Agenda Item Title:
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City Council Office recommending a process for future appointments requiring City Council consent.
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Presenter:
Mike Applegarth
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Description/Background:
Utah Code Annotated 10-3b-202 and Sandy City Administrative Code 6-2-3 requires the Mayor to appoint, with the City Council's advice and consent, a qualified person for each of the following positions: chief administrative officer, recorder, treasurer, engineer, and city attorney. The Sandy City Administrative Code also requires the Mayor to appoint with the City Council's advice and consent, each department head of the City, each statutory officer of the City, and each member of a statutory commission, board or committee of the City. Other areas of the Administrative Code require the City Council's consent on positions including members of the Planning Commission, Board of Adjustment, Human Resources Director, the hearing officer for reasonable accommodation requests, and Arts Guild Board of Trustees.
Due to the long-standing relationship with Administration, the Council has approached its advice and consent role informally. Due to the turnover in the Mayor's Office and pending change in positions for which the Council has an advice and consent role, the Council Office recommends the following with any new appointments:
1. Require a criminal background check.
Sandy City's Operations Manual "Selection and Recruitment" policy adopted in 1993 does not mandate background checks. It leaves the decision of whether or not to background check a potential new hire to the hiring authority. Many other cities, for example Murray, Ogden, Provo and South Salt Lake require criminal background checks on all new employees or at a minimum, director-level positions. As part of the hiring authority due to its advice and consent duty for those positions identified in state statute or municipal code, the City Council should consider requiring criminal background checks as the first step in considering new appointments.
2. Require a current and complete resume.
The City Council require a current and complete resume for each individual for which it will consider consent. Even though the Mayor and/or Council may have familiarity with prospective candidates, it is important to build the record from which the consent decision is based. The resume and any other documentation provided by the Mayor's Office should be provided to the Council consistent with the process and timeline for routine agenda items.
3. Conduct a formal interview during Council Meeting.
The public has an interest in the leadership and advisory positions within City government. The City Council should consider conducting its interview of prospective candidates in the main Council meeting. The Council Office further recommends that future consent considerations for statutory positions be given priority on the agenda without other business impeding the Council's ability to conduct a thorough interview.
4. Consider holding a closed session at the conclusion of the Council's formal interview.
While the formal interview should be conducted on open and public record, holding a closed session to discuss the results of the interview, namely an individual's character, professional competence, physical or mental health is expressly permitted by the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act.
Further action to be taken:
The Council may want to consider relaxing these requirements for positions identified in the municipal code that are primarily advisory in nature. A future policy should be developed to guide the application of the principles identified above.
Recommended Action and/or Suggested Motion:
Recommendation
Motion to approve the revised advise and consent process for immediately pending appointments, and direct staff to develop a proposed policy further developing the points included in the staff report.