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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-067-06/13/2006-SUBMITTING A CITIZEN-INITIATED CHARTER AMENDMENT TO A VOTE OF THE REGISTERED ELECTORS OF THE CITY AT RESOLUTION 2006-067 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS SUBMITTING A CITIZEN-INITIATED CHARTER AMENDMENT TO A VOTE OF THE REGISTERED ELECTORS OF THE CITY AT A SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2006 WHEREAS,under Title 31,Article 2,Part 2 of the Colorado Revised Statutes,the registered electors of the city have the power to commence proceedings to amend the City's Charter; and WHEREAS, a petition proposing to amend the Charter has been submitted to the City; and WHEREAS, the amendment proposed by said petition would add a new Article IV to the Charter for the purpose of establishing a system of collective bargaining for police employees in place of the system of collective bargaining set forth in Chapter II, Article VIII, Division 7 of the City Code; and WHEREAS, the City Clerk has certified said petition as sufficient for submission of the initiated Charter amendment to a vote of the people at a special municipal election; and WHEREAS, the City Clerk has heretofore certified the validity and sufficiency of said petition to the City Council as provided in Section 31-2-210(3), C.R.S.; and WHEREAS,under Section 31-2-210(3), C.R.S.,upon presentation of a petition certified as sufficient by the City Clerk,the Council must set a ballot title for the proposed amendment at its next meeting and must hold an election as near as possible to the approximate date stated in the petition pursuant to Section 31-2-210(4), C.R.S.; and WHEREAS,on June 6,2006,the Council adopted on first reading Ordinance No. 103,2006, calling a special municipal election to be held on September 12, 2006. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That there is hereby submitted to the registered electors of the City of Fort Collins at a Special Municipal Election to be held on Tuesday, September 12, 2006, the following proposed Charter amendment: PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS ARTICLE IV. GENERAL PROVISIONS SECTION 17: PUBLIC SAFETY-ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT Section 17.1 Statement of policy. The protection of the public health, safety, and welfare demands that Police employees of the Fort Collins Police Department not be allowed to strike or engage in any work stoppage, slowdown, or 1 mass absenteeism. This necessary prohibition does not, however, require the denial to such employees of the right to organize, the right to be represented by an employee organization of their choice, and the right to bargain collectively. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the City of Fort Collins to have a system of collective bargaining to establish a productive relationship between the City and its Police employees and to set compensation and certain other conditions of employment as specified in this Section. In lieu of allowing Police employees to strike to resolve impasses in negotiations,the City hereby adopts a system of binding interest arbitration to resolve such impasses. Section 17.2 Definitions. As used in this Division, the following terms shall, unless the context requires a different interpretation, have the following meanings: (A) Police employees shall mean all full time sworn police officers maintaining the rank of Lieutenant and below of the Police Department of the City of Fort Collins, and Community Service Officers and Dispatchers of the Police Department equivalent to the rank of Lieutenant or below. (B) Corporate Authorities shall mean the City Manager and the Council of the City of Fort Collins or their representatives. (C) Sole and exclusive bargaining agent or bargaining agent shall mean an employee organization chosen by the Police employees pursuant to Section 17.4. (D) Final offer shall be the written offer made latest in time by a party to the other party at least seven (7)days prior to the start of a binding arbitration hearing. (E) Mandatory subject of bargaining shall mean a subject which shall be discussed during negotiations if either party wishes to discuss it and may be submitted to binding arbitration by either party in the event of an impasse. (F) Permissive subject of bargaining shall mean a subject which may be discussed during negotiations only if both parties agree to discuss it and shall not be submitted to binding arbitration unless both parties agree to submit it. (G) Prohibited subject of bargaining shall mean a subject which shall not be included in any collective bargaining agreement and shall not be subject to binding arbitration. (H) Fringe benefits shall include, but not be limited to: vacation leave; holidays; sick leave; bereavement leave;jury duty leave; leave for union activity; other paid or unpaid leave; the method of selecting, applying for, and voting for leave; payments for injuries, sickness, or death arising from the line of duty; insurance (levels of contribution and levels of benefit); allowances for uniforms and equipment and the maintenance of uniforms and equipment; dependent's benefits,retiree benefits,and pension contribution levels;and any other financial or economic benefits granted to individual Police employees. (1) Compensation shall mean wages, salaries, and any other pay to Police employees. By way of illustration, the term shall include longevity pay, hazardous duty pay, shift differential, acting pay, call back pay, overtime pay, and payments for unused leave at separation. Section 17.3 Right to organize and bargain collectively;mandatory,prohibited,and permissive subjects of bargaining. (A) Police employees shall have the right to bargain collectively with the City and to be represented by an employee organization in such negotiations. 