Compromise offered in Syracuse
Council drafts new policies in response to litigation
One of the litigants, Larry Shingleton, said his group may drop its lawsuit if the council satisfies its request.
Thursday, after the council convened for a closed meeting and reconvened in an open meeting to talk to litigants, councilman Danny Hammon said he wants the city to return the title of CEO to Mayor Fred Panucci and restore the mayor's power to sign contracts.
On Oct. 10, the council voted 4-1 to give the title of CEO to then-city-administrator Ken Hubler and elevate Hubler's title to city manager.
The move, the supporting council members said, allowed for more oversight into city affairs because Hubler became responsible not only to Panucci but to the rest of the council.
Panucci opposed the change and so did councilman Wally Peterson. Other council members don't consider the change major.
The council and mayor decided in February to fire Hubler, who had only been on the job six months, and search for a new city manager.
Within two weeks of the Oct. 10 ordinance, former Mayor DeLore Thurgood and five residents sponsored a referendum petition to put the change to a vote.
During a hearing in 2nd District Court Tuesday in front of Judge Thomas Kay, the residents argued that the Utah Constitution says ordinances that are challenged by referendum petitions should be put on hold until a vote can be taken.
Godfrey argued the city ordinance could take effect until the election but the judge said he would need more proof to back up that argument. The judge also said the city and residents should work out their differences and not try to solve them in court.
For an hour of Thursday's meeting, the council and plaintiffs butted heads over a solution and discussed ramifications of SB41, sponsored by Utah Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Cottonwood Heights, which would bar city councils from making changes to forms of government until 2008 until a task force could analyze the issue.
After the council reconvened from the closed session, Panucci said the council asked its attorney, Todd Godfrey, to draft operating procedures for the council to adopt until a citywide election can take place for residents to choose the form of the city's government.
The plaintiffs are expected to get copies of the procedures today.
If what Godfrey drafts meets the litigants' approval, the procedures will come before the council at its next meeting, Panucci said.
Hammon said he would also like to see a clear line of authority in writing.
Councilman Phil Orton said he doesn't want the city to revert exactly the way it was because some ordinances in place at the time were contradictory. In one place, city code stated the city administrator reported to the council, and another place stated the city administrator reported to the mayor.
"We don't want to put our city in that same conflict," Orton said.
E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com
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