TO: Mayor Collins and Town Council Members
FROM: Kevin Burke, Town Manager
DATE: September 28, 2017
DEPARTMENT: Town Manager
Staff Contact Kevin Burke, Town Manager
End
AGENDA TITLE:
Title
Governance - Discussion #2
Body
Town Value(s):
☐ Primarily one-acre, residential community
☒ Limited government
☐ Creating a sense of community
☐ Partnerships with existing schools and resorts to enhance recreational opportunities
☐ Improving aesthetics/creating a brand
☐ Preserving natural open space
In order to more effectively and efficiently manage the limited municipal government of Paradise Valley, the Town Council has embarked upon a review of numerous policies and procedures.
Council Goals or Statutory Requirements:
Governance - Review and seek improvement to processes and procedures for our community.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Review topics and provide direction.
Background
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
Mayor and Council have identified 13 Governance topics to be discussed this term. They have prioritized the first six as:
1. Use of Consultants
2. Transparency
3. Cost Estimating
4. Defining Limited Government
5. Rules of Procedure; and,
6. Appointment Process.
The Governance topic has been scheduled as a study session item to last not more than one hour each Council meeting in order to accomplish as much of the list as possible each meeting. The following represents staff material on each topic, but as this is a Council initiated topic, the agenda provides flexibility to allow the Members to more fully explain intent, introduce concepts or solutions, and provide overall guidance on outcomes. It is anticipated that this first one hour study session will resolve no more than the first four items. Therefore, those are addressed below.
Consultants
a. Assign Staff person to be responsible for managing the consultant contract and performance - the Town Manager proposes using an “Administrative Policy” as the tool to address this request. Attach please find a draft version.
b. Annual look-back on expenditures for consultants and contracted employees. There are multiple ways to accomplish this task. Perhaps the most obvious method would be to create a report either in or at the same time as the annual audit. The audit is typically conducted over the 3-5 months following the close of the fiscal year. During the audit, Finance staff is already compiling data for the previous 12 months and could add this as a report. Alternatively, this could be done as a part of the budget process. Since budget creation and discussions are usually occurring in March thru June, it would perhaps reflect the previous calendar year. A little more tedious since covering two fiscal years but still possible.
Transparency
a. Email addresses of board members on the website. The Town does not currently post the email addresses (personal, professional or Town provided) of members of the Board of Adjustments (BOA) on its website. This is done due to the quasi-judicial nature of the BOA. The BOA is an appeals board for those who seek a variance to the zoning code or an appeal of the Zoning Administrator’s interpretation. As a quasi-judicial board, it is general practice to avoid ex parte communication with the parties involved in the proceeding. This is to ensure that there is transparency regarding the process. Council may wish to revisit this practice.
A more general conversation regarding the public status of personal or professional emails of board and commission members by the Town Council would be appreciated. Currently, the Town assigns Town email addresses to members of the Planning Commission and provides a link on-line to those accounts on the web page. The remaining Boards and Commissions do not list email addresses as they are either personal or professional. One consideration is to assign them all Town of PV addresses, but that then requires support of that account on their personal devices by Town staff which has resource considerations. Another alternative is to list the staff and Council Liaisons to each commission and provide their email address.
Cost Estimates
a. When are cost estimates necessary? Generally the discussion has been when considering a new policy or project that cost estimates or cost ranges be included to help determine the feasibility of such a project. This makes sense. The harder consideration is at what level of planning should this apply. There are times when the planning is preliminary or perhaps considered brainstorming. Assigning cost estimates may be unnecessary because the idea may not achieve consensus until later stages of decision making. Further discussion on this matter is appreciated to develop a better framework for when cost estimates are expected.
Collective Definition/Framework of Limited Government
The term Limited Government is used frequently in Paradise Valley policy discussions, but it may mean different things to different people. This lack of common agreement on its definition can lead to conflict where there was perceived agreement. When discussing such things as recreation programs, parks, or library services commonly provided in other municipalities, there appears to be common agreement among policy makers in Paradise Valley-the service is not compatible with limited government. The Mayor and Town Council also reached common agreement on the scope and depth of storm water services earlier this year. When it comes to other services such as trash collection, streetscapes, bicycle paths, and Hillside regulations there can be greater differences. This may center on the provision of the service, the level of service, or the delivery method of the service. Staffing is another area in which it is commonly understood to minimize staffing as much as possible, but when increased demands for the approved services (such as building inspections or court processing) requires more staffing, when does Limited Government dictate regular full time hires, part-time temporary hires, or contracted employees. Moreover, what is the role of elected officials and volunteers versus paid staff in the delivery of municipal services? When is something administrative domain versus the legislative domain?
The purpose of this discussion is to develop a lens to look at these questions when they arise. An Internet article from Investopedia on the topic of Limited Government is also attached as a thought piece.
BUDGETARY IMPACT:
No budgetary impact associated with conducting these discussions.
ATTACHMENT(S):
Draft Administrative Policy on Consultants