General Government & Social Services Committee

Summary

Meeting Overview

The General Government & Social Services Committee met on September 1, 2015, at 1:00 p.m., with Lamb presiding. The committee addressed four agenda items during the session, taking eight votes and hearing one public comment. The committee approved the Committee Summary and the Items in Committee, while postponing Ordinance 271-2009 regarding the Oath of Office for Boards, Agencies & Commissions and deferring discussion of the Extended Social Resources (ESR) Process.

Attendance

The following individuals were present at the meeting on September 1, 2015:

• Akers
• Bledsoe
• F. Brown
• Evans
• Gibbs
• Henson
• Moloney
• Scutchfield
• J. Brown

No absences or late arrivals were recorded.

Votes and Decisions

Motion to approve the July 7th, 2015 General Government & Social Services Committee Meeting summary 6:22 - Moved by Henson, seconded by Evans - Outcome: Passed unanimously

Motion to approve a Resolution authorizing and directing the Mayor to execute an Interlocal Cooperative Agreement for the Bluegrass Workforce Investment Board 6:55 - Moved by Gibbs, seconded by Henson - Outcome: Passed unanimously

Motion to allow the Committee Chair to report the Workforce Investment & Training item out during the July 7th Work Session meeting 6:55 - Moved by F. Brown, seconded by Akers - Outcome: Passed unanimously

Motion to amend Ordinance 271-2009 to extend the time for completing and submitting the oath of office by affidavit and remove the requirement for the Council Clerk to administer the oath 20:31 - Moved by Evans, seconded by James Brown - Vote type: Roll call - Outcome: Failed

Motion to postpone the item on Ordinance 271-2009 until the September 1, 2015 General Government and Social Services Committee meeting 23:46 - Moved by Gibbs, seconded by Bledsoe - Outcome: Passed unanimously

Motion to remove Workforce Investment & Training from Committee 23:46 - Moved by Gibbs, seconded by Evans - Outcome: Passed unanimously

Motion to remove Cell Towers, Location, Approval & Revenue from Committee 23:46 - Moved by Evans, seconded by Scutchfield - Outcome: Passed unanimously

Motion to adjourn 23:46 - Moved by Scutchfield, seconded by Evans - Outcome: Passed unanimously

Budget and Financial Actions

The meeting included an appropriation of $3,000,000 for funding local nonprofit and social service agencies through the Extended Social Resources (ESR) program.

Public Comment

1:33:07 Marian Gwynn, CEO of God's Pantry Food Bank, addressed the meeting to provide feedback on the ESR process. Gwynn praised the ESR process for enabling new city partnerships. She expressed support for setting clear funding priorities, noting that doing so would help ensure fairness and transparency in the allocation of resources.

Contested Items

The September 1, 2015 meeting included two items that generated significant disagreement among committee members.

Biannual ESR Funding Cycle

The committee discussed a proposed shift from an annual to a biannual funding cycle for ESR (Employee Service Recognition or similar program). The vote on this matter was split, indicating that members were divided on the proposal. Concerns centered on the practical impact of this change for agencies receiving funding. Some members expressed worry about how the shift would affect agency operations and requested greater flexibility in funding decisions to accommodate varying needs across the biannual period.

Oath of Office Ordinance 271-2009

A heated discussion emerged regarding Ordinance 271-2009, which governs the administration of oaths of office. The core disagreement involved the role of the Council Clerk in this process. Specifically, the committee debated whether to remove the Council Clerk's responsibility for administering oaths and whether to authorize other officials to perform this function instead.

Members raised concerns about two competing considerations: the importance of maintaining established tradition around oath administration and the desire to improve administrative efficiency by distributing this responsibility among multiple authorized officials. The discussion reflected tension between preserving institutional practices and modernizing procedures for operational effectiveness.

Approval of Committee Summary

The committee voted to approve the summary from the July 7, 2015 meeting. 6:22

Motion and Vote

Henson made the motion to approve the summary, which was seconded by Evans. The summary was approved without dissent.

Outcome

The July 7, 2015 meeting summary was approved.

Ord. 271-2009 – Oath of Office for Boards, Agencies & Commissions

6:55

The committee discussed proposed amendments to Ordinance 271-2009 regarding the oath of office procedures for boards, agencies, and commissions. The discussion involved speakers including Steve Prock, Evans, Akers, Bledsoe, F. Brown, and Maloney.

The proposed amendments addressed two key changes to the ordinance:

• Extending the deadline for submitting the oath of office by affidavit
• Removing the requirement for the Council Clerk to administer the oath

During the discussion, a motion to amend the ordinance was brought forward but was defeated. Rather than proceeding with a vote on the ordinance itself, the committee chose to postpone the item for further consideration.

Outcome: The agenda item was postponed to the September 1, 2015 meeting, allowing for additional time to address concerns or revise the proposed amendments before the next discussion.

Extended Social Resources (ESR) Process

Teresa Maynard presented an overview of the Extended Social Resources (ESR) grant process, detailing its evolution and current operational status. 31:24

Presentation Content

Maynard covered the development of the ESR process since 2013, including structural changes that have been implemented. She outlined the biannual funding cycle currently in place and explained the framework for collaborative applications, which allow multiple organizations to submit joint proposals for ESR funding.

Key Participants

The discussion involved Teresa Maynard as the primary presenter, with participation from Commissioner Ford and Bledsoe.

Outcome

The committee agreed to defer further discussion of the ESR process until March, indicating that additional review and consideration of the process will occur at that future meeting.

Items in Committee

During this agenda item, the committee took action to modify its jurisdictional responsibilities. 23:46

Action Taken

The committee voted to remove two items from its jurisdiction:

• Workforce Investment & Training
• Cell Towers, Location, Approval & Revenue

Key Participants

The discussion involved committee members Gibbs, Evans, and Scutchfield.

Outcome

The vote to remove these items from the committee's jurisdiction was approved. Following this action, the meeting was adjourned.