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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1973-03-06 Bd Comm minuteslie IOWA CITY 'HOUSING COMMISSION MINUTES February 7, 1973 MEMBERS PRESENT: Litton, Frimml, Hamer, Walker, White MEMBERS ABSENT: Stier, Duncan STAFF PRESENT: Seydel, Schierbrock Vice -chairwoman Litton called the meeting to order. 1. Hamer made the motion to approve the January 17,'1973 minutes as written. This was seconded by White and passed unanimously. 2. Coordinator's Report' a. At the present time there are 205 units under lease. The Housing Authority is holding out for possible one four-bedroom unit and three two-bedroom units to fill. the:209.unit.capacity. This capacity fulfillment is anticipated -by'the '-end of February. These larger units would balance out the present over, load of one -bedroom units. b., .In December, the Housing Authority received a request from Johnson County Social Services concerning a 16 year old mother on ADC in need of low cost housing. The Authority sought the legal advice from Jim Hess and his statements were as follows: Since -the girl in question is drawing ADC, we can assume that either her husband is unwill ing`or unable to provide support. In that case, the state is acting as a quasi guardian of the applicant. Now wanting to set policy with respect to the low rent housing program, I am leary about advising you in this matter except as to possible legal problems. It is my considered opinion that should the girl be qualified in other respects, it would not be illegal nor unseemly for us to provide a low rent housing for the girl in question. Seydel reported this information back to Johnson County Social Services and so far he has not received any further response about this matter. • -2- • c. A letter from Byron Beeler dated January 25, 1973 regarding rezoning of the proposed site for the housing for the elderly project in the Towncrest area was brought forth. A copy of.the letter had aj. o bBpil pr`I11. 1 t Illp 111;11)111 nU F ZI III l lul ('rylnmlpp 1/111 rur their. jnrorumaL.ion.' Beeler's comments were concerned with the proposed site as a buffer area between Mercer Park and the single family area to the north. He states: ...this buffer area was planned and agreed to be multiple zoned at the time that I negotiated the sale of Mercer Park to the City. We had planned on either apartments or a housing for the elderly project on Tract B... Unfortunately Lhere are no written agreements about Tract B (proposed site) on file with the City as reported by Seydel. d: The Planning & ZoningCommission will be considering and possibly' taking action on "Special Use Permits" which would include elderly housing, as reported by SeydeL e. Seydel reminded the Housing Commission to continue to work on the Housing for the Elderly package in hopes that the moratorium on the HUD funds will soon be lifted. 3. Old Business Litton questioned if action had been takento acquire information about displaced and relocated people of the new Post Office Building site. Seydel stated that verbal contact had not achieved positive results. His next form of action will be written to the main office in Kansas City, Mo. 4. New Business Vice -chairwoman Litton suggested that contact should be made with Jean Rissover of Urban Renewal Dept., to acquire information to determine the needs of housing in Iowa City. Hamer volunteered to interview. 5. The public did not bring forth discussion. 6. The Commissioners were reminded of next meeting time on February 21, 1973. • 7. Frimml motioned to adjourn the meeting. It was seconded by Hamer and passed 5/0. L IOWA CITY HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION February 19, 1973 The Iowa City Human Relations Commission met in regular session on Monday, February 19, 1973, at 8:00 P.M. in the Conference Room at the Civic Center. Members Present: Donald Hoy Richard Braverman Arthur Walker Sharon Kelley Harriet Coty Mori Costantino Members Absent: Paul Neuhauser h' P it Jones Bud Means Minutes of the January 15, 1973 meeting were unanimously approved. REFERRAL FROM CITY COUNCIL OF PERSONNEL PROCEDURES AND CLASSIFICATION. PLAN. Don Hoy reported that a representative from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Kansas City Regional Office, had been scheduled last week to meet with _various members of the City Staff, interested persons from the community, and members of the Human Relations Commission. He further stated that since a complaint had been filed against the City in terms of the personnel system, it was not possible for advisory personnel from EEOC to assist the City at the same time a complaint is being reviewed,, and that there is now no way to obtain assistancefromthem for the review of the City's personnel system., He stated also that the Human Relations Commission is now in the position of providing this expertise on their own, and will need to be prepared to make recommendations on interpretations of the law, what employers must do to comply, and secondly make a judgment as to whether the City of Iowa City is in compliance, and if not, what has to be done specifically to get into compliance. Commission members then discussed the need for expertise in the review of this subject, and the need for expert staff to work with the Commission.Dick Braverman pointed out that the review is more than the Commission members themselves are really able to do in terms of the many guidelines and interpretations of the law, and research needs to be done by those who have expertise in the field. The Commission discussed at length the various alternatives for staff work. 