Woodrow Township

Resolution Establishing Administrative Operational Guidelines

Amended January 11, 2024

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors of Woodrow Township adopts this updated administrative operational guideline and that this document supersedes and replaces all other policies and procedures of similar nature of record.

Administrative Guidelines -- Supervisors

1. The Administrative Guidelines established herein shall apply to all regular Board meetings and all regular Board duties. When a Special Town Meeting is called, it shall follow Minnesota Statutes.
2. The Board conducts one regular Board meeting per month on the second Thursday of the month at 7:00 P.M. at the Woodrow Town Hall.
3. Meeting Agendas will be established by the Chair and the Clerk prior to any Board meeting. Any Supervisor may request agenda items by notifying the Clerk in writing.
4. The Presiding Officer at all Township meetings shall be the Chair. The Chair shall be one of the Supervisors from the Board of Supervisors and shall be appointed annually. In the absence of the Chair, the Vice-chair will fill the role of Presiding Officer.
5. Board Members should conduct themselves with decorum at all meetings and a cooperative spirit at all times.
6. Robert’s Rules of Order shall be followed to conduct regular and special Board meetings.
7. Citizens may submit written comments or materials to the Board Chair prior to the start of a Board meeting to establish relevancy to Township affairs. Written materials so provided shall not be included in the official minutes of the monthly meeting unless requested by the Board.
8. Spoken public input at Board meetings may be granted by the Chair. Citizens who wish to speak as an agenda item must, one week prior to the regular monthly meeting, request that the Clerk add them to the agenda and provide a written explanation of the proposed presentation.
9. Board members will encourage all citizens to conduct themselves with decorum at all meetings. The open meeting law gives citizens the right to attend town meetings, but not to participate in nor to disrupt the proceedings. Disrupting a public meeting is a punishable misdemeanor by state statute. If it becomes necessary to remove a citizen from a public meeting, assistance of law enforcement may be sought. If a citizen has repeatedly been the source of uncontrolled disruption, the Board may seek a restraining order against that citizen
10. At the discretion of the Board, the Clerk may make an audio recording of regular or special meetings for the Clerk’s convenience. If the Clerk wishes to include such audio recordings as part of the official minutes, a request for approval must be made prior to the recording. Recordings will not be entered as part of the official minutes unless requested by the Board.
11. The Board of Supervisors shall assign Supervisor duties and responsibilities. The Board retains the right to change distribution of duties. In its discretion, the Board may also establish Special committees.

12. Primary Board duties/responsibilities are as follows:

·         Gravel Pit Liaison- road material preparation (crushing), etc.;

·         Road Liaison- road maintenance, gravel application, culverts, chloride, asphalt, preparing contracts, signs and inventory;

·         Surveys- Surveyor meeting preparation, right-of-way issues, encroachment easement requests, grant applications.;

·         Building and Grounds- water softener, building maintenance, mowing, cleaning.

·         Fire/ambulance Liaison for Longville and Hackensack.

13. Supervisors will not discuss nor represent possible contractual issues with outside vendors without specific Board pre-approval.
14. Supervisors will adhere to their specific job descriptions and will not represent themselves as having authority beyond their assigned duties.
15. If a Supervisor is asked to perform an action beyond a specified duty, he or she will notify the Clerk who will then notify the appropriate Supervisor of the needed action. Should the specified Supervisor not be available, the Clerk will redirect the request or request the first Supervisor to perform the action in question.
16. Supervisors will have all official correspondence (such as contracts, quotes, bids, and requests). directed to the Clerk. Upon completion of projects, a complete file will be given to the Clerk for filing.
17. Supervisors will direct the Clerk to publish all official notices in the official newspaper and to post the notices in the Town Hall kiosk.
18. Calling a Special Board Meeting or a Special Informational Session: Calling a meeting or session prior to the next regular Board Meeting can be made by the concurrence of any two Board Members. A Board Member requesting a special meeting or session shall provide in writing a request to the Clerk who will then contact another board member to determine the need to call a special meeting. If a second member concurs, the Clerk will notify all supervisors of the date, time, place, and purpose of the meeting or session. The Clerk will post the meeting notice as required and include the specific topic or information to be addressed, as required by the Open Meeting Law.
19. If a Board Member receives a summons to appear in court on a matter that affects the Township, said supervisor will be compensated at the hourly compensation rate as defined in Exhibit A plus mileage as defined in Exhibit A to attend the court session; when possible prior approval shall be obtained at a regular Town meeting. This provision does not include a court appearance for a Supervisor’s personal wrongdoing.
20. This Administrative Guideline will be subject to review by the entire Board from time to time. The rates in Exhibit A in shall be reviewed in January.

