12-04-2017 Council Work Session Minutes

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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION December 4, 2017 APPROVED 270 271 11. Code of Conduct Policy Update — Administrator Karlson recalled that the 272 document was discussed and recommended for review at a recent council meeting. 273 274 The council reviewed the document. 275 276 Council Member Kusterman offered a recommendation on work sessions and that would 277 be a time limit. Limiting the work sessions to three hours is recommended as well as 278 trying to set times for agenda items. Mayor Reinert suggested that's a good idea used as 279 an outline only because sometimes the council needs to handle important business. 280 Mayor Reinert said taking a break at three hours to refresh is also an option. Council 281 Member Kusterman said at two hours, you could take stock and plan for the evening. 282 283 Council Member Manthey said he likes the idea of taking stock after two hours. 284 285 Mayor Reinert suggested it's time to deal with the question of social media; would that 286 belong under advocacy? When posting, members should keep in mind that they are a 287 council member. Perhaps the city should look at what other groups like the council have 288 done. 289 290 Council Member Kusterman mentioned respect for staff time as an area that needs 291 attention. He isn't certain that council members go through the administrator as this 292 code calls for. Staff has work to do and too often they are besieged with questions that 293 take them away from their work. "Staff will estimate the time commitment required to a 294 council member's question, and if deemed appropriate, report to the rest of the council on 295 that commitment" 296 297 (The council recessed for a short break.) 298 299 Administrator Karlson noted a recent situation where he was put in a difficult position 300 relative to seeking a legal opinion. Council Member Manthey suggested looking at other 301 policies. Mr. Karlson said he thinks the language is fine but needs to be confirmed. 302 Mayor Reinert said other people besides him asked about the situation; Brian Bourassa 303 was mentioned. Council Member Manthey said it's a problem for someone representing 304 the city to have influence in that type of situation. 305 306 Council Member Kusterman suggested that the use of the public newsletter violated four 307 areas of the code. Mayor Reinert said that is opinion. Council Member Kusterman 308 suggested that it's probably a campaign finance violation. He also noted language that 309 he felt was abusive to staff. Council Member Kusterman remarked that the newsletter is 310 supposed to speak for the group and not one member's opinion. 311 312 Council Member Manthey said he was also offended by use of the newsletter. He'd like 313 to see concerns discussed in this situation. He'd like to see that language updated. Can 314 the council discuss individual items in the policy in order to improve it? Can "use of 7