HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-08-11 - City Commission Budget Workshop Meeting MinutesCity Council Budget Workshop
08/11/92/elo
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CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA
CITY COUNCIL
BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING
TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1992
Mayor Bender called this meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. on
Tuesday, August 11, 1992 in Conference Room 1, City Hall,
7525 NW 88 Avenue, Tamarac, Florida.
PRESENT:
Mayor H. L. Bender
Vice Mayor Henry Schumann
C/M Irving Katz
C/M Joseph Schreiber
C/M Norman Abramowitz
ALSO PRESENT:
Join P. Kelly, City Manager
Dina McDermott, Assistant City Manager
Mitchell S. Kraft, City Attorney
Mary Blasi, Finance Director
Peter Mack, Personnel Director
Tom Gifoli, Risk Manager
Jim Budzinski, Fire Chief
Kathy Calabria, Insurance Coordinator
Ellen Wood, Secretary
C/M Katz said two meetings are needed for the items that
should be placed on the November referendum and he would like
to formally agendize those items for the City Council meeting
on August 12, 1992. He said he would like the City Manager to
direct the City Clerk to formally agendize those items. He
said he would like to discuss the items at the end of the
workshop.
Discussion was held on the four items that C/M Katz wanted
agendized.
C/M Katz said Council directed Mr. Kraft to prepare these
items so that Council could have two meetings and send them
in before August 31, 1992 for the November ballot.
Mr. Kelly said he would rather have a special meeting so that
there is ample notice.
C/M Katz said that C/M Schreiber would not be here from
August 13 to August 20 and Council has a limited amount of
time. He said if Council could have a meeting on August 21
and August 26, 1992, then he has no problem.
Mr. Kraft said a ten day notice was needed.
C/M Abramowitz said these items could change the direction of
the City and he would be uncomfortable in not giving enough
notice to the public.
V/M Schumann said it is important to meet the time
requirements to get the items on the ballot. He said it has
to be done by August 31, 1992 and has to have two meetings
with a ten day interim period.
Mayor Bender said it would be discussed at the end of the
meeting and agendized for the August 12th meeting.
C/M Katz asked if this was timely and was there anything else
that has to be done before the meeting.
Mr. Kraft said a 24 hour notice was needed.
CITY ATTORNEY
Mr. Kelly said the City Attorney budget is the first item up
and Ms. McDermott said it is on page 20.
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Mr. Kraft said he had distributed a revised proposed budget
to all members of Council that included salary increases for
the legal secretary and the City Attorney. He said he
proposed $27,000 for the legal secretary because of
experience, amount of work and because she is certified as a
paralegal. He said she is currently making $24,000 and with
the cola, $24,960.00.
Mayor Bender said the first change recommended will affect
line 120, regular salaries and Ms. Blasi said lines 120, 210,
220, 225 and 281 will be affected.
Mr. Kraft said the sum total of changes is on the last page.
C/M Abramowitz said he does not like the idea of putting the
City Attorney and his legal secretary in one line. He said
there is consideration due to the City Attorney. He said the
legal secretary was hired through the Personnel Department
and the proposed increase would be a 12.5% increase. He said
4% is the normal raise and he cannot go with 8.5% on top of
it.
C/M Abramowitz said he felt the City Attorney was entitled to
receive a raise but at this time he did not know how much.
Mayor Bender said the City Attorney's memo dated August 10,
1992 included a survey of other cities with salaries of the
City Attorney and legal secretary.
C/M Schreiber said the people of this City are facing
increases in several areas and the economy is not good so the
City has to hold the line whereever possible. He said the
Attorney knew the salary when he took the job and after six
months is asking for a $12,500.00 increase in pay. He said a
slight increase could be considered but that was too large a
raise. He said the secretary has been with the City five
months and the increase being asked is assessive. He said
there is also a request for automobile allowance which seems
high. He said the City should adopt a policy eliminating
automobiles for all department heads and just pay them
mileage allowance as per IRS. He said the City should be
giving the best service for the dollar that the tax payer is
Paying•
C/M Katz said the City Attorney should be separate because he
is responsible to Council and his secretary is responsible to
the Personnel Department. He asked the City Attorney if. he
wanted an increase in benefits in order not to pay IRS or in
salary. He said he feels it is a high increase that is being
requested.
Mr. Kraft said he was asking for an increase in deferred
compensation on which tax is not paid.
C/M Abramowitz asked that this matter be deferred to the next
meeting in order to examine the numbers. He said Council has
the obligation to see that the City runs in the manner that
benefits and enhances the City. .
