Month 1998-10 October


Meeting of 1998-10-01 Special Meeting



MINUTES
SPECIAL CALLED MEETING
LAWTON CITY COUNCIL
OCTOBER 1, 1998 - 5:30 P.M.
WAYNE GILLEY CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBER

Mayor Cecil E. Powell,        Also Present:
Presiding        Bill Baker, Acting City Manager
            John Vincent, City Attorney
            Brenda Smith, City Clerk

The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Mayor Powell. Notice of meeting and agenda were posted on the City Hall notice board as required by State Law.

ROLL CALL
PRESENT:    G. Wayne Smith, Ward One
        Richard Williams, Ward Two
        Jeff Sadler, Ward Three
        John Purcell, Ward Four
        Robert Shanklin, Ward Five
        *Stanley Haywood, Ward Seven
        Randy Warren, Ward Eight

ABSENT:    Charles Beller, Ward Six
*Haywood entered at approximately 5:40 p.m.

BUSINESS ITEMS:

1.    Consider discussing the interview process for the City Manager position, and take appropriate action. Exhibits: None.

Mayor Powell said two Council Members requested that he call a meeting to discuss the possibility of paying expenses for those persons to be interviewed and he requested discussion in that regard.

Shanklin said he mentioned previously for the Council to get a good cross section and be able to make a determination that the expenses should be paid.

Smith said that he, Purcell and Haywood attended the OML Conference last week at Oklahoma City, and talked to numerous city managers and council members from other cities and got the same response from all of them, and the city managers said they would not go for an interview if the expenses were not paid. He said Shanklin was correct previously.

MOVED by Smith, SECOND by Purcell, to authorize paying expense on up to 15 city manager candidates.

Purcell agreed with Smith’s comments and said some feel if the city is not interested enough to pay for travel expenses, it sends a message to candidates that the only reason they were invited was to comply with the law saying you need to interview more than one person and you plan to hire someone locally anyway so they would be wasting their money and time by coming. He said that is the wrong message and not the intended message.

Purcell said he and Haywood attended a session on how to legally hire someone and the kinds of questions that can be asked. He distributed a list of questions used by another city when they recently hired a city manager and said that during the interviews, the same questions must be asked to every candidate; you cannot ask one candidate three questions and ask the next one three different questions. He suggested Council agree to a list of questions to be asked of the candidates and noted the question form included lines on the right where each member rated the applicants based on their answers to the questions.

Mayor Powell asked what expenses Council intended to pay for as far as travel and consensus was to reimburse for coach plane fare or mileage at 26 cents per mile, lodging and meals at their actual cost. City Clerk will contact candidates in this regard. Mayor Powell reviewed planned interview dates and times as being October 14 and 20 at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Mayor Powell suggested members turn in a list of questions to the City Clerk by October 9th. Shanklin asked why every person had to be asked the same questions. Vincent said due to the EEOC Act, Age Discrimination Act, and Americans with Disabilities Act, the questions should be non-discriminatory and they should be as uniform as possible. Vincent said a candidate may answer a question on the sheet and the answer may raise additional questions, and that is permitted, but at least the basic questions will have been the same. Shanklin said two candidates may have come and gone before some of the questions are asked. Vincent said the initial questions should be the same and more can be asked during the course of the interview. Shanklin said it was important that the entire Council do the interviewing.

Mayor Powell noted Haywood had entered the meeting.

Mayor Powell asked if it was reasonable to have the questions in by October 9. Purcell asked if an agenda item was desired for October 13 to finalize the questions and have the list ready for October 14. Consensus was that members would turn in a list from the questions distributed, or any other questions, to the City Clerk by October 9 and the list would be reviewed in executive session on October 13, then the City Clerk will have the list ready by the morning of October 14 with the questions and who will ask the questions. Vincent said he would do a legal review of the questions also.

VOTE ON MOTION: AYE: Warren, Smith, Williams, Sadler, Purcell, Shanklin, Haywood. NAY: None. MOTION CARRIED.

COMMENTS/REPORTS.

Shanklin reported that Beller had set a meeting of the citizen complaint committee on October 8 at 10 a.m. in the Council Chamber. He said the agenda provides for the group to receive citizen complaints but there were several things the Council wanted to discuss that were not included and that he was a citizen. Vincent said the agenda should be worded properly to allow for action to be taken, although the items can be discussed. Vincent said one example would be to discuss procedures on how the meeting would be conducted or using a form to turn in a complaint, those things would have to be listed on the agenda to be formally acted on. Shanklin said a Council person should be able to bring a complaint from a citizen without the citizen being present.

Mayor Powell stated that he and Baker, Bob Bigham, Deborah Jones, Mark Mitchell and City engineers met with engineering representatives of Lowe’s  for preliminary planning on their locating in Lawton.

There was no further business to consider and the meeting adjourned upon motion, second and roll call vote at 5:50 p.m.