Administrative Guidelines – Clerk

1. The Clerk performs many functions within the Township. The primary duty of the Clerk is to keep a true record of Township functions, meetings, votes, and proceedings.
2. The Clerk will have custody of the records, books, and papers of the Township in files contained at the Town hall.
3. The Clerk will keep a record of minutes of all meetings in a book of records.
4. The Clerk will post all notices in the official Township newspaper, at the Township hall kiosk, and on the Township website.  
5. At the Woodrow Township annual meeting, the Clerk will, furnish all statements from the County Treasurer of monies paid to the Town Treasurer as well as statements for all other accounts and claims, plus other information pertaining to the fiscal affairs of the Town, whether in the Clerk’s possession or filed with or by the Township.
6. The Clerk and the Treasurer will balance claims using the Small City and Town Accounting System (CTAS).
7. The Clerk will issue checks for payroll and for claims making withholdings as required by law.
8. The Clerk is a non-voting Board member, except in the case of a tie vote to fill a vacancy (not absence) on the Board and only for the filling of the vacancy.
9. The Clerk may appoint a Deputy Clerk.
10. The Clerk will keep the Town website operational and updated with any new information i.e., town meetings added to the calendar.

Administrative Guidelines – Treasurer

1. The Treasurer performs many functions within the Township. The primary duty of the Treasurer is to receive and take charge of all monies belonging to the Township and to pay it out upon lawful invoices for payments.
2. The Treasurer will use the CTAS system to balance money received and disbursed and will preserve all books, papers, and records of accounts
3. The Treasurer will provide an account of all vouchered records to the Town Board for an annual audit and for the annual meeting.
4. The Treasurer will keep suitable records of all funds owned by or owed to the Township.
5. The Treasurer will make and file with the Town Clerk within five days preceding the annual meeting a statement of the accounting of the Township for use in setting the levy at the annual meeting.
6. The Treasurer will provide to the Board any and all financial records it deems necessary for the accounting and audit of any and all funds in all accounts.
7. The Treasurer will provide the Town Board with quarterly and year-to-date expenditures compared to the line-item budget items from the Annual Meeting levy.

Compensation and Allowances

1. Supervisors will receive a monthly salary as defined in Exhibit A , attached.
2. The Township Clerk will receive a monthly salary as defined in Exhibit A.
3. The Township Treasurer will receive a monthly salary as defined in Exhibit A.
4. Supervisors, the Clerk, and the Treasurer will receive a stipend for attending regular Town Meetings and other meetings held within Woodrow Township as defined in Exhibit A.
5. Supervisors, the Clerk, and the Treasurer will receive a meeting stipend as defined in Exhibit A for MAT, County or other authorized training session or for assigned meetings in their assigned area of responsibility held outside of Woodrow Township.
6. Emergency Management meetings will be compensated at the hourly rate.
7. Supervisors, the Clerk, and the Treasurer will be reimbursed, compensated at the hourly rate, and paid mileage, as those terms are described in Exhibit A, for time spent for special projects as defined and approved by the Board and recorded in the minutes. There shall be no compensation for time or mileage without pre-approval by the Board.
8. Supervisors will be compensated at the hourly rate as defined in Exhibit A for Preliminary Damage Assessment drills or events or for “disaster” pay for special situations. “Disaster” is defined as dealing with significant damage on a wide scale and also includes damage where there will be reimbursement from FEMA or HSEM. If there is a disaster within the Township, it must first be reported to the Clerk before compensation may be claimed.
9. The Clerk and the Treasurer will be compensated at the hourly rate defined in Exhibit A for website updating, CTAS upgrading, computer updates, and special report preparation as requested by the Board when the reports are not a usual duty.
10. Mileage shall be paid at the rate stated in Exhibit A which follows current Internal Revenue Service Rates for Township business related to an assigned Duty and shall be submitted as a claim.
11. Claims are to be made on the Payroll and Claims form and submitted to the Clerk at the first of each month.
12. Reimbursement shall be made to Board members for authorized expenses. A claim with applicable receipt(s) must be properly submitted to the Clerk.
13. The Moderator at the Annual Meeting shall receive $100.00.

The following is a list of Board Approved Meetings or Training eligible for compensation and mileage.

1. MAT Training
2. Cass County Information/Training
3. Audit Meeting/Budget Meeting
4. Fire Department Meetings
5. Board of Appeals and Equalization Training and Meeting
6. Spring Road Inspection
7. Election Judge Training
8. Other meetings or projects deemed useful to the Township as approved by the Board.

Reimbursements

1. Town officers shall be reimbursed for expenses authorized or pre-approved by the Board in performance of their Township duties or expenses for purchase of necessary Township equipment or supplies. Reimbursements must be submitted to the Clerk as a claim.
2. Meals should be pre-approved and shall be reimbursed at the rate stated in Exhibit A which follows current Internal Revenue Service Rates. Expenses for meals must be submitted to the Clerk as a claim.

Stipends

3. Town Officers shall receive a Technology Stipend as stated in Exhibit A. The stipend must be submitted as a claim.

Fees

Fee for Building Use: The Board has established that there shall be a fee for use of the Town Hall. This fee may be revised by the Board from time to time.