'Harriet Coty pointed out that the Commission should learn in Human Relations Commission Minutes,'February 19, 1973 Page 2 depth the various aspects of the law so that a review of the research done,can be accomplished more effectively from a position of knowledge rather than getting into "buck passing." The Secretary reported that the City staff was also looking into the possibility of retaining persons with expertise in this field to conduct research on the law and the City's position with regard to the law. The Secretary pointed out that the Manager would be moving ahead on this approach shortly and coordinated effort should be maintained. Mori Costantino then moved, seconded by Sharon Kelley, to request the City Council to obtain expert staff assistance to review the law and its requirements, keeping in mind that a complaint has been fildd and there is only 60 days for State investigation before EEOC comes in to review. Said motion was unanimously adopted. Following discussion on how to select a person or persons for --staff research, Don Hoy suggested that he, Harriet Coty and Dick Braverman meet with,the City Manager on this.process if'..thp,r,equest "is granted by Council Harriet' Coty stated that the City Attorney should also be advising the Commission in this area and should take part in the review of theresearch material. She also questioned the appropriateness of'the.Council referring this whole'subject to the Commission after passage rather than before passage. Sharon Kelley suggested that City employees be invited to provide input,to:.the Commission or to file complaints if they wished. She then agreed to prepare a draft of 6 letter which could be sent to employees to this effect. DISCRIMINATORY NEWSPAPER ADS Mori Costantino reported that the City of Coralville had advertised for police in the Press -Citizen and that the heights and weights stated were possibly discriminatory against women as a class unless proof was available that the requirements were job related. Don Hoy agreed to ask the Iowa City Civil Service Commission if they would contact the Coralville Police Department about these requirements. Sharon Kelley reported that she and Paul Neuhauser spoke with representatives of the Daily Iowan concerning discriminatory want ads, and they agreed to keep their ads in compliance with the law. ■ V Human Relations Commission • Minutes, January 15, 1973 Page 3 STATUS REPORT ON RESEARCH PROJECT REQUESTED BY COMMISSION FROM CITY STAFF Dan Hoy reported that a part-time staff person had been hired to work on the research project concerning minority group statistics. He also reported that a study design had been prepared, and work could proceed immediately. OTHER BUSINESS Mori Costantino brought to Commission attention that the Iowa Civil Rights Commission was in the process of planning a series of programs around the State dealing with new developments in civil rights laws. She suggested that the Iowa City Commission request the Iowa Civil Rights Commission to set up one of these programs in Iowa City. Don Hoy agreed to make this request to the State Commission. 'There being no further business to come before the Commission, the. meeting was adjourned at 9.30.P.:M.: Secretary • I• M&BERS PRESENT: Blum, Cordier, Fhninger, Eskin, Hubbard, Prediger, Russell, Welsh MEMBERS ABSENT: Kril Rev. Welsh called the meeting to order. The minutes of the January 29, February 5, and February 12 meetings of the Cannittee were accepted. A'concern from public attending the meeting was expressed that the subject of "public access" had not been dealt with to any extent during Omu&ttee discussicas. Mr. Oordier listed the television capability at the University of Iowa as follows: Medicine has sophisticated color capability and a similar capability is being installed in the Dental School. College of Education has production capability;'Division of Broadcasting and Film of the Department of Speech and Dramatic Art has two'camera capability and 2 inch origination; the Wendell Jdwson Clinic -has two. -camera capability; School.of Nursing has some equipment; Ray"Kril in'the Marorial Union, and the Center for the Performing Arts are also into production. Audio Visual is the only deparbrent where,equipment can.. be used; free to the'faculty and staff but rented to the. public. Ms. Prediger.reported on Mission TV in San. Diego,. California, where she visited last week. Zhe system services seven:eommunities which individually contract with the owner.