to say at the beginning of (3.) "except as set forth in paragraph 2 above". Mr. Stein did not think there was anything that said you cannot identify yourself as a Board member. Ms. Leary disagreed. Supervisor Valentino stated you have to make sure it is understood that you're speaking as a private citizen, that's all it is saying. Even though you are a Board member you are not speaking in your capacity as a Board member. Ms. Leary thought you could as long as you say that you're not speaking for the whole Board. Ms. Valentino commented she did not know. Mr. Engman felt you needed to take subsection 3. and 1. together. Ms. Leary suggested a change in wording to (3. 1.) as follows: "The Board member shall declare at the outset and upon the record that the Board member is present in his or her capacity as an individual Board member not on behalf or at the request of the whole Town Board." Mr. Stein felt that was restrictive and required him to identify himself as a Board member. Ms. Leary stated she wanted to be allow someone to identify themselves in their official capacity as an elected official, not just as a private citizen, making it clear at the same time that you're not representing the opinion of the whole Board. Mr. Stein suggested: "May identify him or herself as a Board member but not speaking on behalf of the Board". Ms. Leary was satisfied with that wording. Mr. Engman reiterated that (3. 2.) already says the same thing. Ms. Leary responded stating that says what you can't do. What she is proposing for (3.1.) is what you can do. As currently written, (3. 1.) says you have to identify yourself only as a private citizen. What Ms. Leary is saying you can identify yourself as a Board member. Mr. Burbank stated he accepted that. Supervisor Valentino expressed her concern that once an individual has identified themselves as a Town Board member speaking as a Town Board member, the Board member part of it is what is going to show up in the newspaper. Ms. Leary stated that is why you should have the Board member take the responsibility of making the point that they are not speaking for the whole Town Board, I'm not speaking for the Town of Ithaca, but I am speaking as one member of the Town Board, as one elected official of the Town. Supervisor Valentino asked why that would be any different. Ms. Leary thought it had more force than being a private citizen, you're elected, you're representing people. Supervisor Valentino wondered if it should have more force. Ms. Leary thought it should; you February 6,2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March 13, 2006 still retain some authority and some responsibility as a public official you're not just a public official at Town Board meetings. Mr. Stein felt that was right, that people use the positions that they have to give themselves stature. Mr. Stein felt it was legitimate to do that and suggested wording. TB Resolution No. 2006'036n BE IT RESOLVED that the phrase "The Board Member is present speaking in a private capacity as an interested citizen. The Board Member may identify him or herself as a Board Member but must make it clear that he/she is not speaking on behalf of or at the request of the Town Board" be added after "1. The Board Member shall declare at the outset and upon the record that..." MOVED: Councilman Stein SECONDED: Councilwoman Leary VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye. 207 (K 3 5) Councilman Burbank stated he did not understand why a Board Member would have to recuse themselves if they testified. Supervisor Valentino cited a specific case where a Planning Board Member identified themselves as a Planning Board Member, but not speaking for the Planning Board, and spoke out in strong opposition to an issue that was in front of the Planning Board. Because the Planning Board had not discussed the issue and made a decision yet they put themselves in the position of not being open minded in looking at the issue. Mr. Burbank stated he understood that and because the Planning Board is a quasi-judicial board that was appropriate that that member recuse themselves. The Town Board is a different Board and the way Mr. Burbank is reading 5. Is that if a Board member goes and speaks at a Planning Board they have lost the ability to discuss the issue when it comes back to the Town Board. TB Resolution No. 2006-036o BE IT RESOLVED that the (3. 5.) "If a member so testifies, such members shall consider reusing him or herself from participating in the discussion and vote on the issue at the Town Board level" be stricken from the draft manual. MOVED: Councilman Stein SECONDED: Councilwoman Leary VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye i I Supervisor Valentino cautioned that somehow the Town Board needed to be careful about speaking out publicly against something that is going to be coming before them about which 10 February 6,2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March 13, 2006 ^ they have not had the chance to look at all sides of the issue. She didn't know if they should word this in, but somehow it's a responsibility of a Town Board member's office that they stay open minded. Mr. Burbank felt it was a political responsibility; that good common sense says that you will try to retain an open mind through the process. However, Town Board members are not bound to do so. Ms. Valentino would not require that they put anything in the manual about it, but felt it was something that they needed to be conscious of. 2.09 - Return of Materials and Equipment Mr. Burbank questioned the purpose of 