CITY OF RIVER FALLS: 4/17/12 Council Organizational Meeting Minutes

CITY OF RIVER FALLS, WISCONSIN

COMMON COUNCIL ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING

April 17, 2012 - MINUTES

Council President Caflisch called the meeting to order at 5:02 p.m. in the Council Chambers in City Hall.

Members Present: Alderpersons David Cronk; Christopher Gagne, Randy Kusilek, Scott Morrissette, Jim Nordgren, and David Reese

Staff Present: Julie Bergstrom, Finance Director/Assistant City Administrator; Reid Wronski, Director of Public Works/ City Engineer; Lu Ann Hecht, City Clerk; Bill Thiel, City Attorney; Scot Simpson, City Administrator; Paul Fagin, Management Analyst; Roger Leque, Police Chief; Dawn Wills, Communications Coordinator ; Adam Dekleyn, Planning Intern

Council President Caflisch announced that Oaths of Office for the newly elected Council officials have been taken within the 10 days as required by Wisconsin Statutes for:

Alderpersons at Large – David Cronk and Scott Morrissette and Alderperson – District 4 Christopher Gagne.

COUNCIL PRESIDENT

MSC Nordgren/Cronk to nominate Caflisch as Council President. Unanimous.

COMPTROLLER

MSC Morrissette/Nordgren to nominate David Reese as Comptroller. Unanimous.

DEPUTY COMPTROLLER

Comptroller Reese appointed Jim Nordgren as Deputy Comptroller.

ELECTION OF COUNCIL MEMBER TO PLAN

COMMISSION

MSC Cronk/Nordgren nominated Morrissette to Plan Commission. Unanimous.

DESIGNATION OF CITY ATTORNEY

Council President Caflisch designated Weld, Riley, Prenn & Ricci SC, as City Attorney. He thanked Attorney Thiel for his service.

CITY DEPOSITORIES

Resolution No. 5595 - Designating Public Depositories for the City of River Falls

MS Morrissette/Kusilek move to approve resolution as submitted. Reese asked about the Hometown Bank – Fond du Lac. Finance Director/Assistant City Administrator Bergstrom indicated this is the bank that is used by the Ambulance Service’s billing company so deposits are made there. She said the City signs off on it, and it is a City account. With no other discussion, the resolution passed unanimously.

MACHINE-SIGNED SIGNATURES

Resolution No. 5596 - Resolution Regarding Machine-Signed Signatures

MSC Cronk/Morrissette move to approve resolution as submitted. Unanimous.

BOARD PAY

Resolution No. 5597 – Approving Board Pay

MSC Cronk/Gagne move to approve resolution. Unanimous.

ELECTION PAY

Resolution No. 5598 – Approving Election Pay

MSC Morrissette/Kusilek move to approve resolution. Unanimous.

Council President Caflisch said the Mayor’s Appointments would take place at the next Council meeting.

REVIEW OF OPEN MEETING LAWS

City Attorney Bill Thiel welcomed the new Mayor and Council member. He thanked the Council for their confidence in his and his firm’s services and said it was a pleasure to work with the City of River Falls. He said Wisconsin believes in sunshine in government and noted the open meetings law and public records law. He said Council business must be held in a meeting in open session and with the exception of a closed session. He noted that Wisconsin Statutes Section 19.85(1) lists reasons for a closed session. Thiel said some of the Council’s most important duties are engaging in legislation and administration.

Thiel talked about the open meetings law including closed session, agendas, and parliamentary procedure.

He talked about the public records law and the most recent update with it. Thiel said the definition for public records is very broad but does not include drafts or notes. He talked about emails being public records. He reminded Council to ‘act as a body’. When finished, Attorney Thiel entertained questions from Council. Cronk asked Attorney Thiel to review a walking quorum.

Thiel said a quorum establishes the number of members needed for business to be conducted. A walking quorum can be established by telephone, meeting in the coffee shop, etc. He provided an example. With no other questions, he thanked the Council.

BOARD OF REVIEW

The Board of Review was set for June 7, 2012, from 8:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Cronk moved to adjourn at 5:25 p.m. Unanimous.

Respectfully submitted,

Kristi McKahan, Deputy City Clerk

_______________________________ (Pub. 05/17/12) WNAXLP

Tags: public notices, meetings