During the Holbrook City Council meeting Thursday, March 9, the council heard from the League of Arizona Cities and Towns Executive Director Tom Belshe, who spoke on council best practices and open meeting law.
Belshe explained the council-manager dynamic that the city uses and the roles each member and staff must play. The council-manager form of government is used by most of the United States, with results of high ethical standards, non-political decision making, consistency for employees, degree of insulation for elected officials, and provides greater efficiency than other systems.
Belshe spoke with the council for over an hour, discussing the importance of how the council conducts business and the best ways to negate problems, as well as what is within their purview as councilmembers.
Highlights were the emphasis on communication between the mayor and council, and the city manager. “We want to present ourselves in such a way that we gain the trust of the community, then the community will follow your lead. So, when you act in a way that’s trustworthy, they’ll do the same. When you treat each other with respect on the stand, they’ll treat you with respect in the community,” explained Belshe.
Regarding open meeting law, he cautioned the council regarding discussing matters amongst themselves to come to a decision and not in the public meeting. He emphasized that it is the public body’s right to be informed regarding what drove the decision-making process.
Councilman Robert Black asked Belshe what items can be requested to be placed on the agenda, as far as issues that were brought to his attention by the community that he would like to have discussed by council. Belshe noted that while there’s nothing in state law that directs that, “if this is something that is important to one of the council members and they think it’s going to be important to the others, you should direct it to your attorney for consideration.”
Regarding direction to the city manager, Belshe stated that the council may not tell the manager who to hire or how to direct staff, but if the manager is asked to address a concern and fails to do so or if the council believes the manager has failed to meet the job requirements, that will become part of the manager’s evaluation. Councilmembers may address the manager in private regarding specific employee concerns that have been brought to his or her attention, but Belshe cautions such behavior during a council meeting. “Have restraint, try not to make it combative but also, you have a responsibility to hold the manager responsible for these things too,” stated Belshe.
He noted that concerns and complaints made to the council by community members should first be addressed by the community with the administration. If the city fails to address the issue and it’s brought before a council member then that council member may speak with the manager and tell him he wants to see a change in that specific incident without directing the manager about how to make those changes. Belshe noted, “The manager determines the process for meeting the policies set by the council. If the manager fails to do so, it should be part of the manager’s evaluation.”
“Talk with one another, have patience, but it is incumbent upon the manager that you feel comfortable with the way things are happening,” he noted. He also stated that the council needs clarity about how things get on the agenda. “That is not the purview of the manager. It’s the mayor’s meeting. The mayor needs to take control of the meeting, the mayor is in charge of the meeting; that’s how you stay civil and that’s how we can have difficult discussions and they not get out of hand.”
Following the presentation, the council discussed the city’s general plan, specifically the public participation plan and policy. The council decided to save the topic for the next work session on March 23 in order to delve into more detail.
As the matter was being discussed, Councilmember Tim Dixon revealed that the city did in fact have a general plan at one point, which the administration, mayor and other members of the council seemed to have no knowledge of. “The only copy in the whole world,” stated Dixon, referring to a copy of the general plan on the desk. It was not explained why Dixon did not divulge this information during previous discussions of the city’s lack of general plan or why he had the only copy. He stated he would provide copies for other council members and staff.
Mayor Kathleen Smith addressed with the council making clarifications for the call to the public. It was agreed that citizens may speak on more than one topic during call to the public but that each topic must be noted on the sign-up form and that the entirety of their address must be kept to the three-minute limit. Regarding council’s response to a call to the public topic, they are limited to directing city staff to study the matter, responding to criticism or scheduling the matter for further discussion. “That’s where we need to show good judgement too, whether we are taking this as true criticism or just suggestions. We need to be mindful that we are not belittling anybody coming to us.”
During call to the public for non-agenda items, citizen Steve Williams addressed the council about the speed limit on the main streets. Williams discussed a recent incident where a pedestrian was struck and killed at the intersection of Navajo Blvd. and Arizona Street. “I do believe the fatality would have been preventable with a lower speed limit.” Williams stated that he knew the speed limit is set by Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) but would still like to know the council’s thoughts on the matter.
The council also heard from Sandra Oberriter and Katie Hill from the Holbrook Booster Club Graduation Night Committee, requesting financial donations for the annual Holbrook High School grad night.
The council approved Ordinance 23-01 for final reading, which regards allowing residential units in commercial zones. They also approved Ordinance 23-02 for final reading, regarding residential care services in commercial zones. The city manager noted that there were no citizens responses on either of those ordinances.
The next meeting of the Holbrook City Council will be at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 23, followed by a works session that is open to the public.
