By Sara Quam
The Luverne City Council met Friday in what was called a council retreat.
Retreats are typically a way for council members to brainstorm with one another, but this one was just as much a way for them to get over personal differences.
"It was emotional at times," councilman Keith Erickson said.
The meeting began at 4 p.m. and didnÕt end until 9 p.m. "What we needed to discuss was what's expected of each of us, and we hammered away at that for most of the night," Erickson said.
The discussion wasn't always civil. Accusations of overstepping job descriptions were flung at both City Administrator Matt Hylen and Mayor Glen Gust.
Luverne's council is set up as a weak mayor, strong council, which means the council votes on issues and the mayor, with no vote, has little power.
It was said at the meeting that both mayor and administrator took too much liberty in working outside the council's authority.
Council members agreed that communication among them was a priority. After the meeting Gust said, "The worst thing that could happen is a council that canÕt work together."
During the retreat Gust made comments to the effect that the prior City Council never listened to citizen input.
Erickson, who held a term through the last election, said heÕs offended by those remarks. He said he fields phone calls and listens to citizens - just as he said he would during his own campaign more than 11 years ago.
At certain meetings, a prevailing public opinion was voiced, and although Erickson's vote differed from that, he doesn't think he was an ineffective representative.
One other council member, Jim Kirchhofer, was a member of the previous council.
New councilman David Hauge said he understands some of what the old administration went through with public perception. When committees meet to research city business, the council is often aware of the background before it votes. However, with so much prior information, council votes appear to be pre-decided and create an impression of corruptness.
The current council and mayor have been in office only two full months. Even though moments of the retreat were tense, the council and mayor seemed willing to work through problems that aren't unique to this new administration.