2 (B) The following shall be mandatory subjects of bargaining for Police employees: (1) Compensation; (2) Fringe Benefits; (3) The number of hours in the workweek; (4) The definition and benefits of"seniority"; (5) Personal safety and health equipment; (6) A bargaining agent recognition clause; 7 Procedures relating to labor/mans ement cooperation and communication O 9 9 P (8) The notice and the time intervals regarding changes of shifts and the emergency exceptions thereto; (9) The collective bargaining agreement severability clause; (10) The duration of the collective bargaining agreement; (11) Procedures and notice relating to the layoff and recall of Police employees, but not the decision of whether to layoff or recall; (12) Payment of fees as set forth in Section 17.18(D); (13) A dues check-off and/or fair share clause; (14) Grievance and grievance binding arbitration procedures for matters included in the agreement. (15) The number of shifts and times the shifts begin and end; (16) Procedures for internal investigations, procedures for just cause discipline; and procedures for promotions,assignments, rotations and transfers in the department; (17) The number of hours in a work shift; and (18) Physical, mental, drug, and/or alcohol testing; (C) The following shall be prohibited subjects of bargaining: (1) Any proposal that would conflict with a State or Federal law; (2) Any proposal that would conflict with the City Charter; (3) Any proposal over which the City has no authority to act because of State or Federal law; (4) The standards of service of the Police Department and the City; (5) The tables of organization of the Police Department; (6) The budgets of the Police Department; 3 (7) Civilianization; and (8) Training. (D) The following shall be permissive subjects for bargaining. (1) Off-duty employment; (2) Safety and health matters except as provided in Section 17.3(B)(5); (3) All other terms and conditions of employment not listed in (b)and c) above; (4) Staffing of the Police Department; and (5) Facilities of the Police Department. Section 17.4 Selection and recognition of bargaining agent. (A) The sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the purpose of bargaining shall be the sole and exclusive representative of all of the Police employees, if the majority of the Police employees voting in an election vote for such bargaining agent. (B) Any organization which, as of the date of the adoption of this charter amendment, has been recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent of employees of the Police Department, pursuant to Section 2.620 of the Public Safety Administrative Cooperative Agreement of the City of Fort Collins, shall be recognized by the corporate authorities as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all Police employees, subject only to the provisions for removal set out in paragraphs C and D of this section. (C) Questions concerning the selection or removal of a bargaining agent may be raised by petition of any Police employee, group of Police employees, or employee organization representing or wishing to represent Police employees but only if such petition is signed by at least fifty (50) percent of the Police employees. Such a petition may be submitted at any time to the American Arbitration Association (or its successor organization) provided that in the event there is bargaining agent then certified or recognized by the City, no petition may be filed within twelve (12) months of the bargaining agent's certification by the American Arbitration Association;and provided further that no petition may be filed during the term of an existing agreement, except during the period from January 1 to January 31 of the final year of such agreement. (D) When a petition is filed concerning the selection or removal of a bargaining agent, the American Arbitration Association (or its successor organization) shall promptly send the petition to the Police Department for determination of whether it contains the requisite number of signatures. The Police Department shall promptly make that determination and notify the American Arbitration Association (or its successor organization)of its conclusion. If the petition has the requisite number of signatures,the American Arbitration Association(or its successor organization)shall determine the question of selection or removal of any bargaining agent by taking a secret ballot of Police employees and certifying in writing the results thereof to the Corporate Authorities and the person, persons,and employee organizations involved.The secret ballot election shall be conducted not less than fifteen (15)days or more than thirty(30)days from the date of filing the petition. The American Arbitration Association (or its successor organization) shall certify the results of the above-described election within three(3)days of the close of the polls.The cost of running the election shall be borne equally by each organization on the ballot. (E) The employee organization selected by the majority of the Police Employees voting in an election conducted pursuant to subsection(c)above shall be recognized by the Corporate Authorities as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all Police employees unless and until the American Arbitration Association or its successor certifies a different organization. 