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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-02-18 - City Commission Special Meeting MinutesCity Council Special Meeting 2/18/94/KJ Page 1 lei *4 WOT5T%3 CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1994 CALL T,O ORDE$;, Mayor Bender called this meeting to order on Friday, February 18, 1994 at 2:00 p.m. in Conference Room #1 of City Hall. EBKUA P VII-iol..4 j 4. � Mayor H. Larry Bender Vice Mayor Irving Katz Councilman Norman Abramowitz Councilman Joseph Schreiber Councilman Henry C. Schumann Dina McDermott, Interim City Manager Mitchell S. Kraft, City Attorney Larry DuPre, Personnel Director Carol A. Evans, CMC, City Clerk Karen Jackson, Secretary ***************************************************************** The purpose of this meeting is to interview the three finalists for the position of City Manager in alphabetical order as follows: 2:00 p.m. Dennis Beach 2:45 p.m. Robert Noe 3:30 p.m. Ann Perrotta V/M Katz said what happens during this meeting will not necessarily reflect what will happen after the March 8 election. He said there are only two current Council members who are guaranteed to be in office after the election. He asked how Mr. Beach feels about coming into this type of environment. Mr. Beach said anyone who comes into a set of circumstances such as this would have a certain amount of apprehension; however, this would not dissuade his interest in this position. V/M Katz asked if this would have any bearing on his terms of employment. Mr. Beach said it would. He said the whole point of an employment agreement with a City Manager is to address the provisions of termination, in the event that the political direction of the community changes and that Manager is unable to change direction with the City Council. Mr. Beach said if a person comes into the job and does not have adequate protection from the process, then he would be under a great deal of apprehension all of the time. He said the termination provisions or the employment agreement of whoever is brought into the City, would be very similar with or without an upcoming election. V/M Katz asked if Mr. Beach had any problems assimilating the environment of the Department Heads and other employees in his previous employment, rather than coming in with a new set of employees. City Council Special Meeting 2/18/94/KJ Page 2 Mr. Beach said he has been in situations where some positions would change and also in other communities where everything remained the same. He gave a history of Hertz Rent-A-Car and its management. C/M Schreiber said it is incumbent upon this Council to see to it that whomever is selected for this position has security in the position so that they cannot be terminated or removed for a political whim. He said the new Manager should be afforded the opportunity to prove himself for the position. C/M Schreiber requested that Mr. Beach define his automated solid waste system. Mr. Beach said there were several things that occurred as a result of that. He said the community had a traditional collection process and also had one of the first incineration operations in the country. He said they were successful in implementing a semi - automated collection system that involved one --man units. He explained the way the one-man units operated. C/M Schreiber asked if this system was cost-effective and Mr. Beach said it was very successful and cost-effective. He said the biggest obstacle is convincing the public that a one -time -per -week collection is all that is necessary. C/M Abramowitz read a memo sent to all applicants regarding the City Manager selection process. He asked if Mr. Beach is aware that historically, this City has never given a contract to the City Manager and Mr. Beach acknowledged this. C/M Abramowitz asked Mr. Beach what would happen if a member of Council came to him and directed him to do something. Mr. Beach said the direction going to a City Manager comes out of the City Council as a body and as a whole. He said the Council members, individually, are not in a supervisory position over the City Manager. He said it is up to the City Manager to try to have the tact to deal with these issues as they come up. Mr. Beach said if he can accommodate an individual Council member without going against policy that is adopted by the overall City Council, then he would attempt to do so. He said if the direction does not comply with the policy set forth by the majority of the City Council, it has no basis of authority. C/M Abramowitz referred to a situation where the direction is not illegal and is well-founded but the Charter does not permit it. Mr. Beach said if it is in violation of the Charter then he would not do it. C/M Abramowitz asked if a memo would be sent to the other Council members if such direction was given and Mr. Beach said it would depend on the circumstances. Mr. Beach said many times new Council members may or may not fully understand the pervue of their office and responsibilities. C/M Abramowitz said he is referring to repetitious requests. He said he would think that it would be the City Manager's responsibility and duty to alert the rest of Council about such a problem. Mr. Beach said he would need to have the majority of support and it is his intention to treat all members of Council with respect. C/M Schumann said he is detecting a