Laserfiche WebLink
City Council Minutes <br /> April 1, 2024 <br /> Page 5 of 9 <br /> having an SRO in the school. Junior Council Member Rothwell agrees with the <br /> importance of having an SRO present and says most of the high school students <br /> prefer to have one. It helps with the day-to-day issues. <br /> 8.3 Officer Recognition <br /> Chief Davis explains that Officer Melin and Reserve Officer Clemmer stopped to <br /> assist a driver and his wife with a blown-out tire. They went above and beyond <br /> their duties to help them out, by even taking the rim off the vehicle and taking it to <br /> be repaired, then returning to reinstall it. Council Member Ronning expresses <br /> how great it is to have these reports and says it shows how much our Police <br /> Department cares and says a lot about our City. Chief Davis says the officers <br /> aren't looking for recognition, but he believes it's important for the Council and <br /> members of our City to see what they are out there doing. <br /> 8.4 Request to Hire Police Officer <br /> Mayor Gardner explains the Personnel Committee met with Chief Davis and City <br /> Clerk/Treasurer Emily Johnson. He says Chief Davis and Emily put in a lot of <br /> time going over different scheduling options of having five or six officers on staff. <br /> After reviewing the options, the Personnel Committee came to a decision to <br /> advertise for and fill the vacant Police Officer position. Council Member Pederson <br /> agrees that having a full roster of six officers will also help with any overtime <br /> hours. Council Member Ronning adds it will also eliminate several issues during <br /> busy seasons and filling vacations, etc. <br /> COUNCIL MEMBER PEDERSON MOVES TO APPROVE ADVERTISING FOR <br /> AND FILLING THE VACANT POLICE OFFICER POSITION. COUNCIL <br /> MEMBER RONNING SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIES 5-0. <br /> 8.5 Union Contracts—Sergeant & Police Officers <br /> Administrator Duus updates that both the Officer and Sergeant union contracts <br /> were amended and need to be re-approved. She says there were a couple of <br /> errors on the side of the union representative. First, two of the officers were <br /> placed on the wrong step and they are requesting they be placed at the correct <br /> rate and step. And the other being the Sergeant contract initially stated Sgt. <br /> Franz would move to his next step on his anniversary date, instead of on the first <br /> of the year like all other employees. Mayor Gardner says they have reviewed the <br /> contracts, and the Personnel Committee had a lot of discussion regarding them. <br /> However, because our employees are very important to us, we are going to do <br /> what is right. He says these officers pay for union representation and they sent <br /> us the wrong contract verbiage, but the Personnel Committee is going to <br /> recommend doing the right thing for our employees and approve the change in <br /> the contracts. Council Member Ronning confirms the update in pay rates had <br /> been budgeted starting from the first of the year, to which Ms. Duus confirmed. <br />