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City Hall Silence is Broken
by Helen D. Gunderson, Gazette editor
June 2, 2003
Finally, City Hall Silence is Broken
Gilbert’s city hall was closed for the last half of May, and we found it
befuddling that there was no discussion at the three council meetings
during the month about the clerk's resignation and related issues. It was also
interesting to see that these topics were not on the agenda for Monday
night’s council meeting while matters such as sweeping the town’s streets
were on the list, even after our recent hard rains that washed a lot of
crud away. The mayor is the one who controls the agenda, and a person has
to wonder about his priorities.
Council member Peg Uthe finally broke the public silence. During the
general discussion at the end of Monday night’s meeting, she asked about
the the process for finding a new city clerk.
A Part-time, Temporary Clerk is Hired
The mayor said that a part-time, temporary clerk had started work on
Monday. He also reported that a person from CMS, the company that provides
software for water billing, came to city hall and prepared the water
bills. The mayor added that decisions about re-staffing are up to the
council and that it is "important to talk about our needs." Some one
suggested referring the discussion to a sub-committee of the council. The
mayor said something to the effect that "we gotta start some place."
Discussion about Having a City Manager
Council member Chris Benda reminded the group that several weeks ago,
it had talked about the prospects of hiring a part-time administrator. He
turned to council member Craig Allen and asked how Craig was doing in
gathering information. Craig said he had gotten no further than when the
matter was last discussed. Craig said he could get more information and
that this was a good time to see what kinds of staffing packages would be
appropriate, adding that there could be all sorts of staffing
combinations.
The mayor said that council member Jon Popp, who is a member of the
finance committee, would be back on Tuesday and that the finance committee
"should be able to discuss [the situation] sometime."
It seems the matter is important enough to have a thorough discussion
about it by the entire council, and the sooner the better. It also seems
that delegating the matter to a sub-committee skirts the spirit of Iowa’s
open meeting laws.
Visiting a City Council Meeting
Visitors to council meetings may speak during the open forum about
items not on the agenda. Also, the mayor and council have customarily let
visitors participate in discussing agenda topics; however, visitors do not
have a "right" to speak during those discussions.
The Iowa Attorney General's office has posted a list of
"sunshine" advisory bulleting about open meeting laws on the Web. The
bulletin about visitor participation in open meetings such as
Gilbert's council meeting is particularly interesting and relevant for
people who wish to attend those meetings.
People may also contact city leaders directly. Their names and phone
numbers are on the
city directory page.
Next Council Meeting is June 16
If the council goes according to its regular schedule, it should meet
again on June 16th. Normally, meeting agendas are posted at the post
office, city hall, and the coop. We will post agendas on the Gazette when
they become available.
Gilbert Election is November 4
Gilbert’s next election is November 4. Bob Jaquis ends a second,
two-year term as mayor, and his position will be on the ballot. Chris and
Peg complete their first, four-year terms on the council. Their seats and
Jon’s will be on the ballot. Jon joined council in 2002 to fill a vacancy
created when Helen Gunderson resigned in protest of the mayor's leadership
style.
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