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City Council Meeting Summary for January 15, 2026, 3:15 PM

Boards and Commissions — Thursday, January 15, 2026
BodyRochester, Minnesota
SessionBoards and Commissions
DateThursday, January 15, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

Amend to order at 3 15.

0:06

Is there a motion to approve the agenda?

0:10

I move to approve the agenda from November the agenda today.

0:18

No.

0:18

Oh, for this agenda, sure.

0:20

Yes.

0:22

Uh a second.

0:24

Okay.

0:25

Um I approve two, so that carries you now unanimo unanimously.

0:31

Is there a motion to approve the minutes from November 18th, our last meeting?

0:37

Okay.

0:39

So move.

0:41

Second.

0:42

The motion carries unanimously.

0:45

Um is there anyone here for public comment?

0:48

We have four minutes per speaker for a total of 15 minutes.

1:00

New business.

1:01

I understand uh Carrie that you have two things we're going to be talking about today and then voting.

1:06

So the chair recognizes Carrie Burns from Human Resources to introduce them.

1:11

Yes.

1:11

So last month you uh were presented with revisions to section five, first of all, which addresses the residency requirement.

1:23

We are removing that out of section five.

1:27

And then uh section five B.

1:29

We are clarifying language uh within that rule as well that pertains to reinstatement if someone were to leave the department and they were on an eligibility register.

1:40

A promotional me to say a promotional eligibility register.

1:45

They would forfeit their position on that list if they were to leave the department and want to later be reinstated.

1:51

Okay, okay.

1:53

Anything else with that?

1:56

No.

1:56

Um have you received any sort of feedback from anyone over the course of the last month?

2:01

No, but it's my understanding it's positive with everybody.

2:04

Yep.

2:05

So that's it.

2:08

Any discussion?

2:12

No.

2:13

Are we ready to vote?

2:14

I'll make a motion to accept 5A and 5B as written.

2:19

I second.

2:23

I threw the motion.

2:25

Any discussion.

2:26

I'm sorry.

2:27

Any discussion?

2:28

End of discussion.

2:29

Any any decision.

2:31

Any discussion.

2:32

Sorry.

2:35

I think we can vote.

2:37

Hearing none, yes, request a vote.

2:39

Okay.

2:40

Please vote by saying yay or nay.

2:42

I vote yay.

2:44

Aye, Clifford Haughty, vote yay.

2:46

Yay.

2:48

The motion carries, and the motion is unanimous.

2:56

Do you have another item wise?

2:58

Um, I can even update on the firefighter interviews that we conducted the first week in December.

3:05

We interviewed 126 candidates.

3:07

We had initially received 160 applications.

3:11

And of those 160, 126 showed up for their interviews, as I said.

3:17

It was a great process.

3:18

We had conducted a survey and got a lot of um amazing feedback that people really appreciated the opportunity to get in front of us as interview panel members.

3:29

And um overall, what we'll be doing now is uh we've compiled the scores.

3:34

We're double checking because there's over a thousand scores.

3:37

There were nine stations.

3:39

People got nine different individual scores, so that all had to be manually.

3:44

So we're just double checking all of that.

3:46

We expect to communicate with the candidates next week what their status will be.

3:50

Approximately 40 to 50 of the top scoring individuals will be presented to you in January for approval of an eligibility register.

4:01

Did you have anything else?

4:03

Was there anything else to bring up or vote on?

4:05

Was that it?

4:06

That's it.

4:06

Okay, great.

4:09

Um old business.

4:11

Is there anything any status updates or actions from prior meetings we need to talk about?

4:19

Chief, you have nothing.

4:21

Nope.

4:27

Any announcements on uh upcoming training, any meetings or anything?

4:32

Um, your next month's meeting is scheduled for the 20th of January Tuesday at 3.15.

4:46

You guys have anything?

4:48

I do not.

4:49

I think we're ready to adjourn.

4:53

We are adjourned.

4:55

At 3 20 p.m.

4:56

I do.

4:57

I have to move on.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
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Summary of Proceedings

City Council Meeting Summary for January 15, 2026, 3:15 PM

The City Council convened on January 15, 2026, at 3:15 PM to address routine administrative updates, approve revisions to personnel rules, and review firefighter recruitment progress. The meeting proceeded without public comment or significant debate, culminating in unanimous votes on agenda items and a scheduled adjournment at 3:20 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • The agenda and the minutes from the November 18th meeting were approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public addressed the council.

Discussion Items

  • Personnel Rule Revisions (Section 5): Council Member Carrie Burns presented revisions to Section 5 of the personnel rules. The proposals included removing a residency requirement and clarifying language regarding the forfeiture of eligibility register status for employees who leave the department and seek reinstatement. Burns reported no negative feedback received during the prior month.
  • Firefighter Recruitment Update: An update was provided on interviews conducted in early December. Out of 160 initial applications, 126 candidates participated in interviews across nine stations. The Human Resources department is currently manually re-verifying over 1,000 individual scores. Officials noted that approximately 40 to 50 top-scoring candidates will be presented in January for approval to an eligibility register.

Key Outcomes

  • The motion to accept Section 5A and 5B as written was carried unanimously.
  • The council noted that the firefighter eligibility register presentation is scheduled for January.
  • The next meeting is scheduled for January 20th at 3:15 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Amend to order at 3 15. Is there a motion to approve the agenda? I move to approve the agenda from November the agenda today. No. Oh, for this agenda, sure. Yes. Uh a second. Okay. Um I approve two, so that carries you now unanimo unanimously. Is there a motion to approve the minutes from November 18th, our last meeting? Okay. So move. Second. The motion carries unanimously. Um is there anyone here for public comment? We have four minutes per speaker for a total of 15 minutes. New business. I understand uh Carrie that you have two things we're going to be talking about today and then voting. So the chair recognizes Carrie Burns from Human Resources to introduce them. Yes. So last month you uh were presented with revisions to section five, first of all, which addresses the residency requirement. We are removing that out of section five. And then uh section five B. We are clarifying language uh within that rule as well that pertains to reinstatement if someone were to leave the department and they were on an eligibility register. A promotional me to say a promotional eligibility register. They would forfeit their position on that list if they were to leave the department and want to later be reinstated. Okay, okay. Anything else with that? No. Um have you received any sort of feedback from anyone over the course of the last month? No, but it's my understanding it's positive with everybody. Yep. So that's it. Any discussion? No. Are we ready to vote? I'll make a motion to accept 5A and 5B as written. I second. I threw the motion. Any discussion. I'm sorry. Any discussion? End of discussion. Any any decision. Any discussion. Sorry. I think we can vote. Hearing none, yes, request a vote. Okay. Please vote by saying yay or nay.

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