The Council reached agreement on committee assignments and additions to the EDA and Planning Commission. We also reached agreement on goal setting sessions and a primary ordinance. The disagreement was on the special election ordinance.
We had a bit of discussion in which Council Member Duff objected to any special election unless it is over two years which is mandated by state law. I had proposed if there is longer than 15 months left on a term that a special election should be held. I brought up the past history of a former Mayor that resigned with 18 months left on his term then ran again for Council and again resigned. I also pointed out that past appointments had taken as long as two months. These along with 5 other resignations in the last 9 years has lead to 7 appointments to the Council. I believe that elected positions should be elected not appointed.
I made a motion and it was seconded by Council Member Larson, Council Member Duff voted against---Council Member Johnson was absent. The 2-1 vote was not enough since we needed at least three total votes from the Council. No motion was made to make an appointment to the open Council position. I will bring the Special Ordinance before Council at the next meeting When we will hopefully have all 4 members present.
I also asked to have a tougher conflict of interest policy. We will work on language to have Council Members leave the Chamber when there is a conflict. This ensures no influence in the decision making process. I would also like to see a one year moratorium after source of the conflict has ended. This would make sure we do not have a person voting on an item for someone they had recently worked with.
I was pleased by the complete professional behavior of all members even on items of profound disagreement. I will post a complete list of all appointments in the next two days.
About Me
- George
- I have served the City of Isanti as Mayor since 2007. We have accomplished great things together and I look forward to building on our success. United, we move forward to a better future. You may contact me at 763-442-8749 or e-mail me at george@georgewimmer.com.
8 comments:
Keep charging, you have the good of the people on your side. I truely wish that I could have been at you swearing in. It is my honor to call you Your Honor!
I am very disappointed in Mr. Johnson's absence from this important meeting. The council position is an improtant one and needs to be treated that way from every body on the council. It is not to be taken lightly. There has been way to many absences in the past. If it's not a family emergency or your are not sick you need to be there. You need to plan your vacations around this commitment. It's funny, I was asked by Sue larson last night what kind of planning expeirence I had. I sure know how to plan on being at the meetings and plan on making a commitment to the voters. I know how to plan a vacation around prior commitments. It's not that complicated. I was turned down for the planning commision position of 2 to 1 vote, Wimmer the only one of the three in favor of me. Duff also asked me what education back ground I have. What kind of education back ground does previous council members and mayors have? Do they all have PHD's. No. I have a college degree and have worked for the goverment for over 7 years. I have a passion and large interest for the public. Thats obvious do to my campaigning and working for the public for a number of years. This was not enough though for Sue or Duff. I already proved that people in Isanti supported me at the last vote. How many votes did the newly appointed gentleman recieve? I would really like to hear from Larson and Duff what their reasoning is. Thanks for letting me vent! I also would like to add that I hope the newly appointed board and committee members do well and have good luck.
Ross Lorinser endorsed Duff's camapaign on Duff's website Dan. You did not have a chance to get his vote for PC. I voted for you Dan and thank you George for speaking in favor of Dan last night because you received votes for Council. George puts his faith in the voters. Maybe that is why Duff does not want to put his faith in the voters to make the selection for the council position. Thank you Dan for trying and George for supporting voters and letting me blow off some steam.
I am a different brian then the one above but my posts are all over this place.
I have a question since I have never really looked at it. What are the requirements for things like the EDA, Planning commission, parks board etc? Are they available somewhere?
Thanks Mr. Johnson for once again holding back the progress of our city. Wonder if he even reads things like this.
Not that I know if who Johnson would have voted for for the different committee assignments, but only having 3 people voting seems like a bad idea. One more reason to resolve the voting issue/open seat...oh that's right, that part couldn't get done due to lack of votes.
That brings me to another question. If the vote is 2-2 due to lack of a counsel seat, how is that vote resolved?
There is no set requirement for these positions. I will asking that we have training requirements for those that do serve. The items in front of the EDA and Planning Commission can be quite detailed. A case in point is the EDA a few years ago declined being a part of the JOBZ program. I was told this was because they did not want to only give money to new businesses. JOBZ however does have expansion money for current businesses. Planning Commission items are just as interesting. When I was first elected I was told preliminary plats can be changed after the fact by the City on the final plat. This however is not true. Only the developer can change it after a preliminary has been approved.
The voting question on a 2-2 would be failed vote for an ordinance change. If you are asking about an appointment a tie leaves the decision in my hands as Mayor.
I hope this helps.
Yo' Dan,
I believe that you were running for City Council, not Planning Commission, so, that leads me to my answer of 0 votes. The same number that Mr. Lorinser got.
Also, if my memory serves me right, were you not the 2nd lowest vote getter out of seven in the Council election? I guess that the voters spoke loud and clear in this case.
I believe that the final vote was actually 3-0 for Lorinser, but, I could be wrong.
In response to your comment, I did not find Council Member Sue Larson's question funny. However, I did find your response funny, yet falling considerably short of the qualifications of someone representing the taxpayers on the very important Planning Commision.
Also, if my memory serves me right, were you not the 2nd lowest vote getter out of seven in the Council election? I guess that the voters spoke loud and clear in this case.
One piece of advice would be to be humble in defeat. Whining is not an appealing quality.
If you would like to hear from Larson and Duff what their reasoning was, I would suggest picking up the phone or dropping them an email. I'm sure that they would be happy to entertain your questions.
I do have to agree with you regarding the frequency in which Council Member Ralph misses Council meetings. I believe that we desrve more as taxpayers.
I attended the Jan 2nd Council meeting and my overall impression is that we are on the right track.
Other than a couple of bumps, the meeting seemed to be better organized and was run better than in the very recent past.
I do have to take issue with the interview process for the advisory board applicants however. I would expect that all applicants would be held to the same format with standardized questions similar to a job interview in the private sector. The fact that there were interviews, seemed to catch everyone by surprise, and it showed. If there is not a standardized process, I firmly believe that one should be adopted as soon as possible. It did not come across as very professional and could possibly open up the city to potential equal rights lawsuit.
All in all, I feel that it was a good start to the beginning of a new chapter in what should be a bright future for Isanti.
I urge all citizens to support our new leaders in helping to make Isanti a better place to live and work.
The process for appointing has been a bit of an issue. One of the items I have been working with staff on is Council By-laws, which there are currently none. One section needs to establish the appointment process and procedures.
It is important to make the process as fair and equal as possible.
Mr. anonymous (or mrs.) I have just as much qualifications as our former Mayor(the painter) if not more. I actually have over seven years of working inside the government. And yes, Wimmer supported me for the planning commision. I had a litle over 200 people vote for me for council( wich we know is held at a higher level of improtance as a comish.) Thats not alot but it showed that some people supported me. Had there been me and only one or two other people running, this very well would have been different. Any way, thats old news. I took the time and commitment to get out there and hear people on my campaign. Instead of bitching I did something that took alot of effort. This does not deserve any kind of negativity from you or anyone else. I spend a great deal of time getting involved with our community. Are we comparing? Don't complain and do something for the community. It's a good feeling.
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