2.09. TB Resolution No. 2006-036p BE IT RESOLVED that the entirety of 2.09 be stricken from the draft manual. MOVED: Councilman Burbank SECONDED: Councilman Stein VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye 2.10 - Filling Elected Vacancies TB Resolution No. 2006'036q BE IT RESOLVED that the paragraph regarding justices, "If a Justice vacancy occurs during their term, the Board shall, by majority vote, appoint an interim Justice to complete that calendar year. The individual appointed and others would have to run for election in November for a new four-year term commencing January 1®*" be put back into the draft manual. MOVED: Councilman Stein SECONDED: Supervisor Valentino VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye 3.02 - Administration of the Town TB Resoiution No. 2006'036r BE IT RESOLVED that the first line in the second paragraph read, "The Town Board has customarily delegated to the Town Supervisor". MOVED: Councilman Burbank SECONDED: Councilman Stein 11 February 6, 2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March 13, 2006 VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye 3.03 - Board Relationship to Administration The Board discussed at length "should" versus "shall" and "undue" versus "direct involvement" in the first sentence of the paragraph. Supervisor Valentino stated she was not particularly concerned about "shall" versus "should". Regarding "undue" versus "direct involvement", Supervisor Valentino stated that this was something that usually falls on her shoulders and she questioned how she was to interpret what "undue" involvement really is. She reported having looked it up in the dictionary and it says "improper", "too much", "excess". "Undue" seems harder to define than "direct". Councilman Stein asked if there had ever been a problem with this. Supervisor Valentino told him that the Town has not had a big problem with it. However, every year at the Association of Towns Annual Meeting one of the biggest debates is trying to figure out how to overcome Board Members coming in on a day- to-day basis and starting to micro-manage the affairs. Supervisor Valentino stated there have been some problems with it at the Town, but they have gotten resolved fairly quickly. Mr. Stein had no object changing "should" to "shall", but he was not happy about changing "undue". He reported having had some involvement in the day-to-day operations of the Public Works Department. He has called up and asked about leaf collection. When the Department does something "funny" he has wondered why the Town did that and has had discussions with Fred. Mr. Stein considers that involvement in the day-to-day operations and he thinks it is not "undue". He thought to be in a position where he can't speak to staff about what goes on day-to-day put a serious crimp in his abilities to do the job of a Town Board Member. He agreed that "undue" was vague, but he felt no involvement is too strict. Councilwoman Leary thought the wording in the committee's draft was too restrictive and she wanted to make it "undue" because she wanted it to be a little bit more flexible. Ultimately, however the Board puts it, if there was a problem it would have to go to the Town Board. "Should" establishes a goal; "shall" is an absolute restriction. By law the Town Board is the policy making, executive, administrative, and legislative body of the Town. Ms. Leary thought that role almost requires some sot of oversight. So you can't say no Town Board Member shall ever become directly involved. You can't give their power of administrative and policymaking head of the Town away. Councilman Engman expressed the thinking of the committee stating they were in agreement with the original language. He thought there was other language in the paragraph that was being ignored. The language is referring to day-to-day administrative functions. The paragraph is not talking about programs. Mr. Engman reported he talks to Mr. Kanter all the time about programs that the Planning Department is working on. It's not programs; it's not other things. It's administration and administration is set up in such a way that the Town has supervisors of staff. For example, the Town has department heads or in the case of the Town Supervisor it's a delegated responsibility. The Town has set up a system for supervising what goes on administratively and if you interrupt that by Town Board members getting in the middle of it, that is not an acceptable or a sustainable way of operating. Mr. Engman stated the Town has set up a system; the original language was to help protect that 12 February 6, 2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March 13, 2006 system not to say that Board Members couldn't be involved in programs or call for information. The administrative policy, of course, the Board sets, but getting involved in the day-to-day administration is something the Board has to be very careful of. Mr. Walker stated it was the staff that he was mostly concerned about. He did not think there was an existing problem, he does not want there to be a problem. He thought that if a Board Member has a question about how something happens in Engineering or Public Works and they want to ask him a question, it's very appropriate. What he does not want to see happening is what had happen to his current assistant when he worked for another municipality. As a civil engineer working in the Engineer's office he would have two or three Board members a day coming to his desk telling him what to do. If there is a problem, he wants Board Members to