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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION – MARCH 10, 2025 17 City Administrator Jagoe said Resolution 2016-22, the City Council Norms of Behavior was previously adopted. Staff is looking for direction if the Council feels if that is still sufficient or if it needs to be updated. Included with the memo are minutes from the special work session related to the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust Collaboration Services. That discussion was surrounding similar discussion items. Councilmember Weber asked for clarification that this is a discussion on the Committees and Commissions Code of Conduct. Mayor Grant said it was originally designed just for Council and then somehow it went to Committees and Commissions. Councilmember Weber doesn’t think we should be imposing any requirements on behavior if it doesn’t also apply to Council. That part was confusing to him because the previous discussion was regarding Council. Councilmember Monson said there was a committee member who made it clear that we needed to have a process around it. She doesn’t like that the process has to go to personnel. She thinks the Council has the full right to decide who does and does not serve on a committee. She doesn’t think it has to go through personnel. She wouldn’t want to take that right away from Council. Her only issue is the time it would take to work through personnel. How long do other commission or committee members have to be uncomfortable? She doesn’t understand the intent of it going to personnel who would make a recommendation to Council. She wants to preserve the option that Council doesn’t have to go through the Personnel Committee. We can appoint them and we can remove them. She would like that built in. Councilmember Monson said, in regard to the resolution for Council, it has already been accepted but she would like to expand on it. She distributed a document in 2024 that builds out a little more. In 2016 there were clearly dynamics that were happening. She could live with the versions presented. She doesn’t intend to stop them from progressing. Mayor Grant said the concept of the Personnel Committee, if he remembers right, was that was Councilmember Rousseau’s preference. As you are dealing with personnel matters, are we at the Council level going to meet publicly and air the dirty laundry? If it goes to the Personnel Committee it can be dealt with privately. Councilmember Weber said the biggest issue for him with the Personnel Committee is that if the conflict is a member of the Personnel Committee, then we’re down to just one person on the two person committee making the decision. He thinks it’s reasonable and it should be implied that the Council is going to have oversight. If an issue is brought before Council and a Councilmember wants to bypass the Personnel Committee in reviewing it, the Council can move on it. He hopes this isn’t a regular occurrence. If there is a major issue it should go through Council. Councilmember Monson thought we could add language that says the Council or an appointee who observes or experiences the behavior may choose to go to Personnel or may choose the Council. With the bottom line being, Council has ultimate say. Mayor Grant said that Council always has the ultimate say.