07-09-2009 Charter Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION June 1, 2009 APPROVED 90 There was discussion among council members about whether or not the information piece 91 done by the city was opinionated. It was pointed out that the piece was approved in its 92 entirety by the city's attorney. 93 94 On the issue of data practices, Mr. Doherty suggested that it will be a policy issue 95 whether the city takes on the responsibility (under contract) to maintain the commission's 96 data. If so, there needs to be a clear understanding of how the practices will occur and 97 responsibilities. The commission has the same obligation as the city to appoint a 98 responsible authority and follow data practice law. It was pointed out by a council 99 member that it may be difficult for a volunteer group to respond to public requests for 100 data. 101 102 A council member suggested that the result of the audit should be to move toward 103 improvements but not to be punitive — a positive outcome should be the goal. 104 105 A council member noted three issues that the council should deal with: 1) if there are 106 issues of inappropriate activities, they should be addressed because wrong is wrong; 2) a 107 system should be developed to review expenditures to ensure they are appropriate; and 3) 108 data practice of the commission is an issue and it needs to be clear how data will be 109 properly handled in the future. These matters should be put on a future council agenda 110 for discussion. It was suggested that a process for expenditures could be: a) commission 111 approval; b) council approval; c) expense can be incurred. 112 113 Charter Commission member Rosemary Storberg was present. She suggested that city 114 hall also did everything wrong that attorney Doherty said the commission has done. The 115 commission was simply defending the existing charter. 116 117 A council member clarified that the city's piece was found to be neutral by the city 118 attorney. 119 120 A council member noted that the city didn't write the rules but if something was done 121 wrong, it needs to be dealt with. The council has an obligation to deal with the findings 122 of the independent audit. 123 124 At the request of a council member, Mr. Doherty confirmed that the law offers the 125 commission no authority to present an opinion. He further explained that the way the law 126 works for individuals and government entities is different — individuals can do something 127 unless the law says it is prohibited; government entities can only do things that are 128 specifically designated by state law. The commission has no authority to contract except 129 for attomey services and charter printing services. It was clarified that individual 130 commission members, as well as council members, can do advocacy as long as they don't 131 purport to represent the group. ,,..� 132