4 (F) The election procedure shall follow the rules established by the American Arbitration Association. (G) Amendment of unit. (1) Petition. A petition for amendment of certified or recognized bargaining agent may be filed by the bargaining agent with the American Arbitration Association (or its successor organization). The Petition shall contain: a. Name and address of the employee organization. b. An identification and description of the proposed amended unit. G. The names and addresses of any other employee organizations which claim to represent any employees affected by the proposed amendment or a statement that the petitioner has no knowledge of any other such organization. d. Job classifications of the employees as to whom the issue is raised and the number of employees, if any, in each classification. e. A specific statement of the petitioner's reasons for seeking amendment of the unit and any other relevant facts. f. The signatures of at least fifty(50)percent of the Police employees wishing to be represented by the bargaining agent. (2) Procedure—decision. Insofar as applicable, the procedures set forth in 17.4(D), 17.4(E), and 17.4(F) of this Charter Amendment for selection or removal of a bargaining agent shall be followed for amendment of a certified or recognized bargaining agent. Section 17.5 Obligation to bargain in good faith. (A) It shall be the obligation of the Corporate Authorities to meet and bargain in good faith with the representatives of the bargaining agent at all reasonable times and places.This obligation shall include the duty to cause any agreements to be reduced to a written contract and executed in a timely manner. Any such contract shall be for a term of not less than one (1)year or more than three(3) years.All collective bargaining agreements shall be effective on a January 1 date and shall terminate on a December 31 date. (B) It shall be the obligation of the bargaining agent to meet and bargain collectively in good faith with the Corporate Authorities at all reasonable times and places.This obligation shall include the duty to cause any agreements to be reduced to a written contract and executed in a timely manner. Section 17.6 Facilitation assistance. It is recognized that from time to time, the bargaining teams of the parties may find it difficult readily to achieve agreement. Whenever it is deemed appropriate or beneficial to do so, the parties may engage the services of one (1) or more experts, consultants, facilitators or mediators as they may jointly agree may benefit the process of reaching agreement on one(1)or more items.It is specifically contemplated that the parties might engage individuals who have demonstrated knowledge or expertise in a given topic under discussion or skills and abilities in dispute resolution to serve as a facilitator,mediator or other assistant to promote the parties reaching a voluntary resolution.Fees and expenses of such individuals will be shared equally by the parties, unless otherwise agreed. 5 Section 17.7 Unresolved issues submitted to binding arbitration. In the event that the bargaining agent and the Corporate Authorities are unable, within ninety(90) days from and including the date of their first meeting, to reach an agreement on a contract, final offers on any and all unresolved issues concerning mandatory subjects of bargaining shall be submitted to binding arbitration and final offers on any permissive subjects of bargaining may be submitted to binding arbitration if both parties agree to submit them.The obligation of the parties to bargain in good faith shall continue after submission of unresolved issues to binding arbitration.Any or all issues which are unresolved between the bargaining agent and the Corporate Authorities may 9 9 9 P Y be resolved by the parties until the sixteenth dayfollowing receipt of the decision of the arbitrator.Any agreements reached within fifteen (15)days following receipt of the decision of the arbitrator shall supersede the decision of the arbitrator. In the event the bargaining agent and the Corporate Authorities are able to reach agreement upon any or all issues prior to the receipt of the decision of the arbitrator, then the arbitrator shall make no decision on such issue or issues. Section 17.8 Binding arbitrator; selection. (A) Within forty-five (45) days after the adoption of this Amendment, the City shall, in some reasonable manner, solicit applications from persons who desire to be on a permanent panel of arbitrators to resolve impasses as described in Section 17.7. (B) In orderto be eligible to be on the permanent panel of arbitrators,a person must have served as a