Sequim Council Operations Rules of Procedure 2021/01/04 (Article 5: Relations with city manager and staff)

Summary:

CITY OF SEQUIM RESOLUTION NO. R2020-27 ARTICLE 5 – RELATIONS WITH CITY MANAGER & STAFF

5.1 Role of the City Manager.
The City Manager has general supervision over the City’s administrative affairs. The Manager is directly accountable to the City Council for the execution of the Council’s policy directives, and for the administration and management of all City departments. The powers and duties of the City Manager are defined by Washington law (RCW 35A. 13.080). Such duties may be expanded by Ordinance or Resolution. Balanced with the City Manager’s accountability to the Council for policy implementation is the need for the Council to allow the City Manager to perform legally defined duties and responsibilities without inappropriate interference by the Council in the day-to-day management decisions of the City Manager.

5.2 Administrative Interference by Council Members.
Neither the Council, nor any of its committees or members, may direct or request the appointment of any person to, or his/her removal from, any office by the City Manager or any of his/her subordinates. Except for the purpose of inquiry, the Council and its members must deal with City staff solely through the City Manager and neither the Council nor any committee or member thereof may give any orders to any subordinate of the City Manager, publicly or privately; however, nothing in this section will be construed to prohibit the Council, while in open session, from fully and freely discussing with the City Manager anything pertaining to appointments and removals of City officers and employees and City affairs. (RCW 35A.13.120). See Section 5.4 for additional information concerning communication with staff.

5.3 Administrative Complaints Made Directly to Individual Council Members.
When administrative policy or administrative performance complaints are made directly to individual Council members, the Council member will refer the matter directly to the City Manager for review and/or action. The individual Council member may request to be informed of the action or response made to the complaint. Council Communication with Staff.

The City of Sequim encourages open communication between the City Council and staff. The City’s philosophy is that open communication creates healthier working relationships within the organization. Staff is encouraged to communicate directly with the City Council and the City Council is encouraged to communicate directly with staff, following the guidelines below. These guidelines are established to help everyone receive the information that they need to be successful in their roles. Following the guidelines will also improve efficiency by reducing the number of repeat questions and conversations that take place internally and in City Council meetings. These guidelines do not apply to Councilors conducting business with the City outside of their Councilor roles.

5.4 Council Communication with Staff.
The City of Sequim encourages open communication between the City Council and staff. The City’s philosophy is that open communication creates healthier working relationships within the organization. Staff is encouraged to communicate directly with the City Council and the City Council is encouraged to communicate directly with staff, following the guidelines below. These guidelines are established to help everyone receive the information that they need to be successful in their roles. Following the guidelines will also improve efficiency by reducing the number of repeat questions and conversations that take place internally and in City Council meetings. These guidelines do not apply to Councilors conducting business with the City outside of their Councilor roles.

• Councilors will copy the City Manager on communications with staff;

• Council requests for information from staff requiring more than 2 hours of staff time will require City Manager approval. It is incumbent upon staff to confer with the City Manager under these circumstances and for the City Manager to communicate with Council if an issue requires policy direction or resolution. Under those circumstances, the City Manager would refer the item back to the entire City Council in a public meeting for direction;

• Councilors are not to direct staff actions beyond the research requests mentioned above;

• Councilors acting in volunteer roles with separate organizations should keep the City Manager informed when interacting with staff.

5.5 Staff Communication with Council. Staff will copy the City Manager on communication with Council.
• Staff will copy the City Manager and Council on communications with the community in response to requests for service that come through the Council. Keeping everyone in the loop regarding the resolution of issues reported through the City Council is important to the Council and to the City Manager. The
City Manager will inform the Council of the initial staff assignment of requests to the Council where a staff response is warranted;

• The City Manager and staff will share information requested by one Councilor with the entire Council, as a matter of practice. This will typically be done as a part of a response to a Councilor’s request. Where possible and feasible, the City Manager will sometimes “bundle” these updates to the whole Council in the weekly update or in the City Manager’s Report during City Council meetings.

End of Article 5 – Relations with City Manager & Staff

Ongoing Stuff

Get vaccinated! Yeah I know you’d like to forget about it, but there are new variants and the infection rate is climbing. Fortunately, there is an effective booster, which is recommended for people 65 and older and those who are immuno-compromised. It is available now, effective, free and you can get your appointment today here and here , including walk-Ins at SAFEWAY, Walgreen’s, Rite-Aid, SeaMar and Healthpoint.

