City Council

MINUTES CITY OF DEKALB COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE OCTOBER 10, 2016 The City Council of DeKalb, Illinois held a Committee of the Whole meeting on October 10, 2016 in the City Council Chambers of the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois. Mayor Rey called the meeting to order at 5:01 p.m. A. ROLL CALL City Clerk Jennifer Jeep Johnson called the roll and the following members of the City Council were present: Alderman Bill Finucane, Alderman Bob Snow, Alderman Kate Noreiko, Alderman Tony Faivre, and Mayor John Rey. Alderman David Jacobson arrived at 5:14 p.m. Alderman Mike Marquardt and Alderman Dave Baker were absent. Also present were: City Manager Anne Marie Gaura, Assistant City Manager Patty Hoppenstedt, City Attorney Dean Frieders, Finance Director Cathy Haley, Police Chief Gene Lowery, Deputy Fire Chief Jeff McMaster, Public Works Director Tim Holdeman, Human Resources Director Cris Randall, Information & Technology Technician Jeff Birtell, Deputy City Clerk Ruth Scott, and City Clerk Jennifer Jeep Johnson. B. ITEMS ALSO ON THE REGULAR AGENDA There were none. C. CONSIDERATIONS 1. Role of the City Clerk. City Clerk Johnson provided Council with an overview of the memo included in the agenda packet backup regarding the role of City Clerk. She also provided Council with the feedback she received from members of the community, and answered questions from the Council regarding the role and the duties she performs. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt stated that a formal records retention program is in place, and a consolidation process has begun. 2. Continuation of Bi-Annual Review of Compensation of Elected Officials Mayor Rey introduced the topic at hand and provided background of the compensation of the various elected positions. He explained that the compensation would be adjusted for the next terms, as it is fixed through the current term.  Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes October 10 2016 Page 2 of 3 City Attorney Frieders provided additional background, including the actual compensation for the various elected officials, and IMRF considerations. He provided data from comparable cities for the roles of Mayor, Aldermen, and City Clerk. Alderman Jacobson offered that he strongly believes that the Aldermen should have access to the group health plan of the City. City Manager Gaura offered that part-time employees currently do not have access to the plan, a point she felt should need be considered if that change is made. Alderman Snow stated he’d like to see the increases rise gradually, rather than examining this issue down the road, and requiring a large burst at once. He stated his belief that the role of the City Clerk could be expanded, even if not all the way to full- time. Alderman Noreiko stated her belief that the City Clerk compensation could be raised to an $8,000 to $10,000 range. She expressed that the salary for Aldermen was within the range from the comparable communities, but if there is an expectation that they serve as liaisons to commissions, the pay may require re-evaluation. Alderman Faivre inquired as to whether there was any downside to offering the group rate for purchase of health by the Aldermen. Human Resources Director Randall stated the impact would be neither positive, nor negative. She reiterated that the part-time staff and Aldermen would necessitate paperwork to administer billing. Alderman Jacobson stated his belief that Alderman are currently situated fairly in terms of salary. In terms of the City Clerk, he believes the City should adjust compensation in order to be within the ranges given. He offered that $7,000 would be a more fair range, provided the role stayed the same. Alderman Jacobson also expressed that even serving as liaison to a commission, he would be in favor of a per meeting stipend, allowing for the Aldermen to take on more or less work as is possible for the individual Alderman. He offered that it all depends on what is expected of the roles. Regarding insurance, Alderman Jacobson stated he feels it should be examined as to whether other municipalities include part-time employees. Mayor Rey directed staff to gather information. Alderman Finucane offered that the City Clerk’s compensation could be doubled in order to ensure that office hours can be kept, but that he is in favor of leaving the role part-time. He suggested that the Aldermanic salary should remain constant.  Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes October 10 2016 Page 3 of 3 D. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Bessie Chronopoulos offered her opinion that the primary function of the City Clerk was to help funnel information. She offered that the website should function in a more user friendly manner, which would eliminate the need for many FOIA requests. Lynn Fazekas offered that the FOIA process is obstructed, and it takes too long to get responses. She further stated that the downside to offering health insurance to Alderman is that it creates a conflict of interest when it comes to considering part-time employees to include in the pool. Ms. Fazekas added that the role of Council is to uphold the law, and that the people of DeKalb want an elected, full-time City Clerk who is directly answerable to the public. She stated that the way to uphold the election is to look directly at what kind of compensation the City Clerk’s office needs to have in order to insure a good pool of candidates. Alderman Jacobson clarified that the aforementioned referendum spoke only to whether the City Clerk remain elected, but said nothing of full-time or part-time. E. RECESS FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL There was none. F. ADJOURNMENT MOTION Alderman Noreiko moved to adjourn; seconded by Alderman Faivre. VOTE Motion carried on a 6-2 voice vote. Aye: Jacobson, Finucane, Marquardt, Snow, Noreiko, Faivre, Rey. Absent: Marquardt, Baker. Mayor Rey declared the motion passed and adjourned the meeting at 5:58 p.m. _____________________________________ JENNIFER JEEP JOHNSON, City Clerk Approved by City Council on November 14, 2016.