talk to him as a department head, but not try to tell staff members what to do. Mr. Burbank felt that Mr. Walker's concerns were addressed in the following sentence, " Individual Board Members do not supervise Town staff or do they individually establish or change programs." Mr. Burbank stated he liked the language in Mr. Stein's draft. He thought there would always be some gray areas, but it is the general understanding that Board Members are not to be micromanaging. However, Town Board members have to be involved. I proposed moving on, vote if necessary, and go with the language as it appeared in Mr. Stein's draft. Supervisor Valentino agreed with what Mr. Engman had said regarding involvement in day- to-day administration. She felt strongly that the Board should understand that such involvement is micromanaging and starting to get into the area where someone could come in and start demanding of the staff that they do their project first. She was not willing to change her mind about "direct involvement" and stated she has seen too many problems with that in other places. She did not have a problem with "shall" or "should". Councilman Stein stated he was in complete agreement with Supervisor Valentino that it was difficult for an employee who has a direct boss to be given orders what to do by others. He did not feel this was the question. He stated he was concerned if they take out the word "undue" and put in "direct" that it will restrict the Board Members to question a practice such as he had done regarding leaf pickup. Mr. Stein would agree to "shall refrain from undue". Mr. Burbank and Ms. Leary were opposed to the use of the word "shall". Councilman Burbank shared an example in which he became involved in administrative affairs. The Town has a situation where a tree on a Town road fell and damaged a vehicle. The question is if that tree is on private property or in a right of way. The interpretation was that it was in private property and was not the town's responsibility. Mr. Burbank reported that he went up and looked at and noticed a survey marker. He told the Board he called Mr. Noteboom and told him he might want to take another look at the situation because Mr. Burbank was not sure that tree was where we thought it was. Mr. Burbank told the Board he planned to bring the policy side of this issue to the Board; what is the Board's policy in this sort of situation. 13 February 6, 2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March 13, 2006 Mr Kanter thought a solution is that when things do happen, the Board Members go to a Department Head, not to administrative personnel. If there is an administrative aspect of an issue, the Board Members' first point of contact should be the Supervisor or the Department Head. Then the Department Head can decide who would be the best person to handle things. Contact Mr. Noteboom was exactly the right the thing to do. Mr. Stein felt Mr. Kanter was right. Town Board Members should really only deal with Department Heads except in a case where they want to gather information in which case they have right to go talk to anybody that works for the Town. Mr. Walker felt Mr. Burbank's example was not directly paging administration; that's brining up a concern or question. Mr. Walker cited a drainage problem with Mr. Burbank's neighbor. Town Board Members are a conduit to staff to let them know of problems. That kind of communication is important to Department Heads. If there are every any concerns about his staff, Mr. Walker wants to know about that. That's management. That's giving him input so that he can administer his department and his people. Mr. Stein proposed the following change "the Town Board should refrain from involvement in the day to day affairs of the Town staff, with the exception of Department Managers". Mr. Kanter proposed, "the Town Board should refrain from involvement from involvement in day to day administrative affairs of the Town" and for the last sentence "Concerns regarding staff or Town business operations should be brought to the attention of the Supervisor, Department Head, and/or the Board as a whole". Mr. Stein would rather say "nothing in this section precludes a Town Board Member from discussing administrative matters with Department Heads, the Supervisor, or bringing them to the Town Board". Ms. Leary was not in favor of this change she felt Mr. Stein's suggestion sort of implies that you can't talk to anyone below the Department Head level. She recommended leaving the last sentence as is and add "Department Heads". TB Resolution No. 2006-036s BE IT RESOLVED that the 3.03 read "The Town Board as a whole makes policy, local laws and ordinances for the Town. Individual members of the Town Board should refrain from involvement in day-to-day administrative affairs of the Town. Individual Board Members do not supervise Town staff nor do they individually establish or change programs. Concerns regarding staff or Town business operations should be brought to the attention of the Supervisor, Department Heads, or the Boards as a whole. MOVED: Councilman Burbank SECONDED: Supervisor Valentino Supervisor Valentino asked for discussion from the Board. 