neutral hearing officer in labor and management disputes for at least three years and have conducted at least five hearings, per year, in two of the last three ears.These disputes shall be an 9 P Y Y P impasse in negotiations between labor and management, disputes over the meaning or application of contracts between labor and management, or discipline.Any person whose only experience is as a hearings officer in any civil or Career Service system shall not be qualified. Persons who are members of the National Academy of Arbitrators or on the American Arbitration Association panel of labor arbitrators are presumptively qualified. (C) The City Council shall create a permanent panel of at least five (5) arbitrators from those qualified persons who apply. Placement on the permanent panel shall be approved by reading resolution of the City Council.Any qualified person can be added to the permanent panel at any time. Persons on the panel shall remain on the panel for a term of four(4)years,and may be reappointed, provided that the members of the initial panel shall be appointed to terms of varying lengths not to exceed six(6)years.Any person on the permanent panel may be removed by passage of a resolution by the City Council unless that person has been selected to conduct a hearing concerning a particular dispute pursuant to subsection (e) of this section, and then that person can only be removed after issuing a decision in that dispute. (D) Each person placed on the permanent panel shall sign an oath to uphold the terms of this Division. (E) Within ten(10)days of the expiration of the ninety(90)-day time period referred to in Section 17.7, the bargaining agent or the Corporate Authorities may request the list of names from the City Clerk and the City Clerk shall submit a list with the names of all members of the permanent panel to the bargaining agent and the Corporate Authorities within five(5)days.Within ten(10)days of receipt of this list,the bargaining agent and the Corporate Authorities shall meet and alternatively strike one (1) name from the list until one(1)name remains(if the panel has an odd number of names)or two (2)names remain(if the panel has an even number of names). If one(1)name remains, that person shall be the arbitrator for that dispute. If two(2) names remain, the Mayor shall select one of those two names to be the arbitrator for that dispute.The Mayor's selection must take place within five(5) days of the completion of the striking process by the bargaining agent and the Corporate Authorities. The determination of whether the bargaining agent or the Corporate Authorities strikes first shall be done by flip of a coin. (F) Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the bargaining agent and the Corporate Authorities from agreeing to an arbitrator from the permanent panel. 6 Section 17.9 Hearings. (A) The arbitrator shall call a hearing to begin within twenty-five(25)days of selection,and shall give at least ten (10) days notice in writing to the bargaining agent and the Corporate Authorities of the time and place of such hearing.The hearing shall be informal,and the rules of evidence prevailing in judicial proceedings shall not be binding.Any and all oral or documentary evidence and other data deemed competent and relevant by the arbitrator shall be received in evidence. The arbitrator shall have the power to administer oaths and to require by subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books, records and other evidence relating to or pertinent to the issues presented for determination. (B) The hearing conducted by the arbitrator shall be concluded within seven(7)days of the time of commencement. Within ten (10) days following the conclusion of the hearing, the parties may, if they deem necessary, submit written briefs to the arbitrator. Within twenty-one (21) days of receipt of such briefs, or within twenty-one (21) days after the conclusion of the hearing if no post-hearing briefs are filed,the arbitrator shall make written findings and conclusions setting forth the basis of the arbitrator's decision on the issues presented, a copy of which shall be delivered to the bargaining agent and the Corporate Authorities in the same manner on the same date.The written findings and conclusions shall be reached in accordance with the provisions of Section 17.10. (C) By mutual agreement of the parties and the arbitrator, the provided time frames in this Division may be extended. Section 17.10 Factors to be considered by the arbitrator. The arbitrator shall conduct the hearing and render his or her decision with due consideration of the need fora prompt,peaceful and just settlement of all unresolved issues between the bargaining agent and the Corporate Authorities. The arbitrator may apply the standards commonly used in interest disputes but shall rely predominantly on the following in arriving at a decision: (A) The interests and welfare of the public; (B) The finances of the City; (C) The lawful authority of the City; (D) Stipulations of the parties; (E) Comparison of the compensation,fringe benefits, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment of Fort Collins Police employees with other Law Enforcement employees performing comparable services in public employment in comparable national and local communities; and (F) The cost of living; (G) Any claims of failure of a party to bargain in good faith pursuant to Section 17.5; and (H) Other similar standards recognized in the resolution of interest disputes. Section 17.11 Final offer procedure. The Corporate Authorities and the bargaining agent shall submit to the arbitrator final offers on each issue on which there was not agreement.The award of the arbitrator on each issue shall be the final offer of the Corporate Authorities or the final offer of the bargaining agent. The arbitrator shall state the reasons for the award in writing in accordance with Section 17.9(B). Section 17.12 Finality of the arbitrator's decision. 