10/22/1994 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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( COUNCIL WORK SESSION OCTOBER 22, 1994to share the information. Ms. Kuether said Mr. Schneider had indicated that he hadn't wanted to leave the city when he did. Mr. Volk was unhappy about department reorganization, and felt his longevity should have counted more than it did. Mr. Bergeson said that in summary he identified the morale issue as a lack of communication, feedback, respect and appreciation. Ms. Elliott said Mr. Schumacher has detailed his process for feedback and evaluations, and she thinks the problem stems from the union issue. Setting up the union has reached a stalemate and everybody is looking for someone to blame. Progress in negotiations will help the morale issue. Ms. Kuether said from the people she talked to, she believes the morale problem went beyond the supervisors. Mr. Bergeson added that if other people are looking for new jobs, it would be irresponsible for the Council to ignore it. Mr. Reinert said he believes departments heads sometimes have difficulty assessing what decisions should be made on their own. When a job gets more complex than what they are used to, Mr. Schumacher needs to communicate better with them. Mr. Neal added that most of the people he talks to are happy. Mr. Reinert said the Council must honor the system. If there is a problem, staff should go to the department head, and the department head should solve the problem if possible. The department head should come to the Council. Mr. Neal suggested employees be given a questionnaire to fill out when they leave. Mr. Schumacher said he agreed there are morale problems, and any system can always use improving. Lino Lakes was experiencing growth, transitions and systems changes, and was becoming more of a business that required more accountability. These changes are hard on employees. Mr. Schumacher said the union issues are causing infighting among employees. When the union was certified he hired a professional negotiator to maintain his working relationship with employees. He said he stands by his evaluation of the reorganization that was approved by the Council, and it's time to look to the positive things going on in the city. He added that he already meets monthly with department heads. Mr. Neal said Lino Lakes is behind other cities in wages. Mr. Bergeson said the union issue was going to make it difficult to hire new employees because they won't know what their salary will be. Mr. Schumacher said that employees have told him something must be done. They are now set for arbitration. Mr. Bergeson explained how Bethel College hired a company that performed an evaluation among employees that kept local personalities out of the process, and this might work for the city administrator evaluation. Mr. Reinert directed Mr. Schumacher COUNCIL WORK SESSION OCTOBER 22, 1994 1 1 1