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<br />City Council Regular Meeting - 03/13/06 <br />Minutes - Page 12 <br /> <br />Beets regarding the amount of time being spent by <br />Councilmembers on meeting as a Council body, in addition to <br />their full-time jobs and family responsibilities. Councilmember <br />Pust opined that City Manager Beets' suggestion for delegation <br />of responsibility and accountability was a viable option, a way to <br />get the work done, and served as a way to formalize a <br />subcommittee process for volunteers to take the lead and get <br />things done. Councilmember Pust further opined that she didn't <br />see City Manager Beets' suggestions as an attempt to usurp any <br />authority, but a way to divide some work already suggested, <br />rather than continually bringing it up and only talking about it at <br />formal Council meetings. <br /> <br />Councilmember Ihlan opined that Councilmembers needed to <br />work in areas where they wanted to work, rather than having <br />structure imposed in a "poor management structure." <br /> <br />Councilmember Maschka noted the differences in the broad, <br />long-term visioning process (i.e., housing and technology) and <br />other work load processing that could be handled by the Public <br />Works, Environment and Transportation Committee (i.e., James <br />Addition); and the need for the Council to spend time discussing <br />and coming to consensus on long-term visioning for the <br />community. <br /> <br />Further discussion included identification criteria for <br />subcommittees and/or task forces; short-term and long-term <br />issues; attendance by some or all Councilmembers with staff <br />noticing meetings in case of a quorum of Councilmembers <br />present; need for open communication with all Councilmembers <br />and staff of ongoing meetings outside the formal Council setting; <br />authorizing individual Councilmembers to act on behalf of the <br />City Council (i.e., Minnesota Department of Transportation <br />communications); process versus results; City Council directives <br />and charges to respective Commissions or Subcommittees; <br />defining time frames and finite assignments; and citizen input for <br />establishing priorities. <br /> <br />Mayor Klausing questioned Councilmember Ihlan's past <br />hesitancy in prioritizing issues; and how to find a common <br />ground. <br />