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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1983-11-14 - City Commission Reconvened Regular Meeting MinutesMAIL REPLY TO: P.O. BOX 25010 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33320 5811 NORTt'HWEsT 88TH AVENUE 6 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321 TELEPHONE (305) 722-5900 NOTICE OF RECONVENED REGULAR MEETING CITY COUNCIL OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA November 14, 1983 Please be advised that a Reconvened Regular Meeting of the City Council has been scheduled for Monday, November 14, 1983 at 2:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 5811 NW 88 Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. The purpose of this meeting is to hold a public hearing on the following item: 32. Pension Plan -,Temp. Ord. #1023 Discussion and passible action to amend the employee retirement plan concerning the "Plan Year", the normal retirement date and benefit for police officers and firefighters, member contributions, disability benefit and Medical Board. Second Hearing. (approved on first reading 4/27/83). The Council may consider such other business as may come before it. The public is invited to attend. Carol A. Evans Assistant City Clerk Pursuant toSection 286.0105, Florida Statutes It a person dacir aG to appeal any decision made. by the city Council with respect to any smatter considereci at such me3tin8 or hearing, he wall nead a record of the procco4dings and for such purpos::, he may nerd tc. erasure £hat a vertatim rorocd includes trte "'simony and evidence, upon which U,,e appeal is to be 6a'seci. "An Equal Opportunity Employer" CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA RECONVENED REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 14, 1983 Tape CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Walter W. Falck called the meeting to 1 order on Monday, November 14, 1983 at 2:30 P.I. in Council Chambers. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Mayor Walter W. Falck Vice Mayor Helen Massaro Councilman David E. Krantz Councilman Jack Stelzer ABSENT AND EXCUSED:Councilman Philip B. Kravitz ALSO PRESENT: City Manager, Laura Z. Stuurmans City Attorney, Jon Henning Assistant City Clerk, Carol A. Evans Secretary, Roslyn Brauner Mayor Falck read the Notice of the meeting into the record. 32. Pension Plan - Temp. Ord. #1023 - Discussion and possible action to amend the employee retirement plan concerning the "Plan Year", the normal retirement date and benefit for police officers and firefighters, member contributions, disability benefit and Medical Board. Second Reading. (approved on first reading 4/27/83). SYNOPSIS_ OF ACTION_: APPROVED as ORDINANCE 0--83- PASSED Amended on Second and Final Reading. Mayor Falck stated that in order for Council to understand and discuss the proposed Ordinance, he has prepared a summary report which was released this morning and relates to the Ordinance. He said this item was discussed with the Administrative Board this morning, following a discussion last week which led to the preparation of the Pension Ordinance and the release of this particular communication. Mayor Falck read this summary into the record(See Attachment #1,Pages 1 and 2). C/M Stelzer asked when the contribution increases for Police and Fire will take effect, as mentioned in Section 3 of the Summary. Mayor Falck stated that if this Ordinance is passed, the increases will take effect October 1, 1983. C/M Stelzer stated that the second paragraph of Section 10 indicates that the benefits will be effective on January 1, 1983 and the City is contributing $1,712.00; and he would ask whether contributions will be made by the Fire and Police as well. Mayor Falck said the Police and Fire will make no contributions for that period of time. V/M Massaro asked why the City will pay $1,712.00. The Mayor said this is the amount which the actuaries have determined to be a holdover obligation for the City to pay. This was incurred in the last quarter of 1982 and into the first quarter of 1983. The City had planned to have the plan be fully effective the first of January; but because of all the complications, this was the only way it could be done. -1- 11/14/83 /rb V/M Massaro asked whether the City would have incurred that expense if the retirement age were not changed;and the Mayor said the City would incur the expense regardless. C/M Stelzer commented that this would be taken care of by the increase in the contributions to 5%. Mayor Faick said the age change will be accomplished by taking from Chapters 175 and 185, the funds that are necessary for this. The increased contributions made by Police and Fire which are proposed to become effective on October 1 will cover the full cost. V/M Massaro asked whether this will affect the amount the City must contribute in any way; and the Mayor said it does not. He said the benefits have been calculated by the actuaries based upon the 5% contribution that will be made by Police Officers and Fire Officers. The City has no obligation other than the $1,712.00 that was referred to. V/M Massaro mentioned that the City's contributions will not change in the future due to the earlier retirement age; and the Mayor said that is correct since the City will'not be involved for the future. City Attorney Jon Henning said there were three amendments to the Ordinance, which resulted from the Pension Board meeting held this morning. Fie said on Page 1, Section 1, there is a sentence, "The