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Home My WebLink About3.b. Chamber of Commerce, Government Action Committee Report CITY OF ROSEMt?UNT EXECUTIVE SL'TMMARY FOR ACTS4N CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: � FEBRU.ARY 2, 1993 AGENDA ITEM: CHAMF3ER OF CCJMMERCE - AGENDA SECTION: GOVERNMENT ACTION COMMITTEE D�PT. HEADS REPORT PREPAR.ED BY: STEPHAN JILK, CITY ADMINISTRATOR AGENDA �[� .�., t� � .!:! � -�, �itie �'p, s {.,� �k ATTACHI�lENTS: N�NE AP O BY � To present an opportunity to increase communication between the city government, especially the City Council and the Rosemount Business Community� I have sugge�ted to Diane Pinkert, Chamber President, that once a month representatives of the Chambers' Government Action Committee pravide a report to the Council . February 2nd being the first meeting of the month seemed to be an appropriate time to start this. A representative from the Chambers of Goverrunent Action Committee will be present to make comments. RECOMMENDED ACTION: None. COUNCIL ACTIONz ',�� / %��Z.�l.�/ ' ' (�'��'_ _'�S i�� o osemoun� . PHONE (612)423-4411 2875-145th Street West,Rosemour�t,Minnesota MAYOR FAX (612)4235203 Mailing Addreas: Edward 8:McMenamy P.O.Box 510,RosemouM,Minneaota 55068-0510 COUNCiLMEMBERS Sheila Klassen . Jamea(RecQ 3taais Ma x ch 3 T, 19 9 3 Ha►ry w�i� Deonfs wppermann ADMINISTRATON Stephan Jiik Lucy Holzer, Government Action Committee Rosemount Chamber of Commerce Rosemount Floral 3020 145th Stree� West Rosemount, Minnesota 55068 Dear Lucy: I have prepared, at City Council � esponses to those comments you presented at the ° ruary 2, 1993 City Council meeting. I have included those s-.�ie� for your consideration and that of the Government Action Committee. Please give me a call if you would like to discuss this information. Thank you for your input and continued support of working together. �€� wi11 expect to see you on Tuesday evening at the next Council .1 .��i�zg. If you have p:e��.�pared comments that you would 1ik� �.c� ��stribute to the City Council I can put them in the council packets if you get them to City Hall by Friday noon. Sinc ely, phan Jilk City Administrator Enclosures 3j �ve�-�t�ings �oming �CJG�i �J�osemoun�� I . � � �. . .t,��ec�cbaoan.. . . . � � � � . , , CHAMBER OF COMMERCE GOVERNMENT ACTION COMMITTEE NlARCH 31, 1993 CONCERNS AND CLARIFICATIONS "We have shared concerns among Chamber members, we wish to' share them with you. ° . Policu °We request clarification of procedures and compliance with ordinances. Procedures are very unclear and inconsistent. What constitutes policy and what doesn� t?° In respect to clarification of procedures and compliance with ordinances I would suggest that this is a very broad and open ended question. Ordinances are local laws put in place to , regulate, administer and to protect. Mast ordinances are rules ', put in place to protect the community and to enhance the safety, welfare and value of our lives and our property. City staff attempts to be as consistent as possible in enforcing' all city ordinances and to work with everyone in trying to make sure those ordinances are understood and that enforcement is fair. Many times enforcement of an ordinance is brought to bear on an individual who is least likely to understand the purpose of the rule or regulation and in many cases doesn' t agree with it. It i�� a�mportant that city staff is s�nsitive to this fact. A building inspector or police officer enforces laws many times a day. It is important that these people ke�p a perspective on how the public is treated in this enforcement. Sometimes a city staff person forgets that the individual he or she is working with is dealing with this subject for the first time and may be completely ignorant of the rules. Then again, the city staff person may be dealing with someone who knows the rules perfectly well and is trying to get away with not following them. It is a difficult, but necessary task for the staff person to keep �his in mind and deal, as best they can, on an individual basis while still being consistent in enforcement. City staff is constantly updating informational ma.terial to be available to the general public and contractors regarding permits, planning processes and general regulatory information so that persons who do come in contact with the City will be able to better understand the rules and regulations for doing certain things and why they need to comply. These procedures, rules and regulations are the outcome of the poiicies established by the City Council . Policy is the general overriding rule established by the Council in determining how the City will be governed, how- certain activities are regulated and how city operations are ma.naged. Recommendations to establish policy comes from many sources to the City Council . The Council has several standing committees; Parks & Recreation, Utilities, Port Authori�y, Planning and the newest, the Community Center Commission. These committees, along with ad hoc committees established to address specific issues or projects are one o� the main sources of public input provided to the City Council on establishing policy for the City_ The Council also takes input from city staff on the establishment and maintenance of poli.cy for various areas of government operatians. These committees and commissions represent the residents and businesses of Rosemount and provide a broad perspective of community needs and desires. Last, but most irnportantly, the Council should be constantly taking input from the general public on matters of policy_ The City's Comprehensive Guide Plan, the City Code, the Zoning Ordinance and various city "policies" in the City Policy Handbook are examples of general policy that the Council sets and amends from time to time. These form the guidelines for city operations and should reflect the Council ' s determination of what the rommunity wants from time to time. '.i�ki�: level of decision making by Council versus that of city staff is regulated quite closely in Minnesota State Statutes as they relate to statutory cities of which Rosemount is one. That is, there are certain decisions that city staff cannot make without Council ' s approval . Some of these decisions canstitute policy. Some are simply close regulatory compliance matters so that city staff can be held closely accountabie to elected officials. Once policy questions are determined by Council then it is appropriate and reasonable that city staff develops implementation strategy to carry out the decisions of the ' Council . There is sometimes question as to what is policy and what is implementation. It is always important for a governmental body to error on the side of having the elected officials involved a bit to deeply on decision making beyond policy rather than having staff making policy. It is also important that Council doesn' t "micro�� manage staff after policy is determined. 