January 2nd 2007 Council Meeting

The new City Council will be meeting 7pm on January 2nd. I will be sworn in and officially start my Mayoral duties. The Council will be discussing several items of note.

• Council Committee Assignments
• Citizen appointment to open seats on EDA, Planning Commission and a possible open Park and Recreation seat
• Discussion and direction on the special election ordinance, primary ordinance and if there will be an appointment.
• Goal Setting

The Council Committee assignments are important to the proper function of City government. I have asked each incoming and current Council members for their desired appointments. I have been able to appoint everyone to their top selections. I have also made sure that each Council member will be working with each other on different committees. This will ensure a better working relationship than previous years. It is important that we each have a chance to work with each other.
The Council will be interviewing and selecting members for EDA and the Planning Commission. There also maybe a seat opening on Park and Recreation but we have not heard back yet from the individual. It is critically important that we select people for these bodies that will help reform and move our City forward.
There will be discussion on a proposed special election ordinance and primary. I strongly believe we need to have a special election ordinance on the books to make sure our elected officials are elected not appointed. The quoted cost of $500 to $700 for the special election is far less than some detractors had been publicizing. If the majority of hte Council decides to make an appointment then there needs to be agreement on who would be appointed. The need for a primary should be obvious to everyone after the debacle of 7 candidates for Council leading to small vote totals for successful Council Candidates. With totals hovering around 20% and under Council members are serving while having 80% plus of the voters not having chosen them. This should never happen again. We will also be discussing if an appointment will be made for the short term or the remaining two years. This will go hand in hand with the special election ordinance discussion.
The last item is goal setting. I am hoping to have intense goal setting sessions to layout the 2007 agenda. We have significant issues that need to be resolved. I will be explaining these in my State of the City Address. I hope all members of the Council will want to participate in this critical step forward in Isanti's future.
It is important that everyone that can make the meeting should be there. This meeting will set the tone and determine the City's success for the next year. Any questions please let me know..... george@georgewimmer.com or 763-444-7158.