7 (A) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on the bargaining agent and the Corporate Authorities;provided that the arbitrator's decision shall be binding only for the term of the contract. Nothing herein shall prohibit the parties from agreeing to terms different from the decision of the arbitrator as long as such agreements are made within fifteen (15) days after receipt of the arbitrator's decision. (B) The arbitrator's decision shall be subject to court review only pursuant to the terms of this section. Any party desiring court review must file suit in District Court no later than thirty(30)days after the date of the arbitrator's decision. Failure to file suit within this time frame shall waive the right to appeal the decision. A party may appeal to the District Court only on the following grounds: (1) The award was procured by corruption, fraud or other similar wrongdoing; or (2) The decision on any issue is arbitrary and capricious, to wit, there is no competent evidence in the record to support the decision; or (3) The decision on any issue was reached without considering the factors listed in Section 2.626 hereof; or (4) The award of the arbitrator on an issue was not the final offer of the Corporate Authorities or the final offer of the bargaining agent. (C) The court shall not conduct de novo review except to determine whether the award was procured by corruption,fraud or other similar wrongdoing. If the court determines that the award was procured by corruption,fraud or other similar wrongdoing,the entire award shall be vacated and the matter shall be remanded back to a different arbitrator selected pursuant to the terms of 17.8 hereof. The arbitrator who issued the award determined to be procured by corruption,fraud or other similar wrongdoing shall no longer be deemed qualified to be on the permanent panel of arbitrators, shall cease to be a member of the panel and shall not be eligible for reappointment to the permanent panel. If the court determines that the arbitrator's decision on any issue is arbitrary and capricious, the court shall remand that issue to the arbitrator with instructions to conduct a new hearing on that issue if either the bargaining agent or the Corporate Authorities so desires and,with or without a new hearing, to issue a new decision on that issue which is based on some competent evidence in the record. If the court determines that the arbitrator's decision on any issue was reached without considering the factors listed in Section 17.10 hereof, the court shall remand that issue to the arbitrator with instructions to conduct a new hearing on that issue if either the bargaining agent or the Corporate Authorities so desires and, with or without a new hearing, to issue a decision which considers the factors listed in Section 17.10 hereof as the arbitrator deems proper. If the court determines that the arbitrator's decision did not accept the final offer of either the Corporate Authorities or the bargaining agent on an issue,the court shall remand the issue to the arbitrator with instructions to accept the final offer of either the Corporate Authorities or the bargaining agent. Section 17.13 Fees and expenses of arbitration. Fifty(50)percent of the necessaryfees and necessary expenses of arbitration(excluding all fees and expenses incurred by either party in the preparation or presentation of its case)shall be borne by the City and Fifty(50) percent shall be borne by the bargaining agent. Section 17.14 Collective bargaining agreement; what constitutes. (A) The collective bargaining agreement between the City and the bargaining agent shall consist of any and all terms actually agreed to by the parties or awarded by the arbitrator.At the request of either the bargaining agent or the Corporate Authorities, the agreement shall contain a grievance procedure which culminates in final and binding arbitration by a neutral arbitrator. The grievance procedure may be established by voluntary agreement or by the arbitrator. 