HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999/04/26 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session CITY OF OFFICIAL MINUTES
ST. LoursCITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION
P`q April 26, 1999
The meeting convened at 7:00 p.m.
Present at the meeting were Councilmembers Chris Nelson, Ron Latz, Jim Brimeyer, Susan Sanger,
Bobby Young and Mayor Jeff Jacobs.
Staff present: City Manager(Mr. Meyer);Director of Inspections(Mr. Hoffman); Chief of Police
(Chief Luse); Fire Chief(Chief Gill); and City Clerk(Ms. Larsen).
1. Emergency Plan
Chief Gill began by sharing with Council a publication from the State Auditor's Best Practices
Review Committee on effective delivery of Fire Services. St. Louis Park Fire Department is
mentioned prominently in the publication as an example of an efficient and effective organization.
Members of Council commended Chief Gill and his department for their service and fine
performance.
Chief Gill then introduced Mr. Tim Turnbull, Hennepin County Supervisor of Emergency
Preparedness, gave a presentation regarding the Emergency Preparedness Program. He stated that
each municipality is required to produce a plan that encompasses 87 key elements. The plans are
subject to a four year review process: year one, council review;year two, review by a peer group;
year three, a federal review committee; and year four, a state review committee. St. Louis Park has
just completed a draft of the document which will be submitted to Council for review. Following
that review it will be submitted to Hennepin County.
Councilmember Sanger asked if we were limited to the 87 key elements. Mr. Turnbull responded
that Cities were allowed to include more elements if they wished.
Councilmember Sanger asked if the plan covered situations such as a crisis in leadership, Y2K
concerns, or mass fear and hysteria. Chief Gill replied that a good plan should cover all
contingencies.
Mayor Jacobs asked how the plan addressed evacuations He was concerned that the City may not
have legal authority to evacuate persons from a dangerous situation
Councilmember Nelson wanted emergency personnel to have full discretion to order evacuation and
did not want them to have to wait for an official declaration of emergency from the Mayor.
Both Chief Luse and Chief Gill stated that in a crisis situation, emergency personnel do not wait to
remove persons in danger from a situation.
Mayor Jacobs stated that he wanted to grant that authority now and not have to worry about it in a
time of emergency __
Councilmember Brimeyer was concerned that the list of contact persons be kept current at all times,
that the Emergency Operations Center should be logically located and staffed, and that
Councilmembers and other persons referred to in the plan understand their responsibilities.
Councilmember Sanger asked what would happen if City Hall was out of Commission due to an
emergency. Chief Gill said that the first contingency was Fire Station#1 and after that a mobile unit
would be deployed.
Council discussed at great length the chain of command and after discussion agreed that if continuity
of government is to be maintained, reporting relationships should remain the same in an emergency
situation as they are during the normal day-to-day operation of the City.
Chief Gill said that after adoption of the plan, training would take place for all affected personnel.
Council asked that a drill be conducted using an emergency scenario as part of that training.
2. Inspections Department Reorganization
Brian Hoffinan, Director of Inspections presented a proposed plan for reorganization of the City's
Inspections Department. The plan is designed to help the department achieve goals by increasing
contact between supervisors and employees of the department. Mr. Hoffinan stated that he felt the
basic structure of the department is good and that lapses in service that have been experienced are
avoidable. He felt increased opportunity for supervision would help employees of the department
make a philosophical shift from mere code enforcers to service providers.
Mayor Jacobs said that he considered internal organizational structure to be the responsibility of the
City Manager, but felt there was a larger policy issue to be dealt with That question is whether or
not Council wished to dedicate additional funds to improving service delivery.
Councilmember Brimeyer, Councilmember Nelson and Councilmember Sanger all agreed that it
would be a wise use of public dollars.
Councilmember Young asked if a study of the department had been done by an outside consultant.
He questioned what results would actually come of the organizational change and felt the plan
focused too heavily on supervision. For the amount of dollars required to make this change, he
wanted to be sure results would be positive.
Councilmember Latz said that the group may need more supervision to be sure the department is
able to meet the goal of improved customer service.
Councilmember Brimeyer said that any change would need to be very dramatic to redirect the culture
that has existed for many years
Councilmember Sanger felt it reasonable to decrease the number of direct reports to the Department
Director.
Councilmember Nelson stated that this reorganization could give Brian the time and freedom he
needed to bring about change in the department's culture. He also questioned whether all positions
needed to be valued at the same level.
Councilmember Young said that the Council had sent mixed messages to inspectors about
enforcement issues. He thought it might be prudent to give the new Building official time to correct
problems and then make additional changes to department structure if still warranted.
Council discussed the option of making structural changes on a temporary basis. Councilmember
Nelson felt this was a"half-way" approach and did not believe employees would consider the
changes made to be permanent.
Mr. Hoffman said that based upon his experience in inspections and the six months he has spent as
director of this department, the need for these structural changes has become obvious. He did not
feel we needed to bring in an additional consultant.
Mayor Jacobs noted changes made in the past to address problems and noted that they had not been
successful.
Councilmember Brimeyer wanted to see some kind of illustration that would show what the expected
outcome of proposed changes would be. He also wanted some kind of performance measurement
tool to assess progress as the department moves forward.
Councilmember Sanger cautioned against using the number of complaints as that tool. As
enforcement of violations increase, so will the number of complaints to the department.
Mr. Pires asked Council what they would like to see as a measurement of success.
Councilmember Brimeyer said that though the message department employees deliver to customers
may remain the same, the way that message is delivered must change.
Councilmember Young asked if any steps had been taken to terminate employees who did not meet
expectations of performance.
Councilmember Nelson asked what effect performance has on employee pay and if there were
disincentives for poor performance.
Mr. Pires explained the City's compensation plan and pointed out that performance has little effect
on employee compensation.
Mr. Hoffman also said that it is difficult to establish sufficient documentation for disciplinary action
without direct supervision of and contact with employees who work off-site much of the day.
Mr. Hoffman informed Council that he would move forw. a 'th the appointment of a Chief
Building Official and that he would produce the additional m. e% s C . •cil had requested.
Ci Clerk May•r 101°
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