Mayor Bender said he is happy with Mr. Kraft's performance
and it is fair that he get an increase but the amount will
have to be determined. He said this matter will be
readdressed at Thursday's meeting.
Mr. Kelly said that is personnel services but the rest of the
budget needs to be addressed.
It was decided to defer the complete City Attorney budget
until Thursday.
PERSONNEL
1
Peter Mack and Tom Gifoli entered the meeting.
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Ms. McDermott said the Personnel budget begins on page 36.
She said after Personnel, Risk Management's budget would be
reviewed.
Ms. McDermott said the Personnel budget has several changes
since the Risk Manager is taken out of Personnel. She said it
also affected several individuals in the department.
Mr. Mack said the Risk Manager is being paid from the City
salary line, whereas the previous arrangement was
contractural. He said this is now a permanent, full time
position. He said a secretarial position was moved from
Personnel to Risk Management.
,Ms. McDermott said those salaries are not reflected in the
Personnel Department but in the Risk Management Department.
C/M Abramowitz asked why line 306, Special Supplies and
Services, has such a dramatic raise.
Mr. Mack said it includes funding appreciation lunches and
awards for the City volunteers plus articles for the
veterans.
Tape 2
V/M Schumann asked about the reduction to zero in Labor
Relations and Mr. Mack said it was transferred to the City
Attorney's office to be more appropriately managed.
Mr. Kelly said there was concern that people could not find
out where all the legal expenses were. He said they were
always in the budget but in different areas, now they will
all be the the budget of the City Attorney because he signs
off on them.
C/M Katz asked if the transferring of Personnel is in accord
with contractural obligations to the Federation of Public
Employees.
Mr. Mack said, yes, and the guidelines are provided by State
Statute. He said the City is in the process of reviewing the
entire City Personnel status and intend to go to PERC (Public
Employees Relations Committee) in Tallahassee and ask for a
reading on several positions in the City.
C/M Katz said money is going out on legal services.
C/M Abramowitz said he does not see those things.
C/M Katz said he will furnish C/M Abramowitz with anything he
has. He said he sees dollar signs and he does not want office
staff against each other. He said if the City is in agreement
contractually, his question is answered.
Mr. Mack said the City has made every effort to maintain that
relationship.
C/M Schreiber asked about line 320, Audit and Accounts, why
is it needed when nothing was spent this year.
Mr. Mack said there is an increased responsibility and
requirement this year that did not need to be faced last
year, the American Disability Act. He said in January, 1992,
it was enacted into Federal law. He said it will have a
significant impact on all hiring practices and personnel
matters.
C/M Katz asked if it was required by law to have an annual
audit and Mr. Mack said, no.
Ms. McDermott said it is very specific in regard to the IRS.
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Mr. Mack said it is the IRS requirement in regard.to payment
and employer relationships plus the American Disability Act
(ADA) which requires the City to audit personnel functions
and matters.
Mr. Kraft said the ADA new requirement hit recently and it is
going to be quite expensive.
C/M Schreiber asked on line 338, Employment Agency Fees, why
$1,500.00 is being requested.
Mr. Mack said the Personnel Department is responsible for
temporaries throughout the City and he anticipates using all
the funds.
Mr. Kelly said all temporaries have to be approved through
Personnel now.
C/M Schreiber questioned line 340, other Contractual
Services.
Mr. Mack said it gives the opportunity to bring in
consultants regarding the ADA. He said all the job
descriptions need to be redone and possibly an appeal to PERC
regarding what he just discussed with C/M Katz.
C/M Katz asked about line 230, Health Insurance, where is the
increase.
Mr. Mack said for planning purposes for the budget there is a
15% increase and the number reflects that.
Mr. Kelly said this is Risk Management area. He said
traditionally 15% is budgeted yearly. He said this year it
may not fall in that range. He said the 15% is not an
obligation for the Council to provide. He said it can be
reduced or increased. He said the burden can be put on the
employee.
Ms. McDermott said there are decreases in some of the line
items because there is more accountability for Risk Manage-
ment in itself.
V/M Schumann questioned why Line 59C, Stores Services, is
reduced to zero.
Ms. Blasi said it is non -departmental. She said purchasing is
an internal service fund and will be reviewed this afternoon.
Ms. McDermott said for the supplies themselves, each depart-
ment has to pay. She said the service to provide those
supplies is in one account to have better accountability. She
said each department issues purchase requisitions under line
510, Office Supplies.
' Discussion was held on office supplies and store services.
C/M Abramowitz asked Mr. Kelly if the salaries were within
the perameters that were previously explained.
Mr. Kelly said, yes.
RISK MANAGEMENT
Ms. McDermott said Risk Management/Insurance starts on page
248 and the actual budget printout is on page 252.
