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Record of Proceedings

Red Wing City Council Workshop: Administrator Evaluation and FTE Requests - October 27, 2025

City Council — Monday, October 27, 2025
BodyRed Wing, Minnesota
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, October 27, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

So we will begin since we have a lot of things on our agenda tonight, but I'll call our workshop tonight to order.

0:06

It's Monday, October 27th.

0:09

First, again for 2A, it's a city council administrators' evaluation summary.

0:15

Many people probably remember after an evaluation at the next open meeting, we have to provide a summary by state statute, I believe it is.

0:23

So the city council met in a closed session on Monday, October 13th, 2025, and now concludes the evaluation process by providing the following summary statement.

Speaker 2

0:35

The

Speaker 1

0:36

City Council completed its six-month performance evaluation of city administrator Chris Hein.

0:41

Council members highlighted strong performance and professionalism, fiscal management, policy execution, and communication with elected officials.

0:49

Mr.

0:49

Hinemann was recognized for building relationships with staff and council, initiating operational efficiencies, managing the budget process effectively, and promoting transparency and accountability.

1:01

Several council members noted his innovation and responsiveness in addressing community needs.

1:07

Areas for continued improvement include balancing new ideas with the city's unique culture and strengthening collaboration and communication with council and external partners.

1:17

The city council also expressed a desire for additional city council workshops.

1:22

Overall, the council expressed confidence in his leadership and appreciation for his dedication to effective city government.

1:28

Thanks again.

1:41

So I just kind of wanted to start this with obviously we have a pretty tight schedule with only 50 minutes really allowed to this.

1:48

So I was hoping when I talked to staff that they were looking for very clear actionable items and feedback for tonight as they prepare for the November 3rd budget

Speaker 3

1:58

workshop.

Speaker 1

2:00

So if we can maybe for each position, kind of go through down the line and maybe give a bit of feedback or kind of you know what we think about about that stuff um request or the big composition.

2:13

I think we kind of have a department little overview for each position, is that correct, Chris?

Speaker 4

2:18

Yeah, Council President Fair Fair.

2:20

We do have brief presentations at a PowerPoint to kind of go through to guide that discussion.

2:24

I also I'm gonna pass this down, maybe I'll leave

Speaker 5

2:27

one for

Speaker 4

2:28

you.

2:28

And uh this is a for your own note taking if you wish.

2:31

Um but if if you don't make decisions as you go down, as we go down the agenda, we can come back to them.

2:38

Um but actually if you see on the left side of this, there's a uh kind of a yes-no column or notes as you wish, but for basically keeping track of where your uh direction might be.

Speaker 1

2:51

Thank

Unassigned speaker

2:52

you.

Speaker 1

2:53

All right, I think we're ready.

2:55

Then any first comments on this process, any questions.

3:00

Then I'll hand it hand it over to whoever's doing the PowerPoint first.

Speaker 6

3:06

I guess I can make a couple statements to get us started here.

3:10

If you could move forward one slide, please.

3:13

So these are the position requests enhancement or vacant positions that we'd like to discuss tonight.

3:18

Uh there'll be a slide on each, so please bear with us.

3:20

One thing I wanted to point out is the maybe the cost of the presenter because some of these are vague and some of these are new.

3:28

We took a very conservative approach to the cost.

3:31

So we're using family health plans.

3:34

We're trying to tell the city council effectively what could be the maximum cost we could expect if it's family plans for everything.

3:41

So that's largely what these numbers are based on.

3:43

We intend to go through these quickly, one at a time, so the council

Speaker 7

3:48

has an opportunity

Speaker 6

3:49

to ask questions.

Speaker 7

3:50

The

Speaker 6

3:50

departments

Speaker 7

3:51

at the position resides

Speaker 6

3:52

and will be

Speaker 7

3:53

making short presentations.

3:54

So

Speaker 6

3:55

I think we can jump right in if you're ready, madam president, to talk about the lead production technician.

Speaker 8

4:04

Becky, is it possible we can push that back?

4:06

Uh it looks like it's been adjusted to it forward and it's

Speaker 1

4:10

just making it a little bit harder to read.

4:12

Yep.

Unassigned speaker

4:13

I

Speaker 1

4:13

was wondering why I looked kind of weird.

