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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991-08-27 - City Commission Budget Workshop Meeting MinutesTA O ITY OF TAMARAC 7525 Northwest 88 Avenue P Phone (305) 722-5900 Tamarac, Florida 33321-2401 �� �,� Fax (305) 722-4509 August 21, 1991 NOTICE OF CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING FOR FISCAL YEAR 1991/92 There will be a Budget Workshop Meeting on Tuesday, August 27, 1991 at 10:00 a.m. in Conference Room #1 of Tamarac City Hall, 7525 N.W. 88th Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. The subject of this meeting is final review of the Fiscal Year 1991/92 Budget. All meetings are open to the public. Carol A. Evans City Clerk CAE/nr THE CITY OF TAMARAC IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER AND DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 1 1 CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 1991 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this budget workshop to order at :00 a.m. in Conference Room # 1 of City Hall, 7525 NW 88 Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. PRESENT: Mayor Norman Abramowitz Vice -Mayor Dr. H. Larry Bender Councilman Irving Katz Councilman Henry Schumann Councilwoman Diane Glasser ALSO PRESENT: John P. Kelly, City Manager Dina McDermott, Assistant City Manager Mary Blasi, Finance Director Thelma Fagelbaum, Assistant Finance Director Mike Couzzo, Director of Public Services Alan Levine, Operation Manager of Public Works Randy Correll, Fire Department Ellen Wood, City Clerk's Office Mayor Abramowitz said there was a request by the Director of Public Services to bring to the attention of the City Council the needs of the Public Works department. He said they have a lack of equipment and in reality no money has been spent on equipment. He said it is difficult to keep up with the appearance, beautification and cleanliness of the City and it is the first introduction to the City of Tamarac. He said a document was prepared on August 26, 1991 that has an inventory of equipment currently in the office for ground maintenance. Mr. Couzzo said they are asking for four more men, two for irrigation and two for ground maintenance. Mr. Levine said the truck with grass maintenance. He on each side of town with 4 whereas without this truck, trucks to operate. He said trucks for the grass crew operation. is essential to increase capacity said the cab will allow one truck to 5 men assigned to each truck, it would take a minimum of three this would reduce the amount of and allocate one for the spray Mayor Abramowitz said the two biggest complaints in the City are the grass cutting and the lakes. He said he feels another truck is necessary. Mr. Levine said right now the lawn maintenance is on a 10 to 14 day schedule; this is when all the equipment is running and all the trucks are on the road. He said with this truck and men, the schedule will come down to 6 or 7 days during the hurricane months, May to October. He said without this type of equipment it would be difficult to improve the operation from May to October. He said this type of equipment is also being used by neighboring :municipalities. He said the equipment being used now does not have readily available parts. Mayor Abramowitz asked if it was cost effective to have the 21" and the 36" equipment or to have five 21" cuts. Mr. Levine said it is most effective just the way it is proposed. He said the 21" is used on medians and the 36" walk City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 2 behind for safety around berms, by the lakes and parks. He said interchanging equipment would not assist the department in any way. C/M Schumann asked where the prices came from. Mr. Levine said the mowers came from State contract. He said the trailer is a proposed estimate from a supplier. Mayor Abramowitz said this department does need help in performing in order to make the City look good. C/M Katz said the five year capital improvement plan is being narrowed down to one piece of paper. He said a department is hoping to get this capital equipment in the first year of what should be a five year program. He said instead of needing $125,000 at one time, it should be part of a longer term program. Mr. Couzzo said this will not take care of the next five year growth and maintenance of the City. He said equipment listed as inventory will need to be repaired or replaced. He said there is a five year improvement plan that is not part of this $125,000. City Manager Kelly said the Capital Improvement Program that was filed with the State are things that are over $20,000, not things in this category. He asked if the equipment is purchased it will sit without the men. Mr. Couzzo said some of the smaller equipment is needed to implement the program now. He said some of the larger equipment would assist the department when the large equip- ment is in need of maintenance. He said right now, three of the larger pieces of equipment are down while waiting for parts. He said some of the equipment is 7 and 8 years old and breaks down on a regular basis. He said it would be helpful to have the personnel but only two of the people are for grass maintenance. He said the department is trying to minimize the number of trucks in the field, to cut down on maintenance costs, gas, and duplication of effort. He said two 21" mowers could be placed on the back of a truck, but they play hopscotch all over town looking for 24" medians to cut. He said a crew is sent out with large and small mowers and they do everything in that area before they relocate to another area. He said this is done to get the best utilization of the manpower. He said one of the smaller trucks is going into the spray program. He said canal maintenance will be done in the water with a boat and on the land with a truck -mounted spray unit. He said there is still a shortage of vehicles and many are very old. He said Public Works did get three vehicles this year. Mayor Abramowitz said this is a result of neglect over a period of years. He said if this is what is needed to make the department run efficiently, then he feels it should be given consideration. Mr. Couzzo said this is not a wish list, it has been needed for a number of years. He said the City has not been in the position to buy capital equipment for the last three years. City Manager Kelly said $126,000 is a 1.86% increase from what is in the budget. He said the proposal for the grass is for the period of May to October and the crisis this year will be over with the adoption of the budget. He said if next year revenues change or a budget review is done in six months then consideration should be given. Mayor Abramowitz asked if any other money was available other than the general fund, such as grants or money from FP& L. City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 3 City Manager Kelly said it has not been addressed. He said the FP& L money is not freed up. He said when the budget review and a six month review are done it will be the time that they are looking for the money. V/M Bender asked for an explanation of the $125,000. City Manager Kelly said the $125,000 cannot be used because the interest has to be paid if it does not go through. He said the title has not cleared. V/M Bender said it is available because he has spoken to the attorney. He said based upon the progress. made, the money can be used. City Manager Kelly said the City can gamble on using it. V/M Bender