Amador County – The Sutter Creek City Council selected its new leadership last week, selecting Mayor Pro Tem Tim Murphy to be the Mayor for 2011. The council also selected newly elected Councilwoman Linda Rianda as this year’s Mayor Pro Tempore.

Council members also made appointments to the Planning Commission. Councilwoman Sandy Anderson announced at the end of December that she would appoint Robin Peters, who was appointed by retiring Councilman Pat Crosby. Peters replaced Anderson’s former appointee to the commission, Corte Strandberg.

Rianda appointed Frank Cunha to again represent her on the commission, which she had done after being appointed to replace former Mayor Pro Tempore Bill Hepworth.

Newly elected Councilman Jim Swift appointed Ed Arata to the Planning Commission, joining Councilman Gary Wooten’s appointee, Robert Olson; and Murphy’s appointee, Mike Kirkley. On Monday, Kirkley was selected by the Planning Commission to be chairman for 2011, and Cunha was picked as vice chairman.

City Manager Sean Rabe said the city council in closed session last week agreed to appoint Interim Chief Brian Klier to be the full-time chief of the Sutter Creek Police Department. Rabe said he was instructed by the council to bring back a contract for the next meeting, and he is negotiating with Chief Klier. Rabe said he was confident that they would produce a “mutually agreeable contract.”

Also last week, the council moved toward consolidating three committees on budget, finance and personnel, into one committee. That consolidation and all committee assignments may be considered at the next council meeting.

The council also approved the draft policy city council minutes, in answer to some fallout from issues raised by the recent Grand Jury report. Rabe said the format of “action minutes” would be used, which includes minimal details of discussion, and chiefly makes note of actions taken.

The policy sets a 30-day time limit by which the minutes, must be completed after a meeting is held. Rabe said the draft policy will be brought back with an accompanying resolution of approval.

Rabe said he made an “inventory of the minutes that are missing,” and found that there were increments of as long as 6 months when no minutes were made. It also goes back about 3-4 years, and there is “no way we will be 100 percent caught up.”

He wasn’t sure how minutes would be updated, but didn’t support using recordings. He said former City Clerk Judy Allen’s notes from meetings would probably be used to make action minutes.

The council agreed to have a citywide vote to change the clerk position from elected to appointed, so a non-city resident could take the post. That election might come sooner than 2012, if a statewide budget election is held.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.