14 February 6, 2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March 13, 2006 Mr. Engman stated he would vote against the motion because there are a number of times where he has talked with other people in the Town about things and he did not see that the proposed language improved anything. He thought it made it much more complicated and difficult. He didn't see the point in it. Mr. Stein stated he would vote against the motion because it doesn't allow him to talk to individual people. He didn't like the fact that all he could do was bring concerns. He wants to talk about concerns. Ms. Leary read the last sentence as a way to address a problem. Mr. Stein read it as saying he can't even talk to anybody else. Mr. Stein stated his problem was leaving out the word "undue". Involvement to Mr. Stein meant any connection whatsoever. Ms. Drake proposed some synonyms for "undue". The Board agreed upon "excessive" as a replacement for "undue". Mr. Burbank and Ms. Valentino withdrew their previous motion. TB Resolution No. 2006-036t BE IT RESOLVED that the 3.03 read "The Town Board as a whole makes policy, local laws and ordinances for the Town. Individual members of the Town Board should refrain from excessive involvement in day-to-day administrative affairs of the Town. Individual Board Members do not supervise Town staff nor do they individually establish or change programs. Concerns regarding staff or Town business operations should be brought to the attention of the Supervisor, Department Heads, or the Boards as a whole. MOVED: Councilman Burbank SECONDED: Supervisor Valentino VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye 3.08 (A) - Roles and Information Flow TB Resolution No. 2006-036u BE IT RESOLVED that the words "Department Heads" be added after the phrase, "attention of the Supervisor" in the third paragraph. MOVED: Councilman Burbank SECONDED: Supervisor Valentino VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye 15 February 6,2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March 13, 2006 3.08 (B) Supervisor Valentino stated she had a problem with "Board-established timeline". She wondered if the Board would always have an idea of what the workload is and what the timeline should be. Mr. Stein thought that could be worked out at a Town Board meeting. Mr. Kanter suggested wording agreeable to the Board. 76 Resolution No. 2006'036v BE IT RESOLVED that the phrase "timeframe to be determined after consultation with the Supervisor and/or appropriate Department Head" be added following "within a Board established". MOVED: Councilman Burbank SECONDED: Councilwoman Leary VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Burbank asked that the media be told the SAC Meeting dates and the possibility of the presence of a quorum so that all Board members can attend. Ms. Hunter said she would send a notice to the media. 3.09 - Dissemination of Information Ms. Leary suggested revised wording to broaden the meaning to include more than just Board Members. 76 Resolution No. 2006'036w BE IT RESOLVED that the phrase "all parties should" be added following the phrase "In initiating such meetings". MOVED: Councilman Burbank SECONDED: Councilman Leary VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye 3.10 - Staff Relationship to Advisory Bodies and Consultants In response to a note by Attorney Brock asking who would set staff members' time commitment; Mr. Stein explained the origin of the language. His concern regarding the wording of the committee draft was how is it that if you have no supervisory authority how can 16 February 6,2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March 13, 2006 a staff member support you, if you can't tell them what to do. Essentially what that is supposed to say is that an advisory body gets 3 hours of some staff members time to do support. That's the limitation and within that three hours they can ask the person to do whatever support they need to do. If there is a better way to write it, Mr. Stein was happy to hear it. Mr. Kanter stated he had a conceptual problem with the whole idea that a committee would set a maximum or a minimum time commitment because the time involvement varies so wildly from committee to committee there is no way you could do that. Each committee is setting the time limit for their staffs' involvement, presumably there's no connection or rationale for what other committees are doing (turn tape) is a management decision to be worked out in conjunction with the Town Board. The idea that individual committees assign individual staff minimums and maximums for time involvement he thought is unrealistic in terms of how the real world operates. Mr. Stein agreed it was unrealistic but gave as an example Mr. Kanter's support of the Planning Board stating presumably the Planning Board could give him duties and presumably he has to do what they tell him to do. On the other hand they don't supervise Mr. Kanter so the question is what can they do? Mr. Kanter stated they can ask him to do things, they generally don't tell him to do things. Things are discussed in a cooperative manner, which is way it has worked in the past with all committees. Mr. Stein felt you had to give a committee that gets a staff person to support them some authority over giving them the jobs that they want done. Mr. Stein did not feel a staff member had the right to say they didn't think something was not a reasonable job and they were not going to do that job. To Mr. Stein thought it was the committee that decided what has to be done by the staff member and to him the only way of limiting that is to say that you can't ask a staff member to do more than a certain amount of work. Mr. Kanter felt the flexibility of working with committees is what works so well at the Town. If you start setting rigid maximums or minimums Mr. Kanter did not think it would work as well as it had in the past. Mr. Kanter felt it had worked very well in the past; it's