-Cmpany has been in operation for ten to twelve years. operating 12, channel ,system which is now increasing to 26 when FCC approves. There are 75,000 subscribers and 200,000 are expected. Now they sell time when it is available an:ene darnel for origination of programming at $75 per hour including too As" audio equipment,engineer and director. Mission TV pays $2.50 per month,per pole as a rental fee. Rev. Welsh offered,,,two new publications to the Omidttee, one of which made the statemekt'ihat°Iowa City ranks with Cambridge, Massachusetts, Ann Arbor, Michion; and,'Stanford, California, in its, pool of talent for origination of pnograing. All publications'were requested by the Chairman to be available in the Civic Center the following;morning for use of the Iowa City Public Library for cataloging. Mr. Russell indicated that discussion was needed on the Committee's view of the use of`Cable TV in the classroom. Mr. Blum reported that he had written to FCC Conmissicner Johnson on the subject� of crosswni ership. Jdtinson replied that after a FCC hearing, the FCC will consider petitions for"cross-ownership of broadcasters and CATV owners. Mr. Blum suggested that there could well be a problem of the basic legal question of FCC control over CATV, and that the Ommittee should be aware of it. CATV.Committee February 191 1973 Page 2 Mr. Blum also offered to the Committee a copy of each FCC Commissioner's comments on the February 12 rulings by the Commission. There appears to be a deep-seated difference of opinion among the Commissioners. Chairman Welsh had a reply from the Governor's office in response to our recommendation that some kind of advisory body is needed at the state level (whickletier supported the action of the Iowa State Education Association in this matter). Mr. Hubbard was asked to compose a reply to the recent letter and to answer the questions posed about what items a possible committee would need to study, who should serve on it, what groups to include, and the recommendation of the use of an existing agency, or the creation of a new one. Mr. Hubbard will bring the reply to the Iowa City Committee at its next meeting. Mr. Cordier reported that a student, Mike Porter, in Broadcasting is currently doing.a paper on Secondary Education and CATV and recommendations for the use of CABLE TV in the Iowa City school system. The Committee would be pleased to have this information or any other kind of research input that is available. Mr. Cordier distributed his collation of material on "System Design" in,which he had,combined the questions of six members of the Committee, plus material from the Cable Television Information Service publication, plus ordinance''from Lakewood.,Colorado. Before.taking,up the material in this report, the Chairman asked,for some discussion of his "Recommendations for Future Activities of the Committee" in order that a timetable could be tentatively agreed upon. During this discussion, Mr. Cordier reiterated a concern that perimeters be defined and a consultant be used to come up with a feasibility study that would tell the'Committee, among other things, what kinds of revenues the system might, produce. It..was decided that (1) Communities that have,used consultants would be queried, (2) City Staff would be asked to provide a '.'ball park figure" on miles of cable, above and below ground, to be.used in wiring the City. After''considerable discussion, the decision was made to hold a public meeting on March 8, 1973, (Thursday) in.which the community would be asked to express to the Committee their concerns and ideas on cable television for Iowa City. 'The format of this meeting, it was agreed, will not include a presentation by the Committee nor the answering of questions by Committee members. It was decided that Committee members would question speakers if they chose to do so. Among others, those to be notified of the meeting would be groups and persons who have indicated an interest in securing a franchise. Further plans for this meeting will be discussed at the February 26 meeting. The meeting time was changed to 7 P.M. on Monday evenings. The February 26 agenda will deal with plans for Mr. Holland's visit on March 5 as well as plans for a meeting with Mr. Gold on March 19 to discuss "public access". Committee • input is to be solicited at the next meeting on the "pros and cons of owner- ship" -report of Ms. Eskin and Ms. Ehninger. Mr. Cordier's report on "system design" will be studied in depth beginning at the next meeting. The meeting adjourned at 6:40 P.M. L] MEMBERS PRESENT: Ringgenberg, Cain, Knight, Corrigan, Davidsen, Welt, Meardon, DeCounter MEMBERS ABSENT Baldus STAFF PRESENT : Rosenstein GUESTS PRESENT Janet Shipton, 820 Woodside Drive Mr. Meardon called the meeting to order. Mrs. Davidsen-moved that the minutes of the February 7 meeting be approved, seconded by Mr. Corrigan. Motion unanimously carried. Mr. Meardon then called for any public attending the meeting to address the committee._ Ms. Janet Shipton, -820 Woodside Drive, Iowa City, Iowa, stated the following: a. She supports the full-time manager as essential to the smooth -running of`a.city the size of Iowa City. b. Under the weak -mayor system, too much policy is being generated by staff and too little; by the council and a strong mayor would be more likely to provide policy