Mr. Mack introduced Tom Gifoli to Council. He said Mr. Gifoli
has a great background in Risk Management and will be good
for the City.
Ms. McDermott said this is placed in the Internal Service
Fund, it is not in the General Fund. She said the Risk
Manager is full time and has the benefits of regular City
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employees. She said the department includes the Risk Manager,
Insurance Benefits Coordinator, Secretary and Safety Co-
ordinator. She said the Secretary and Safety Coordinator used
to be in the Personnel budget.
C/M Abramowitz asked what the Safety Coordinator did for
$37,000.00.
Mr. Gifoli said Mr. O'Brien has extensive experience in
safety and his responsibilities are City wide. He said Mr.
O'Brien saves money on investigatory services, any accident
that takes place within the City is investigated by him. He
said Mr. O'Brien gives extensive safety programs and
instructions to all City employees and he constantly checks
safety hazards feeding information back to Risk Management so
that it can be corrected. He said in general, Mr. O'Brien
keeps the dollar value of any specific accident as low as it
can be. He said the man pays for his salary.
C/M Abramowitz asked if this position is a saving factor on
insurance premiums and Mr. Gifoli said, no, but from the
self -insured retention program, yes, because his expertise
puts the Risk Manager in a better position to negotiate with
attorneys on settlement of claims at a lower dollar figure
and enables him to enact.safety programs. He said the
information received from Mr. O'Brien keeps the severity and
the current numbers relatively low.
C/M Katz asked if the City still carries the million dollar
insurance loss reserve.
Mr. Blasi said on page 257, what was budgeted in the past on
insurance loss reserve is what the increase of that reserve
will be, not the balance. She said last year $100,000.00 was
budgeted and the claims have been above what was originally
projected and budgeted so a transfer was required of that
line item.
C/M Katz said Council has had to approve transfers of money
because there was not enough to pay the claims. He asked if
the City should be funding insurance reserves so that this
does not have to come back to Council.
Ms. Blasi said instead of putting it in insurance loss
reserve it is in contingency. She said the amount is
$50,000.00 and in workmans compensation is $200,000.00.
Ms. McDermott said there are several items on the table at
the same time. She said first is the actual operation of the
insurance department, then C/M Katz asked about the insurance
loss reserve which is another account that can be explained
in full detail. She said C/M Schreiber has asked about
another account, workmans compensation. She suggested that it
be done in order and one at a time. She said each page has to
be covered.
V/M Schumann asked about line 493, Safety Expenses and
Charges at $12,500.00.
Mr. Gifoli said it is for safety classes and to supply
facility people with protective belts, shoes and wrist bands.
Mr. Kelly said to reduce that to $10,000.00 and Mayor Bender
said to cut it back to $2,500.00.
V/M Schumann said line 230 jumped from $3,600.00 to $14,
000.00.
Ms. Blasi said a Secretary and Risk Manager were added that
both have family coverage and the 15% increase.
C/M Katz said the City is paying 20 to 25% of an employees
salary for family health insurance.
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C/M Abramowitz said it seems that the City is stuck with one
health insurance company all the time and he would like more
companies to have the opportunity.
V/M Schumann asked Ms. Calabria what the loss ratio was last
year and she said average.
V/M Schumann asked what the insurance company justifies
increases on.
Mr. Mack said increased expenses.
C/M Katz said the Union does not have a health plan and he
feels that possibly they could provide health insurance. He
said AFL -CYO could be consulted and see if there is such a
thing that the City could get involved with.
Mr. Gifoli said they would definitely look at that. He said
the high expense is an administrative expense that is passed
on to the City by Humana. He said they know they can be the
lowest bidder and, therefore, come in at the edge of the
amount of money the City budgets. He said the City budgeted
15% and they came in at 14.4%.
Mr. Gifoli said the bid is in process now and by the end of
September this situation should be completed.
C/M Schreiber asked what happened to the theory of self-
insurance on health insurance and Mr. Gifoli said it would be
unwise to consider it.
C/M Abramowitz asked if the City had a history because one of
the problems has been that a'history could not be supplied.
Mr. Gifoli said he has not found one yet.
Mayor Bender said several years ago the City was not getting
bids due to the risk of age of the employees in the City.
Mr. Mack said that is part of it. He said the average
employee's age has gone down slightly but not much. He said a
bigger reason than that is that insurance companies are
reluctant to bid on municipal business because it changes all
the time. He said insurance companies do not want to come in
for a year or two, they want long term.
C/M Abramowitz asked why the City does not have a history and
Mr. Mack said the City has been provided with the lost run
and it is part of the bid package.
