Governmental Operations Standing Committee – troubling

20130523GO notes
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Highlights:

0:00:00 Newbille does not follow agenda.
0:12:49 Samuels misrepresents the law. 0:20:11 0:25:42
0:26:02 Jackson does not correct Samuels until asked later.
0:20:18 Robertson unprepared.
0:31:17 Baliles thinks ordinance can clean up city charter.
0:31:17 Baliles admits administration cannot move positions.
0:37:57 Samuels misrepresents the law.
0:39:19 Samuels wants to rush ordinance out of committee.
1:05:38 Ordinance is incorrect; must be amended.

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Frequency:
Samuels 18 [not a committee member]
Robertson 14
Newbille 9
Baliles 5

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Richmond City Council
Governmental Operations Standing
Committee Meeting Agenda
Thursday, May 23, 2013 – 5:00 p.m.
2nd Floor Large Conference Room, City Hall
Committee Members:
The Honorable Cynthia Newbille – Chair
The Honorable Ellen Robertson – Vice-Chair
The Honorable Jonathan Baliles – Member
The Honorable Kathy Graziano – Alternate Member

0:00:00

0:00:02 Call to Order

0:00:24 Public Comment Period- no speakers

0:00:43 Approval of Minutes
April 25, 2013

Presentations
1:10:44 Department of Information Technology – Sharon Judkins, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Finance and Administration
1:26:59 Newbille
1:27:32
1:28:45 Newbille
1:29:16
1:31:09 Robertson
1:32:10
1:32:49 Robertson
1:35:09
1:35:43 Robertson
1:36:48
1:38:47 Baliles
1:38:59
1:39:36

Staff Report

1:44:12 Joyce Davis, Council Policy Analyst – May Staff and Supplemental Report
1:46:31 Newbille
1:48:57

Discussion Item(s)
1. Committee Work Plan

1:39:52 2. Board Vacancies
1:44:03

Paper(s) for Consideration

0:02:25 1. Ord. No. 2013-96 (Patrons President Samuels and Mr. Baliles) – To amend ch. 2, art. III, div. 2 of the City Code by adding therein a new section 2-104, concerning reports to Council on economic development and lease matters, for the purpose of requiring certain activity reports with regard to negotiations relating to certain economic development and lease matters.
0:02:56 Samuels

0:04:27

0:03:24 0:04:44 2. Ord. No. 2013-97 (Patrons President Samuels and Mr. Baliles) – To amend ch. 2, art. III, div. 2 of the City Code by adding therein a new section 2-104, concerning reports to Council on temporary assignments of employees, for the purpose of requiring certain activity reports with regard to temporary assignments of employees.
0:05:01 Samuels – transparency
0:08:34
*0:12:49 Samuels: Under the charter, only the chief administrative officer — not his subordinates, not his designees — have the authority to do this. So, you have to get his permission before you can do this. … My concern is — and Mr. Attorney may need to weight in — in our world, in a normal state, it doesn’t give the chief administrative officer or his designee the power. It just gives the chief administrative officer the power. I could be wrong, but it doesn’t sound like you personally have the authority. It has to come through the chief administrative officer.
0:14:14
0:14:18 Robertson
0:14:28 Public Hearing
0:14:44 – J. Jackson
0:14:48
0:15:23 Samuels
0:16:48
0:17:01 Robertson
0:17:46 Samuels
0:18:02
0:19:18 Robertson
*0:20:11 Samuels: They could say “temporary” is four years. [WRONG]
*0:20:18 Robertson: I have not read your paper to the detail that I should have in preparation for this meeting…
0:20:41 Samuels
0:20:51 Robertson
*0:25:42 Samuels: She doesn’t have the authority to do it anyway. Only the chief administrative officer.. [WRONG].[interrrupted]
*0:25:42 Robertson: If Mr. Marshall grant [sic] her the authority, then she has the authority to do it. He can delegate his responsibilities to his staff I would think. Mr. Attorney?
*0:26:02 A. Jackson: That would be my interpretation of the charter.
0:27:39 Graziano
0:29:16 Samuels
0:29:25
0:30:51 Samuels
0:31:05
*0:31:17 Baliles: This paper has been introduced because the charter still needs to be cleaned up. … When the housing — before Ms. Judkins got here — when the housing division was moved from planning and development, where I worked, they were going to pick ‘em up and move them to economic and community development. And, they couldn’t because they had to come through council to do it. And, they did. But, they did it a couple of months after they tried to just say “oh, we’re going to move you personnel over here.” So, I mean, clearly there is precedent and there’s a procedure for doing something like that.
0:33:49 Newbille
0:34:37 Samuels
0:35:01 Robertson
*0:37:57 Samuels: It is the responsibility of city council specifically to provide for the conduct and operation of every department, bureau, office under the city government.

[City Charter Sec. 4.02. - Powers. All powers vested in the City shall be exercised by the Council EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN THIS CHARTER. In addition to the foregoing, the Council shall have the following powers: (a) To provide for the organization, conduct and operation of all departments, bureaus, divisions, boards, commissions, offices and agencies of the City.]

*[Below: Samuels advocates to rush the ordinance to council.]
0:39:19 Robertson
0:39:49 Newbille
0:40:06 Samuels
0:40:20 Robertson
0:40:28 Samuels
0:40:29 Graziano
0:41:28 Samuels
0:41:39 Baliles
0:41:47 Samuels
0:41:55
0:42:14 Baliles
0:42:30 Samuels
0:42:52 Baliles

0:44:15 3. Ord. No. 2013-107 (Patron Mayor Jones) – To amend the pay plan adopted by Ord. No. 93-117-159 on May 24, 1993, to rename the classifications in the classified service of Social Services Worker and Social Services Worker Supervisor as Family Services Worker and Family Services Supervisor, respectively, to conform to Va. Code § 54.1-3709, and to add to the classified service a new classification of Family Services Specialist in general pay range 14.
0:46:47 Public Hearing – no speakers

0:47:22 4. Ord. No. 2013-109 (Mayor Jones) – To amend and reordain ch. 78, art. VII of the City Code by adding therein a new section numbered 78-210, concerning a voluntary retirement incentive program, to be effective Jul. 1, 2013, for the purposes of providing for (i) the alternate computation of benefits in connection therewith and (ii) a limited period during which qualified members of the Richmond Retirement System’s defined benefit and enhanced defined benefit plans shall be eligible to retire with a one-time incentive payment.
0:56:32 Newbille
0:57:02
0:58:01 Public Hearing – no speakers

Additional discussion:
*1:05:38 Ordinance is incorrect; must be amended.
1:06:54 Newbille
1:07:13 Robertson
1:09:09 (redo vote)

0:58:26 5. Ord. No. 2013-111 (Patron Ms. Trammell) – To set aside 44 parking spaces in the underground parking deck located on City-owned real estate at 900 East Broad Street for the City Council to use in its operations and those of the City Auditor, with permission to occupy 40 of such parking spaces to be granted only by the Council Chief of Staff or the designee thereof and four of such parking spaces to be granted only by the City Auditor.
0:58:53 Newbille
1:00:17 Ali
1:01:01
1:02:45 Newbille
1:04:30

1:49:14
1:49:21

Next Meeting: Thursday, June 27, 2013 – 5:00 p.m., 2nd Floor Large Conference Room, City Hall
Staff Contact: Debra Bowles at 646-5011 or Email: debra.bowles@richmondgov.com