Payson Town Council Work Study Meeting on January 22, 2025, Discussing Special Committee Formation
Payson Town Council Work Study Meeting on January 22, 2025, Discussing Special Committee Formation
The Payson Town Council held a work study meeting on January 22, 2025, in the Town Hall Council Chambers at 303 N. Beeline Highway, Payson, Arizona. Mayor Stephen Otto called the meeting to order at approximately 7:40 p.m., immediately following the regular council meeting. The sole purpose was to discuss forming a special committee to recommend improvements to select town processes. Because this was a work study session, no formal action was taken and no public comment was accepted. The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:23 p.m.
Staff Presentation
- Sheila DeSchaaf, Acting Town Manager, presented an overview of the Town Code requirements for establishing boards, committees, and commissions, including the need for a resolution specifying membership and purpose, quorum/Open Meeting Law compliance, training requirements, prohibitions on spending and compensation, council appointment of members, and designation of a council liaison and staff advisor.
- Town Attorney Christina Estes-Werther clarified that committees created by the Town Council to report to the Council are subject to Arizona Open Meeting Law, while informal staff-created committees assisting staff are not.
Council Discussion
- Council Member Flaherty envisioned a group of citizens who love Payson and want to review department processes, policies, contracts, and spending to identify efficiency and waste-reduction opportunities.
- Council Member Haws recommended a narrow initial scope focused on the Building Department, noting its importance for permits, revenue, and other town operations, and also suggested reviewing outside contracts; he favored a smaller committee of about three members.
- Council Member Bell emphasized open communication among departments and staff, identifying organizational strengths and financial encumbrances, reviewing resources, and revisiting the town's mission statement.
- Council Member Nossek supported a three-member committee with a narrow scope and did not favor making the committee a complaint department, stating the council itself is the public's complaint body.
- Council Member Ferris agreed with a three-member committee led by Charlie Seraphin to investigate and report recommendations to the council; he later supported the idea of the Mayor, Acting Town Manager, and Mr. Seraphin meeting to explore Mr. Seraphin's interest.
- Vice Mayor Tubbs supported a committee of three to five members, recommended the Building Department be reviewed first, suggested the Mayor serve as council liaison, and asked that the committee recognize positive achievements and strengths; she asked about past council liaisons to departments, but Town Clerk Tracie Bailey did not recall any during her tenure.
- Mayor Otto favored a five-member committee to provide a broader cross-section of perspectives and noted that with three members, two members meeting together could form a quorum under Open Meeting Law, limiting informal discussions.
- Several council members discussed whether the committee should handle citizen complaints. Some resistance was expressed to creating a "complaint committee" because council members are elected to receive public concerns. Others suggested the committee could focus on identifying strengths and procedural improvements rather than individual complaints.
- Staff noted that Charlie Seraphin had not been formally appointed or solicited for the committee, so no specific role could be discussed as an appointment.
Key Outcomes
- Council reached consensus on creating a special committee of five members with a six-month term, renewable if needed.
- The committee's purpose is to identify strengths, weaknesses, needs, or opportunities for improvement in the permitting process and review, as well as in town agreements and contracts.
- The committee would make recommendations to the Town Council for policy changes and process improvements, with staff summarizing direction to include periodic/quarterly progress reports.
- Staff was directed to prepare a resolution to formally create the committee and to return with it at the next council meeting; after adoption, the Town Clerk would solicit applications and the Council would appoint members.
- Mayor Otto, Acting Town Manager DeSchaaf, and Charlie Seraphin were expected to meet to discuss whether Mr. Seraphin wanted to participate and to help shape a workable committee structure, without any formal appointment being made at this meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Are you going to start the discussion, please? Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I did pull together just a summary concerning the formation of a special committee from town code. I thought that might help frame the discussion, and then we can talk about specific direction that staff would need from the council in order to bring you something back to create the committee if that's what the council chooses. By the January 15th, 2025 special meeting of the town council, council expressed an interest in the creation of a committee to review current processes within certain departments. Following the review, the committee would provide recommendations to the town council about how those processes could be improved. That's my takeaway, our understanding of that discussion. For a little background, town code chapter 33 talks about the specific parameters surrounding boards, committees, and commissions. So specifically, if you're creating a committee, you should include in that resolution the number of members, the purpose for which the committee is organized, and the duties thereof. Duties shall be determined by the council or when appropriate by state law. The committee is only allowed to discuss or take action on items directed by the statute, town code, or the council. Majority of the total number of regular positions shall constitute a quorum. Minutes shall be kept, and council shall adopt a code of ethics conduct behavior, which you have already done. A council has already done it's in council policy number four. New members must attend open meeting law, conflict of interest, and code of conduct training. Committee cannot incur debts, make purchases, or enter into any contracts that bind the town, and they shall not receive any funds. Term of office for committee members shall serve until a committee has been terminated. All voting members shall be appointed by the town council. Council adopts the rules and procedures for the appointment of those committee members, and that is also included in existing council policy. All appointments should bring the skill, integrity, knowledge, interest, and commitment to evaluating issues in the broad context of the public interest to the extent possible. Appointees should be selected to represent a broad cross-section of the community relative to the purpose of the agency, in this case the town. Clerk provides the applications and maintains the list of applicants for the council. Each committee shall nominate a chair and vice chair. Those nominations are subject to approval by the mayor and council. Members of the committee shall be qualified electors of the town. You can obviously make exceptions to this rule by uh the establishing resolution. You have the right to remove any committee members with or without cause. And the committee members, um, there's some specific language in there that if they miss a number have a number of absences from the meetings, then they shall be deemed to have vacated their appointment, and committee members shall serve without compensation. All activities of each board or committee shall be conducted in compliance with Arizona's open meeting law. Mayor may account may appoint a council liaison to the committee. You did that at a recent meeting for all of the other boards and commissions, and then the town manager shall designate a staff advisor for each committee, and that advisor shall aid and assist the committee as needed. So your next steps or action would be provide direction to the staff or bringing back a resolution to the council to establish the committee if that's what the council chooses. Include in that direction how many people you think should sit on that committee, the purpose, and the duties or the processes with which you uh will be tasking that committee. That's all I have. Council Ferris. I you know, the past town manager had created an ad hoc committee of their own. Is the mayor authorized to be able to put together the same kind of committee as say the digital pacing committee was so um mayor and council member Ferris? So there's different types of committees. So under open meeting law, if the presiding officer, the mayor, or the council forms the committee, then that comes back to the council, right? Recommendations come back to the council. Um, I would say you have a more degree of control in terms of what it is you're looking for. Now, if staff creates their own committee, like if the manager creates their own committee just to help them in their duties and what it is that you know, specific issue maybe, like like digital PASIN. Um that's not subject to open meeting law. Um and again, it's more just to assist the staff. It's not necessarily coming back to council, even though of course the manager could come and give you a report, or they can give you reports, it's just a different structure. So would we be hindering this committee if uh we formed it versus the you know the town or the you know town uh administration? I think it's just because of the open meeting law stuff. Um no, I mean, mayor and counsel, I mean, so it's just a matter of state law that requires it to be subject to open meeting law if it's created by council. Um so again, I would just say that the distinction is when you have a staff-oriented committee, then it really is staff-oriented, right?
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