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Home My WebLink AboutCharter Review Commission Minutes 2024.07.11 City of Brookings, South Dakota City Charter Commission Mee?ng 1 July 11, 2024 Community Room 300, City and County Government Center Mee?ng Notes Commissioners Present: Tom Yseth, Roger Solum, Lisa Hager, Keith Corbe?, Jeanne Manzer, Gail Robertson, Dianne Nagy, David Gilbertson, Bob Burns, Ashley Ragsdale Commissioners Absent: Van Fishback Brookings Staﬀ Present: Jake Meshke, Sam Beckman, Paul Briseno, Bonnie Foster Brookings Staﬀ Absent: Steve Britzman Public Present: Tim Reed Na?onal Civic League: Derek Okubo I. Welcome Derek Okubo, Na?onal Civic League, opened the mee?ng at 5:30 p.m., welcoming the Brookings City Charter Commission members. Paul Briseno noted that the ﬁrst Brookings City Charter was wri?en and adopted 20 years ago. It was recommended that the Charter be reviewed every 10 years. II. Charter Revision Process Review Derek reviewed the Charter Revision Process with commission members. He addressed the charge of the commission and roles and responsibili?es of the city staﬀ, Na?onal Civic League, and community. Charge of the City Charter Commission:  Review and become familiar with the exis?ng Brookings City Charter and its government structure.  Understand the procedures and interrela?ons of the diﬀerent parts of the government and its rela?onship with the city charter.  Through study and discussion, ensure the desired principles of local government are built into the proposed charter amendments.  Iden?fy areas in the charter for review and share why it should be reviewed.  When working on revisions, iden?fy the desired outcome that the charter change would strive to achieve.  Review and edit the dra? charter amendments to ensure the language is clear and understandable. 1  Conduct the commission work with integrity so that residents view the outcomes as credible.  Act as ambassadors of the process, assist with community outreach, and encourage adop?on of the charter or its amendments. Commission Role and Responsibili?es:  A?end all charter commission mee?ngs  Complete any assignments should any arise in between commission mee?ngs  Assist with community outreach  Bring your personal lens with a focus on what’s best for the City of Brookings and the community it serves  Par?cipate, oﬀer your opinions. You were selected for a reason! City Staﬀ Role and Responsibili?es:  Provide process, informa?on, and logis?c support  City A?orney o Act as a legal resource where needed o Assist with the processes when the amendments go to ballot  City Clerk o Assist with the elec?on processes when amendments go to ballot  City Council o Provide preliminary insight into charter areas for review o Help iden?fy outreach targets in the community Na?onal Civic League Role and Responsibili?es:  Na?onal Civic League  Neutral Guide  Facilitate all commission mee?ngs  Research and provide ini?al amendment dra?s  Community Outreach  Work with City staﬀ in prepara?on for the ballot III. Outreach Targets Community outreach will be key to the success of this Charter Revision Project. It will be crucial to receive community input, feedback, and share informa?on on the charter areas being revised for approval by the voters to occur in spring 2025. Commission members brainstormed the following groups: Business Downtown Associa?on Brookings Economic Development Corpora?on Chamber of Commerce East Brookings Business Associa?on 2 Visit Brookings Educa?on South Dakota State University (SDSU) Student Associa?ons at SDSU Brookings Educa?on Associa?on School Board Jackrabbit Club Government County Commission City Employees Brookings Ac?vity Center Hospital U?li?es Human Rights Commission Civic Organiza?ons/Community Veterans Groups: VFW, DAV, American Legion Media (Print, Radio) Op?mists, Rotary, Elks United Way Ministerial Alliance Interfaith Council  Derek will be needing the contact informa?on of those outreach targets listed. IV. Set Project Calendar The mee?ng calendar was set. All mee?ngs will be at the City and County Government Building, from 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Mee?ng Schedule Thursday, August 8, 2024 Monday, August 26, 2024 Thursday, September 19, 2024 Monday, October 7, 2024 Thursday, October 31, 2024 Community Outreach and Other Process Logis?cs July/Aug Public Mee?ng (Targeted Invite) July Work with staﬀ on Digital Outreach Pla?orm Aug/Sept Community Outreach with Target Groups with Charter Commission Nov/Dec Online Outreach to Target Groups 3 Dec/Jan Wrap Up any loose ends; Design outreach strategy with City Jan-Feb