Red Wing City Council Workshop – February 2, 2026

The Red Wing City Council held a workshop on Monday, February 2, 2026, beginning at 5:32 p.m. and adjourning at 8:24 p.m. Council President Janie Farrar presided. Council Members Vicki Jo Lambert, Beth Snyder, Kim Beise, Ron Goggin, and Becky Norton were present; Council Member Don Kliewer was absent. Mayor Gary Iocco and staff, including Council Administrator Chris Heineman and Human Resources Manager Alex Saxe, attended. The workshop covered possible changes to the Council's Rules of Order and Procedure, a proposed organizational chart change, and the City Council Administrator's annual review process. No formal votes were taken; formal action is expected at a future City Council business meeting.

Discussion Items

Rules of Order and Procedure – Virtual Attendance

• Staff reviewed a change in Minnesota statute that made virtual meeting attendance significantly less restrictive. Council members can currently attend via Webex; staff data since September showed only one resident used Webex for public comment at the most recent meeting, with residents generally attending in person when they want to speak.
• The Council reached consensus on the permissive "B" option: Council members are expected to attend in person, but may attend virtually when in-person attendance is impractical due to extenuating circumstances; they do not have to provide a reason and no advance notice time was required for Council members, but they should contact the Council President and/or Administrator.
• Mayor Iocco noted boards and commissions currently have a 50% participation rate and would like to see it increase to 75%. Council Member Norton suggested referring the question of virtual participation and community membership to the Human Rights Commission; Mayor Iocco agreed that would be a worthwhile discussion.

Rules of Order and Procedure – Board and Commission Appointments

• Board and commission appointments are currently listed on the consent agenda. Council Member Norton preferred moving them to the top of the agenda to recognize appointees, while other members supported keeping them on the consent agenda and honoring that decision by not routinely pulling them.
• Consensus was to keep board and commission appointments on the consent agenda. Mayor Iocco proposed offering appointees the option of being sworn in at a City Council meeting or at their first board/commission meeting; this idea received support.

Rules of Order and Procedure – Adding Agenda Items

• The Council discussed creating a formal process for Council members to add items to an agenda, which currently does not exist. Some cities use written forms requiring background information and support from more than one Council member.
• Council Member Lambert raised concerns about whether Council members could still ask staff questions directly. Council Administrator Heineman clarified that direct questions to department heads are appropriate, but staff should copy him on communications for transparency and to avoid directing staff work.
• Staff suggested piloting a process and evaluating it. No final framework was adopted; staff will bring back options, including possible use of a written request form and a requirement for more than one Council member to support adding an item.

Rules of Order and Procedure – Public Comment

• Public comment currently is allowed at City Council meetings and budget workshops, but not at other workshops. Council members generally supported keeping public comment at the beginning of meetings and keeping the three-minute individual speaking limit.
• Red Wing was noted as the only city in the area that allows speakers to speak twice during public comment. The staff-recorded direction from the discussion was one comment on a non-agenda item and then comments on agenda items, with non-agenda comments taken first and the public signing up by item. The transcript reflects some remaining ambiguity about whether speakers could address multiple agenda items, so staff will bring back a clarified public comment structure.
• On decorum, Council members agreed that expectations should be added to the public comment welcome sheet. They discussed no campaigning, no excessive cheering/booing/applause, and whether to expand the rule barring allegations/complaints to include community members and businesses. Several members supported extending that protection, while noting elected officials should generally be expected to accept criticism. Members also acknowledged the difficulty of balancing First Amendment rights with respectful conduct and noted there is limited legal recourse for offensive language.

Rules of Order and Procedure – Council Liaisons

• The Council discussed the current practice of assigning a Council liaison to each of the city's 11 boards and commissions, meaning each Council member serves on at least two boards/commissions. No staff recommendation was offered.
• Council members expressed mixed views. Some valued the relationships and information gained through liaison service; others questioned the time commitment, especially for younger or working residents, and some felt reporting from liaison meetings could be streamlined.
• Members identified priority boards such as the Port Authority, Planning Commission, HRA, Cannon Valley Trail, and Charter Commission. The Council asked for more information on which liaison seats might be required and for a more formal way to share board/commission highlights with the full Council.

Proposed City of Red Wing Organizational Chart

• Human Resources Manager Alex Saxe presented a proposed reorganization. The Administrative Services Department would be absorbed into the Administration Department, with HR, IT, and Communications reporting directly to the City Council Administrator instead of an Administrative Services Director.
• Administrative Business would be retitled Finance, and Administrative Business Director Marshall Hallock's job and duties would see no significant change, though his title would become Finance Director. A yellow box under HR flagged a potential future reassignment of risk and safety duties, but no immediate change was recommended.
• The proposal follows retirements and vacancies since 2017 and the decision not to fill the vacant Administrative Services Director position. Council members asked about differences between director and manager titles and whether some renames felt like demotions; staff said they were title changes rather than demotions. The proposal will be brought back to a future Council meeting for formal action.

City Council Administrator Annual Review Process

• Council Administrator Heineman reviewed the history of former administrator evaluations: from 1999 to 2005 the process alternated between Council-only and Council plus department-head reviews; from 2006 until retirement it was a Council and department-head upward evaluation, compiled by HR and presented to the personnel committee until 2021, when it moved to the full Council.
• His employment agreement requires a six-month review, which was completed. Council members discussed options including annual 360-degree reviews, upward evaluations, self-reflection, and use of outside consultants at an estimated cost of $10,000 to $12,000 or more.
• Council Member Lambert said "He is doing a good job" is not a sufficient performance review and asked for specific strengths and areas for improvement. Council Member Beise opposed a full 360-degree review every year as overkill but supported constructive feedback. Council Member Norton supported an upward evaluation and a self-reflection piece from the Administrator and requested that open meeting law be placed on a future agenda for review.
• The Council agreed that an ad hoc committee or the personnel committee should develop two or three distinct options for the review process and bring them back to the full Council for a decision.

Key Outcomes

• No formal action was taken at the workshop; changes to the Rules of Order and Procedure will return to a future Council business meeting.
• The Council reached consensus on a permissive virtual attendance policy for Council members and will ask the Human Rights Commission to discuss board/commission participation and virtual options.
• Board and commission appointments will remain on the consent agenda; Mayor Iocco's proposal to offer appointees an oath option at a Council meeting or their first board/commission meeting will be considered.
• Staff will bring back a proposed framework for Council members to add agenda items, including background information requirements and support from more than one Council member.
• Public comment changes will be drafted with separate sign-up categories for agenda and non-agenda items and updated decorum expectations; final details will require future Council approval.
• The proposed organizational chart will be brought back to a future Council meeting for formal consideration.
• The Administrator's annual review process will be developed by an ad hoc or personnel committee, which will present two or three options to the full Council; open meeting law review was also requested as a future agenda item.