COUNCIL COMMITTEES
The Council Committees Meeting was held on September 22, 2003, at 6:00 p.m., with Council President McGlumphy presiding. Members of Council present were Mr. Carey, Mr. Pitts, Mrs. Williams, Mr. Truitt, Mr. Ritter, Mr. Speed, Mr. Salters, Mr. Ruane, and Mayor Hutchison.
AGENDA ADDITIONS/DELETIONS
Mr. Speed requested that item #3, Proposed Ordinance Amendment - Section 1-6 - Sponsoring, Consideration, Passage and Effective Date of Ordinances and Charter Amendments, be considered first, and the following items be renumbered accordingly.
Mr. Carey moved for approval of the agenda, as amended, seconded by Mr. Speed and unanimously carried.
LEGISLATIVE AND FINANCE COMMITTEE
The Legislative and Finance Committee met with Chairman Speed presiding. Members present were Mr. Ritter, Mr. Truitt, Mr. Gorman, and Mr. Shelton.
Proposed Ordinance Amendment - Section 1-6 Sponsoring, Consideration, Passage and Effective Date of Ordinances and Charter Amendments (Sponsors: Councilmen Ritter, Ruane, and Speed)
Mr. Speed informed members that the proposed ordinance amendments to Section 1-6 of the Dover Code would eliminate the need for a member of the Legislative and Finance Committee to sponsor Charter and/or Code amendments. Currently, in order to bring Charter and/or Code amendments before the Legislative and Finance Committee, it is required to have three (3) sponsors to consist of two (2) members of Council and one (1) member of the Legislative and Finance Committee. The proposed ordinance amendments would allow any three (3) members of Council to bring items before the Legislative and Finance Committee.
Referring to the language in the proposed amendment, Mr. Ritter suggested that staff also have the ability to be one (1) of the three (3) sponsors.
Responding to Mr. Truitt, Mr. Speed indicated the rationale for the proposed amendments was to make the current ordinance less restrictive. Mrs. Williams and Mr. Salters questioned the reasoning behind the proposed ordinance amendments and suggested leaving the ordinance as it stands.
Mr. Ritter moved to recommend the proposed amendment to Section 1-6 of the Dover Code, as presented. The motion failed for lack of a second.
Hospitality and Civic Function Policy
(Note: Prior to discussion, members were provided a color coded (red/blue) copy of the Hospitality and Civic Function Policy).
During their Regular Meeting of September 8, 2003, members of the Legislative and Finance Committee deferred the Hospitality and Civic Function Policy to allow fellow members of Council time to review the proposed policy. At that time, there were changes suggested by the City Manager that had not been incorporated into the policy. Several members of Council voiced concerns of not having the opportunity to partake in developing the proposed policy.
Noting that members of Council had just been provided an updated color coded copy of the policy, Mr. Salters requested that Council, again, be afforded more time to review the updated policy.
Responding, Mr. Speed stated that the updated policy was e-mailed to all members of Council on Wednesday, September 17th. Mr. Salters informed Mr. Speed that he had been experiencing computer problems, and in fact, had not received the document.
Mrs. Williams also requested that Council be given more time to review the policy. She indicated that due to Hurricane Isabel, government offices were closed and many experienced lengthy power outages.
Mr. Speed stated that it was not necessary to vote on the proposed policy, however, he stated that there were individuals in the audience that would like to speak and requested that members of the Committee and Council take part in the discussion.
Mr. Gorman relayed concerns regarding the last bullet in Section 5 - Alcoholic Beverages. He indicated that in today’s society, it is not uncommon to serve and/or consume an alcoholic beverage during a business meeting and felt that the City should not deter or prohibit a guests from consuming an alcoholic beverage. Referring to Section 6, Procedures, Mr. Gorman requested that a section be added to address when a City Employee/Council Member registered for a function (that included fees) and failed to attend. He suggested that the employee should be required to reimburse the City of Dover for all expenses incurred.
Mrs. Williams indicated that many associations that she is familiar with will not reimburse employees for alcoholic beverages, however, they do not prohibit employees from consuming alcoholic beverages.
Responding to Mr. Ritter’s concerns of liability, Mrs. Williams indicated that an employee having an alcohol related accident (while conducting City business) has never happened, and felt Council should not try to legislate issues that simply do not exist.
Mr. McGlumphy and Mr. Pitts agreed with Mrs. Williams and indicated that the language in the proposed policy was too restrictive. They also agreed with not reimbursing employees for alcoholic beverages.