4:15

Thank you.

Speaker 9

4:17

It's tilted forward.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Personnel Matters██████████████████████████26%
Library Services██████████████████████22%
Fire Safety Equipment███████████████████19%
Mental Health Awareness█████████████13%
Water And Wastewater Management█████████9%
Emergency Medical Services████4%
Capital Improvement Planning████4%
Youth Programs██2%
Procedural█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Red Wing City Council Workshop: Administrator Evaluation and FTE Requests - October 27, 2025

The Red Wing City Council held a workshop on Monday, October 27, 2025, from 5:00 PM to 5:56 PM, to present the summary of the six-month performance evaluation of City Administrator Chris Heineman and to discuss new full-time employee (FTE) requests and vacant positions for the 2026 levy and budget process. The council heard presentations from department heads and provided directional feedback to staff for the upcoming budget workshop on November 3.

City Council Administrator's Evaluation Summary

Council President Janie Farrar read the summary of the closed-session performance evaluation held on October 13, 2025. The council commended Administrator Heineman for his professionalism, fiscal management, policy execution, communication, operational efficiencies, budget management, transparency, accountability, innovation, and responsiveness. Areas for improvement included balancing new ideas with the city's culture and strengthening collaboration. The council expressed overall confidence in his leadership.

New Full-Time Employee (FTE) Requests

Administrative Business Director Marshall Hallock noted that staff used conservative cost estimates assuming family health plans. The council discussed the following positions:

Sheldon Theatre

  • Lead Production Technician: Already approved and filled as of September 2025. Director Shantel Dow reported a 46% increase in event volume from 2024 to 2025, with a projected 70% increase by 2026. The levy impact is 0.03%. The position is funded through the theatre's revenue, not the general fund.
  • Youth Theatre Arts Director: New full-time position funded by a grant from the Red Wing Area Fund covering two years of salary and benefits, with a possible two-year extension. The department plans to become self-sustaining by year five. Director Dow stated the applicant would be informed of the grant-funded nature.

Council positions: Mayor Gary Iocco and council members expressed general support for both positions, provided they remain self-sustaining and do not burden the general fund.

Library

  • Youth Services Assistant: Move from 29 hours per week to full-time. Library Director Dan Brower cited a 40% increase in children's program participation, with over 200 children completing the summer reading program, and event attendance rising from 2,800 to 3,100. The position supports youth programming and retains an employee who used the city's tuition reimbursement.
  • Outreach Library Assistant: New 20-hour per week position to handle community outreach, festivals, book delivery, social media, and library lockers. The ideal candidate would be bilingual to serve the Spanish-speaking community.

Council positions: Mayor Iocco opposed both. Vicki Jo Lambert supported both. Kim Beise opposed both. Beth Snyder supported the Youth Services Assistant but was unsure about the Outreach position. Janie Farrar supported the Youth Services Assistant if it fits within the levy. Donald Kliewer opposed both. Becky Norton supported the Youth Services Assistant and hoped to add the Outreach position later. Ron Goggin opposed both due to budget constraints.

Fire Department

Fire Chief Mike Warner explained the department's staffing model of three shifts of nine firefighter-paramedics, but frequent vacancies due to injuries, mental health leave, FMLA, and other leaves have led to high overtime—approximately $500,000 in 2024 across both funds. He requested three additional FTEs, but the discussion centered on two. Chief Warner noted that hiring FTEs would reduce overtime, alleviate burnout, and help comply with the upcoming Minnesota Family Leave Act. The levy impact per FTE is approximately 0.25% of the total city levy.

Council positions: Janie Farrar initially unsupportive but later supported one FTE. Beth Snyder was on the fence but later supported one. Kim Beise supported two. Vicki Jo Lambert wanted further exploration of creative staffing. Ron Goggin was reluctant unless overtime savings fully offset costs. Becky Norton supported two as the most efficient solution. Donald Kliewer questioned alternative staffing.

Public Works

Public Works Director Shawn Blaney introduced two positions:

  • Utilities Apprentice: Entry-level position rotating through water and wastewater divisions while earning licenses. No general fund impact.
  • Electrician: Position to maintain complex automated systems, reducing reliance on outside contractors.