V/M Schumann asked how many people were part of line 230.
Ms. Blasi said the health insurance for the Risk Manager and
Secretary printed out at $5,178.00 and should be $4,503.00.
She said the 15% increase was done twice. She said it is a
savings on line 230 of $1,350.00. She said this brings the
total to $13,147.00. She said this is four employees where
previously there were two. She said the two employees that
were there before have single coverage.
Ms. Blasi said if the City was to eliminate the subsidy of
the increased premiums, it would save the General Fund about
$95,000.00.
C/M Abramowitz said the City has the bid for 14.4% and it
cannot be wished away.
C/M Katz asked what line 59E on page 253 was for and Ms.
Blasi said the Insurance Service Fund has one vehicle for Mr.
O'Brien and a pool car. She said the charge back for Fleet
Services is per vehicle and that is how much it would cost
per vehicle. She said this is it's own fund, Internal Service
Fund.
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V/M Schumann said $550.00 is high and Ms. Blasi said they
needed a standard for a charge back. She said the total fleet
services budget divided by the number of vehicles is how much
it is.
Mr. Kelly said there are two vehicles in that department.
Ms. Blasi said if the figure is reduced, the General Fund for
Utilities West would have to be increased because this Fund
is being charged back to them. She said it comes to how much
time the City wants to spend on the allocation. She said it
could take another person to monitor all the repairs for
every vehicle to charge back an exact amount. She said there
is one figure for each fund, General Fund, Utilities West and
each Internal Service Fund has a figure because they are
accounted for separately.
V/M Schumann said they appear to be inflated and C/M
Abramowitz said the dollar amounts do not change no matter
what is done.
C/M Schreiber said it is an inaccurate estimate for each
vehicle. He said the books and records should be accurate.
Ms. McDermott said they are. She said Fleet Services will be
reviewed with Public Works. She said Fleet Services budget
includes all the operations, mechanics, labor, salary, tools,
parts and the charge -back is all inclusive.
Ms. Blasi said Fleet Services Budget is $685,000.00 and its
revenues are solely the charge -backs from General Funds,
Utilities West and Insurance. She said the $685,000.00 is
divided by the number of vehicles that each fund has and that
determines the charge -back.
C/M Abramowitz said they are trying to do the same thing with
Council expenses right now, to stop spending $50.00 to
monitor a dollar.
Ms. Blasi said the General Fund is charged $441,000.00 and
Utilities West is charged $220,000.00 for Fleet Services and
the difference is from Insurance.
C/M Schreiber asked if there is a record of how many vehicles
and each repair and Mr. Kelly said, yes, each department has
one.
Ms. Blasi said this also includes gasoline.
Mayor Bender said every time they request replacement for a
vehicle the maintenance record is attached for justification.
Ms. McDermott said they were still on Insurance
Administration, page 252.
V/M Schumann asked about line 331, Administrative Fees and
the increase.
Mr. Gifoli said Crawford and Company administer the insurance
program from a workmans comp point of view and also, Claims
Management to a certain degree. He said it is the fund used
to pay their bills on administrative fees and services.
Tape 3
Mayor Bender asked what the City was doing on Subrogation and
Mr. Gifoli said since he has been with the City about
$7,000.00. He said he is handling them on a daily basis.
Ms. Blasi said when the Subrogation money comes in, it goes
back into the Insurance Fund and is a revenue for the Fund.
She said up to June 30, they received $1,400.00.
Ms. McDermott said more Subrogation will be seen in 1992/93.
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Mr. Gifoli said when a City vehicle would be involved in an
accident, there would be a situation where the City would be
a third party so he would send out the necessary notices that
the City is exercising its Subrogation rights and wait for a
response. He said if the person ignores it and he feels the
City has a case that should be pursued, he would take it to
Small Claims Court or the Attorney would advise.
C/M Schreiber asked if there is a way to avoid litigation and
V/M Schumann said arbitration.
C/M Schreiber said a panel could make a decision to eliminate
litigation expenses. He asked if a municipality could be a
member.
Mr. Gifoli said he could ask that specific question. He said
they can be involved with the third party insurance carrier
and he can directly negotiate with them.
C/M Schreiber said the City is subrogating against the
carrier but if they deny the claim, the next step is
litigation or dropping it, whereas, if the City was part of
an agreement it goes to a panel to pursue until the end.
C/M Abramowitz asked if in line 331, anything could be
handled in-house.
V/M Schumann said they do the investigation and have an
independent adjustor.
Mr. Gifoli said the administrative services being provided by
Crawford are strictly the things that Crawford needs to do
which could not be handled in-house.