leadership. c. That one factor for a person considering to run for mayor might be to decide whether they could get,along with the city manager. d. That there should be ward representation to encourage wider participa- tion in the election, process. e. That five wards would open the primary elections to more groups with less financial backing. f. That at -large candidates be nominated fora particular seat. g. That at -large members should be paid considerably more than the ward members if a mixed system is decided on. h. That at -large councilmen should be given an area of concern in which he should read thestaffmaterial in detail (for example: finance, public safety, streets). i. That place of residence should hot be a requisite for ward representation within 'a city of this size. Ms. Shipton then called for any questions from the committee. Mr. Meardon thanked her for her presentation. Mr. Ringgenberg asked Ms. Shipton to elaborate on her point about candidates running for particular seats, and she stated that seats might be numbered. Mrs. Cain then asked what advice to give the public when asked on what meeting to come to in order to address the committee. Mr. Meardon stated that, as far as he was concerned,they could give a presentation at either meeting. It was also decided that the Thursday night meetings would be taped. Mr. Meardon then read a letter from Councilman Czarnecki to the Charter Committee regarding personal observations on functions of government. Mr. Meardon directed Mr. Rosenstein to make copies of the letter and distribute to the Committee. 0 - February 14, 1973 • Turning to the Model Charter to Article I, Section 1.01 -Powers of the City Mr. Meardon called for any suggestions on amendments to this section. No — one commented. Section 1.02 --None Section 1.03 --Mr. Ringgenberg stated that it was not necessary to have this section in, that this type of section is one that could start cluttering up the charter, and is one that some people don't understand and therefore might not vote forthe charter because of this. lie stated that Section 1.01 and 1.02 could be combined or ;possibly no sections, just Article I. Mr. Corrigan stated that he :could recommend that Section 1.03 be left t in the charter. He also suggested some type of additions possible in the charter. Mr. Ringgenberg stated that a possible preamble 'or introductory statement of some kind might be a good 'idea. Mrs. Cain stated that she liked the idea of a preamble to the charter. Mr:`Corrigan 'then 'moved that the Committee should have a preamble for the charter. Mrs. Cain seconded the motion. Motion unanimously carried. Mrs. Cain asked if Section 1.03 or any similar section specifically related to intergovernmental relations was important legally. Mr. Ringgenberg stated that 1.02 and 1.03 are neither necessary to a charter legally. Mrs. David - sen moved that the Committee omit Section 1.03, seconded by Mr. Knight. Motion unanimously carried. Mr. Meardon then called for motion to combine Section 1.01 and 1.02 of the proposed charter. Mrs. Cain moved that, for now, the Committee leave the sections separate as they are written, seconded by Mrs, Davidsen. Motion passed 7.to 1. Mr. Meardon commended the new lay review article from Drake University, dealing with the background of legislation, with a lot citations and suggested that the Committee obtain a copy. Mr. Rosenstein suggested that the preamble be started on. Mr. Meardon suggested that all of the Committee members come up with one or two points that it should include. Mrs. Davidsen stated that she thought the Committee should wait until they had gone over this entire process. Committee decided to wait as suggested. Article II -Section 2.01 --Committee discussed wards and terms of office on council. 'Committee decided to go around the table with each member expressing his or her personal belief as to what Article II, Section 2.01, which pertains to the composition, eligibility, election, and terms of the City Council, should provide. It was made very clear that the opinions expressed at this time would not bind any Committee members, or the Committee, and that the view points could be changed at any time. Mr. Corrigan stated that he liked seven on the Council, in favor of one two-year term and six four-year terms, so that each time four people came up for election. Mrs. Cain stated that she was for seven council members but this would depend on the possibility of wards. She stated that she favored at least a majority of council elected at -large. Mr. Ringgenberg stated that presently he favors a council of seven members, one members being council migntbe larger. mr. Knignt stated tnat no aia nVL wane w TUU Wuc council be too big and that he could go along with seven and that the number would depend on the number of wards used. He further stated that the mayor should be elected by the voters. Mrs. Davidsen stated she was for seven council members if the elections were at -large, mayor elected separately, and for nine if there were wards.She further stated that'she favored candidates running for specific seats. Mr. Welt stated that he believed that five is a