Morrison Council Hires New Law Firm, Appoints Acting City Administrator

Bt Lynnette Forth For The Prairie Advocate News

The Morrison City Council hosted a regular meeting on Monday, March 14 2011. The small meeting room in city hall was packed to overflowing with a large crowd. The meeting started with the approval of minutes from previous meetings, followed by the approval of the February 2011 treasurer’s report. Approval was granted for the total amount of bills payable being $56,059.27.

A concerned Morrison resident spoke briefly during the public comment portion of the meeting, regarding the employees of Moring Disposal being too loud when they are collecting recycling materials during the daytime hours when people who work nights may be trying to sleep. This citizen requested that workers “not be quite so free with the yellow recycling boxes. It would be nice if they could hold it down a little.” Moring spokesman Denny Pate assured the audience that he would definitely pass the request on to their employees.

A report on the Business Advisory Meeting was given, stating that the only issue had to do with the Revolving Loan Fund status for Morrison businesses. It was noted that during the Advisory meeting, member Kent Klima had stated, “For the betterment of Morrison businesses we recommend an immediate separate checking account for the Revolving Loan Fund be established so that applications for loans for Morrison businesses may begin, and replenishment of the Revolving Loan Fund may occur for future loans.”

Board members voted to leave the Fund as is for the time being. Also, during this portion of the meeting, the appointment of Gary Heyenga to the Business Advisory Group was made.

During the Mayor’s report, Mayor Roger Drey reported that he had been contacted by a member of the community regarding the meeting on February 14th. The concerned citizen felt that regarding the hiring of a Morrison police officer, “no one on the council asked questions” regarding the presentation given by Chief Brian Melton. The citizen expressed concern over the matter of trying to save money for the city by not hiring a new officer to replace one who had recently resigned. Mayor Drey asked council members to publicly state why they agreed to move forth with the hiring process.

First Ward Alderman Jim Blakemore stated that the money that would be spent on hiring an officer would not be new money, as it is for a replacement. Also, Blakemore felt that “Chief Melton stated good statistics during his report, and being down one more officer could only cause problems.”

Second Ward Alderman Sarah Thorndike added, “It’s not just about money, it’s about public safety. It would be false economy; it’s not going to save us any money in the long run.”

Council members noted that the presentation given was clear, and answered any questions that the council may have had. Fourth Ward alderman Dave Rose stated, “We could save money by getting rid of two more officers, but at what expense? There are a lot of ways to save money, but public safety should not be one of them.”

Items for consideration and possible action included the approval of the services contract with Moring Disposal. Moring spokesman Denny Pate noted that a few slight changes had been made to the agreement, but it seemed to be fine. Pate urged council members to approve the contract during the meeting, and that he would address the concern that was voiced earlier by a citizen. The contract with Moring Disposal was approved by the council.

Law Firm Ward, Murray, Pace, and Johnson gave a presentation to the audience and board members stating information about their firm, and their hopes for being appointed as representatives for the city attorney position.

Attorney’s Tom Sanders and Tim Zollinger noted that their firm has twenty members with offices in Sterling, Dixon and Milledgeville. The firm has been in business continuously since 1862. They work on an hourly basis, and currently work with many municipalities, park districts, and school districts, with a fairly significant amount of government practices. Tom Sanders stated, “We don’t practice on an individual approach; each attorney has a field in which they specialize better than others. We want to make sure your needs are met, we always have someone available to be of service. We look at ourselves as a full service law firm.”

If the city wishes to hire Ward, Murray, Pace, and Johnson, an engagement letter would be signed by the firm and the city. Thorndike asked if the ordinance could be changed to show that the city attorney would not be on retainer. Sanders answered by saying, “I have seen your ordinance, and if you hire our firm based on the normal engagement letter, that contract would be inconsistent with the ordinance. We work on an hourly basis; you pay us for our time. We prefer to be upfront with our fees. If you do retain us, you would have to change your ordinance to reflect that.”

Rose wondered if a representative from the firm would be available at each council meeting if they were to be hired, and Zollinger stated that they would do whatever the mayor and council wanted them to do if hired.

Three of the candidates running for current council seats were given the opportunity to ask questions of the law firm. Candidate Martha Wood asked, “What is the hourly fee?” Sanders said $175.00 per hour. Wood also asked if the fees would include the meeting time, or travel time or both. Sanders responded by stating, “It’s the time we spend servicing your needs. If we are required to be somewhere to meet those needs, it would include travel time, yes. We are very tech savvy.”

Ward Two Alderman Barb Bees commented, “It’s a very reasonable fee.” Police Chief Brian Melton questioned how much criminal defense court the firm does. Sanders stated, “The amount of criminal defense work we do is next to nothing. It’s not the nature of our practice; we are a civil practice firm.”

Mayor Drey stated that “I feel comfortable with Ward, Murray, Pace and Johnson.” It was stated that the appointment would be on a yearly basis. Sanders noted that if the city is not happy with the firm’s work before the year is up, they can terminate services. A motion was entertained by Drey to appoint the firm as city attorney, moved by Blakemore and seconded by Bees. The motion was approved.

Gary Tresenriter and Brian Melton were appointed by the council as Acting City Administrator and Assistant Acting City Administrator respectively.

Police Chief Brian Melton addressed the council on the issue of approving the policy on body armor. “From here on out, each year hopefully, we will continue to get Federal funding to reimburse the city of Morrison for the purchase of bullet proof vests for the officers up to 50%.” Starting this year, Melton noted that the government now requires a must wear policy for officers, which is why a policy needs to be put in place. The motion was approved.

Also, Melton asked the council to adopt ordinance #11-1 amending section 2.28.07 regarding hiring of part time police officers for the city. Melton commented, “This has been a learning experience for me.” Ward 4 Alderman Scott Connelly asked if “basically this gives the authority to appoint officers?” Melton answered, “It’s just a formality.” The ordinance was passed by council members.

Thorndike gave a presentation from the Building Code Committee. She asked the City of Morrison to adopt a building code. “Right now the way things are a builder could come in and put up a house with 1x2’s for roof tresses because nobody checks, and we have no laws that say they can’t do that.” A video presentation was given showing many safety hazards that home inspectors may find. Contractors would be required to obtain a license at the cost of $25.00 from the city yearly, and show proof of insurance, and a performance bond.

“Our city doesn’t have an inspector right now,” Thorndike noted. It was pointed out during the presentation that electrical problems are the most common. Thorndike asked the council to adopt all of the building codes and require inspections to be done on remodeling and home sales. “People will get more money when they sell their home because people will pay more for a building they know is safe.”

A meeting for April 30th has tentatively been scheduled by the Building Code Committee for the purpose of making the information available to the public. Thorndike stated, “We need codes before we can hire an inspector.”

The personnel Committee discussed the agreement for the future City Administrator. Several questions were raised from council members in regards to the amount of vacation time that would be given, and a concern over giving an allowance for a vehicle. Attorney Sanders addressed the concerns that were raised, and assured council members that these issues would be open for negotiation between the new city administrator and council members. Thorndike questioned the policy for providing severance pay for an administrator. Sanders reassured Thorndike that a decision regarding severance pay or termination would be a decision of the board members. Attorney Zollinger urged members to “keep in mind that when a candidate is chosen, you will have a negotiation period.”

The meeting concluded with no need for an Executive Session. The next meeting is scheduled for March 28 at City Hall.

 

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