annual evaluation of the Plan, however, shall be based on 6/1 to 5/31 period" and it has been suggested this sentence be deleted so that everything will be based upon the October 1 year. Mayor Falck said the evaluation which is being completed by the actuaries will cover the period from June 1 through June 30 on a one-time basis; and therefore, it would be for fifteen months instead of twelve months. From that point on, the City would have annual evaluations from October through October, which ties more closely with the financial structure of the City, as indicated by Steve Wood. The City Attorney stated that the second amendment to the Ordinance is on Page 2, Line 32, Section 5, and it has been suggested that the word "disability" be changed to "injur,r" to tie in with the Workers Compensation language. It would also tie in with a Resolution which he has prepared for the Personnel Manual. Mayor Falck mentioned Judy Deutsch has pointed out that in many instances, an individual incurs an injury on a particular day but he may work for a few months before that injury becomes evident as a disability. During that period of time, his status can change, usually upwards. The Mayor said he agrees with Ms. Deutscn that the City should base this on the same predicate as is followed for Workers Compensation, which says that it goes back to the date of injury. The City would not be paying more, but would rather pay what the individual incurred at the time of injury and not at the time a disability was approved. City Attorney Henning said Section 10 is amended on Page 4 on the last line. He said this was based upon figures which were set up by the actuaries for the fiscal year ending . October 1, 1983. Therefore, it is proposed that the language, "the effective date of this Ordinance" be stricken; and after the words, "period after",the words "October 1" be inserted. Mr. Henning stated that all the figures which have been prepared by the actuaries are based upon a date of October 1. The additional contributions the City will be making are based upon an October 1 funding and the employees will be making up the difference in the next four to six pay periods. Mayor Falck said this will be worked out by the Finance Department. The City Attorney said'if this Ordinance is passed, the employees will pick up the benefit as of October 1, or the first pay period after October 1. -2- 11/14/83 /rb Mayor Falck opened the public hearing. Mrs. Melanie Reynolds of the Charter Board, said that since the Chairman of the Charter Board is necessarily a member of the Pension Board, she would request a copy of Mayor Falck's summary. A copy was given to Mrs. Reynolds. The public hearing was closed. V/M Massaro MOVED the adoption of Temp. Ord. #1023 as amended, on Second and Final Reading. The contents of Mayor Falck's summary entitled, "Office Communication" dated November 13,1983 will apply to the procedural guidance for this Pension Plan. SECONDED by C/M Krantz. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE City Attorney Henning said part of the reason many months have passed before the Second Reading of this Ordinance was because there werequestions on the disability provisions. There was a question on disabled employees coming back to work and whether or not the disability was on the job or not and whether or not it applied to probationary employees as well as permanent employees. Mr. Henning said in.an attempt to solve all the problems or objections, and to take some of these concerns out of the pension plan, as suggested by the Mayor, he prepared Temp. Reso. #2925, a copy of which was distributed to,Council. This would amend the Personnel Manual by creating a new section which would be Section 49. Fie said Line 8 of Section 1 states that Section 49 is hereby created. Section 46a) was a typographical error,, The City Attorney said he has basically taken all the concerns that have been presented to him, and tried to solve them. He came up with a temporary solution which expires at the end of this fiscal year, on Octoberl, 1984, and directs itself to those full time employees, whether they are on probation or not, who are injured only in the line of duty and not off duty or at home, etc. Workers Compensation has defined "on the job injury" which would apply to these procedures, if an employee is injured on the job and does come back to work after rehabilitation and the City Manager or the City Manager's office determines that he or she can return to work in a productive position other than the position in which the employee was injured, a place would be made for him or her to return to work. Mr. Henning said the question has come up many times regarding the new job paying less money;and the solution he is proposing for Council's consideration is to supplement the pay over a period of time, to encourage the employee to come back to work and be productive, .and at the same time not to suffer a loss in pay due to on-the-job injury. This is obviously done to benefit the City and would-aPPly mainly to Police and Fire, but all employees who are full time would be affected. Mr. Henning said he indicated the term to be for a period of two years from the date of injury; but it can be changed if Council so desires. The City Attorney said he does not have the figures as to how much this would cost the City; but it is a form of disability insurance and would encourage people to come back to work and the City will supplement the pay so there will not be a reduction in salary. He