workable number but that seven was not much more of a change than five. He stated that he favored seven. Mr. Welt further stated that he likes Mr. Corrigan's earlier proposal of seven council members, four being elected at -large and three from wards. Mr. DeCounter stated that he was for seven council 'seats no matter if there were at -large elections or wards. He stated that nine was too many members to get the job done. Mr. Meardon stated that he favored a council of seven members, four being elected at -large and three by wards. He stated that he agreed with Ms. Shipton, that the ward representative did not need to reside in -that ward. He -further stated that he favored staggered terms with the ward representatives being elected every two years and the at -large council members having four-year terms. Mr. DeCounter;stated that he would like to bring in the present city council members individually to find out what problems they were having and how input flowed under the present system. Mr.'-Corrigan.suggested that past council members also be brought in. Discussion followed and the Committee decided to invite these people to come to a committee meeting. It was also decided .that the first invitation would go, to Mayor Brandt for the Charter Committee meeting of February 21, 1973. Mr. Rosenstein was directed to prepare a copy of council members "serving ''Iowa City under the council -manager -at -large form for the meet- ing of February, 15, 1973. Mrs. Davidsen stated that the Committee might be criticized for'this action and that it should balance this with other 'consider- utions,'also spending time with people with innovative ideas. Mrs. Cain suggested that the Committee might want to talk to a city administrator who " has had considerable experience. Discussion next centered around whether the Committee should be swayed by public opinion or whether it should come up with a proposal that they felt was best for Iowa City and then sell the proposal to the public. Mr. Corrigan stated that there is the possibility of using newspaper ballots to judge public opinion as had been brought up by Mr. Oaks, a professional consultant. 'Mr. Meardon stated that this 'would result in special interest groups sending in numerous ballots. The meeting was adjourned by the Chairman at 5:55 P.M. Approved by Pat Cain 1• MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Rosenstein GUESTS PRESENT: Dorothy Douglass, 1030 E. Burlington, James Keele, 502 Grandview Court Meeting called to order at 8:00 P.M. by Mr. Meardon. Mr. Meardon stated that, the meeting was being held at the Conference room and if attendance required the meeting would be moved to the Council Chambers. Mr. Rosensteinstated' that fourth count census data for `Iowa `City was not available in census tracts and thus the Laboratory for Political Research could not give.the.Committee.an area distribution of'Iowa City's socio-economic variables. Mr. Rosenstein also apologized for`his mistake concerning the date of the public meeting. Mr. Meardon next summarized the Charter Committee meeting of February 15, 1973, for Mr. Baldus who had been unable to, attend that meeting. Mr. Baldus stated that at this time he did not want to express his views as to size and make-up of the council. Ms. Douglas stated that Action for a Better Community was working on a- proposal': containing a form of government to be presented to the Charter Committee. Article II, Cit Council (Model City Charter); Discussion was held as to whether t e Committee should break down into sub -committees to consider these subjects. Section 2.01, Com osition, Eli ibilit Election and Term of the FI council: T e Committee eci a to elay discussion o this subject until further study, could be made. 'It was also decided to deal with this important subject as a whole Committee. Mr. Ringgenberg questioned why the Committee was using the Model City Charter since most decisions to be made depended on the basic form of4 overnment the Committee chooses. Mr. Ringgenberq further stated that the Committee should decide what kind of things it wants in the Charter. The Committee decided to use the Model City Charter at least for this meeting. r 1 U Iowa City.Charter Committee. Page 2 •February 150 1973 Section 2.02, Com osition, and Ex enses of the Council. Mr. Corr gan asked i t o Committee deci a to raise t o council's compensation whether the actual decision would have to be made by the: present city council since an 'increase in the council's compensation could not become effective during the term in which the increase was adopted and thus it could not be done by ,the next city council operating under anew city charter. Several of the Committee members expressed the desire to have : increased council compensation and toprovide a mechanism which would take the burden off the council for raising their own salaries, Mrs. Cain asked if it was legal to pay at -large council members more than ward 'council members. Mr. Baldus stated that the following phrase could be included at the end of Section 2•.02. "The Council shall appoint a commission of •five people and they shall be known as the Council