Sign up for the King County Code Red Alert program. When you sign up for Code Red you’ll be notified immediately when there is a possible health threat. After the recent ‘Boil Water Notice’ I received just a few grouses that ‘it did not work’. I’m 99% certain that the problem is that you have to actually sign up for an account. Do It! There is this ‘guest’ option which is stupid and should not even be an option. Everyone who had an account in their system was notified. If you’re like me and signed up ten years ago (after the last notification), go to the site immediately and verify your account. Ten years is a long time for any computer system.
Check out the 223rd Green Street Project web site and take the 223rd Green Street Survey before December 11th!
Check out the Des Moines Marina Steps web site and take the Marina Steps Survey.
If you’re interested in any of our Kids or Senior activities, you can sign up here.
Learn more about our Comprehensive Plan and take the Housing Action Plan Survey.
Take the City Communication and Engagement Survey
Give blood! Schedule an appointment today. There is a CODE RED emergency shortage.
Masonic Home! There is a petition for those who are interested in historic preservation of the property. If you have questions, don’t contact me. Contact Barbara McMichael and Lloyd Lytle Jr
Community Service Officer Tonya Seaberry wants to hear from neighborhood groups interested in establishing block watch programs: Tseaberry@desmoineswa.gov or 206-878-3301.
City Of Des Moines Minor Home Repair Program: Low to moderate income households can get grants to do all sorts of necessary repairs. Email Tina Hickey (206) 870-6535.
Every home should have a Carbon Monoxide Detector–especially during the colder months! Full stop. If you need one but money is tight, South King County Fire And Rescue will get you one. Just call their Community Affairs Office at 253-946-7347.
And last, but not least: If your home has Port Package (sound insulation system) that is having issues, please go to SeatacNoise.Info

How to attend meetings and provide Public Comment

City Council Meetings are scheduled for Thursdays at 6:00PM at City Hall 21630 11th Avenue S., Suite #C Des Moines WA 98198. They can also be viewed live on Comcast Channel 21/321 or on the City’s YouTube channel. Committee Meetings are either at 4:00PM or 5:00PM, also on Thursdays.

There are three ways to provide Public Comment:

In person: Show up a few minutes before the meeting and sign the sheet. Public Comment is usually conducted at the beginning of the meeting.
By e-mail: All e-mails sent to citycouncil@desmoineswa.gov are considered public comment. They are instantly available to all members of the City Council and the City Clerk who includes them into the record of public comments at the next meeting.
By US Mail: Attn: City Clerk Office, 21630 11th Avenue S., Des Moines WA 98198 no later than 4:00 p.m. day of the meeting. Please provide us with your first and last name and the city in which you live.

All letters or e-mails requesting a specific action are referred by the City Clerk to the appropriate City department.

If you would like a follow up from me, personally please indicate that or call me (206) 878-0578.

The Clerk does not read e-mails to the Council in full; only the subject line. However, we do see them as soon as you send them. Your comments are added to the Agenda Packet available on the City web site following each meeting.

How to view public comments, correspondence and meeting materials

The City publishes a meeting agenda on the Friday (six days) before city council meetings. On the day after the meeting (Friday) the City updates that same file with all the slide presentations, the correspondence, and a list of the people who signed up to give public comment at the meeting. Currently, there is no button on the web site that says Show me the meeting comments for xx/xx/xxxx. You just have to know that this is the procedure. Below is a recipe to get you there.

Go to www.desmoineswa.gov
Once there, hover over Your Government and then click Council Meeting Center. (Or, you can skip Step #1 and just click on Council Meeting Center.)
Select the meeting date you’re interested in from the Schedule Of Meetings calendar.
Click on Regular Meeting for the meeting date you want. In this case, December 1, 2022.
Click the Agenda Packet link under “Print Verson”.
You can also select a meeting using the list near the top. You can also use the left and right arrows to select older meetings.
Once the agenda packet loads, there are two links we’re interested in:
- Correspondence to view all e-mails received by the City Council since the last meeting.
- Comments From The Public to view a list of the people who spoke in-person at the meeting.