lot of scare tactics. He said Council is going to build adequate safeguards to prevent this. He 1 City Council Special Meeting 2/18/94/KJ Page 3 said after March 8, there will be two, possibly three new Council members in office. V/M Katz asked what the population of Port St. Lucie is and Mr. Beach said the most recent census was 67,000 people. V/M Katz asked what the current budget is for Port St. Lucie and Mr. Beach said 38 million dollars but it is expected to increase to 52 million within the next year. V/M Katz asked if there is only one Assistant City Manager, being Mr. Beach and Mr. Beach said, yes. V/M Katz asked if the grant work is done in-house and if Port St. Lucie has a professional grant writer on staff and Mr. Beach said the work is done in-house and the City has a Grants Coordinator on staff. V/M Katz asked what amount would be deemed for a carry-over or in reserve on a 38 million dollar budget and Mr. Beach said Port St. Lucie dedicates 5% of each fund for Contingency but it usually exceeds this. V/M Katz requested a breakdown of the population that does and does not pay taxes due to Homestead Exemption and those who pay $100 towards taxes. Mr. Beach said this is a small percentage. V/M Katz asked if the budget revenue is mostly ad valorem or how the City equitably distributes sharing the load of operating the City. Mr. Beach said only about 7 million of the 38 million dollar budget is generated by ad valorem taxes. He said Port St. Lucie has a Stormwater Utility which generates much of the money and a variety of Capital Improvement Funds and sources, as well as the Local Option Gas Tax and Sales Tax make up the balance of the budget. Mayor Bender asked what is placed into the Contingency Fund as a whole and Mr. Beach said this is the Contingency amount. He further explained the Contingency Account. C/M Abramowitz asked if Mr. Beach is married and has children and Mr. Beach said he is married and has two college -age children and a six year old step -son. C/M Abramowitz asked if his wife is employed and Mr. Beach said she is the Director of Purchasing for St. Lucie County. C/M Abramowitz asked what would happen with her position if he were appointed as City Manager for Tamarac and Mr. Beach said they have not addressed this. C/M Abramowitz asked if Port St. Lucie has a Utility Tax and Mr. Beach said they do not have this tax at present. C/M Abramowitz asked what amount would make it palatable for Mr. Beach to come to work for the City of Tamarac and Mr. Beach said approximately $70,000.00. C/M Abramowitz asked what the percentage of the population in St. Lucie County are senior citizens and Mr. Beach said he does not have an actual percentage. He said the average age in Port St. Lucie in 1980 was the same as Tamarac, 58, and the 1990 census reflected an average age of 32. He said there is a high senior population but the young families are moving in quickly. C/M Abramowitz asked the number of school --age children and Mr. Beach said it is a substantial number. City Council Special Meeting 2/18/94/KJ Page 4 C/M Abramowitz asked what provisions there are for recreational facilities for elders as well as young people. Mr. Beach said the City of Port St. Lucie operates 15 parks, ranging from 2 to 3 acre neighborhood parks to 30 acre parks. He said the organized sports activities take much of the City's resources. He said the City is in the process of building Little League ball fields and soccer fields and a variety of physical facilities for young people to play on. Mr. Beach said the City of Port St. Lucie had sold a great deal of property to the State of Florida which bordered the St. Lucie River and the proceeds were used to build parks. C/M .Abramowitz asked how much open land there is in Port St. Lucie and Mr. Beach said out of 80 square miles, approximately 25% is developed. He said over 100 single-family building permits are issued per month in addition to commercial permits. He said this figure is down from three years ago when there were 300 single- family building permits issued per month. He said there are 80,000 platted lots and their population is growing by approximately 3,500 per year. C/M Abramowitz asked the size of the Police Force and Mr. Beach said currently there are 99 sworn personnel and 44 civilians and the City utilizes the St. Lucie County Fire District. He said the Fire District gets very high marks for their performance. C/M Abramowitz asked about the EMS facilities and Mr. Beach said this is also handled by the Fire District. He said the Fire District has its own millage rate. C/M Abramowitz asked about a water district and Mr. Beach said Port St. Lucie has a Stormwater Utility which is handled by assessment and the average rate is $59.00 per year. C/M Schumann asked if the City's Police Force has its own forensics and Mr. Beach said they utilize the St. Lucie County Sheriff's office for this. Mr. Beach said the City has been in an ongoing debate with St. Lucie County over dual taxation issues. He said the Sheriff's office does not operate inside the City unless they are called in. V/M Katz cited an Appellate Court decision concerning dual taxation. C/M Abramowitz asked if a Social Services program is offered to the residents and Mr. Beach said there is a State Housing Initiative Program and Port St. Lucie is in the process of dealing with this issue, including a