Compensation -Commission which shall meet from time to time and recommend to.council the'salaries the council shall be paid which shall be commensurate with their responsibilities as informed',policy makers for the city and the time they devote to this task." Mr. Corrigan stated that he had devised a`similar addition to section 2.'02 which reads, "By ordinance the council: shall in consultation with the 'Iowa City City Compensation Commission, prescribe the compensation. Mr. Corrigan slated. that this commission would review other city officier's salaries. Several of the Committee members expressed the desire to submit committee comments following each Charter item so as togive a better understanding of the City Charter. Discussion was'next held on the possibility of writing something into the Charter which would increase the council's compensation and then allowing.the`council to set subsequent compensations by council ordinance. Mr. Baldus stated that this procedure, called a schedule,; is often used in the writing of state' constitutions Discussion was held on whether, the amount of the salary would make a difference in the type of people that would run for the city council. It was moved by Mr. Corrigan, and seconded by Mr. Baldus that the Chairappoint a sub -committee to study the area of compensation. The motion carried 8-0 with Mrs. Davidsen abstaining. (Mrs. Davidsen had just arrived). Mr. Meardon'appointed Mr. Baldus, Mr. Knight, and Mr.'Welt'to the sub -committee. • Iowa City Charter Committee Page 3' • February 15, 1973 Several of the Committee members thought it would be a good idea to have individual council members set aside a regular, time to be down at the Civic Center and available to anyone who wanted to come down to discuss policy issues. It was felt that this would make the council more available. It was also felt by a few of the Committee members that this might take some of the pressure off having a ward system because people might have better access to individual council members. Section 2.03, Mayor. Mr. Meardon asked the Committee how many t em e t the mayor should be elected separately. Mr. Ringgenberg stated that he did on one condition, that being that the powers of the mayor are only policy leading powers and not executive powers. Mr. Corrigan, agreed, with: Mr. Ringgenberg on this. Mrs. Davidsen,stated that :this was especially so with a combination election by, wards and at -large. Mr. Baldus stated that h.e favored Mr. Ringgenberg's view and he stated that there wasa provision in the National Municipal'League's Charter which dealt with the policy -administration issue, applying;to`a city manager.or to a mayor. -It states "Except for the purpose of inquiries and investigations under section 2.09 the council or its members shalldealwith city officers and employees who are subject to the direction and.supervision of the manager solely through the manager, and neither the 'council -nor its members shall give orders to any, such officer or, employee, either-publicly.or,privately. The Committee went around the table expressing their opinions as; to whetherthereshould be an elected mayor. The Committee unanimously expressed that at this time they favored the election of the mayor by 'the voters Discussion next centered around the Kammerer article on elected mayors in Florida, a synopsis of which was distributed to the Committee by Mr. Rosenstein. Mr. Baldus asked Mr. Rosenstein if there had been a provision in these cities which protected the administration from council meddling. Mr. Rosenstein stated that Kammerer had not mentioned whether such a provision had been in effect in Florida. He further stated that his research has shown that there have been studies which have shown that elected mayors interfere with the administration and others which show that the elected mayor and manager form a team. Several of the Committee members stated that it would be very important that the mayor's and the manager's role be well defined. The Committee felt this 'could be done in both the charter :and in the charter comments. Mr. Baldus said that this type of commentary was on Page 18 of the National Municipal League's Model City Charter. Iowa City Charter Committee Page 4 • February 15P 1973 Discussion was held on whether the Charter Committee wanted a city manager for Iowa City. .Several members of the Committee stated that they had not been persuaded that the problem in Iowa City is based upon the 'fact that 'Iowa `City has a city manager`or that another form of government would work better than a council-manager form._ Ms. Douglass suggested that the Committee look into a strong -mayor with an administrative assistant. Mr. Corrigan stated that if Iowa City goes the route of a.professional,administrator that this position should be given the safeguards from meddling which would ,not happen with a strong mayor. There was', also the problem of what happens if there was a bad mayor who would be in charge of administration for four years, whereas if there was a`bad city manager he could be,fired at anytime. Mr. Baldus,,Mr. Corrigan, Mr. Knight, Mr. Welt, Mrs. Cain, Mr. DeCounter, Mr..Meardon