10-09-2023 Council Work Session Minutes

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LINO LAKES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES DATE: October 9, 2023 TIME STARTED: 6:00 PM TIME ENDED: 6:27 PM MEMBERS PRESENT: Councilmembers Stoesz, Lyden, Ruhland, Cavegn, Mayor Rafferty Staff members present: City Administrator Sarah Cotton; Finance Director Hannah Lynch; Human Resources and Communications Manager Meg Sawyer; Public Safety Director John Swenson; Community Development Director Michael Grochala; City Planner Katie Larsen; City Engineer Diane Hankee; City Clerk Jolleen Chaika. 1. Review Regular Agenda Mayor Rafferty opened the work session with the focus on Agenda Item 3A. He noted that at the (October 2, 2023) work session, Council discussed additional options for paid on-call (POC) fire fighter compensation and provided staff with direction to present further options. Mayor Rafferty expressed concern that the options included in the packet were different than his recollection of direction provided to staff. Staff clarified for Council that the four (4) options as provided in the staff report are different options based on Council discussion but that Option C specifically displayed a starting pay of $21/hour with $1/year raises until year five (5) as requested by Mayor Rafferty; staff further clarified that Option C also included cost of living adjustments (COLA) but the chart displayed only shows through 2024 Council has only approved COLA through 2024. Discussion was held on the four (4) options presented. Councilmember Lyden stated that the proposed compensation increases touch on only a part of the problem and that he rather see that one problem reviewed with others in a comprehensive plan. He expressed concern about the pay jumping ahead of what other surrounding communities are paying and that this pay increase may help in the short-term but it does not address long-term issues. Councilmember Cavegn concurred with Councilmember Lyden and added that what the City is doing right now (to recruit and retain POC fire fighters) is not working; he would like to see an investment in a comprehensive plan to address bigger systemic issues. Councilmember Ruhland said that the pay increases are not a guaranteed fix but that if the increase delays initiation of a full-time fire department for two years, he is in favor of the increase. He added that there is something to be said about being at the top. He also said that if we have people running into burning buildings that are getting paid less than people cutting grass, there is some wage injustice that needs to be addressed.