V/M Schumann asked for a ball park figure as to what the
reserve is now in the Insurance Fund and Ms. Blasi said
$993,500.00 in cash and investments in Insurance. She said as
of September 30, 1991, accrued workmans comp payable are
$291,000.00 by basically estimating maximum exposure with
claims currently pending and accrued liability claims payable
of $307,000.00.
V/M Schumann asked if all the money is not used by the end of
the year where does it go and Ms. Blasi said it stays right
there in the Insurance Reserve Fund.
Ms. Blasi said the self-insurance fund is basically the fund
that is set up,just for the reserve of money for potential
liability in the future and for payment of administration,
insurance premiums and claims payable during that current
year.
Ms. Blasi said with a self-insurance fund, a certain level
must be reached and maintained to keep the City protected.
Mr. Kelly said V/M Schumann is correct, the intent of the
previous Risk Manager was that the amount be put in each year
until the City reached the threshold that the Insurance
Advisory Committee was supporting.
V/M Schumann said a million and a half was to be the minimum
as a safety factor.
C/M Abramowitz said Council was also told at the time the
decision was made to go self -insured that the longer the City
is self --insured the more claims it was going to have because
the first two years the City had nothing.
C/M Katz said line 983 on page 257, Insurance Lost Reserve is
at zero and the number of $993,500.00 should be indicated
somewhere.
Ms. Blasi said it is cash and investments and is what is in
so
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the fund to pay claims.
Mayor Bender said there is close to a million dollars in the
fund and the interest should go into the fund.
Ms. Blasi said, it does and an interest income is also a
revenue in the budget that reduces the charge -back to the
General Fund and the Utilities West Fund. She said there is
close to $60,000.00 in that fund budgeted next year for
interest.
C/M Schreiber asked how anyone looking at this budget could
know what the reserve is and Ms. Blasi said because the
reserve amount at the end of the year is not known.
Mayor Bender said the reserve does not stay constant. He said
the Finance Director can tell the amount in the beginning and
at the end with a final inventory.
V/M Schumann said in today's market, the City is under
reserved.
Mr. Kelly said traditionally it is not in the budget and Ms.
Blasi will provide Council on a quarterly basis with the
status of this fund.
Ms. Blasi said the City should not touch that money, enough
should be budgeted to pay next year's claims. She said the
reserve is in the budget as an expenditure item.
C/M Schreiber said this document has to be for everyone, not
just for Council.
Mayor Bender said this is an operation document going from
year to year to show what the anticipated expenses will be
and what money is needed to cover them. He said,there are
many accounts that have nothing to do with the budget and
that can come from trial balance. He said the trial balance
tells what accounts do not have anything to do with the
budget but are fixed amounts that have to do with the
reserves.
Ms. Blasi said the Annual Financial Statements will also give
this information.
C/M Katz asked on page 256, Worker's Comp Insurance Claims at
$200,000.00, if more money is needed for this does it come
out of the Insurance Loss Reserve.
Ms. Blasi said $50,000 was budgeted in Contingency for this
year. She said last year $150,000.00 was put in Insurance
Loss Reserve to increase the million to one million one fifty
and this year the City has many claims to be paid and the
money was needed so the reserve could not be built up.
Ms. McDermott said any time a transfer is done it goes before
the City Council.
Ms. Blasi said hopefully what is budgeted will be the extent
of what the City pays and the City will be able to maintain
close to a million dollars. She said if it is not, every year
the City has a potential liability.
C/M Katz asked what number is realistically being looked at
in compensation reserves before transferring money from
Insurance Reserve.
Mr. Gifoli said his understanding is that at the $200,000.00
level as the City spends dollar amounts, the Contingency Fund
is constantly paying to keep it at that specific level. He
said when that fund is gone, the Reserve Fund is constantly
feeding to keep the City into that particular dollar amount.
C/M Katz asked at what dollar amount would a transfer of
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funds be needed from Insurance Reserve to Compensation.
V/M Schumann said only to satisfy a claim.
Discussion was held on when money should be transferred.
Ms. Blasi said these claims are not paid when they are filed.
She said the Risk Manager will assess what has to be paid in
the next quarter and next six months. She said he will look
at his budget and if he feels more than $200,000.00 will be
needed by the end of the year, he will get the appropriate
documentation together to present to Council.
Mr. Gifoli said it is almost on a claim by claim basis. He
said on a quarterly basis that money is requested to bring
them back to the $200,000.00.
Mayor Bender asked if there were any more questions regarding
the Risk Manager's and hearing none, he concluded the Risk
Management Budget.
