These are unapproved minutes.
The meeting of the Burtrum City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, January 9th, 2017 by Mayor Ronald Strassburg.
The first order of business was to swear in the new member of the City Council, Mitchell Bruggenthies. Mitchell read and signed the Oath of Office and began his term with the Burtrum City Council.
Next, the meeting minutes from the December 5th, 2016 meeting were read and approved by a motion made by Beau Krueger and seconded by Deb VanHavermaet.
The finance report was read and approved by a motion made by Deb VanHavermaet and seconded by Beau Krueger. The City Council then discussed outstanding and routine bills and upon a motion made by Beau Krueger and seconded by Mitchell Bruggenthies, the bills were paid.
The City Council discussed old business. One topic of discussion included yet again the possibility of bringing natural gas to the City. Mayor Strassburg has been in contact with the company and was informed that informational material would be supplied to the City if and when the company is prepared to potentially expand their service area to the City. We ask for patience with this matter as we are working on it.
In addition, the topic of increased numbers of vehicles in resident’s yards was discussed. As a friendly reminder, and per City Ordinance, the City Council would like to remind residents that all vehicles should/must be licensed, current on tabs, and registered.
The City Council then discussed several new topics. The first topic was wage increases to both the City Clerk and Mayor’s monthly wages. The City Council approved to increase the City Clerk’s wage by $75 per month to accommodate for travel. Please note that this will replace the previous practice of paying per mile and was mutually agreed upon by both the City Council and the City Clerk. This will also be a more cost effective approach for the City in the long run. Furthermore, the City approved to increase the Mayor’s monthly compensation by $50 to accommodate for his increased use of his personal phone for business purposes. Please note that this also replaces the previous practice and does not increase the monthly costs to expenses, as this was previously approved in a prior meeting. These changes were approved by a motion made by Deb VanHavermaet and seconded by Beau Krueger, upon vote motion carried.
The second new business topic discussed was determining who was to serve on the several serving committees. The City Council decided to leave all committees are they currently are with the expectation of building permits. Previously, building permits needed to be obtained from the City Clerk, however, the decision was made to change it to they could be obtained from either the City Clerk or Mayor. Therefore, moving forward those potentially needing a building permit are encouraged to reach out to either the City Clerk or Mayor. Next, the City Clerk requested approval to continue the partnership with the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) for the remainder of the year for assistance and guidance. The City Clerk’s request was approved by a motion made by Mitchell Bruggenthies and seconded by Beau Krueger.
The next topic of discussion was attendance and expectations as they relate to the City Council. This resulted in Resolution 17.1 in which highlights and discusses the attendance expectations for the City Council. The expectation is that all members attend all monthly meeting and all others that are deemed necessary for the successful operation of the City. We acknowledge that understandable/emergency situations do arise in which someone may not be able to attend. These occurrences are to be judged by City Council and to remain confidential. Members whom miss a meeting and/or meetings will not be compensated for the missed meetings. The City Council will review any member’s attendance record should an individual miss more than three meetings per year and necessary action will be voted upon by the City Council Members. Should an individual miss more than three meetings per year the Council can make the decision to end a Council Members term and appoint and/or hold a special election should it be necessary.
The final topic of discussion included appointment of Kevin Rohde to the vacant City Council member position. This term is a two-year term. Kevin Rohde read and signed the Oath of Office and was sworn in to his appointed position. We would like to welcome the two new members to the City Council. As there was no further topics to discuss the meeting was adjourned by a motion made by Beau Krueger and seconded by Deb VanHavermaet, upon vote motion carried and the meeting was adjourned.
Kaitlynn Bollig – Burtrum City Clerk