Council positions: Mayor Iocco and Vicki Jo Lambert supported both. Kim Beise supported both but had concerns about electrician pay. Janie Farrar acknowledged the need but questioned levy impact. Donald Kliewer supported the apprentice but not the electrician (open for three years). Becky Norton encouraged outreach to underrepresented populations. Ron Goggin supported the apprentice but not the electrician.

Other Positions

  • Engineering Field Tech: Entry-level; previous tech left.
  • CIP Manager Accountant: Council requested more data on grant recovery benefits.

Council positions: Ron Goggin, Janie Farrar, Donald Kliewer opposed both. Becky Norton hesitated pending more information. Beth Snyder supported the field tech. Kim Beise supported two firefighters and the field tech, opposed the CIP Manager Accountant. Vicki Jo Lambert supported the CIP Manager Accountant, opposed the field tech. Mayor Iocco opposed both.

Key Outcomes

No formal votes were taken; the council gave direction for the November 3 budget workshop. Staff will prepare additional analysis on overtime savings for fire positions, grant recovery for the CIP Manager Accountant, and update the council on levy goals.

  • Sheldon Theatre: Both positions have support to proceed.
  • Library: Likely only the Youth Services Assistant will move forward, contingent on the levy.
  • Fire Department: Possible support for one FTE; two remain uncertain pending cost-benefit analysis.
  • Public Works Utilities Apprentice: Broad support.
  • Public Works Electrician: Insufficient support to move forward.
  • Engineering Field Tech: Mixed support; likely not a priority.
  • CIP Manager Accountant: Insufficient support pending more information.

Staff will return with detailed financial analysis to help the council finalize positions for the 2026 budget.

Meeting Transcript

So we will begin since we have a lot of things on our agenda tonight, but I'll call our workshop tonight to order. It's Monday, October 27th. First, again for 2A, it's a city council administrators' evaluation summary. Many people probably remember after an evaluation at the next open meeting, we have to provide a summary by state statute, I believe it is. So the city council met in a closed session on Monday, October 13th, 2025, and now concludes the evaluation process by providing the following summary statement. The City Council completed its six-month performance evaluation of city administrator Chris Hein. Council members highlighted strong performance and professionalism, fiscal management, policy execution, and communication with elected officials. Mr. Hinemann was recognized for building relationships with staff and council, initiating operational efficiencies, managing the budget process effectively, and promoting transparency and accountability. Several council members noted his innovation and responsiveness in addressing community needs. Areas for continued improvement include balancing new ideas with the city's unique culture and strengthening collaboration and communication with council and external partners. The city council also expressed a desire for additional city council workshops. Overall, the council expressed confidence in his leadership and appreciation for his dedication to effective city government. Thanks again. So I just kind of wanted to start this with obviously we have a pretty tight schedule with only 50 minutes really allowed to this. So I was hoping when I talked to staff that they were looking for very clear actionable items and feedback for tonight as they prepare for the November 3rd budget workshop. So if we can maybe for each position, kind of go through down the line and maybe give a bit of feedback or kind of you know what we think about about that stuff um request or the big composition. I think we kind of have a department little overview for each position, is that correct, Chris? Yeah, Council President Fair Fair. We do have brief presentations at a PowerPoint to kind of go through to guide that discussion. I also I'm gonna pass this down, maybe I'll leave one for you. And uh this is a for your own note taking if you wish. Um but if if you don't make decisions as you go down, as we go down the agenda, we can come back to them. Um but actually if you see on the left side of this, there's a uh kind of a yes-no column or notes as you wish, but for basically keeping track of where your uh direction might be. Thank you. All right, I think we're ready. Then any first comments on this process, any questions. Then I'll hand it hand it over to whoever's doing the PowerPoint first. I guess I can make a couple statements to get us started here. If you could move forward one slide, please. So these are the position requests enhancement or vacant positions that we'd like to discuss tonight. Uh there'll be a slide on each, so please bear with us. One thing I wanted to point out is the maybe the cost of the presenter because some of these are vague and some of these are new. We took a very conservative approach to the cost. So we're using family health plans. We're trying to tell the city council effectively what could be the maximum cost we could expect if it's family plans for everything. So that's largely what these numbers are based on. We intend to go through these quickly, one at a time, so the council has an opportunity to ask questions. The departments at the position resides and will be making short presentations.

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