said there is no difference. He said this money is not in the budget. C/M Schumann asked if there was still a cloud on the title. City Manager Kelly said yes. C/M Schumann asked who held the title. Mayor Abramowitz said the cloud on the title is an attorney in Miami who will not sign off. He said FP& L feel very hesitant about starting to spend the money until it is signed off. He said the property has changed hands and a warranty was taken instead of a quit claim so this attorney will not sign off. V/M Bender said he was told that he would go for eminent domain so he will get the ground. Mayor Abramowitz said no one wants to raise the tax. C/W Glasser said the equipment is not needed until April, it could approved in January, providing other things come into place. She said if the City Council can hold off until January and then review this, Public Works should be able to get the manpower and the equipment in place by April. Mayor Abramowitz said money was spent for beautification and it was useless because there is no irrigation. He asked what could be done to get money from other sources so that the budget is not affected to get the job completed. C/M Katz asked if there is a $45,000 balance in the fleet fund and asked if there was money in a beautification of median fund. Ms. Blasi said the fleet fund was closer to $35,000. She said there was money given to the. City by Broward County to beautify the medians next to the Sawgrass entrance. C/M Katz asked if manpower could be allocated to that money since it is needed to beautify. Ms. Blasi asked what the cost would be. Mr. Kelly said this is a non -recurring revenue source. C/M Katz said there are other sources of revenue that hope- fully are going to be resolved. He said a capital improvement that this Council is asked to act upon due to negligence in the past should not put the taxpayers in that position if other money is available. City Manager Kelly said a suggestion is to take the $250,000 City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 4 and add it to the revenues but put a freeze on it. C/W Glasser asked if it would be less expensive to put in irrigation than manually doing it. Mr. Couzzo said the water source would have to be looked at, either wells or canals, electricity and piping. He said each situation would have to be looked at individually. He said he would lake to get the irrigation system going in the City. Mayor Abramowitz said the bushes on Pine island Road were received from the County and one of the big problems is that there is no irrigation. He said the truck went out to water for the first two or three weeks but it was not a rainy period so in other areas they died. He said the City does not have the equipment or the manpower to use the equipment. He said to make a marked improvement, the City will have to start somewhere. He asked the City Manager to research and find the money to spend. He asked if the City waits until January, then how long will it take to receive the equipment. C/M Katz said the City has a zeroscape program and this program should be utilized on these medians where there is no irrigation. Ms. McDermott said the xeriscape program still needs a degree of irrigation. Mr. Couzzo said the majority of the medians in this City are grass. He said to enter into an extensive xeriscape program, the capital outlay for the planting material would be very large. He said it would have to be supplemented with an irrigation system, at least initially to get it started. He said it would be very extensive. He said primarily, the City needs irrigation, at the moment, to keep grass at a certain level and then think about xeriscaping and whatever type of planting material is needed. C/M Katz said that is the other question. He asked whether the City has to maintain grass on medians rather than xeriscape or bushes. Mr. Couzzo said the City can plant it but it would require purchasing all of these and installing them to get started. He said as the Mayor indicated sometimes when they are started and irrigation is not available, it would put the City up against the wall. Tape 2 C/M Katz asked if the City has started with the Nursery Program. Mr. Couzzo said the nursery is just getting on its feet. He said some small plants have been purchased that are going to be generated in the nursery. He said they would start with very small pots and continue to move them up and develop a tree farm. Mayor Abramowitz asked how many years and Mr. Couzzo said it is going to take a few years. Mayor Abramowitz said anything in this City that is beautiful has not been done by the City, it was done by the developer to enhance his own property and to make it sell. C/W Glasser said this applies to everywhere. Mayor Abramowitz said if this City wants to do a xeriscape program, it would cost millions. He asked the City Council what they wanted to do. He suggested that City Manager Kelly City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 5 research and come back to the City Council to tell them what is available. He asked if anyone objects to the concept of buying the equipment and the manpower. City Manager Kelly asked when the Mayor proposed to do this. Mayor Abramowitz said if dollars are available it does not have to be done in time for the Budget Hearing. City Manager Kelly said the purpose of the workshop today was so that the Finance Department could wrap it up and put their package together so that the City would be ready for the first Public Hearing on September 4th. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City Manager could do that and get back to the City Council. He said the tendency seems to be that the Council is in favor of doing this. He said what they do not want to do is use available funds that do not have an impact on the proposed tax rate. Ms. McDermott said her concern is the funding that Ms. Blasi had mentioned, the Sawgrass Beautification. She said the City applied for a grant under the Urban Forestry Council last month. She said the City Council,approved it and that grant funding is the City's match. She said that grant funding is already earmarked for that project, which is at Commercial Boulevard and Nob Hill Road. Mayor Abramowitz said that is if the City gets the grant. Ms. McDermott said when a grant is applied for, the money has to be allocated. Mayor Abramowitz asked if there was a Budget Item that was for grant matching funds. Ms. McDermott said there were fifteen grant projects pending to date and five more to apply for by September 30th. C/M Katz asked if the City had an eighteen month period to match. Ms. McDermott said that is only for the State EMS Program for the Fire Department and it is completely separate from Beautification. She said depending on which program it is, either State or County, the money must be up front and the City has to commit to it. C/M Katz asked if all the programs where a grant has been applied for are for beautification. Ms. McDermott said two of them are and three are for other programs including a pedestrian bike path. She said the dollar figure account that was discussed is used as the City's match for the Urban Forestry Grant and the City should hear about the grant within a month. C/M Katz said then that money should not even be looked at. Ms. McDermott said that is correct for now. Mayor Abramowitz said that is up to the City Council. He said he has done what he feels is the way to go. He said the City can just stay the way it is and go on to