8 (B) Whenever there is a conflict between the terms of the agreement and a rule,executive order, procedure, policy, or any ordinance of the City which is applicable only to employees of the City, the provisions of the agreement shall prevail. Section 17.15 Request for bargaining. (A) In order to begin the bargaining process, it is the obligation of the bargaining agent to serve written notice of request for bargaining on the Corporate Authorities no later than May 1 of the year before the contract period which will be the subject of the bargaining process with bargaining to commence no later than May 15th. (B) All time limits for action contained in this Division, other than the times for requesting and commencing bargaining set forth in this section, may be waived by mutual consent of the parties. (C) With regard to any collective bargaining agreement which is in place, as of the date of the adoption of this Charter Amendment,between the Cityof Fort Collins and anyorganization which has been recognized previouslyas the sole and exclusive bargaining agent of the Police employees,such bargaining agent may require, within forty five(45)days of the adoption of this Charter Amendment, that said collective bargaining agreement be reopened for purposes of negotiating any mandatory subject of bargaining. Such reopener negotiations shall be governed by Sections 17.5 through 17.14 of this Charter Amendment. Section 17.16 Terms and conditions of employment not to be reduced. The compensation,fringe benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment granted to Police employees by policy,ordinance,collective bargaining agreement or Charter as of the date of adoption of this Amendment, and all sections thereof, shall not be reduced except by voluntary agreement between the Corporate Authorities and the bargaining agent. Section 17.17 Management rights. This Charter Amendment is not intended to circumscribe or modifythe existing right of the Corporate Authorities to: (A) Direct the work of their employees. (B) Suspend, promote or discharge employees for just cause. (C) Maintain the efficiency of governmental operations. (D) Relieve employees from duties because of lack of work. (E) Take actions as may be necessary to carry out the mission of the City in emergencies. (F) Determine the methods, means and personnel by which operations are to be carried on. Section 17.18 Prohibition. (A) Neither the bargaining agent nor the Police employees, nor any person acting in concert with them,will cause,sanction,or take part in any withholding of services to the City by means of a strike, walkout,sit down,slowdown,stoppage of work,abnormal absenteeism,or other method.Therefore, all such actions are expressly prohibited. (B) Violation of any provision of Subsection (a) of this Section by the bargaining agent of the Police Officers shall be cause for the City to terminate a collective bargaining agreement with the bargaining agent upon giving written notice to that effect to the chief representative of the bargaining agent, in addition to whatever other remedies may be available to the City at law or in equity. 9 (C) Violation of any provision of Subsection(a)of this Section by any Police Officer shall be just cause for discipline of the Police Officer, in addition to whatever other remedies may be available to the City at law or in equity.All provisions of Section 17.13 shall apply to any disciplinary action under this Subsection. (D) No Police Officer or person seeking to become a Police Employee shall be appointed, promoted, reduced, removed or in any way discriminated against because of affiliations or non- affiliations with an employee organization; provided that it shall be allowable and it shall not be in violation of this Section for an agreement between the bargaining agent and the Corporate Authorities to require as a condition of employment the payment by Police employees to the bargaining agent of an amount not to exceed the normal dues and assessments required of members of the bargaining agent so long as the City is adequately indemnified and held harmless as part of the agreement. Section 17.19 Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or part of this Division, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances shall for any reason be adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder of this Division or its application. Section 2. That the foregoing proposed Charter amendment is hereby submitted to the registered electors of the City of Fort Collins at said special municipal election in substantially the following form: CITY OF FORT COLLINS CITIZEN-INITIATED CHARTER AMENDMENT An amendment to the City Charter granting police officers, community service officers,dispatchers, and certain police supervisors the right to organize and bargain collectively with the City;establishing procedures for collective bargaining regarding compensation, benefits, hours, and other conditions of employment, as well as procedures for deciding unresolved bargaining issues through binding arbitration; authorizing police employees to select a bargaining agent;requiring the City Council to select a panel of arbitrators to resolve impasses;requiring the bargaining agent and the City to equally share the expenses of arbitration;permitting the bargaining agent to reopen and renegotiate the collective bargaining agreement for 2006 and 2007 reached by the City and the Fraternal Order of Police; and prohibiting any reduction in the compensation, fringe benefits, or other terms and conditions of employment forpolice employees,unless agreed to by the bargaining agent;and prohibiting police employees from withholding services to the City by strike or other method. YES NO 10 Passed and adopted at an adjourned meeting of the Co 7 of the City of Fort Collins this 13th day of June, A.D. 2006. Mayor ATTEST: \�I I City Clerk tt