Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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the Police Auditor. She thought the issues Ms. Bettman brought up were worth discussion; however, the council heard from many people who wanted the council to slow down and allow a broader community discussion to take place in a timely way. Mayor Piercy pointed out that the chief and auditor were working well together at the current time, and further pointed out that the committee’s recommendation would come to the council for discussion and approval. Ms. Bettman said that if the issue was “all about the process,” perhaps the committee should be charged to work on the City’s smoking ordinance, as it was her understanding that Mr. Pryor was working “behind the scenes” with the Planning and Development Department to make changes to the smoking ordinance, which had an incredible amount of public input. She asked why that issue was not going to some committee for recommendations about changes to the ordinance, and asked Mr. Pryor why he was “working behind the scenes” to change that ordinance. She maintained that was only one inconsistency in regard to process and said she could offer others. Mr. Pryor indicated that there was no truth to Ms. Bettman’s remarks and suggested that she communicate with him first before leveling such charges. Ms. Bettman maintained that the recent election resulted in changes to the charter that required updates to the Police Auditor ordinance be implemented. Ms. Bettman said that the charter had been characterized to the council for as long as she had been engaged in City issues as being “set in stone.” It was strictly interpreted by legal counsel and the City administration when it came to the roles of the manager and the prohibitions placed on the council in terms of the manager’s authorities. She suggested that Mr. Klein was saying that the council could make the choice not to change the implementing ordinance and not to adhere to the charter. If that was the case, she asked why the council could not pass an ordinance that gave it authority to fire the executive managers. Mr. Klein indicated he had nothing to add to what he had already said in regard to the disagreement between himself and Ms. Bettman about what the charter meant. He could not respond to her question because it encompassed many different topics and he was not prepared to respond to all the different topics. Ms. Bettman asked if the council could pass a motion to create an ordinance that gave it the authority to hire and fire the executive managers. Mr. Klein said no. Ms. Bettman asked why that was not within the purview of the council. Mr. Klein indicated that unless otherwise directed by the council, he would not attempt to address questions unrelated to this agenda topic. Ms. Bettman maintained that “this is all about the charter; it is related.” She said she was waiting for an answer to her question. Mr. Klein had nothing to add to what he already said. Mr. Zelenka supported the motion as amended because it opened the subject to a broader community discussion of serious issues, and the issues raised by Ms. Bettman would be the first subject of discussion. He pointed out that many of the issues in Ms. Bettman’s November 10 motion in regard to access and to information and procedure had been addressed by City Manager Ruiz in the memorandum he sent to Acting Police Chief Pete Kerns and the auditor. He looked forward to the results of the committee’s discussion. The motion passed, 5:2; Ms. Taylor and Ms. Bettman voting no. Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting at 8:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, MINUTES—Eugene City Council November 17, 2008 Page 6 Work Session