the next thing. City Manager Kelly said he has been given no direction. He said he needs it clarified as to what is to be done. He said the $250,000 can be budgeted as revenue, such as what was done with the old City Hall. He said the equipment aspect could be budgeted with the $250,000 as revenue with an asterisk and then if the money comes in, a portion can be l City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 6 spent on the $43,000 for equipment. He said this should not be used for personnel because the $250,000 is not coming back and there is a MIS department that will have to be refunded next year. Mayor Abramowitz said he realizes it is not recurring but the new Council members were aghast about the twenty year hiatus where no equipment was purchased and the same thing is being done now. City Manager Kelly said the City has made much progress. He said all of the vehicles at the Public Service dedication were incredible. Mayor Abramowitz said he was only talking about grass cutting. C/M Katz said he felt that progress has been made with the grass cutting as well. He said there are places that the City can look for funds and if the City Manager comes up with a list of potential sources, it will be easier for him to digest this and make a decision. He said how much would come out of ad valorem or what is available. C/W Glasser said if other sources are being looked at, it will not affect the budget. C/M Katz said if the figure of $126,000 and $100,000 is available, then $26,000 has to be found and it could affect the budget. He said he would like to know what is available. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council needs to give the City Manager some direction. City Manager Kelly said after the close out audit, the City will know more definitively what money is available. He said in January or February, this should be readdressed because more will be known. He said by tomorrow he could be aware of a couple thousand more and by the end of September even more but that is always going to fluctuate due to emergency expenditures. City Manager Kelly said realistically the close out audit is needed. He said in January it will be known whether the FP& L money is freed up, whether more revenue has come in through the gas tax, whether money is coming in from the towing franchise and the fees in the Recreation department. C/M Katz said this repeats what the Mayor said in that hopefully something will happen and something may never happen. He said if Council looks at what is available today and does not play with the future, he would be more comfortable about reviewing it again and making a decision prior to the first Public Hearing. City Manager Kelly said this Workshop today is to try and wrap up. Mayor Abramowitz said when this workshop is over, direction has to be given today so that the Finance Director can put it all together for the Public Hearing. He said on September 4th, changes can be made. City Manager Kelly said that every change made must be calculated by the Finance Director before the City Council can leave the meeting. - Mayor Abramowitz said this is the legal aspect of it. He said he agrees that right now he would like to proceed but the tendency seems to be that no one wants to disturb this. He said there are dollars there. He suggested' that the City City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 7 Manager come back to the City Council and say this money is available. He said Mr. Kelly suggested that the $250,000 go in the General Fund with an asterisk that says this money will be available and it will affect the bottom line. City Manager Kelly said it would not affect the bottom line because it is put on both sides in the ledger. He said there would be a freeze on it until there are free funds. City Manager Kelly said it would not affect the bottom line and Public Hearings would not have to be held in January or February to authorize those expenditures. C/M Schumann said the City Manager said to put the $250,000 in revenues and expenditures which changes nothing. Mayor Abramowitz said that is correct with the stipulation by Council that when it does come due the equipment asked for by Public Services can be taken out of the $250,000. ire said it does not touch the 3.49 at all. He said nothing happens until that money is freed up. C/M Schumann asked what happens if the money is not freed up. Mayor Abramowitz said then they do not get it. He said this way the Council did something without affecting the bottom line. C/M Schumann said this will -be used on a condition that the $250,000 becomes available to the City. C/M Katz said that is what has been complained about before that everything that is done here was based on the coming and the coming never happens. Mayor Abramowitz said the difference is that the old City Hall has not been sold. He said the City has the $250,000. C/M Schumann said it is not the City's, the title has not passed on that money. Mayor Abramowitz said the contract says as long as the City does not hold them or deter them in granting the permitting, then that money is the City's. C/M Schumann said that money is there with a condition subsequent, not a condition precedent. Mayor Abramowitz said it will go through even if it is eminent domain. He said the City has done the work already. C/W Glasser said $250,000 is the amount of money but actually the amount to spend is $126,000. Ms. Blasi said as a revenue item she would put in whatever the City Council decided to spend. She said the entire $250,000 does not have to be put in. C/W Glasser asked how it affects the budget. Ms. Blasi said it will affect the entire bottom line but it will not affect the ad valorem rate. She said those monies will not be allowed to be spent until that money is freed up from FP& L, just as the capital items this year without Council approval were not able to be spent because the sale of the old City Hall has not gone through. Mayor Abramowitz said there is a vast difference. He said the capital improvements over the years were based on the sale of the old City Hall. He said this $250,000 is the City's and, as C/M Schumann said, if there is still a problem with the title, they will go for eminent domain unless the Council City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 8 says it cannot be done. C/M Schumann asked what is done with the interest on the $250,000. Ms. Blasi said it is going into the general fund. She said if it is used, the City would have to reimburse them. C/M Schumann asked what is the amount of interest collected on that money. Ms. Blasi said it is approximately 7% annually. She said the City received the check about ten months ago. V/M Bender said roughly about $20,000 a year. C/M Schumann asked if the City was in effect using that money and Ms. Blasi said yes. Mayor Abramowitz said the City uses all the interest money from all the interest accounts and always has. C/M Katz said the only problem he has in allocating this project to the $125,000 is that he would like to get a list of how else the City could fund. He said if the $125,000 is available there are other items that it could conceivably be used for., which the City may not be able to by grant or by restrictions. C/M Katz said he would like to restrict this program specifically to $125,000, which may be deposited from the $250,000. He said he would like to say it will be subject to other monies which may be available. He said if the $125,000 is transferred, at