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 Compensation Commission 
March 8, 2011

The Compensation Commission met on Monday, March 8, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. in the Diamond Back Conference Room, in City Hall, 111 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20850.

PRESENT
Tom Moore, Chair
Jim Coyle
Steve Edwards
Jim Marrinan

Staff in attendance:  Glenda P. Evans, City Clerk; Brenda Bean, Deputy City Clerk; City Attorney Debra Daniel and Mayor and Council Liaison Councilmember Bridget Donnell Newton.

Interested parties present:  Joe Bradley, a potential applicant for the Compensation Commission.

I.    Convene
Chair Moore called the meeting to order at 09:04 a.m.

II.    Approval of minutes for March 1, 2011 meeting
Upon motion of Jim Marrinan, duly seconded by Steve Edwards and unanimously passed, the minutes of March 1, 2011 were approved.

III.    Opportunity for citizen input
Chair Moore introduced Mr. Joe Bradley and welcomed him to the meeting.

Mr. Bradley said that he had attended several meetings of earlier Compensation Commissions and discussed the use of the word “stipend” versus “compensation.” There was some discussion on the history of the Compensation Commission’s work and how the figures that are being used to date were arrived at, and Chair Moore said it was the intention to set the compensation at a level where it would not exclude people from running for office. 

There was broad and general discussion on the form of government in Rockville. 

IV.    Discussion of City of Rockville, Compensation Commission Report
Regarding the draft report, Chair Moore said that he believed everything was captured from the Commission’s earlier discussions.  Highlights from the discussion of the draft report included:

• The Commission has committed themselves to a guide path for future Mayor and Council compensation and the draft report reflects this.
• To depoliticize the issue, a strong emphasis needs to be made that the Commission is a citizen-based group of individuals who make a recommendation that can either be accepted or rejected by the Mayor and Council.
• The previous two City budgets did not fund the amounts as spelled out in Resolution No. 9-09.
• To achieve the objective of Compensation Commission recommendations, the amounts need to be reflected in the budget.
• At a minimum, this needs to be highlighted so that the Mayor and Council know that a formal action is required by them and that the City Manager knows to fund it.
• Important to go on record with respect to the budget omissions and Chair Moore will not only highlight this in his report, but will also draft a letter to the City Manager and include the Mayor and Council as carbon copy recipients.
• Important to monitor this more carefully during the off years.

V.    Next Steps – Timeline and dates for meetings
Chair Moore will draft the letter to the City Manager and will note that a response would be appreciated.  Chair Moore asked the members to please review the report and submit any changes to him.

The next regular meeting of the Compensation Commission will take place on  March 22, 2011 at 6:00 p.m.

City Clerk Evans will schedule the worksession (or presentation on the Compensation Commission’s Report) with the Mayor and Council for April 11, 2011, and submit the items for that worksession at the next meeting of the Compensation Commission.

Joe Bradley asked about the process for his appointment and Ms. Evans told him what he could expect.

VI.    Adjournment
Upon motion of Commissioner Marrinan, duly seconded by Commissioner Coyle and unanimously approved, the meeting adjourned at 9:58 am.