Mayor Bender called for a five minute recess at 10:40 a.m.
and reconvened the meeting at 10:45 with the same people
present.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Mayor Bender said the next department is Fire and Ms.
McDermott said Fire is on page 48.
Mr. Kelly said a considerable amount of time has been spent
reviewing the City's Fire Department. He said the budget, man
power, equipment, contractural and mandated obligations,
pension, skills, training level of service, potential and
power were all analyzed. He said the challenge was to see if
and how the City could improve the level of service and to do
it cost effectively. He said several options were considered,
one was to contract with Broward County to provide fire
protection. He said the process would be similar to BSO. He
said he meet with Broward County.
Mr. Kelly said the second option was forming a taxing
district with the County or with other neighboring cities or
within the City of Tamarac itself.
Mr. Kelly reviewed these opportunities and the tax burden
within the City. He said he would only further recommend
establishing a taxing district within the City if it is
legally possible. He said the five city recycling experience
has dimmed his enthusiasm for attempting a practical and
politically effective taxing board for the multi -city makeup.
Mr. Kelly said after reviewing the County it is concluded
that the level of fire service provided by the City depart-
ment is at least equal to and in some areas superior to that
which the City would hope to provide by contracting with
Broward County. He said financially the City could not begin
to realize the cost savings. He said it would be
prohibitively expensive in the long run especially with
pension liabilities.
Mr. Kelly said the City has a fine Fire Department with
dedicated, competent and loyal employees. He said they have
made contributions to the thought gathering and decision
making in this endeavor. He said they have interacted with
the union and gotten feedback from them. He said they are all
in agreement that they should work within the traditional
framework that the City has and the budget process to try to
improve and expand the delivery of service of fire protection
in the City for the residents.
Mr. Kelly said the budget has to be addressed and he has the
County budget line by line to share with Council for further
research and to substantiate his position.
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C/M Katz said he does not see any advantage in going with the
County, however, he would like to suggest that the City look
at a multi -city or regional fire department where the City
can control and possibly there could be cost savings. He said
the City should have a workshop so that intelligent decisions
can be made on next year's budget.
C/M Katz said page 98, Employees currently on the payroll,
has a number of vacancies. He said a fire inspector is some-
thing the City has to have, however, he asked what the
advantages would be in having a Fire Marshall and a
Probationary Fire Fighter.
Mr. Budzinski said the Fire Marshall duties have been split
between himself and Mr. Viele, who assumed the role of plans
examiner and inspections for Certificate of Occupancy. He
said he retained the Fire Code Official designation for the
City which is required by the South Florida Building Code. He
said he is the only one currently certified as a Fire Code
Official.
Mr. Budzinski said an additional inspector would allow the
department to comply more closely with the South Florida
Building Code and return funds to the City. He said it is a
revenue producing position through the annual inspection
fees. He said other duties regarding fire prevention have
been distributed. He said the administrative duties of that
position and coverage duties have been shared by the
Commanders. He said he still has the main responsibility for
that. He said this has caused some areas of the Commanders'
responsibility to go unattended. He said Paul Forsburg,
Commander, has been assigned the role of training officer and
at this point he schedules the training but does not have
time to participate or oversee. He said the training is done
at a lower level or by the outside.
Mr. Budzinski said one Commander does maintenance of the
vehicles and building maintenance. He said Mr. Van Mehren has
been working with Ms. McDermott on grants and has been
successful in bringing a number of grants to the City. He
said these are time consuming issues along with the routine
administration of the department. He said he would like to
fill the Assistant Chief position and have the Commanders
more actively involved with the department training and
responses.
C/M Katz asked if an existing employee could be promoted to
Commander to eliminate pressure without increasing monetarily
the City's obligation.
Mr. Budzinski said the position is there with the Assistant
Chief position. He said to raise a position to Commander
would mean eliminating someone that responds to emergencies
and it cannot be done. He said he does not have positions on
the bottom end to move up.
C/M Abramowitz asked Mr. Budzinski if he felt the City is
adequately protected and Mr. Budzinski said they provide a
minimal level of emergency services at this point.
C/M Abramowitz discussed the issue going on with the South
Florida Building Code and the annual inspections. He said
until this issue is settled he does feel a Fire Inspector
should be put on if he cannot legally do his job. He said he
would like to add what is needed and if the City is being put
at risk he could possibly change his mind. He said the
records need to be reviewed that show what calls the Fire
Department responds to. He said the Fire Department costs
three million dollars a year and it is a necessary expense.
He said he does not see the reason for an Assistant Fire
Chief.
Tape 4
City Council Budget Workshop
08/11/92/elo
Page 12
Mr. Budzinski said service is minimal and the department has
the capability and desire to do more. He said they need
another inspector in order to adequately do the inspections.