least there is an alternative but if there are other places from which to take it then that is where he would like it to come from. Mayor Abramowitz said during the negotiations, FP& L gave the City the $250,000 earmarked for beautification and the City fought them not to have a specific use put on it. He said he suggests that the Council leave it the way it is and continue. City Manager Kelly said he had other comments to make. He said if this amount is earmarked and personnel is included in this cost, those personnel costs which are now $81,000 will be over $84,000 next year with a 4% increase. He said that is a 1% increase in the budget unless revenue offsets it. He said he is opposed to it going onto operational. Mayor Abramowitz said in the following years it has to come out of the taxes. City Manager Kelly said he was aware of that but he wants to make certain that everyone understands. Mayor Abramowitz said there is an alternative: do not do it and do not hire people. He said it is the same way with any other department, if someone is hired, next year they are going to get more money. City Manager Kelly said he is not arguing against it, he is simply stating that everyone should be aware of the implications when it comes back next year. Mayor Abramowitz said they should allocate the $126,000 with an asterisk and it will not affect the bottom line at all. He said when it does come into place the Council knows the money is there to go out and do what has to be done. C/M Katz said with the other reservation that he has requested, there may be other funds available specifically earmarked for this type of program. He said the City does not jump and use the $125,000 first and then leave this money in r City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 9 11 �l a reserved fund not being able to be utilized. Mayor Abramowitz said he agrees. City Manager Kelly said the reclasses concern the people who had been increased in the Public Service Department and several other people that were discussed during the Budget Workshops. Mayor Abramowitz said they should do the first one that on the bottom line shows a decrease of $383,597. City Manager Kelly said if the Mayor wants to address the first part, that is fine. Ms. Blasi said these are all the cuts the Council made during the Budget Workshops in the General Fund. She said it shows the cuts made to get the ad valorem tax down to an increase of 3.49%. C/M Katz asked about the, Cost Allocation Study being done about the Administration costs and how long it will take. Ms. Blasi said the study was finished last Friday. She said the City should have preliminary numbers by the end of this week. C/M Katz said this may affect this year's budget if Administrative costs to TUW increase to our City getting it's fair share, then conceivably the ad valorem taxes could be reduced. Ms. Blasi said correct as long as the figures are received before the Public Hearing. C/M Katz said these people should be told that the City has to have it before the Public Hearing. Ms. Blasi said the consultants from David Griffith have been called and, hopefully, she will hear something by the end of the day. She said they have been talking to the people who actually did the study. Mayor Abramowitz called a five minute recess. Mayor Abramowitz said the meeting is reconvened and the people present before are present now. He said. the City now goes to changes in Personal Services. City Manager Kelly said there is concern regarding the positions that were reclassified or changed during the creation of the Public Services Department. He said there were five personnel impacted: Mike Couzzo, Alan Levine, Roberta Bonavia. Pete Procopio and Ed Doyle. He said there should not be any concern regarding Ed Doyle and Pete Procopio because they were not given any increases when the reorganization took place. He said Ed Doyle will be given a 5% increase and Pete Procopio, a 3% increase effective with passage of the Budget as proposed right now. City Manager Kelly said Roberta Bonavia received a 4.5% increase, which brought her to $24,558. He said she is supervising people that are making considerably more than that and has one of the more difficult jobs there. He said if she is not entitled to this COLA increase, they will all get that 5% and she loses. He said she should be entitled to the 5% increase, otherwise, she is 1/2% behind. City Manager Kelly said Alan Levine assumed considerable additional responsibilities in the Public Works Department and was compensated at that time with a 7.7% increase to City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 10 $35,301.. He said the proposal for him is the 5% increase because he is still considered under the Supervisory classification by the Personnel Pay Plan. He said if Alan Levine is not given it, the others under him will be given a 5% increase which means his net increase for all his responsibility is 2.7%. City Manager Kelly said Mike Couzzo was given an 8.2% increase bringing him to $54,0001 which is still a very modest salary for the overall responsibility and all the divisions for which he is responsible. He said Mr. Couzzo is replacing someone who was at $60,000. He said the proposed increase is 3%, absent that, his net increase is 3.2% and that would be unfair. He said these need to be addressed separately from the 2 employees at the bottom which are called "other". City Manager Kelly said during the course of the review City Council approved for Tom Gagnon, a Senior Construction Inspector and Plan Reviewer, a 5% increase and a 5% COLA, which amounts to a 10% increase. He said Tom Gagnon has taken on additional responsibility and he is extremely valuable to the City and it is a position the City cannot afford to lose. City Manager Kelly said a 15.1%, increase has been proposed for Kathy Calabria in Insurance, which seems high, but a Consultant has been eliminated at $20,000, in order to afford her the $3,000. He said she has assumed the responsibility of the review. He said she went to $27,000 and with the 5% to $28,900. C/M Katz said as a one time bonus. C/W Glasser said tl should have taken said she is new on said she feels app: though it could be manner and it sent ze timing on this was atrocious and that it place beyond the increase for COLA. She the Council and it was a rush job. She rehensive about what was going on and even perfectly okay, it was done in the wrong the wrong message. C/M Schumann said he sees an 8.2%, 7.7%, 4.5%, 5% and 15.0% increase. He said the 8.2% was over an original basic salary and because of a new title and not an increase in the work load. He said it was a $4,134 raise. He said now the City is looking at a 3% increase to that. He said the same is true with the Public Works Operations Manager, 7.7% and if he does not get the 5% now he only gets a 2.7%. He said this does not change anything, it is still 7.7% of $32,781, it does not drop to 2.2% if he does not get a 5% COLA. City Manager Kelly said the net increase is 2.7%. C/M Schumann said the net increase is one thing, the positions have other people in the line who are staying in their same position and are going to get the COLA, if the Budget is passed. He said these are brand new defined positions that were put in just prior to this COLA coming up, just as C/W Glasser said, and he feels that these raises are substantial for these positions. He said he is against any COLA increase for all five of them. He said this would be a double