1. Woodrow Township citizens may request the use of the Town Hall by making the request in writing to the Clerk giving the specific time and date(s). A fee of $5 per hour, $10 per half day and $20 per full day will help to offset building maintenance and use of supplies provided at the Town Hall.
2. Individuals or groups using the hall will be asked to comply with the use policy posted in the Town hall.

 

Fees for Access to Information

1. Citizens may request public information contained in the Township Files (this does not include private information). Citizens requesting to inspect public records will contact the Clerk in writing to establish a mutually agreeable time for the inspection of the records.
2. The Clerk shall be compensated as stated in Exhibit A for providing access to this information. Fees are payable at the time of viewing by the person or persons making the request.
3. Citizens may request photo copies of public documents at the rate of $1.00 per page.

Access to Information

1. Supervisors will have access to information stored in the file room without fee. Supervisors will arrange a time with the Clerk or Treasurer for necessary access. Supervisors must allow the Clerk or Treasurer reasonable time for such access. The Clerk is the primary “keeper of the keys” and is responsible for accurate filing of all Township records. The Treasurer is responsible for all Township financial records that are contained in the files.

Posting Locations

1. The official posting locations for all Township information are 1) the official Township newspaper – The Pinecone Press and Citizen and 2) the Woodrow Town Hall kiosk.

Attorney Access

1. Any board member may have access to the Township attorney for consultation on matters specific to the duty or duties of the assigned position held by a board member. The Clerk will be notified of the need for attorney contact prior to a board member actually contacting the attorney. In like manner, the Clerk will notify the Chair. This authority extends only to the Board.

The Woodrow Township Board of Supervisors reserves the right to amend these Operational Guidelines by resolution.

 

Signed:

Motioned, Passed and Signed by all Board members on January 11, 2024

 

EXHIBIT A
2024 SCHEDULE OF
COMPENSATION, REIMBURSEMENTS, ALLOWANCES, STIPENDS, AND FEES

Per MN Statutes 367.05, the town board shall set the compensation of supervisors, the treasurer, the clerk, and the deputy clerk. In addition, the supervisors, the treasurer, the clerk, and the deputy clerk shall be entitled to mileage for the use of their own automobile at a rate to be determined by the town board for necessary travel on official town business.

Compensation

Supervisor monthly salary:  $300.00.

The Township Clerk will receive a monthly salary of $1000.00.

Treasurer monthly salary: $450.00

Deputy Clerk: Hourly Rate of $30.00

Head Election Judge: Hourly Rate of $30.00

Election Judge: Hourly Rate of $25.00

Compensation for attending regular Town Meetings and other meetings within Woodrow Township: $85.00

Hourly rate for Supervisors, Clerk, and Treasurer: $30.00

Compensation for attending MAT, County or other authorized training session or attending meetings held outside of Woodrow Township: $100.00

If the Clerk is providing information from the Township Files, the Clerk shall be compensated at an hourly rate of $30.00 per hour plus mileage if applicable.

Reimbursements

Reimbursement shall be made to Board members for authorized expenses. A claim with receipts must be submitted.

Mileage shall be reimbursed following the Internal Revenue Service Rate for Township business related to an assigned Duty. For 2024, the rate is $0.67 per mile and may be adjusted at any time in the future.

Meals shall be reimbursed following the Internal Revenue Service Rate for Township business related to an assigned Duty. For 2024, the rate is a maximum of $59.00. The Township has established the following within the IRS guidelines: $12.00 for breakfast, $18.00 for lunch, and $29.00 for dinner. Receipts must be submitted to the Clerk and submitted as a claim.

Allowances

The Moderator at the Annual Meeting shall receive $100.00.

Stipends

Town Officers shall receive a Technology Stipend of $150.00 per month. This shall be submitted as a claim.

 

Fees

Woodrow Township citizens may request the use of the Town Hall by making the request in writing to the Clerk giving the specific time and date(s). A fee of $5 per hour, $10 per half day and $20 per full day will be charged to help offset building maintenance and supplies provided at the Town Hall.

OPEN FORUM GUIDELINES – Agenda item aka PUBLIC INPUT

1. The open forum will be held before Old Business.
2. A maximum time of 20 minutes will be allowed for the open forum.
3. A maximum time of three minutes per person will be allowed for the open forum.
4. Groups of people who wish to address the Board on a similar issue are encouraged to select a representative to speak on behalf of the group.
5. Those speaking will state their name and address prior to speaking.
6. Open forum is for the presentation of new topics/information. Please refrain from restating what has already been said at a previous meeting.
7. Statements should be limited to the issues only.
8. Personal attacks will not be permitted and will cause the speakers’ time to expire.
9. The Board retains the right to respond or not but may discuss the item.
10. These guidelines are not intended to restrict the right of citizens to address the Board, and the Chair may relax where necessary to maintain productive open public discourse.