Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes-10/21/2019COUNCIL WORK SESSION October 21, 2019 3:50 p.m. Harold E. Getty Council Chambers Members present: Morrissey, Feuss, Klein, Amos, Schmitt, and Juon. Absent: Jacobs. Moved by Schmitt seconded by Amos that the Agenda, as proposed, be approved. Voice -vote Ayes: Six. Motion carried. Objective: Review of edits to Title 1 of the City Code. Council reviewed Article B of edits to Title One of the City Code. Objective: Discussion of amendments to the Fair Chance Initiative ordinance. Chris Wendland, City Attorney's Office, provided an overview of changes discussed at the prior meeting and explained how these changes have been incorporated into the ordinance. Mrs. Juon questioned how the ordinance addresses instances when a local business company's franchise requires that the application contain the question. Chris Wendland explained the ordinance does not address that because it does not create an exception for contract based requirements. Mrs. Juon requested clarification of the valid business decision to deny employment. Chris Wendland explained that the question he would have, is what the specific franchise requirement is. He further suggested the city may wish to include expanding what qualifies as a genuine pre-existing contractual requirement to minimize an attempt to get around the ordinance. Mr. Morrissey questioned what exactly needs to change. Mrs. Juon clarified that a local franchise operator cannot hire a felon or someone with a criminal background because they go into the customer's home. Mayor Hart questioned if the legitimate business purpose of the ordinance applies. Chris Wendland stated he would need more information to give a definitive answer, but it would really depend on when the franchise owner's requirement comes into play. Mrs. Juon commented that she wishes to proceed with the ordinance and questioned if it can be amended in the future. Chris Wendland commented that the ordinance can be amended at a later date but more information is needed on the situation. Morrissey/Amos to recess at 4:34 p.m. Voice vote -Ayes: Six. Motion carried. Objective: Discussion of proposed changes to the City of Waterloo Residency Policy. Morrissey/Amos to reconvene at 4:38 p.m. Voice vote -Ayes: Six. Motion carried. Pat Treloar, Fire Chief, provided an overview of the critical employee policy, the history of changes to the policy, an overview of how other cities have loosened residency requirements, and the impact the policy has on his department. Mrs. Juon commented that she senses that the requirement could be different for each department. Page 2 Pat Treloar commented that the vast majority of employees are not called back on a regular basis. From a Fire Department standpoint, they would be fine with a 60 mile radius but that the requirement should be set by each department. Mrs. Juon commented she would like to see recommendations from each department. Mayor Hart commented that the city needs to be careful about call backs as it is an insurance policy for emergency response. Mrs. Kline questioned how many firefighters do not live in the city limits. Pat Treloar commented that forty some employees live in the city. Mrs. Kline commented that she would like to see more information and believes it is fair to require firefighters to live in Waterloo as citizens pay a lot of money to support wages and department operations. Mayor Hart commented that a council task force should be formed to review incentives. Pat Treloar commented that broadening the residency policy would not necessarily result in employees moving out of the city, rather it is a recruitment issue and by doing so would attract more qualified recruits with the right skill set. Mrs. Kline questioned how many opening there were when seventy-five applicants applied. Pat Treloar commented that they have,a certified civil service list that they can hire from, but he would guess there were perhaps ten openings. He further commented that there is no advertising with a particular number of openings to draw applicants, there is just a recruitment exam. Mr. Amos commented there have been questions in the past as to why more minorities don't apply for police and fire and he believes expanding the residency policy could open up opportunities to see growth in that area. Mr. Morrissey questioned if this would apply to department heads as well. Pat Treloar commented that he believes that state code allows the city to restrict the policy as it relates to department heads. Mr. Morrissey questioned how the change would be made. Kelley Felchle explained that policies are generally changed by resolution. Mr. Morrissey questioned if the mayor could make a policy change without council approval. Kelley Felchle explained that any significant change to policy should go through council. Pat Treloar commented that the majority of the large cities have policies with a wider radius and believes that the city needs to re-examine and needs to look at creative ideas to attract employees. Mr. Morrissey commented that he believes that incentives need to looked at as a way to help recruit talent. Mrs. Juon commented that she would like to pursue the idea and create a committee to attract employees with incentives and widen the radius. Mayor Hart commented that a policy should be discussed to attract and incentivize employees to stay in Waterloo, but that Chief Treloar's request is specific to expanding the areas he can recruit from for more qualified talent for the Fire Department. Page 3 Mrs. Juon commented that she would like to see comparable information between other departments and other cities. Mr. Morrissey commented that individual council members could also take some of the burden of looking into comparable information. Mayor Hart explained that Chief Treloar has already gathered this information for this meeting and qusteioned how many cities have been contacted. Pat Treloar commented that he has information from several other cities and that he is seeing that Waterloo is competing with other cities. Mrs. Juon commented that just one person be appointed to gather data, not all of council. Mayor Hart commented that information will be collected and brought back to council. Mr. Morrissey questioned the central point of the radius for residency. Pat Treloar explained he would like it to be 60 miles from any point of corporate city limits, not one particular point in the city. With no further business before the Council, it was moved by Juon seconded by Morrissey that the meeting be adjourned at 5:05 p.m. Voice -vote Ayes: Six. Motion carried. Kelley Felchl City Clerk