increase. City Manager Kelly said the observation was made that he got a new title and no additional responsibility. C/M Schumann said that he did not see any real big increase in responsibility. He said it is all title. City Manager Kelly said no, it is not. He has all the additional responsibility of the Utilities Department reporting to him now. He said he is overseeing Union and City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 11 Labor agreements and it is a lot of responsibility. V/M Bender said he made his feeling known when the reorgan- ization was proposed and it should be done after the budget. He said he expressed himself at that time and the organization should be down -sized to the right size. He said he felt like C/W Glasser, uncomfortable that it was put through at that time and he had asked if it could be post- poned until after the budget. Mayor Abramowitz said he agrees that the timing was not right but not for the same reason as V/M Bender. He said next year the Council will be smarter than they were this year. He said the big difference between City Manager Kelly and the City Council is that as much heat as he takes from Council, Council takes ten times as much heat from the public. He said John Kelly behaves in a professional manner and he feels there is a professional and a sensible way to do it. Mayor Abramowitz said there is not one person who is not entitled to the dollars commensurate with the position. He said Alan Levine is valuable, works hard and he deserves the money. He said he can only go by what the professionals say, but he feels Ms. Bonavia is also entitled to the raise. He said Mr. Couzzo should get a six month review and not a COLA. V/M Bender said the Council made a comment concerning the timing of the reorganization, Council did not attack anyone's salary. He said all Council is saying is that the timing was bad. He said comments were not made about any individual, whether they deserve it or not is not the issue right now. He said the issue is that this was presented right before the budget and was an inappropriate time. Mayor Abramowitz asked what Council suggests. He said everyone has their own personal views and comments. He said he is just telling Council the way he feels about what they have done. V/M Bender said right now all the Council has to make a decision on is the overall view on this reorganization proposal. Mayor Abramowitz said that is not the purpose. He said the purpose is whether Council accepts or rejects it. He said this has nothing to do with the reorganization. C/W Glasser said there are comments people want to make and they should be entitled. Mayor Abramowitz said he told the City Manager he was going to be uncomfortable if he comes down the road with a COLA. He said he wanted to do a six month review after that. C/M Katz said he reviewed the transcript of several meetings and he highlighted where C/W Glasser and he questioned at the time of the reorganization, that the COLA was coming and City Manager Kelly agreed that this was not going to happen. C/M Katz said they do not have to be granted today, they can be granted at the six month review. He said when Alan Levine's raise was denied by the Mayor and Council at the time it came up originally that was the time he should have gotten the raise. He said he did not react to it because he was not part of Council at this time. He said that was the time Mr. Levine's raise was forthcoming and he has no idea why it was turned down. He said Kathy Calabria was brought up at the Budget Hearing and it was decided that she would not get a COLA. Ms. Blasi said what Ms. Tillman and Mr. Mack suggested was ,, City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 12 Tape 3 that she get a $5,000 raise and not a COLA on top of that. She said these numbers reflect only a $5,000 raise. C/W Glasser said this is the first time she has gone through the process and the same thing is not going to happen a second time. She said one learns by experience. C/W Glasser said she resents the fact that this was done prematurely and it is being done piece meal because there are other people in the City looking for increases and maybe rightfully so. She said in preparing a budget, Council should see the whole picture and not just a small portion and then two months later someone else comes up. She said in doing a budget and trying to put all the numbers together, in the future all employees should be looked at and Council should be given an overall of what the City would like to see them get. She said this is the only way to do a true budget and know where the money is going, at least regarding employees. City Manager Kelly said there are two employees on the bottom in that category where Council made the decisions during deliberations. He said Mr. Doyle and Mr. Procopio are not involved in it because they received no raises before. He said they are reflected in this because Council asked for the full five from the reorganization. Mayor Abramowitz said everyone in the City is getting a raise. He said Mr. Doyle and Mr. Procopio do not even belong on this list. He said they are getting what everyone else is getting. Ms. McDermott said Council wanted a recap of all individuals involved in the reorganization. C/M Schumann said there is no problem with Mr. Doyle and Mr. Procopio. He asked why they were not given raises at the time of the reorganization. City Manager Kelly said Mr. Procopio, at a salary of $53,000, had volunteered that he would stay this year and did not need the additional compensation. He said Mr. Doyle had been with the City for such a short time that he did not warrant a raise. He said Mr. Doyle was shy of his probation at that point and put on hold. Mayor Abramowitz said that takes care of Mr. Doyle and Mr. Procopio. He said the City Manager needs a sense of direction as to what Council wants done. He said Kathy Calabria is as the Council agreed. He said her raise was just broken into two pieces. Ms. Blasi said Ms. Calabria gets $5,000 with no COLA but since she is a confidential employee, it needs to be shown as a COLA and subtracted from her raise. She said it is the same $5,000 and shows a COLA with a lesser increase for the position change. C/M Schumann said at the Budget Hearing the figure from Susan Tillman was $3,820 and here it says $3,621 and $1,379. Ms. McDermott said there is a cost savings because part comes from the General Fund and part from Pension. Ms. Blasi said the Pension Fund was going to provide $2,500 of the total cost so that it would not be charged to the General Fund or the Utility West Funds. C/M Schumann asked if they are speaking of $28,953 or $27,574. F. L 11 City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 13 City Manager Kelly said $28,953 is a $5,000 increase from $23,953 which is her original salary. He said Ms. Blasi has broken down the $5,000 so that Ms. Calabria can show that she did get a 5% increase when everyone else did on the COLA. Mayor Abramowitz said the dollars are still the same. City Manager Kelly said that during deliberations, Council agreed with the upgrade for Tom Gagnon, allowing a 5% increase in his position and a 5% COLA. Ms. Blasi said Mr. Gagnon is a Union employee and would have to get the 5% COLA. C/M Katz said he had no problems with either. He asked, based on Mr. Gagnon's position, what would have been the maximum level. Mr. Couzzo said he did not know but there is a similar position in the Building Department. Mayor