and Mrs'. Davidsen expressed that they presently_ favored retaining a city manager form of government. Several of the members said they either wanted to weaken the manager, or,strengthen the council in the policy making process., Mr. Ringgenberg stated Ito.the Committee that with home rule, cities in Iowa now .had options as to what the powers and duties of the manager should be. Discussion was next held on the International City Management Asso- ciation and what its role is. General 'discussion "followed concerning giving the council a staff and office space and in institutionalizing these changes Mr. DeCounter stated that an attempt _should be made to get the council and the'City staff to work closer together. Mr. Corrigan made the suggestion that there could be a citizens' committee involved in the hiring of the city manager. Discussion' followed on .what the.manager's qualifications should be and if there should be something in the charter 'specifying 'the ' qualifications The Committee generally.expressed that there should be no written qualifications in the charter but that there might be some general qualifications listed in the comments. General discussion next centered around the hiring practices for the City and therelationshipthat the Civil Service Law and the City's affirmative action program had on these practices. Mr. Corrigan expressed the desire to include an affirmative action clause in the city charter. Mr. Rosenstein was directed to secure copies of the City's Affirmative Action Program, and of the State's Civil Service Law. • Section 2.04 Prohibitions Part A of this section is a quote from Iowa City Charter Committee Page 5' • ' February 15, 1973 section 59.9 of the City Code of Iowa. There were no objections to this section. Part B. Council interference with staff. Discussion centered around the appointment of the city attorney. Mr. Meardon stated that he felt the city manaver should not appoint the city attorney because the council is entitled to independent legal advice but that the legal assistant should work closely with the staff. Mr. Baldus stated that the city attorney has considerable input into policy making and by lowering this person's role the council would be forced to make decisions rather than rely solely on legal opinion. Several of the Committee members felt that both the staff and the council should have completely separate legal advisors. The Committee next discussed the power of the city attorney. It was expressed that the city attorney should be appointed by council and the ;legal assistant be appointed by the city manager. Mr. Corrigan also stated that it might be wise to separate the 'functions `of chief legal advisor and chief legal representative. Mr. Ringgenberg stated that, the council-manager form functions best as a team and thus the council and the manager should agree as to:who should be the city attorney although it should be a council;:appointed position'. Subsection C. Interference with,administration. Mr. Baldus stated that a sub -committee should examine employment practices and.dangers,to the civil service, system which could be created by a strong mayor. Mr. Meardon next asked for the Committee's permission to go to the City Manager to 'ask for a' reallocation ofpriorities of the clerk -typist position so that the Charter Committee could get first priority in the use of that one position, regardless of whether it takes more than the allocated 20 hours. Mr. Corrigan moved and Mrs. Cain seconded that the Chairman be given authorization to go to the City Manager to make the above request. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 11:00. Approved by Pat Cain r1 U C MEMBERS ABSENT: Staff Present: De Counter Rosenstein Guests Present: Ms. Jane Hook, 22 N. Gilbert, Rev. Robert Welsh, Chairman for Citizens for a Better Iowa City, and Ms. Dorothy Douglass, 1030 E. Burlington Mr. Meardon called the meeting to order at 4:00 P.M. Minutes of the previous meeting were not available. Rev. Robert Welsh presented a letter to the Committee composed by the Citizens for a,Better Iowa City Committee. (Attached) This group has approximately175 members,'.twenty members being active, . and fifteen members being present.at the meeting this letter was drawn up.; After Rev. Welsh's pr varioussmemhers of the Charter Committee asked Rev. Welsh what his committee thought the major weaknesses of the present form of government were. 'Rev. Welsh gave the; following comments: 1.- size of,the Council 2. Lack of responsiveness 3. Quality'of`members on the Council 4. Lack of competence and coordination 5. Lack of communications between the Council and boards and commissions 6. Council doesn't make information on which they base decisions known to the public Mr. Meardon thanked Rev. Welsh for hisP resentat' ion. Ms. Dorothy Douglass presented to the Committee copies of Action for a Better Community's proposal for a form of municipal government for consideration' of the Committee. A presentation will be made to the Committee at a later meeting. Councilman Connell attended this meeting to answer questions asked by the Committee. In response, Mr. Connell stated the following: 1. He spent about fourteen to sixteen hours a week on City business. 