2 Elected officials must take the responsibility of determining policy then insure sufficient and accountable staffing is maintained to carry it out. Some examples of policy versus implementation: A. Policv - adopt Uniform Building Code to insure safe building program in city. Implementation - enforcement of the Uniform Building Code in a consistent and fair manner so as to protect the residents and property. B. Policv - establish a uniform method of assessing persons for street, sewer and water improvements to maintain an affective infrastructur� in a cost effective manner. Implem�ntation - develop a program whereby the city' s infrastructure is maintained and rebuilt through a funding program consistent with the established policy. C. Policv - establish a purchasing policy follawing state law and local preference in order to safeguard the City' s financial resources and provide for a cost effective manner to spend city funds. Implementation - establish an internal process of checks and balances and efficient processing of purchases and .�.c��unting proc�dures to ma.ke necessary purchases of �upplies and services . Star Cable Revenues "Clarification and evaluation of where monies are spent. Specifically, the money from Star Cable. " "We understand the City does receive funding. We don' t understand why it was not designated toward visual communication (video) and where was it spent and now where will it be spent. ° TYie City receives an annual payment fram Star Cablevision, Inc. , the City' s provider of cable T.V. service. This payment is based on 50 of the gross revenue paid to Star Cablevision, Inc. fxom subscribers in Rosemount. This 5o payment is part of the requirement of the franchise granted to Star Cablevision, Inc. by the City of Rosemount. Until 1989 this was 30, but the City was able to renegotiate the Franchise to increase it to 50. 3 In 1993 that payment will be approximately $25, 000. This has increased substantially in the last � years, partially because of the increase from 3s to 5� a�d partially b�cause the number of service points (customers) has increased substantial3y. In 1987 for instance this amount was only about $5, 000 . For three out of the last four years the City Council has considered the use of these funds for the purchase and installation of the necessary equipment to tape and/or broadeast live the meetings of the City Council and City Commissions. For three of those years the Council specifically designated those dollars to go toward the City' s newsletter and the cooperative effort of establishing and maintaining the new city newspaper, ��The Town Pages. ° In 1993 , the City Council again approved the e�enditure of money to utilize the °ThisWeek�� newspaper for distribution of "city news�� in a newsletter format. Another $10, 000 has been allocated for Parks and Recreation news and brochures . If the money received from Star Cablevision, Inc. is not specifically allocated it will be held in the City' s General Fund and considered '�General Operating Revenue" even though it is specifically noted as ��Franchise Taxes from Star Cablevision. �� nations "Clarification on distribution of Lion' s Club designated donations for the Halloween Party. " The City has established a speeial contribution fund. This fund is set up to accept donation.s from individuals and organizations far specific items to be purchased at the request of the donor. These funds are then tracked and audited so that they don' t get spent on anything else. The Lion' s Club did donate $250 for the 1992 Halloween Party. These funds were recorded into the special contribution account accordi:ng to a policy established by the City Council . These funds were over and above what was needed for the 1992 Halloween Party so they are being carried over to use in the 1993 party. Tax Increment Funds "Businesses have had tax increases and yet there is no, or very little money to work with, or any explanation of its past distribution. ° 4 "TIF monies from the past. Are we really missing three years? How can we regain these funds? And can we get it back at all? Who is held accountable? ° City staff has been working with Dakota County Auditors and Treasurer' s Office to do a review of past records of Tax Increment Financing payments received by the City to determine if there have been any errors in the allocation of these monies properly. At this time, with preliminary information in, it appears that the taxes pai.d in on the property known as the Plaza Condominium did not get allocated properly by the County. That is, the proper taxes were paid but instead of having all the tax dollars flow directly to the City as Tax Increment Payments, these taxes were evenly distri�uted like al1 other taxes to the school district, county, city and sgecial districts. This project has been on the tax rolls for three years. The amount of taxes paid is approximately $16, 000 per year. This would be the amount owed directly to the Port Authority and which has been distributed to the other taxing authorities. The City will ask Dakota County to refund those dollars to the Port Authority and correct the tax payment allocation to the Port Authority. '�l�e errar was discovered when city staff suggested that our TIF Sa.�,��nts seemed 1ow considering the projects which have come on �a.rie in recent years in the 1979 Tax Increment District. And, the overall payment received from the County did not match a recent report developed by the County on Tax Increment payments to cities. There are several reasons why the overall value stated in the County' s report doesn' t match what we received, but the only money that we haven� t received that we are aware of now, is the tax on the Condominium Project and we hope to reclaim that. Consent Agenda "Yet we see too many items being placed on the Consent Agenda being passed without discussion. Example: the Mayor� s Indemnification, vuhen legally he can� t ev�n vote on it. How was it placed on the Consent Agenda?