said there is a provision in the Resolution that any allowances such as uniforms, car expense, etc.,which were previously permitted ..but are not required for the new job, would not be given to the employee. However, the salary, the longevity pay or cost of living increases would be given to the employee. Mr. Henning said the Finance Department will supply the figures as to what this will cost the City. -3-- 11/14/83 /rb Mr. Henning mentioned that these are the concerns that he has heard from the labor organizations and various employees of the City. He said the meeting this morning of the Pension Board indicated that this Resolution seems to satisfy the concerns of those employees and he is distributing the Resolution for Council's consideration. Mr. Henning said he feels the Resolution should be seriously considered at the December 1 meeting or soon thereafter; and he would be happy to answer any questions raised. The City Attorney explained that the reason the Resolution expires at the fiscal year is because Council needs to consider disability insurance to be provided through a private carrier and to determine how the funding is to come about, whether by employee contribution, City contribution, a combination of both, or whether it is part of the Pension Plan. Therefore, the Resolution was written on a temporary basis so that nobody can feel they have Vested rights in this provision for many years. However, it is an encouragement to the City Council and City management to reach a solution of the disability provisions within the next eleven months, at which time the Resolution will die out and the insurance policy would take over. Mayor Falck stated that he has just received this material this morning and his observation of the proposal is that it would be good for the employees as well as the City; but he feels it does need further review. He mentioned that one of the things discussed this morning was Page 2, lines 3 and 4 of the proposed Resolution which states, "This benefit shall be given to injured employees as described herein for a period of two years". The Mayor commented that the City does not want to get caught in a bind similar to the one that existed when the State made a modification in the Workers Compensation law as it related to hernia operations. At the time, there was a provision that said the benefit to an individual who had undergone surgery as a result of hernia, was six weeks of disability; and in many cases, those individuals were back to work at the end of the first week. Mayor Falck said it took three years to resolve that provision and have it repealed. C/M Stelzer asked whether Mayor Falck wishes to insert the words, "a period not to exceed two years" in the Resolution; and the Mayor said he does. C/M Stelzer inquired whether the City is self -insured for Compensation; and Mayor Falck stated that the City is part of a State pool. C/M Stelzer inquired about an employee who is injured and is certified as having a 20% permanent disability and that individual returns to work at full salary. He said he is wondering whether this individual can turn over the 20% disability payment to the City which he re- ceives from the insurance company, and the City can make up the difference in that individual's salary. C/M Stelzer said for example, if a firefighter became 20% permanently disabled and the City places that individual in an office job which would pay less than a firefighter's salary, could the firefighter continue receiving 20% disability payments from the insurance company and the City make up the difference, so that the individual,'s salary would not be reduced as a result of his injury? Mayor Falck said that would be the gist of the entire situation. City Attorney Henning said that after speaking with Judy Deutsch, it was his understanding that the Workers Compensation payments would cease if the employee came back to work. However, the -theory behind C/M Stelzer's suggestion is exactly what is intended; but this would need to be further investigated. C/M Stelzer inquired about the budget the firefighter's salary would come from if, for example the firefighter started to work in the Finance Department. Mr. Henning said that would need to be worked out and one thought that Steve Wood had was that if the position were funded but vacant in the Fire Department, that department would make up the difference in salary until the position is filled. After the position is filled, the City would have to look elsewhere, either to a contingency fund or some other fund to supplement the payroll. �4_ 11/14/83 i, Ir Mayor Falck said this is really a Personnel function and he has seen instances in which the Personnel Department picked up additional salaries paid. He said this is really not a departmental function. For example, if a meter maid earns $100.00 per week and a firefighter $200.00 per week and the firefighter would be placed in the meter maid position, it would not be fair to the operating department to make the additional $100.00 per week available. However, it would be appropriate for the $100.00 per week to come through the Personnel Department. The Mayor said he feels this is one of the things which should be investigated. V/M Massaro said in such an instance, the Personnel Department would need to have a reserve; and Mayor Falck said it would have to be budgeted. Mayor Falck said there is another way this could be handled. Over the past several years, the City has been successful in receiving substantial dividend payments