2:: He thinks Councilmen salaries should be increased, perhaps to $125 per month with the Mayor's salary increased to $250 per month. 1 Iowa City. Charter Committee Page 2 February 21, 1973 Perhaps this increase would encourage more people to run. 3. He doesn't see increasing, salaries to the height of other government policymakers; part of the councilman's motivation is a willingness to contribute.to the community. 4. -Personal expenses incurred while carrying out Council duties are a part of the contribution to the community. .5. Councilmen have enough time and should be prepared to take the time to become knowledgeable about the matters that come before the Council. 6. The Council does not break down into committees except for the ,Rules Committee and Nominating Committee (for Boards and Commissions.) 7. He does not feel the need for clerical and/or research staff and has never had trouble getting to a department head or the City Manager to get information: 8.'' He believes the information received from the City administration is:objective. 9.. He does believe citizens come to him and to the Council as .a whole if they have 'a conflict: 10. If office space at the Civic Center were made available to him for the public to,stop by, he would use it, but he.does`not think it is needed; he has tried to make himself available both at home and at work. 11. He favors the present method of electing the Mayor and would not like to risk the possibility of conflict between aspopularly- elected Mayor and a City: Manager. Issues causing, such conflict might occur if the Mayor and City Manager had;"different theories. 12. He does not think a seven or nine -member Council would be any <:II more efficient for government of make communications any easier. 13. He gets both compliments and complaints from the public as the attention paid them ,by.the'staff. 14. He doesn't feel that an ombudsman would be needed. 15. He thinks that it is important to have Boards and Commissions; the Council leans and depends on the input from these. He also feels that policy initiation comes from Boards and Commissions, but no matter how -much -outside help is solicited, the Council still has to make the decision. 16.He feels that it wouldn't make much difference as to the cost of running for election under ward system because the opponent would still set how much you would have to spend. 17. He feels that the weekly formal meeting of the Council is a much better arrangement than the previous procedure. 18. He doesn't feel that a'strong Mayor would necessarily fill the gap in leadership and initiating policy. Mr. Meardon thanked Mr. Connell for attending the meeting and answering the Committee's questions. Mr. Meardon then announced that Councilman White would be at the • February 22nd meeting. Approved by Pat Cain February 212 1973 Charter Committee Civic Center Iowa CityiIowa 52240 Deer Friends: Citizens For A Better Iowa City (CBIC) has been and is dedicated to work for a better Iowa City. We are aware of the importance of the work of the Charter Committee. It is imperative that you recommend what you believe, in light of all information, to be in the best long-range interest' of the total community. This, and this alonep we hopes will be the basis of your recommendation. We are aware that'the effectiveness of any form of government is dependent - upon the quality.of -persons. elected and employed and upon a concerned and Informed citizenry. In our discussions to 'date, we have come to four specific recommendations concerning the form of government that we believe is in the best long-range, interest`of the "total '"Community. 1. We"believe it is imperative for there to be a professional city manager as'the.top administrator.' When we listed the major strength of our pres- ent form..of government, we listed items such as: professionalism of administration and administrative competence and expertise. 2. Two-thirds favor election of a mayor by"the city council from among its members. "'Items mentioned In this consideration ,included:' relationship between mayor and city manager; relationship among council members; role of the council - desire for a strong council as 'contrasted to a strong mayor. 3. We favor enlarging the council.to seven to nine members, with a preference for seven. Items' mentioned in this consideration included: optimum size of a productive group; the possible broadening of the base of the council. 4. We favor the at -large election of councilmen. The best alternative to this we believes would be at -large election by positions. In our consid- erationp the following points were made: the nature of our community does not lend itself to wards; the importance of government relating to the total community. 1 1 We are aware that there are other items of importance, which are also inter- related to this. In light of our understanding of your process, we felt it wise to make this input at this time and indicate that we will address our- selves to other items at'our 'next meeting. Sincerely, . Robert L. Welsh, Chairman, CBIC i