Abramowitz asked if giving Mr. Gagnon this position has actually saved the City any money. City Manager Kelly said he could not say that. Mayor Abramowitz said he is doing someone's work. Mr. Couzzo said he is the one that will be doing plan review in the department. He said previously Mr. Schuty was doing this work. He said because of the reorganization some of the workload has been restructured. He said the department is doing different things and it has plans for the future. C/M Katz asked what salary Ed Shuty was making and no one knew. City Manager Kelly said Ed Shuty had been with the City a long time. Mayor Abramowitz said so has Mr. Gagnon. C/M Katz said if he is doing the same job, he should receive the same money. Mr. Couzzo said Roberta Bonavia was the Public Works Office Manager and she had four people to supervise. He said she supervises the entire office operation which is a staff of eight. He said there are internal office procedures and systems that need to'be looked at and revised so that there is a greater efficiency in the workload between what used to be two departments. He said most of the people in the depart- ment make 20% more than she does. Ms. Blasi said if Ms. Bonavia had not gotten the increase during the reclassification, she would be making more by just getting her COLA. She said without the COLA she will be making less than what she would have made if she had stayed in her same position. She said Ms. Bonavia received a 4.5% increase. Mayor Abramowitz said that does not make sense in reality. Mr. Couzzo said the comparative analogy between Ms. Bonavia and Mr. Gagnon is very similar. He said the level of responsibility has increased. C/W Glasser said raises are not being discussed. She said Council is discussing COLA's. She said the raise was approved. Mr. Couzzo said a COLA was approved for Mr. Gagnon and the situations are similar. Mayor Abramowitz said the timing was terrible and this is a City Council Budget Workshop ' 8/27/91/elo Page 14 bad position. C/M Schumann said he expressed his opinion already. Mayor Abramowitz asked if it was okay with Roberta Bonavia. C/M Katz said he feels they all fall in the same classification and Alan Levine should have been entitled to the raise from the last administration and he does not know why he was denied the raise. Mayor Abramowitz said Mr. Levine did not get the raise because it was before an election. C/W Glasser asked what that had to do with anything. Mayor Abramowitz said that is why Council is sitting here fighting right now. C/W Glasser said that is why they are not there anymore. Mayor Abramowitz said it was incorrect then and that does not mean it should be correct now. C/M Katz said he feels that after reviewing the tape and his comments about what the tape reflected, he feels bad that Mr. Levine is in a position with his raise nullified because someone that sat here previously did not approve what the man was entitled to. Mayor Abramowitz said absolutely correct. C/M Katz said he was going to hold to what he asked for before and the response he got on the tape and that was that his raise would come from the review. He said he was going to make a blanket statement regarding the three that were involved that the raises are going to be effective on the 6 month review. C/W Glasser said if Ms. Bonavia's is looked at in particular, she is inclined to go along because she is coming out with less. Mr. Couzzo said he has listened to everything and he agrees that it was confusing at the Council meeting about what the intent was. He said the situation with Mr. Levine and Ms. Bonavia have been talked about and seeing that this Council has chosen him to serve as the Director of Public Services, he volunteered to forego his raise until after the six months. He said he feels the Council should think long and hard about Ms. Bonavia and Mr. Levine's situations. He said these individuals probably put in 60 to 70 hours in a week. He said they do whatever is asked of them at any time of the night or day. He said based upon their current salary positions the two 5%'s are not unwarranted and he would recommend them. C/M Katz said he changes his position. Mayor Abramowitz said they are talking about Ms. Bonavia. C/W Glasser said if, in fact, she does not get the COLA increase then she has received less money with her raise then she would have if she had not received the raise. She said Council has to go along. V/M Bender said he had no objections. C/M Schumann said no comment. 1 Mayor Abramowitz said Ms. Bonavia is okay. He said Mr. Couzzo City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 15 has voluntarily said that he is out of the picture so Council has Alan Levine. C/M Katz said he has no problems with giving him the raise. He said the previous administration was derelict in. -,.not giving it to him before. C/W Glasser said she has mixed feelings but based upon the fact that he should have gotten the increase awhile back, no comment. Mayor Abramowitz said she had to make a comment. C/W Glasser said the prior increases were untimely and she felt at that point that the 5% COLA should be based upon the salary before the increase. Mayor Abramowitz said the 5% should be based on the $32,871. Mr. Couzzo said it would change about $100. C/W Glasser said it is a matter of principle and not money. V/M Bender said he would go along. C/M Schumann said no. Mayor Abramowitz said Mr. Levine is okay. He said Mr. Couzzo has voluntarily agreed to wait until his 6 month review regarding his position. C/M Katz said he had a personal comment to make. He said he thinks the Council was remiss at the time of the request for the interim increase in pay. He said he agrees that he is not entitled to it based on the information given at the time of the reorganization but if Council did agree to his raise, it is after the fact. He said if Council agreed to his raise, he was entitled to the interim pay for that raise when he acquired the title and increased responsibility. He said he does not agree that he is entitled to it today but that he should have gotten that interim pay. V/M Bender said it will cost the City $30,592 for all the increases. He asked the total dollars that this is going to cost the way it is presented including the contribution to the pension fund and anything else. Ms. Blasi said she would have to run a tape. V/M Bender said he is talking about the original salary, the increased salary plus the COLA's. Ms. Blasi asked if this includes the raises that are already in effect. V/M Bender said yes, for this given year. Ms. Blasi said these three are already in effect, they have nothing to do with this budget. V/M Bender said he totaled the columns to see what it comes to and he has $30,592 but then there is a comment on the bottom, $2,500 pension fund 10.4%. Ms. Blasi said that is just for Ms. Calabria. Mayor Abramowitz asked if anyone had anything else. City Manager Kelly said at the last meeting, the City Council asked if there was any response from the County, any idea regarding the Fire Department. He said Ms. McDermott, Jim Budzinski and he met with Mr. Jordan at the County to see if ,, City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo ' Page 16 there were any numbers that they were willing to devulge regarding the cost saving the City of Tamarac might accrue if the City went County. City Manager Kelly said the unsubstantiated position they held was about $200,000 a year. He said they gave no backup. He said the County said that the City was under -manned by their standards. He said the City will not receive the type of savings other cities might expect. He said the County will look at Tamarac's payrolls. City Manager Kelly said Mr. Budzinski and Mr. Correll know what has occurred and Council would be advised of it publicly today. He said the Union should have been provided with the contract that was recently entered into with the County and Oakland Park and spreadsheets should have been sent here. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the statement that Tamarac is under -manned means that they will provide more bodies and still save $200,000. City Manager Kelly said yes, that is what they said. He said they would put another man on the ladder. He said they would provide three more bodies. Mayor Abramowitz said there would be three more bodies and $200,000 saved. He asked if there was an indication that as time goes by the savings could be increased. City Manager Kelly said that is substantially correct, but there is nothing to back them up. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Manager is being as careful as he possibly can. City Manager Kelly said Council could play games with all of that. He said he has to see it on paper. C/M Katz said in the event that Ray Briant retires, Jim Budzinski, Acting Fire Chief, could be appointed as permanent Chief. He said no increase in salary was discussed because he is presently at the top of where he would be if he were coming into that job. City Manager Kelly said he did not say that. He said if an employee gets additional responsibility they would be compensated also. C/M Katz questioned whether that would be above what he is making. He said that is not the way he understood it. C/M Katz said Mr. Budzinski makes $47,000 and the pay scale for someone coming in for Chief would be $47,000. He asked if that was the pay scale for someone coming in for the position. City Manager Kelly said that could not be stated until it was advertised. C/M Katz said this will help him know what to do if and when the subject comes up regarding the County. Mayor Abramowitz said there are no numbers to look at but this has been a very viable subject. He said he knows the City Manager well enough to know that when he is very hesitant about something it is because if it comes out differently he will be unhappy. C/M Katz said he is not looking to put words in the City Manager's mouth. He said the bottom range of the Fire Chief is about what he is making now and that would not necessitate an increase in pay. V/ City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 17 C/W Glasser said in review of what has happened in discussing the budget in terms of a part-time City Attorney versus a full time City Attorney, she would like to have some reviews made as to what full time attorneys are making in other cities. She said it should be reviewed so that a decision can be made as to whether the City's part time attorney is working budget wise or if, in fact, the City does need a full time City Attorney. Mayor Abramowitz asked the City Manager to get the numbers. City Manager Kelly said the Miramar City Attorney resigned to go back to school to get another degree. He said he had been there for two years and was leaving at $96,000. City Manager Kelly said he wants Council to understand that they do not leave the meeting until any changes made are calculated so that the final line can be approved. V/M Bender said he reviewed Bernie Hart's request for funds. He said he would like to recommend that the matter be turned over to the Risk Manager to investigate the fact that the City was insured at the time. He said the City policy would cover that. He said there are many legal technicalities involved in this matter. He said the City has an instrument to go back to and a claim should be filed with them. City Manager Kelly said the critical thing is the Ethics Commission has not made a ruling. V/M Bender said meanwhile there are legal expenses corning in. He asked what is going to be done with them. Mayor Abramowitz said if the determination was made that the City had to pay he would rather have the League of Cities pay then the City of Tamarac. V/M Bender said if a person is guilty it is handled one way and if not guilty it is handled another. He said he does not want to get into the mechanics. He said the City had a policy that covered the Mayor at that time. He said since this incident occurred during that time that policy was in effect, he wants the Risk Manager, who is responsible for that, to go back and file the claim with them and see what happens. C/M Schumann said place them on notice. City Manager Kelly asked if they should -file the claim now. V/M Bender said the City has a bill on it now. He said action has to be taken on it. Mayor Abramowitz questioned what was being said. V/M Bender said there is a bill in house and there is a procedure set up to handle it. He said the procedure is that the City had an insurance policy at the time and the bill should not be held up. He said to send it where it belongs and let them decide whether they want to hold it up or not. Mayor Abramowitz said if information is wanted as to whether they are responsible for it, he agrees, but to send a bill is an indication that the City agrees with the bill and wants it paid. V/M Bender said Council has no comments about the bill one way or another. He said the bill has been presented to the City and they should let the insurance company decide whether they are going to pay it or not. He said when something is given to the insurance company, they are not being told to pay it. He said the insurance company makes that decision. He City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo , Page 18 said no one here is qualified to make that decision. He said if it is an adverse determination then the City can worry about it. City Manager Kelly asked what constitutes an adverse position. C/M Schumann replied if they deny liability. V/M Bender said let the attorneys fight it out. He said meanwhile the City should not be waiting for someone to decide whether he is guilty or not guilty. City Manager Kelly said it is not being suggested that the bill be submitted for payment. V/M Bender said submit it for whatever action they want to take. He said this is procedure. He said the City does not have to make comments as to whether they agree or disagree. He said it is a claim for money based on a lawsuit. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to get an opinion of whether they will handle the litigation. He said he is uncomfortable just submitting the bill. V/M Bender said by contract the City is required to notify the insurance company if a bill is submitted. He said the procedure should be followed. He said the City had no knowledge of this until the bill was received so the City must follow the procedure as if that insurance company is still with the City. He said it cannot beheld because then the City will be remiss and in trouble. C/M Schumann said it should be submitted with a cover letter requesting that it is being submitted for the action deemed appropriate. He said they will either assume liability and pay it or not pay it and still give a qualified defense. He said they have claims people that will look it over. He said the City should not become guilty by holding it. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Attorney's and the Risk Manager's opinions are needed before sending anything. V/M Bender said his conversation began with a recommendation of giving the bill to the Risk Manager to let her follow the procedures established. Mayor Abramowitz said he is not comfortable with that. He said he wants Risk Management or the Attorney to come to Council and say that they recommend sending it or do not recommend sending it. V/M Bender said the Risk Manager is obligated to discuss it with the City Attorneyi and CityManager and come to a i conclusion. He said that s what is n the Resolution. City Manager Kelly said he would check the Resolution and then follow the procedures. Mayor Abramowitz said, regardless, he would like the City Manager to bring it to the Council. C/M Katz said $67,000 equals 1% of the budget. He asked if money was set aside for franchise review. Ms. Blasi said in the Finance Budget there is other contractual services of $28,000 for an external auditor or a study. C/M Katz asked if the COLA for the temps was approved. City Manager said, yes. f City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 19 Tape 4 C./M Katz asked about the 2% cost of living increases for retirees. He asked if that would affect the participation of the City for that amount of money. Ms. Blasi said approximately a 2% of actual salary increase goes for pension contribution. C/M Katz asked what the number was that the City would actually have to participate. Ms. McDermott said $181,000. V/M Bender asked that it be sharpened up a bit before finalizing. He said this is a guess. C/M Katz said a previous employee claimed that she was getting $16-$19 a month pension. V/M Bender said when a person applies for a pension it goes to an Actuary and is computed by them. He said it is given to the individual to examine and resolve any problem. He said all the facts are needed. Ms. Fagelbaum said her pension is based on a prior plan, the plan in effect at her retirement. She said at that time employees only contributed 1% of salary not 5%. Ms. McDermott said right now the way the pension plan is written, the employees who retired on the previous pension plan are not entitled to any additional benefits of the new pension plan. She said they have retired and signed off. C/M Katz asked if all retired employees are entitled to the increases. Ms. Blasi said all retirees are entitled to the 2%. Mayor Abramowitz said there is a request from Representative Peter Deutsch to hold a Town Hall meeting here. He said it is held here every year with Mr. Weinstein and Mr. Graber and this year Mr. Deutsch wants to do it on his own in December. He asked if anyone had any objections. Council had none. Ms. McDermott said during the Council Workshops last week, C/W Glasser brought up the fact that the Broward Homebound Program requested funding from the City when it reviewed the Area Agency on Aging and the Child Care Development Program. C/W Glasser said she brought up Homebound and also to research any agencies that are doing any work in the City of Tamarac. Ms. McDermott said she had a letter from the Broward Home- bound. She said there is a grant from the State of Florida, Department of Transportation, and the deadline is September 30th. She said this is for a bicycle/pedestrian program. She said the City could do a bicycle and sidewalk path audit. She said this provides for a State funded position on staff for one year. She said the City would pick up the salary for the person the second year. Ms. McDermott said she proposes a joint grant application with the City of Sunrise. She said they would cost share this program. She said $22,000 funding is available for salary. She said this person would audit both cities and put together an actual master plan for sidewalks and bike paths in both cities. V/M Bender said the funding is only for salary and not for City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 20 the paths or sidewalks. Ms. McDermott said the presentation is to see if the City can get the grant and then jointly with Sunrise so that each City would receive a year of service. She said this would give an actual physical study in addition to what Engineering has already done. She said the State would provide the guidelines. V/M Bender said a referendum on sidewalks was placed before the people and it was defeated, so now the City wants to have a study to say that the City should have sidewalks and reconstitute the whole thing. He said he was not comfortable with this. Ms. McDermott said that is why she is bringing it to Council. She said when she receives a grant, Council has to be interested before she uses a great deal of time preparing the grant. Mayor Abramowitz said the referendum was whether the City should borrow a million dollars to do sidewalks. V/M Bender asked what the difference was, the purpose is to do sidewalks. He said money is going to be needed for the sidewalks. Mayor Abramowitz said the City had bicycle paths here that were just removed on 57th Street. V/M Bender said he did not see any need for it at this time. Ms. McDermott said the Resource Recovery Technical Advisory Committee met yesterday and there are available grant funds in Broward County that will be distributed to cities who apply for it. She said she approached the north cities representative, Diane Phillips, who is the Recycling Co- ordinator for containers for drop offs for City Hall. She said she requested $1,600 in grant funds. V/M Bender asked about the memo on the census where the figures used can be modified upwards based upon the percentage of diviation or error. He said he would like this investigated because the City went on record with a letter saying that the City objected. He said the City should see if they can get a higher count. Mayor Abramowitz said the City is part of the litigating process that is suing the government. V/M Bender said the City needs to get up to 50,000 population to be in a better position. Ms. Blasi said if the other cities get theirs to go up, this City's proportionate share will go down if this City stays the same. She said the City has to push as much as the other cities. Randy Correll, Labor Relations for the Fire Department, said he disagrees that the County can give the City more people for less money. He said the bottom line is that they can give a minimum manning of nine people a day. He said the City has more than nine people in the Department. He said the Fire fighters of Tamarac would be going out of the City to cover other areas of the County. He said there are unfunded liabilities if they become part of the County. He said he is not for or against anything, he just wants to bring it all out. He said the two trucks being paid on for the next year are not worked into the deal at this point. Ms. McDermott said the trucks are negotiable. [7 City Council Budget Workshop 8/27/91/elo Page 21 Mr. Correll said the City Fire Department is lean and efficient. He said they do a good job and have never let the City down. He said they have a signed contract until October, 1993. He said the Firefighters like being in Tamarac. He said he does not agree that the City will get better service with less money. With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED the Budget Workshop at 12:30 p.m. CAROL A. EVANS --- CITY CLERK "This public document was promulgated, at a cost of $ 256.47 or $ 5.70 per copy to inform the general public, public officers and employees of recent opinions and considerations of the City Council of the City of Tamarac." 11 [I