He said currently they are not doing them and are not in
compliance with the South Florida Building Code.
Mr. Budzinski said there are ground ladders on all of the
equipment and the aerial runs when they have the manpower and
the aerial is sent out when the call dictates that it is
needed and the manpower is there.
Discussion was held regarding manpower and positions required
for each shift.
Mr. Budzinski said the position of Fire Marshall/Assistant
Chief would be open'to the outside. He said there is a
requirement for the Fire Marshall or Fire Code Official to be
qualified by the Board of Rules and Appeals. He said the
Assistant Chief would be over Commanders and Lieutenants.
Mr. Kelly said his priority is the Fire Inspector. He said
there has been discussion of the Commanders having greater
responsibility and being compensated accordingly and the
position of Assistant Chief remaining unfunded.
Discussion was held on whether the Commanders had time for
additional responsibilities and it was agreed that they were
doing more work now and need to be compensated for it.
Mr. Budzinski said the Commanders have assumed the
responsibility of purchasing, bids, quotes and the fire
prevention activities. He said the duty of plans examiner and
grants have been assumed.
Discussion was held on the fire department responding to
accidents and being responsible for containing the incident.
Mayor Bender said the vacant positions equate to $121,000.00
and he would like to see them removed from this budget until
they receive clarification of the utilization of the
positions.
Ms. Blasi said these 45 positions are budgeted, not new
positions.
C/M Abramowitz said mutual aid teams are a saving grace and
Tamarac's part in this is the diving team. He said if there
was a problem there is mutual aid.
Mayor Bender asked about the entry regarding incentives and
Mr. Budzinski said it is required by Union contract.
Ms. McDermott said the IAFF contract expires in one more
year.
V/M Schumann asked about Temporary Upgrade Pay and Mr.
Budzinski said it is when an officer is on vacation and is
replaced temporarily according to contract.
Discussion was held on the clarification of annual fire
inspections in conjunction with the annual inspections
conducted by the Building Department.
Mr. Budzinski said a Fire Inspector is needed regardless of
the clarification in the South Florida Building Code.
C/M Schreiber asked what part of the Fire Department is
hurting the most and needs the vacant position filled.
Mr. Budzinski said they are short on manpower and any filled
vacancy would be a start.
Discussion was held on the equipment that cannot be used
City Council Budget Workshop
08/11/92/elo
Page 13
because of a shortage of manpower and the number of men on
each shift.
Discussion was held on the disagreement between the South
Florida Building Code, the Board of Rules and Appeals and the
Broward League of Cities.
Mr. Kelly asked if any determinations were going to be made
on which direction to go. It was agreed not to fund the
assistant position.
Mr. Budzinski said in the interest of the City the Inspector
and Probationary Fire Fighter are priorities.
Tape 5
Mr. Kelly said it appears that there is a consensus that the
Fire Marshall/Assistant Fire Chief would not be funded.
V/M Schumann said he wants to see justification.
Mr. Budzinski said hiring one man will not correct all the
staffing problems but it is a start and a step in the right
direction.
Discussion was held on manpower, structural calls, false
alarms, time of day calls increase and efficiency.
Ms. McDermott said these are vacant positions that are
already in the budget, they are not additional positions.
Mr. Kelly said Mr. Budzinski will go over justifications with
V/M Schumann. He said the position of Probationary Fire
Fighter and Fire Inspector will be revisited and the position
of Assistant Fire Chief will be eliminated.
C/M Katz said on page 48, item 464, maintenance on buildings
has too much money being spent on it.
Mr. Budzinski said item 464, Office Equipment, covers air
condition units, the bay doors, stoves, water heaters and
generators. He said item 503 is maintenance to land and
building improvements which is major repairs to the building
and bathroom.
C/M Katz said the City has to do everything it can inhouse
and not contract out for services and Mr. Budzinski said
repairs to the building and equipment are funneled through
Public Services Division and they determine if they can make
the repair which the Fire Department pays for.
Mr. Budzinski said item 466 are the items that are not
covered by Public Service Fleets Maintenance, such as aerial
ladders and pumps.
Mr. Budzinski said item 475, Protective Clothing, is replace-
ment cost on the protective equipment that the men wear.
Mr. Budzinski said Employee Wellness is an account to allow
capital purchase of equipment last year for the wellness
program that is required by the contract. He said $7,500.00
must be allocated each year.
Mr. Budzinski said item 640 is for replacement of one sedan
because two vehicles are out of service with safety problems.
