Controversy over City Council committee assignments

When there are changes in the city council members, the mayor makes new committee assignments. Monday night, April 19, Mayor Kelly Parker presented the new list of committees for discussion.

“These are committees that help us review operations and projects that the business manager is carrying out with staff,” he said. “In these committees we provide guidance to the business manager, and also when the business manager has items that need potential city council consideration, these committees will review those items and then make recommendation whether or not they are to go to the council for consideration. And then if they have a recommendation, what that recommendation might be.”

Parker said there was an error in committee assignments sent out earlier with the meeting packets. An updated list was passed out before the council meeting began. (See the accompanying sidebar for the list.)

“This gives everybody about three or four committees to serve on to help us divide up the work of the council,” said Parker. “The plan is to have monthly meetings of each of these committees during which you’ll help us decide what things need to go to council and an advisory capacity for Angelica.

No action is necessary, but we do have this on the agenda for discussion.”

New Ward 3 Councilmember Taylor Dowling asked, “Do you mind going to each committee and explaining the grouping you chose? Or was it just experience, that you know them?”

Parker replied, “My prioritization was that the finance committee and the personnel committee be continuing council members. Those committees are going to be the highest involved in completion of the next year’s budget and having their work will not require as much to bring them up to speed on what the issues are facing both those committees with regard to personnel and finance.”

“Would you be open with those two committees to consider a new councilman for the same reason I pointed out earlier – a point of transparency and hopefully installing more community and hopefully getting somebody in there who has not suffered through the former business manager?” asked Dowling.

“I would like to leave these recommendations the same,” responded Parker. “On all of these committees, if someone was presently serving on them and wished to continue to do so, I allowed them to do that. If they didn’t have a preference, I did choose in some instances to change out positions. I did hear from some council members that the original draft did not put them in the best place so I did make some changes based on those conversations, and that’s how the rest of them fell.”

Dowling asked, “If a councilman was interested in attending these not as an advisory but just to be there, is that possible or not?”

“Once we get up to four councilmembers, we run the risk of a quorum that would constitute a meeting of the council and we wouldn’t want to be in a position where that committee is taking action that the council should be making,” said Parker.

“Then I guess if I was to watch remotely through a video feed something like this (pointing to this reporter’s video camera), is that something that could be arranged for those committee meetings?” Dowling asked.

Mayor Parker asked for clarification on video from City Attorney Rick Cunningham who said, “If you don’t have more than five, then you don’t have a quorum. It takes five to have a quorum. That would be up to the committees. Normally committees do not do that because of sharing information that’s more private.”

Parker said, “If we were going to do that, we’d have a council discussion and action on the item.”

Dowling said that wasn’t necessary, he was just curious.

Parker said Business Manager Angelica Brady would be contacting everyone to schedule the committee meetings.

City of Alva Committees

April 19, 2021

FINANCE:

*Brandon Sherman

Connor Martin

Daniel Winters

ORDINANCE REVIEW:

*Randy Stelling

Troy Brooks

Daniel Winters

PERSONNEL:

*Daniel Winters

Mary Hamilton

Connor Martin

PARKS & BUILDINGS:

*Brandon Sherman

Mary Hamilton

Greg Bowman

PUBLIC SAFETY:

*Mary Hamilton

Brandon Sherman

Taylor Dowling

SANITATION:

*Randy Stelling

Troy Brooks

Greg Bowman

STREET & ALLEY:

*Kelly Parker

Randy Stelling

Greg Bowman

WATER & SEWER:

*Randy Stelling

Daniel Winters

Troy Brooks

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:

*Connor Martin

Taylor Dowling

Mary Hamilton

*Indicates committee chair