a cooperative decision. Again, what Mr. Kanter felt it came down to is the relationship between the management team and the Town Board assigning priorities as a whole rather than within each individual committee. Mr. Stein saw what Mr. Kanter was saying, but thought if staff is assigned to some committee the committee has to have authority to set the tasks that the staff member does. He did not think the staff member was not a free agent who decides what it is they do. He suggested taking out the sentence "When staff members are assigned to support an advisory body, the limit to the staff time commitment will be set. Staff members will carry out appropriate assignments given by the advisory body so long as allotted commitment does is not excessive." Mr. Kanter did not see how that allotted time commitment would be established other than through working with Department Heads and management. Mr. Engman referred to an earlier suggestion by Ms. Hunter that they use the language in 3.08 stating maybe that would wording would work here. There was discussion of who would be consulting regarding the time commitment. There was discussion of the phrase "does not exceed the allotted time commitment" and Attorney Brock suggested taking it out and have it say "staff members will carry out appropriate assignments given by the advisory body which will be determine through consultation between the committee chair, supervisor, and/or appropriate department head". Mr. Stein did not feel it addressed his concern. The concern that he has is that a committee 17 February 6,2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March 13, 2006 can ask a staff member to do certain things that neither the Department Head nor the Supervisor may feel are things that should be done. He thought that a committee has to have it's own discretion as to what it is they want the person to do and the appropriateness of every assignment does not get worked out between the parties. What Mr. Stein stated he was trying to say is that the thing that they have to work out is the use of the person's time so he does not want to have the actual assignment itself worked out in cooperation with the Department Head and Supervisor. Mr. Kanter stated that if there was a conflict between the committee and the Supervisor or the Department Head then it goes to the Town Board to make a decision, which is covered later in the paragraph. Mr. Stein felt it was very awkward. The Town Board only meets monthly and he thought they ought to give a certain amount of discretion to the committees to do the work that it wants done. Mr. Kanter asked where it was broken, where things haven't worked. Mr. Stein felt there was a principle involved and the principle is that a committee should have a certain amount of freedom to investigate what it is they want to. Ms. Valentino also felt that there was a principle here and she thought the principle is that committees are given assignments by the Town Board. Councilman Burbank proposed going with Attorney Brock's suggested wording and called for a vote. He stated he would commit to revisiting the issue if it was cause for problems. TB Resolution No. 2006-036x BE IT RESOLVED that the sentence "When staff members are assigned to support an advisory body, the limit to the staff time commitment will be set." be deleted; and it is further TB Resolution No. 2006-036y RESOLVED that the phrase "Staff members will carry out appropriate assignments given by the advisory body such appropriateness will be determine through consultation between the committee chair, supervisor, and/or appropriate department head" be added as the third sentence in the paragraph. MOVED: Councilman Burbank SECONDED: Supervisor Valentino VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, nay; Councilwoman Leary, aye OTHER BUSINESS TB Resolution No. 2006-036z BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hold a Special meeting on February 16, 2006 at 6:30 p.m. to continue work on the Board Protocol and Procedures Manual. MOVED: Supervisor Valentino SECONDED Councilman Burbank 18 n February 6,2006 Special Town Board Meeting Approved March J3, 2006 VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye 3.10 Ms. Hunter questioned the use of the word "ensure" in the last sentence of the section's first paragraph. She was uncomfortable with the word since staff has no vote and therefore could not ensure compliance. Mr. Stein suggested alternate wording. TB Resolution No. 2006-036aa BE IT RESOLVED that the last sentence of the section's first paragraph read, "Staff members are to advise the advisory body chair about compliance with state and local laws and regulations." MOVED: Supervisor Valentino SECONDED: Councilman Stein VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, nay; Councilwoman Leary, aye Mr. Kanter suggested a word change in phrase, "Staff support includes bit is not limited to". TB Resolution No. 2006-036bb BE IT RESOLVED that the work "may" be inserted after "support" and the "s" deleted from "includes" in the second paragraph of the section. MOVED: Councilman Engman SECOND: Councilman Burbank VOTE: Supervisor Valentino, aye; Councilman Burbank, aye; Councilman Engman, aye; Councilman Stein, aye; Councilwoman Leary, aye Supervisor Valentino asked that "notes" be added to the third bulleted item. The Board agreed with the request. Adjournment On motion by Councilman Stein, seconded by Councilman Burbank, the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted. \\Jd- Tee-Ann Hunter Town Clerk Next Meeting - February 13, 2006 19