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Executive Committee Minutes Archive

Executive Committee Minutes

TCMA Executive Committee
Minutes
Conference Call
Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Participants on the conference call were: TCMA President Courtney Sharp, City Manager, Midland; TCMA President Elect Bill Keffler, City Manager, Richardson; TML Board Representative Jim Jeffers, City Manager, Nacogdoches; ICMA Executive Director Robert (Bob) J. O’Neill, Jr.; ICMA Vice President Tom Muehlenbeck, City Manager, Plano; ICMA Vice President Rick Cortes, Assistant City Manager, Seguin; ICMA Director of Member Services Betsy Sherman; and Kyle Jung, TML staff.

TCMA President Courtney Sharp called the conference call to order at 2:00 p.m.

Bob O’Neill stated that there is confusion between the practice of a continuous Texas representative on the ICMA Board and the election procedure approved by the ICMA Board. He states that there is no formal or informal policy or agreement that ICMA has agreed to which reserves a space on the ICMA Board for a representative from Texas or any other state. Also, he mentioned that there are two ways to get on the ballot (being selected by the ICMA Nominating Committee or submitting petitions from 15 ICMA Corporate members).

Courtney Sharp stated that he thought the petition process should come after the nomination process so if an individual is not selected by the ICMA Nominating Committee, the individual could then pursue a position on the ballot by petition.

Bob O’Neill stated that he suggests that all candidates obtain the required 15 ICMA Corporate member petitions to ensure they are included on the ballot if they are not selected by the ICMA Nominating Committee.

Bill Keffler asked if the two criteria specifically mentioned (contributions to the ICMA Fund for Professional Management and the credentialed manager certification) in evaluating the candidates were given a greater priority than the other six criteria. Bob O’Neill stated that the ICMA Nominating Committee members generally look at the totality of a candidate’s qualifications when considering a slate to endorse. But he was unable to comment specifically on the current committee’s reasoning since he was not involved in their discussion.

Bill Keffler noted that the ICMA Nominating Committee’s decision not to select the TCMA-endorsed candidate has not been explained sufficiently and many ICMA members from Texas have expressed concern about the process. Bob O’Neill volunteered to come and answer any questions about the process. Both Tom Muehlenbeck and Rick Cortes stated that they are committed to resolving this issue.

Courtney Sharp stated that since the practice in use since 1964 (continuous representation on the ICMA Board by a Texas representative) is no longer considered by ICMA, and since the ICMA Nominating Committee selects the individual they subjectively determine is the best candidate, the only way to ensure a TCMA-endorsed candidate is on the ballot is through the petition process. TCMA should not be overly concerned with the ICMA Nominating Committee selection process. Courtney Sharp stated that TCMA should consider submitting multiple candidates with the required 15 ICMA Corporate member petitions every year while encouraging ICMA members from Texas to submit letters of endorsement directly to ICMA for these candidates.

There being no further business, the conference call was adjourned at 2:32 p.m.