under Workers Compensation. He mentioned that the last time he was in Orlando, he returned with $19,000.00 in dividends for the City. Ile said he does not feel the full amount of such dividends would be required to fund a program such as the one under discussion today. At this time, when the City receives these funds, they are used to re- duce the total amount of Workers Compensation premiums due for the following year. In addition, the City is building up reserve credits which will accrue as the plan becomes older and more established. The Mayor commented that this year, the City will be entitled to more than $19,000.00, depending upon the losses. He said Judy Deutsch is concerned because the reserves are too high on some of these cases; and he would agree with that. Therefore, between now and this time next year, the reserves will be reduced or eliminated and the money will be credited to the City for the following years. C/M Stelzer asked whether the dividends could be placed into a reserve fund to take care of payments that would need to be made above the compensation insurance. He said the City is receiving dividends because the experience in the prior year was good. He said, for example, if the City would receive $40,000.00 in dividends, could that amount be placed into a fund to be used for the individual who is injured and receives 20% disability insurance, as discussed earlier today? Mayor Falck said that could be done, but he feels these things should be looked into. 24. Ambassador Savings & Loan b) Landscape Plan SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: Held for re- convened meeting of 11/17/83 at 11:30 A.M. V/M Massaro said that no action was taken at the last Council meeting on Item 24 b) which is the Landscape Plan for Ambassador Savings & Loan and she would suggest this item be held for the reconvened meeting. of Thursday, November 17, 1983, at 11:30 A.M. so the landscape plan could be reviewed further. 39. Monies Received From Employees for Christmas Party -- SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: Agendized by Consent. Authorization given to Finance Department to open temporary account for employees' checks, and pay out one lump sum to Woodmont Country Club for employees' Christmas party. C/M Krantz stated that the City employees are having a Christmas party on Tuesday, December 20 at the Woodmont Country Club and -5- 11/14/33 /rb tickets are being sold for $12.00 each. Checks have already come in, but the Woodmont Country Club will not accept individual checks from the City employees. They want payment to be made in one lump sum and he is asking Council to authorize the Finance Department to open a temporary account to receive the checks and then pay Woodmont Country Club in one lump sum at the time of the party. fie said Judy Deutsch has already received some checks but she cannot put them into a personal account. Mayor Falck asked whether this could be handled through Parks and Recreation; and City Manager Stuurmans stated that Sharon Ellis would not have authorization to open that type of account. C/M Krantz MOVED to Agendize by Consent, the question of monies that come in for the employees' Christmas party. SECONDED by V/M Massaro. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE C/M Krantz MOVED to aiithorizp the FinLLnce Department to open an -account on a temporary basis for the employees' Christmas party on Tuesday, December 20, 1983 and for them to pay out these checks in one lump sum to the Woodmont Country Club where the affair is being held. V/M Massaro asked if there is any obligation to the Woodmont Country Club as to the total amount due them; and Mayor Falck said there is no guarantee. C/M Krantz said 150 people are expected and checks are already coming in, and there is only a question of what to do with the checks. V/M Massaro asked whether the City must make a guarantee; and City Manager Stuurmans said there is no required minimum attendance. The only tie-in with the amount of 150 people, is that there is a maximum amount of 150 people. C/M Krantz said Woodmont cannot accept any more than 150 people. V/M Massaro said she, thererefore, sees no problem, and would SECOND the MOTION. C/M Krantz said the account would be a temporary one, just for a month or so. C/M Stelzer asked who would sign the check issued to Woodmont; and the City Manager advised that a City check would be used for that purpose. The City Manager commented that Last year, the same type of affair was held at Woodmont. At that time it was $10.00 per person, and through the kindness of an employee, the collection was made but Woodmont requested that payment be made in one lump sum and that individual encumbered their checking account with this amount and then paid it out,but it is unfair to burden an employe, ­6- 11/14/83 /rb C/M Krantz said it would not be right for an employee to place checks into a personal account. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE MAYOR FALCK RECESSED THE MEETING AT 3:30 P.M. TO THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1983 AT 11:30 A.M., AT WHICH TIME ITEMS #24b, 34, 37 AND 38 WILL BE CONSIDERED. P h MAYOR -•-- ATTEST: 2� � �- - = �:'-? 9- " �' -�� A SISTANT CITY CLERK: This public document was promulgated at a cost of $55.04 or $1.53 per copy to inform the general public and public officers and employees about the recent opinions and considerations by the Council of the City of Tamarac. CITY OF TAMARAC APPROVED AT MEETING O City Clerk -7- 11/14/83 /rb