07-10-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING June 26, 2023 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 7 of 11 Benson said the first document relates to fire services and is a simple timeline that covers the last five years of events related to the formation of an Orono Fire Department. The timeline highlights the lack of effort to inform and collaborate with citizens from the beginning of the process including the publication date of every City newsletter and utility bill insert from the last few years. One brief mention of the Orono Fire Department was a few words in the January February newsletter from this year that came after many consequential decisions, including ending the contract with Long Lake, purchasing equipment, and hiring a fire chief had been made. She asked how elected officials can expect the community to trust their decisions when they are not invited to the table at the outset. Engagement came at the very end of the process and involved one public hearing and the invitation to write comments to the City, she said, but the Council has not discussed the comment cards. They were not tabulated and the public was given no opportunity to see results in an accessible format. The second document she created is a spreadsheet that organizes data from the comment cards. The data collected through the City’s own process does not support the direction that the City is taking. She noted that the Council’s action has resulted in new legal action being taken against the City of Orono during the past week. She said the City is heading in a new direction that is unfavorable with residents, will cost more, goes against nationwide trends, and may result in costly litigation. Her final document details the progression of committee work on the Council over the course of time. She pointed out that committees are a place where staff and members of Council meet to discuss City business. They are not subject to the Open Meeting Law because a quorum of Council is not present. She said this is the second year that budget discussions have been taken into committee which means two members of Council are able to influence and shape budget direction outside of public meetings and without the input of other Council Members. In addition, committee assignments have been moved from the month of January to December which means that newly-elected members of Council are not part of the process. Assignments are discussed and set before newly-seated members have an opportunity to weigh in. Committee assignments are also moved to the consent agenda and can be passed in one vote. She said the number of committees has increased over time and now includes the newly- formed legal committee with the stated purpose for two members of Council to meet with the City Attorney privately apart from Council to discuss legal strategy. Her final point was that the Mayor sits on every committee related to fire services, code review, budget, communications, parks, and legal. She said residents have the right to hold elected officials to the same high standard expected of others whom they entrust with their most valued assets. She said each candidate who interviewed for the open Council seat put significant time and effort put into the process and she enjoyed meeting each of the candidates and learning about how they would contribute to the City. Johnson said the information presented was inconsistent with the facts as he knows them. Committees don't make decisions, committees make recommendations, he said. Those recommendations come to the Council to get voted on and whatever transparency someone's afraid is missing from those can be brought up in the item itself. He said he would not want people to be misled to think that things on the Consent Agenda aren't reviewed. It's the responsibility of every City Council member prior to the meeting to review consent agenda items. He said Council does read them, research, talk with staff, perhaps review the Planning Commission meeting and if they can’t get their questions answered prior to the meeting, they can pull items off the consent agenda. He said he would be in in favor of removing the Mayor from some of the committees because he does have a full plate.