Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.
The Enterprise and Labor Relations Committee met on October 19, 2026, with Chair Linne Palmasano presiding. The committee approved consent agenda items and held a public hearing for appointments to the Ethical Practices Board. No public comments were received, and no discussion occurred on the appointments.
On air on air. Good afternoon and welcome. My name is Linne Palmasano, and I'm the chair of the Enterprise and Labor Relations Committee. I'll be chairing today's meeting, and I will call to order this meeting for October 19th, 2026. As we begin, I'll remind my colleagues and speakers to be mindful of their rate of speech. It helps to make our meetings more accessible. And I'll ask the clerk to call the roll. Councilmember Vita? Present. Schaefer? Present. Stevenson is absent. Chavez? Present. Trick Type? Present. Vice Chair Waiting is absent. Chair Palmasano. Present. We have five present. Thank you. Um let the record reflect that we have a quorum and we're not having speaker management, but just go ahead and use your flags with questions or comments. We'll start with our consent and receive and file items. Item number two is a contract with health equity for flexible spending account and transportation benefit administration services. Item number three is a contract with code four for CAD and mobility safety system configurations support and maintenance. Item four is receiving and filing the third quarter report for staff purchasing letters and joint purchases. Item five is quarter three report for professional services between five and 175,000. Both of these are standard reports received quarterly without presentation. Is there any discussion on these items? And I will note we've been joined by councilmember Stevenson. Not seeing any, I'll ask the clerk to file those reports and move approval of the consent agenda. Any other questions, comments on the consent? All those in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Are there any opposed? The ayes have it, and that motion carries. Our public hearing today is related to the appointment of finalists Peter Maringolo and Drew Duffy to the ethical practices board. For those in attendance and especially those who can participate in our hearings and comment period, these meetings are recorded and broadcast. They're classified as public data. By attending and participating, your image and any testimony or information you provide will be subject to disclosure under that law. While staff haven't prepared a presentation for this item, I understand it doesn't look there to be any finalists in attendance. Um I will proceed to well, actually, first may I call on you, City Attorney Abelson, to just give us a little bit of understanding about the purpose of the ethical practices boards and anything else that you might have come prepared to say this morning, this afternoon. Thank you, Chair Palmasano. I'm Dan Ableton, Deputy City Attorney, and I'm pinch hitting today for our ethics officer, Cuma Blake. So just a little background on the ethical practices board. It's a three-member uh independent body that advances the city's commitment to ethical, transparent, and accountable governance. Um it has a number of powers and duties. The key powers and duties include considering uh ethics complaints against elected officials and non-employee local officials, uh providing advisory opinions when requested, as well as recommending changes to the code of ethics. Um to ensure the independence of the board. The board is not appointed by the council or the mayor, but by an appointing authority, which is the chief judge of Hennepin County and the deans of St.