HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010/01/19 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session 1/ St.
Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES
MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL STUDY SESSION
ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA
JANUARY 19, 2010
The meeting convened at 6:36 p.m.
Councilmembers present: Mayor Jeff Jacobs, Phil Finkelstein, Anne Maviry, Paul Omodt, Julia
Ross, Susan Sanger, and Susan Santa.
Councilmembers absent: None.
Staff present: Deputy City Manager/HR Director (Ms. Gohman), Communications Coordinator
(Mr. Zwilling), and Recording Secretary (Ms. Hughes).
1. Overview of Labor Relations (with consultant)
Ms. Gohman presented the staff report and introduced Scott Lepak, attorney with Barna, Guzy and
Steffen, Ltd.
Mr. Lepak provided a detailed overview of labor relations as it relates to the City, including the role
of the City Council City Manager form of government in St. Louis Park, inherent management
rights, types of employees, subjects of bargaining, and grievance and arbitration. He noted the City
has an in-house labor negotiator and the City enjoys good working relationships with all of its
bargaining units.
Ms. Gohman presented a breakdown of employee groups as of December 31, 2009, noting there are
17 sworn firefighters in IAFF Local #993, 52 maintenance workers in IUOE Local #49, ten LELS
#220 dispatchers, 38 LELS #206 patrol, eight LELS #218 sergeants, and 127 non-union employees
She pointed out that the City also is under Civil Service rules for fire.
Mr. Lepak explained the types of employees and stated that the term "public employee" is defined to
mean any person appointed or employed by a public employer except elected public officials or
temporary/seasonal employees. He stated there are also "confidential employees" and "supervisory
employees." He also discussed essential and non-essential employees, and pointed out that Local
#49 is the only bargaining unit in the City with the ability to strike.
Ms. Gohman stated that the City utilizes labor management committees with its firefighter, police,
and maintenance groups. She added the City's only organized supervisory group consists of the
Sergeants group. She indicated it is fairly rare for the City to go to arbitration for settlement of
contracts because the City works very hard to settle its contracts.
Councilmember Sanger requested specific information relating to St. Louis Park's labor relations and
what the City Council needs to know in terms of doing its job and to discuss what would happen if
the Council were involved in any type of labor negotiations. She also requested information with
respect to the City's history with conflict resolution.
Special Study Session Minutes -2- January 19, 2010
Mr. Lepak stated the City has historically had very little conflict compared to other cities, and he
attributed this in large part to the fact that the City operates under a strong City Manager form of
government based on the charter, where direct responsibility for personnel administration rests with
the City Manager. He stated that issues get addressed at an administrative level below the City
Council and St. Louis Park has had a lot less conflict and uncertainty because the City Council has
not interjected itself into the process; rather, the City Council sets basic policies and expects the City
Manager to handle the oversight for administrative activities.
Ms. Gohman stated that it is very rare to bring the City Council into a closed door session, and that
occurred late last year because of the unique situation occurring with the City's budget.
Councilmember Ross requested clarification regarding a City employee's rights as a resident of St.
Louis Park and their rights as a City employee.
Mr. Lepak stated that employees who happen to be residents of the City have a right to speak and
that has always been a respected part of the process. He indicated that cities are most successful with
respect to the resident/City employee issue when the elected officials act as "listeners" on behalf of
the City.
Councilmember Mavity asked if there are specific things that can and cannot be discussed during
any exchange with a resident/City employee.
Mr. Lepak stated that elected officials do not have the right to negotiate terms and conditions or
discuss anything contained in a labor agreement. He added the resident/City employee may be
trying to bypass the process, but it can have adverse consequences for the City, including loss of
management rights.
Councilmember Mavity requested clarification regarding the requirement recording closed meetings
Ms. Gohman statute has direction on how this must be handled and the 2 year timeframe.
The meeting adjourned at 7:27 p.m.
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Nancy Stroth, City Clerk Jeff J. obs, ayor