Work with City A?orney, staﬀ, get ready for April vote V. Select City Charter Commission Chairperson and Vice Chairperson Derek reviewed the responsibili?es and desired characteris?cs of the Commission Chairperson: Role • Open and close Charter Commission mee?ngs • Act as the local “face” of the project • Be a secondary “facilitator” of the process with NCL • Help mediate conﬂicts among the commission should they arise • Assist with troubleshoo?ng any issues that may occur with the process Characteris?cs • Integrity • A good process mind • Problem-Solver • Neutral and Fair – has integrity and ability hear all views • Credible with the community The Vice Chairperson will ﬁll in and act as a thought partner with the Chair. A?er discussion and persuasion, David Gilbertson agreed to serve as Chair and Lisa Hager agreed to serve as Vice Chair. VI. Commission Opera?on Agreements Derek reviewed the Opera?on Agreements for the Charter Commission. Opera?ng Agreements are the norms that commissioners agree to abide by so that the process has integrity and func?ons at an op?mal level. The commissioners agreed to the agreements. • Start and end mee?ngs on ?me • Avoid personal a?acks • Avoid interrup?ng one another • Stay on topic/task • Oﬀer alterna?ves • Decisions are made here • Everyone par?cipates! • Have FUN! VIII. City Charter Orienta?on and Discussion The orienta?on was moved to the August 8 mee?ng due to Doug Linkhart being ill and unable to make the ﬁrst mee?ng. 4 IX. Desired Principles of City Government Discussion Derek led a discussion among the commissioners on the Principles of Local Government – those basic beliefs/truths which guides how we prac?ce within government and externally with the community. The purpose of having this discussion was to iden?fy those principles to ensure those quali?es are embedded in the City Charter. We will be visi?ng these themes regularly throughout the process to ensure they are a part of the City Charter. Internally as a Government  Opera?onal eﬃciency with procedures and how government operates  Fiscally responsible in how dollars are spent and used  Responsive to community interests  Act as a?en?ve public servants  Representa?ve of community interests  Department Heads are visible, credible, have integrity and are showing the community they’re honest  Elec?ons are easy, accessible, and convenient Externally in Working with Community  Fairness exists – various interests are being treated in a non-arbitrary manner and are receiving their fair hearing  Ci?zen recommenda?ons are heard and u?lized  Has direct ci?zen involvement through commissions, commi?ees  Minimal bureaucracy and jumping through hoops – ease and responsiveness with requests – e.g., stop signs on streets  Transparency exists – the community is informed and know what is happening  Engage the public (will likely be a topic in future discussions) X. Next Steps – Assignment Derek requested the commission do the following before the August 8 mee?ng:  Review and become very familiar with the exis?ng City Charter o Derek noted topics that should be in the charter are those things that will not change over ?me or circumstance  Examples: Staﬀ posi?ons under Department heads may change over ?me depending on circumstances and should be le? to the discre?on of the city; salaries will change over ?me and should not be included – currently the charter has salaries listed for council and it isn’t up to date. o Commission Chair David Gilbertson accurately noted that a City Charter is the local government cons?tu?on.  Iden?fy areas for review or addi?on 5 o Is something out of date or unclear? Bring that up. o Is something currently included that would be more appropriate as a statute, ordinance, or local law? o Is something missing that should be discussed? Bring it up.  Prepare a ra?onale for WHY the area should be reviewed or addi?on  Be prepared as a commission to iden?fy areas for review at the next mee?ng  Contact Derek with any ques?ons or concerns at dpokubo13@gmail.com or 303- 949-8323.  David Gilbertson asked: How many municipalities in SD which are Home Rule? There are 11: Aberdeen, Beresford, Brookings, Elk Point, Faith, Fort Pierre, Pierre, Sioux Falls, Springfield, Vermillion and Watertown.  City Attorney Steve Britzman will be at the next Commission meeting to answer any specific questions regarding state powers that pre-empt Brookings powers. XI. Adjourn Next Mee?ng: August 8, 2024, 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Brookings City and County Government Building Mee?ng Focus: Charter Orienta?on and Iden?ﬁca?on of areas in review and addi?on 6