Mayor Hutchison agreed with the need for establishing guidelines; however, he stated that as our City changes and grows, flexibility for the Office of the Mayor was needed. He stated that the Office of the Mayor is charged with Public Relations, Economic Development, building relationships with all levels of government, and meeting with business leaders.
Mr. Salters agreed with allowing the Office of the Mayor flexibility to conduct business on behalf of the City of Dover; however, he also indicated that guidelines for all employees are necessary.
Responding to Mr. Ruane, Mr. Speed stated that documentation requirements are included in the proposed policy.
Mr. Speed invited members of the public to speak in regards to the proposed Hospitality and Civic Function Policy.
Mr. Dick Bundy, 39 Glen Oak Drive, stated that the citizens of Dover have received great rewards through the Mayor and his activities, as he represents the City of Dover. He stated that in the year 2000, the City of Dover won the Abilene, Texas Chamber of Commerce Community Support Award, as indicative of having the best community based relationship with the Dover Air Force Base. He asked Council not to exercise the law of unintended consequences by restricting someone with a six (6) year track record of being terribly effective.
Mr. Speed requested that Mr. Bundy e-mail him with the specific items in the policy that he believes create a negative effect.
Mr. Roy Klein, Chairman of the Economic Development Council of Central Delaware, indicated that Council should be more focused on the citywide brown water situation, on-going civic problems, and settling a contract with the City of Dover’s Police Department. He commended members of Council for avoiding waste, fraud, irregularities, and improprieties; however, he stated that none of those have been found. He urged members of Council not to eliminate golf as a vehicle for marketing the City of Dover.
Mr. Speed requested Mr. Klein to e-mail him with any specific recommendations to the Hospitality and Civic Function Policy.
Due to time constraints, Mr. Speed announced that time would be allotted during the Open Forum to those members of the audience left wishing to speak regarding the Hospitality and Civic Function Policy. For record purposes, the following comments were expressed during the Open Forum Segment of the Regular Council Meeting of September 22, 2003.
Ms. Linda Graham, General Manager of the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center, indicated she has served as the President of Kent County Tourism and the Delaware Hotel/Motel Association, and is currently President and Chairperson of the Delaware Tourism Alliance. She informed members that Dover serves as “host” City approximately once a month for many conventions. Those conventions bring visitors to our City, which results in revenues. She indicated that Mayor Hutchison has been a key factor in securing many of these conventions. She also agreed that guidelines are necessary; however, to get the job done, the Office of the Mayor needs leeway.
Mr. Frank Fantini, 7 Pewter Court, stated that, he too, understood the need for a policy to regulate expenditures; however, he requested that, upon adoption of the Hospitality and Civic Function Policy, Council not constrict or demean the Mayor of the City of Dover and his ability to do his job. He felt that the guidelines in the proposed policy too restrictive. Mr. Fantini, noting that $8M was raised for the Schwartz Center for the Arts, stated that he strongly believes that it would not have been possible if he had to abide by the proposed Hospitality and Civic Function Policy. He stated that whomever should hold the Office of the Mayor should have the authority and the maturity to practice good discretion. He felt that Council did not have the right to impose such restrictions and stated that the Mayor is elected by the citizens of Dover. He believes that when rules are set up to cover every circumstance, it leads to a bureaucratic response.
Mr. James Flood, 89 Laurel Drive, reiterated that guidelines, along with accountability, were necessary; however, he felt that the proposed policy was cumbersome. Attempting to determine if 60% of a meeting was directly related to City business, he felt, could be very argumentative. He believes a good policy would include enough flexibility so that all employees representing the City could conduct their business in a friendly and hospitable way. He indicated that the proposed policy was an inhospitable way of providing hospitality.
Mr. Gorman moved to recommend deferring the Hospitality and Civic Function Policy until the October 13, 2003 Legislative and Finance Committee Meeting for further discussion. The motion was seconded by Mr. Ritter and unanimously carried.
Revised Travel Policy
Due to insufficient time, the above mentioned item was deferred and will be placed on the October 13, 2003 Legislative and Finance Committee Agenda.
Mr. Gorman moved for adjournment of the Legislative and Finance Committee meeting, seconded by Mr. Shelton and unanimously carried.
Meeting Adjourned at 7:16 P.M.
Mr. Speed moved for adjournment, seconded by Mr. Carey and unanimously carried.
Meeting Adjourned at 7:17 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
William P. McGlumphy
Council President
WPM/jg/lcg
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