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07-14-20 CM Minutes REGULAR MEETING MINUTES The meeting began at 6:30 pm. Present: Mayor Harris and Council Members; Rosenquist, Fonnest, Sanberg and Harris. Staff present: City Manager Cruikshank, City Attorney Cisneros, Human Resources Director Santelices, Police Chief Sturgis and Finance Director Virnig. 1. Review Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Bill Lauer from Malloy, Montague, Karnowski, Radosevich, & Co., P.A. (MMKR) presented the report. Lauer explained that the last portion of the City’s audit was completed remotely due to COVID-19. The City’s basic financial statement received an unmodified and clean opinion (the highest opinion that can be received on statements). In terms of internal control over financial reporting, certain capacity limitations were pointed out due to the small number of employees working in the Finance department. No issues with compliance were reported either on the financial statement audit or in the Minnesota legal compliance audit. Lauer gave an overview of the City’s expenditures, fund types, and the allocation of monies according to the budget and fund balance. 2. Golden Valley Police Department Update Police Chief Sturgis presented the staff report, which included the number of calls for service, source of calls, and average response time by incident priority. Sturgis explained what types of records the Golden Valley Police Department (GVPD) maintains and explained that whenever force is used by an officer, a report is completed. These reports include a detailed description of the subject’s actions and the force techniques used by the officer. Sturgis stated that GVPD completed 4000 aggregate hours of training in 2019 compared to around 2300 aggregate hours of training 6 years ago. Sturgis discussed the new officer training and field training processes. The training takes anywhere between 4 to 7 months depending on various circumstances and officers are assigned a mentor within the agency. The Council discussed engagement and community outreach strategies for different communities. On this topic, the Council stressed the importance of bias and diversity training for the Neighborhood Watch program—which could be approached by partnering with PRIME and the Rising TIDES Task Force. Sturgis outlined several GVPD activities and department standards including: de-escalation techniques, chokehold ban, duty to intervene, required use of force continuum and required comprehensive reporting on any use of force. July 14, 2020 – 6:30 pm Virtual Webex Meeting DocuSign Envelope ID: 1CFB94F1-56A4-4D61-B89F-377B99B33E28 2 City of Golden Valley City Council/Manager Regular Meeting Minutes July 14, 2020 – 6:30 pm The City Council addressed a variety of topics with the Chief of Police, including authorized use of force determinations, de-escalation techniques, body-worn-cameras (BWC), and no chokehold allowance policies. Sturgis answered a number of questions from the Council regarding drone footage data retention, BWC’s activation, emergency line calls, number and type of, average response time, and types of calls for service. In terms of the policy recommendations, the City Council expressed its desire to bring those recommendations forward at a Council meeting in the near future for discussion and consideration. 3. Civil Service Commission/Police Community Advisory Commission Discussion City Manager Cruikshank presented the staff report. Cruikshank discussed the hiring processes for the Police Department (PD). The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has authority over the employment, promotion, discharge, and suspension of Golden Valley Police officers. After discussing the pros and cons of the CSC, Cruikshank explained that the current CSC structure and its statutory requirements have historically been an impediment to diversity hiring. Cruikshank recommended the Council consider replacing the CSC with a new commission that could enhance communication between residents, the Police Department and the City Council. Cruikshank also suggested the Council consider hiring a community outreach liaison. The two sitting Civil Service Commission members were in attendance and spoke in opposition to disbanding the CSC. Commissioner Wold presented a petition from concerned residents who also opposed disbanding the CSC. Wold explained that the CSC is established and governed under Minnesota Statute and it is his belief that state law gives the CSC protection and autonomy. For example, the CSC is the only City commission that has the authority to approve and amend its own bylaws. The Council debated the implications of replacing the CSC with a different advisory body. . Councilmember Sanberg stated she is not comfortable replacing an oversight commission with an advisory commission and explained that most police reform advocacy groups are advocating for more oversight by citizens. She is open to creating something new by ordinance that includes an oversight role and feels that the City should solicit opinions from more community members. Councilmember Rosenquist expressed that she would like the Police Department’s diverse hiring initiatives to be consistent with the hiring process of the City as a whole and guided by the Equity Manager. Rosenquist asked City Attorney Cisneros whether there are any legal implications with having a different recruitment process for the police department. Cisneros shared that there are diverse hiring strategies that other cities use that the City cannot participate in because of the CSC requirements. Cisneros also shared that affirmative action hiring requires the City to conduct a disparity study and develop a tailored affirmative action plan. Because of the investment required, it would likely make sense to create a City wide affirmative action plan. Rosenquist also shared that a long-time CSC Commissioner recently resigned from the commission because he felt that the commission should be replaced with something new. DocuSign Envelope ID: 1CFB94F1-56A4-4D61-B89F-377B99B33E28 3 City of Golden Valley City Council/Manager Regular Meeting Minutes July 14, 2020 – 6:30 pm Mayor Harris asked whether the City could delegate authority to oversee staff conduct. City Attorney Cisneros explained that in a Plan B City, supervisory authority of staff is vested in the City Manager and that she would have to research more whether that authority can be delegated to non-staff members of the public. Cisneros explained that there are also data practices and other privacy issues that would need to be considered. Mayor Harris asked Human Resources Director Santelices and Chief Sturgis questions about challenges associated with the current recruitment process. Mayor Harris agreed with Sanberg that the CSC should not be replaced until the City receives more input from the community on accountability, transparency, and diversity issues. Councilmember Harris stated that he believes the CSC is outdated and not well suited to encourage accountability, but he acknowledges that is the only tool the City currently has to provide citizen oversight of the police department. Councilmember Harris suggested the City develop a more specific proposal that provides the oversight authority and is as good as or better than the CSC. Councilmember Fonnest stated that he believes the City can build an advisory body that is better, more nimble, and more representative of the community. Fonnest would like the City to work toward building a new commission and leave the CSC in place in the meantime. Fonnest stated that this is an opportunity for the City to continue to be a leader City in this area by providing a commission with teeth and oversight capabilities that is better than the current CSC. Rosenquist agreed with Fonnest that the CSC structure is antiquated. Rosenquist believes the City should continue to explore creative hiring practices and alternatives to the CSC with the help of the new Equity Manager. The Council directed staff to continue working with the community to build out a proposal that more specifically defines the structure and role of a replacement commission that addresses the following goals: accountability, oversight, transparency, and diversifying the workforce. 4. Human Services Commission and Golden Valley Community Foundation Discussion The Council resolved postponing discussion of this topic to a later meeting due to the extensive duration of this evening’s meeting. * 5. Council Review of Future Draft Agendas: Housing & Redevelopment Authority July 21, City Council July 21, City Council August 4, Wednesday, Council/Manager August 12, City Council August 18, City Council September 1 and Council/ Manager September 8, 2020 The Council agreed to add a City-wide mask mandate item at the next City Council agenda. No other proposed changes were submitted for future draft agendas. The meeting adjourned at 11:30 pm. DocuSign Envelope ID: 1CFB94F1-56A4-4D61-B89F-377B99B33E28 4 City of Golden Valley City Council/Manager Regular Meeting Minutes July 14, 2020 – 6:30 pm ________________________________ Shepard M. Harris, Mayor ATTEST: _________________________________ Tomas Romano, Assistant to the City Manager’s Office DocuSign Envelope ID: 1CFB94F1-56A4-4D61-B89F-377B99B33E28