C/M Abramowitz said he is waiting for the Fire Department and
the Fire Union to tell the City how it is going to make all
that money because they have indicated that there is big
money to be made. He said the information should go to the
City Manager and the City Manager will bring it to Council.
Mr. Budzinski left the meeting at 12:25 p.m.
City Council Budget Workshop
08/11/92/elo
Page 14
Tape 6
C/M Katz said it was agreed that discussion would be held on
the items to agendize at the end of this meeting.
Mayor Bender. said to discuss the items that will be
agendized at this time. He asked C/M Katz if he wanted to
agendize what is contained in the memo dated July 30, 1992
and with the updated revision on August 3, 1992 regarding
Redistricting.
C/M Katz said item 1 is Single Member Districts and has to do
with the person running in a district only having to carry
the district and campaign in that district. He said the
electorate cannot vote in any other district other than the
one they live in except for the Mayor and Charter Board. He
said this would only affect Council. He said he feels there
is a disservice due to expenses in campaigning throughout the
City. He said it is discriminating in not allowing people who
may be intimidated if they had to run outside their district.
C/M Abramowitz said he opposes Single Member Districts for
the following reasons. He said Single Member Districts were
put into play because of a discriminatory practice against
electing minorities. He said this is a disservice to the
residents because everyone in the City pays the salaries of
Council and has a right to make that decision. He said the
people of the City should be allowed to choose their elected
officials. He said everyone should present themselves to the
electorate and let the electorate make the choice.
V/M Schumann said any referendum that goes on the ballot is
up to the electorate to make the decision. He said the people
will decide if it is a disservice.
Mayor Bender said this is on the November ballot and has to
be in by August 31, 1992 and C/M Katz said it has to have two
meetings.
C/M Katz said he would prefer the City Clerk agendize 'it so
that everyone that receives an agenda will be aware that it
is on the agenda for the meeting.
Mayor Bender said he will ask the Clerk to agendize this item
and revise the agenda to include Temp. Ord. #1616.
Mayor Bender said the second item is to limit duties and
powers of the Charter Board, Temp. Ord. #1622.
C/M Katz said at the last joint meeting Charter Board
Attorney Novack said he was not adverse to what Mr. Kraft put
in as limiting the duties and responsibilities of the Charter
Board and removing certain items that are presently in the
Charter. He said the only one that is not in this section is
the redistricting because it is a separate section in the
Charter.
C/M Katz said he would like these items agendized for the
City Council meeting and it would take effect after the
electorate approves it.
C/M Abramowitz said he felt the Charter Board should have
more than four hours notice that it is coming up and C/M Katz
said there is an August 31, 1992 deadline and it takes two
meetings so it has to come up.
C/M Abramowitz said the Charter Board does not have enough
time to respond to this.
C/M Katz said between the two meetings is time enough to
discuss and things are not chiseled in stone until the
electorate approves it.
Mayor Bender told Mr. Kraft to review and recount the words
City Council Budget Workshop
08/11/92/elo
Page 15
on all the items to make sure the City is in compliance.
C/M Katz asked to have item 3, Temp. Ord. #1623, withdrawn.
He said if the duties and obligations of the Charter Board
are defined there is no need to include this for the
referendum.
C/M Katz said item 4, Temp. Ord. #1624, eliminates the
Charter Board from participation and appointment on the
Redistricting Committee. He said he does not know what
function is served having the Charter Board participate.
V/M Schumann said the Charter Board only participates in
appointing people on the Committee. He said there is no
reason to have a Redistricting Committee if the report is not
taken at face value.
C/M Katz said the Redistricting report should be made to the
legislative body who makes the final decision. He said the
report is a recommendation and Council can override the
report.
C/M Abramowitz said he does not have a problem with the
Charter Board appointing people to the Committee. He said his
objection is that the Redistricting report is final and
Council should have the final word.
Discussion was'held and Temp. Ord #1616, 1622 and 1624 would
be agen-sized by the Clerk and the agenda revised. Temp. Ord.
#1624 will be revised to allow the Charter Board to make the
appointments but the advisory report will be submitted to
Council for approval. These items will be for the November
referendum.
Mr. Kelly asked if an effort should be made to advise the
Charter Board as a courtesy.
Mayor Bender told Mr. Kelly to advise Chairwoman Muriel Davis
and/or Vice Chairman Winter of the position that has been
taken by Council.
Mr. Kelly said he will have the Clerk call each of the
members.
Mayor Bender said Council could meet again Wednesday after-
noon and Mr. Kelly said a meeting notice would be put out for
a City Council Workshop Meeting on Wednesday, August 12, 1992
at 1:00 p.m.
Mayor Bender ADJOURNED the meeting at 12:55 p.m.