° This item was placed on the Consent Agenda because the item was already approved by the Cauncil in an open meeting but legal counsel suggested taking the action in the form of a resolution. The City Administrator placed this item on the Consent Agenda considering it an item not needing discussion since the action was an affirmation of a previous action. 5 Mayor McMenomy was right in not voting on the issue. In retrospect the City Administrator probably should have placed this item separately on the agenda as an "Old Business" item. The Consent Agenda is utilized to h�ve action taken by the Council on items which are typical business items and/or items not needing any discussion and are presented for consideration hased on previous policy direction, part of a praject already having approval such as bills to be paid or simple actions needing confirmation and approval by Council . At the direction of Council the City Administrator attempts to place as many items meeting these criteria as he can to reduce the amount of time and discussion needed at Council meetings. Any item on the Consent Agenda can be pulled at the request of a Councilmember to clarify or to discuss an item. This is typically done. Closed Sessions "And we request policy clarification on Closed Sessions. Why and lzow are these dec�sions made and by whom?" The City Council may have "Closed Sessions" for only a few reasons as required by Minnesota State Law. Basically, these tk�ree reasons are: 1) to discuss pending or ongoing litigation �y:�, p�otect attorney/client information 2) to discuss discipline, ��tential or actual of a city employee and 3) to discuss negotiations with union represented employees of the City. Reguesting the Council to go into "Executive or Closed Session° is up to the City Administrator, City Council or the City Attorney. The Council considers this request and then if the purposes is allowed under state statute the Council will go into ExecutiveJClosed Session after meeting noticing requirements are met. State law sets out specific requirements for noticing these meetings, recording them and what action can or cannot be taken while in Closed Session. Special Meetings "There is concern of being unaware of special meetings held withaut notification to the public. ° When the need arises for the City Council to hold a special meeting it is usually at the request of either administration, the Mayor, a Councilmember, or the City Attorney. Special meetings are those that are either °Public" or "Closed" meetings depending on the nature of the topic to be discussed. The majority of "Special" meetings are held to discuss a specific 6 topic which the Council feels needs more attention and time than can be given at a regular meeting or one that the Council feels is so important it can' t wait until the next regular meeting to discuss . In order to hold a special meeting there are public notice requirements. A notice of the special meeting must be posted at City Hal1, the media is advised within 24 hours of the meeting and Council Members must be advised within 24 hours of the meeting. The City Couneil generally sets these meetings at a regular Council meeting by passing a motion to do so. Sometimes the decision to hold the meeting is made by the Mayor and notice is given to the Councilmembers outside a regular Council meeting. In all these cases the proper timing, posting, and media notification is completed before the meeting. Publications ��We request an explanation of why the agenda is not being published in the newspaper. ° For a period of time between the end of the contract with Heikkila Praductions to produce the Rosemount Town Pages and the agreement with "ThisWeek" Newspapers, the publication of the City :"'��,�i�eil Agenda was not taking place. This was a interim period �u��ng which the City Council was in the process of deciding how to proceed in getting this information to the public. Beginning April lOth, there wi11 be a process in place to monthly publish city news and regularly publish agendas and meeting minutes in the "ThisWeek" publication "Rosemount Addition" . Building and Fire Codes "We request evaluation of our building and fire codes and we need an understanding of why they are so rigid and one of the toughest in the state? We are concerned for inconsistent enforcement; rigidly enforced on some and not on others . ° The City has adopted the Uniform Building Code, the National Fire Code and the Minnesota State Electrical Code. These Codes are adopted and enforced locally to support the life, safety and property value for property owners and residents. These Codes are adopted by reference so that as the latest versions of these codes are adopted nationally, Rosemount automatically enforces the latest version. 7 . , � Not all cities throughout the State of Minnesota adopt these codes. Although there are very few that don' t. The reason is that unless these codes are in place there is usually very little consistency in building construction quality and safety insured for owners and residents. These codes are very specific as to which requiremen�s are to be met but there is some discretion left to local officials as to how they are met. That is the codes, once adapted generally do not allow for variances from their requirements. But, in some areas, especially building codes, how those requirements are met can vary slightly because the requirements are based on structural design, strength and actual construction. Sometimes when a local inspector or enforcement agent works with a property owner or builder to come up with a different way of doing something to comply with a code, this can be seen as ��inconsistent enforcement. ° Also, building, electrical and fire inspectors don' t see everything. Sometimes a project is built without a permit and an inspector never knows abaut it. Or a project is built years before codes were adopted and now a remodeling takes place and the inspector has to require changes in the old part of a building for it to comply with codes. Codes are constantly changing and requirements change. What was approved yesterday may not be able to be done today because of newly changed codes . .A1 � of this enters into fair and consistent enforcement. 8