09/07/1977 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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- I : , Mayor Keller noted for Councilors that decision making is always the toughest part. He said sometimes it's easier to procrastinate. Even in . having aides do research, he noted that would be taking another person's opinion. He said the haste with which the Council makes decisions may bother all Councilors. However, he noted Council had the alternative of putting off any major decision for a couple of weeks for further time for study and research. He noted his empathy with the frustration of Councilors in trying to do a good job, saying this was a part-time job that takes all of a Councilor's spare time. However, he felt Councilors should be aware that as time passes, the process could become easier for them. He noted, .again, he understood the frustration in that Councilors are not able to attend all of the meetings which lead up to the major decisions that are made by Council. Such attendance might help Councilors to feel more informed, but most simply do not have that time. Mr. Delay noted that Councilr$ally.puts'off making decisions, citing the item of Council assistance talked about at the June 10 meeting, with the hopes that personnel would be hired and an experiment organized by Sep- tember 4. September 7 is the first time the Council has considered the issue in any discussion. He felt it was more true that there was not adequate debate or adequate discussion because of time pressures. He cited a great need for some type of Council assistance, noting a former Council had entertained the idea of financial reimbursement, and the fact that seven of nine votes of the present Council had listed this as the number three priority item. He said these indicated there was some per- ception of a need not being fulfilled. He said Council had before it a proposal that was going to reinforce and support the present form of government in assisting individual Councilors to make them more effective . in their jOb and to better serve the public. He cited his feeling of wanting to do a better job for the community but that he did not want to be paid or want to change the system of government. He reiterated his feeling of a need for Council assistance. Mr. Obie said he heard Mayor Keller saying if Councilors would just stick around, the job would become easier. He said he found himself in opposi- tion to that statement. Mayor Keller indicated he was trying to let Councilors know it was how they got through the frustrating period that is the most difficult time. Mr. Obie said he felt the only thing that kept him from being a more effective Councilor was available time, that it would be necessary to take time away from something else or for Councilors to be provided assistance in some form. He felt it very important to become a more effective Councilor and tp retain the citizen form of City Council rather than a professional one. Mr. Haws said he felt he was doing a superficial job and not doing the kind of job he would like to be doing for the City. He felt there was a need for some change in the system and thought Council should act on Mr. Delay's proposal for Council assistance in order to allow the Councilors to make use of that assistance to become more effective. Mayor Keller expressed appreciation to the thoughts of the Councilors, noting it was typical of the Eugene area for citizens to want to do a good job. . Minutes 9/7/77--12 ~g~