variety of housing issues for low and moderate income persons. He said the City does not provide any other social program. He said the County has transportation services which the City contributes to financially. Mayor Bender referred to the statement made by V/M Katz indicating that the interviews were being intentionally scheduled around his lack of availability. He said this is an untrue statement. He said the meeting was changed to accommodate V/M Katz' schedule. Mr. DuPre said the meeting was changed in order to allow all Council members to be present. Mayor Bender RECESSED the meeting at 2:40 p.m. and RECONVENED at 2:45 p.m. with ALL PRESENT. City Council 2/18/94/KJ Page 5 Special Meeting C/M Schreiber asked what was found when Mr. Noe arrived in the City of Hollywood and what was accomplished when he left. Mr. Noe said Hollywood was a challenge and in the 23 months that he was there, it was difficult the first day as well as the last day. He said throughout his tenure in Hollywood, there were a number of things discovered that had either been ignored or covered up, such as the Recreation slush funds, including a $750,000 expenditure over a period of 10 years which was spent off -budget. He said there was a 4 million dollar pump station which never worked. He said in his opinion, this was good planning, but no one had ever made a statement as to what the facts were. Mr. Noe said there was a situation involving a golf course owner who had to close the course due to substantial rain and he had requested that the City dismiss a fee of approximately $30,000 in order for him to pay his rent of $1,000 per day. TAPE 2 Mr. Noe said he had recommended that the City change auditors based on the fact that the City had the same auditor for 17 years. He explained the situation regarding the auditor. He said there were over 100 findings of material and systemic weaknesses. C/M Schreiber asked the reason for his leaving Hollywood. Mr. Noe said a month after he had arrived, one of his strongest supporters had resigned from the Commission and three months after that, there was an election and a couple more of the Commissioners left. He said he is very proud of the accomplishments that were made by all in Hollywood. He said he will take the credit for many of the ideas of things with substance that were accomplished during his tenure with Hollywood. Mr. Noe said he left Hollywood because he fell out of favor with the Commission as well as the employees. He said he felt that some of the employees were overpaid and over -benefited. He said it was a case of speaking out on these issues. He said the City of Hollywood cannot afford to pay for the Pension plan which is currently in place. Mr. Noe said he will have his hands on as many things as he needs and in as much depth as he needs to. He said his philosophy is to hire the best people to do the job. He said if governments are going to be successful today, it takes a collective effort by everyone, including the citizens, the elected officials and the employees. C/M Schreiber asked why he left Prince William County after 11 years to go into private industry, which only lasted one year. Mr. Noe said he was with Prince William County for 11 years, which is twice the national average for a City or County Manager. He said he remained with the County for 11 years because they had developed a very successful team and he felt that everything he could have accomplished, was accomplished. Mr. Noe said he was looking for a new challenge and the owner of this development group had owned approximately 2,500 acres in Prince William County and had a very controversial project proposed. He said he felt that the more controversial an issue is, the more a City or County Manager has the responsibility to take a position. He said he supported the proposed project, which could have amounted to a small city, including high-rise buildings and a major airport. He said this developer was committed to maintaining the environment yet producing a major tax revenue source for the County. City Council Special Meeting 2/18/94/KJ Page 6 Mr. Noe said this would have meant pure economic development for the County including housing and commercial endeavors. He said this would have created a tremendous number of jobs for the County and significant tax revenues, which he wanted to be a part of. He said this occurred during a time when the economy was going down and the project did not work. C/M Schreiber said the City of Tamarac is facing an election on March 8 and there will be a split in the Council. He said it is intended that whoever is selected is given security in his position so that they are not terminated for no cause. Mr. Noe said he has served nine different governing bodies and is not apprehensive in having to sell himself to a new group of people. C/M Abramowitz asked if he would consider working without a contract and Mr. Noe said he would consider it. Mr. Noe said at this time, it is somewhat premature. He said he would like to know that he would be the #1 choice and that there is a chemistry between the Council and himself and that they can work effectively together. He said he is accustomed to working on a hand shake. He said a contract is a security device for the governing body and the City Manager. He said there is an advantage to a contract but it is not necessarily written in concrete. C/M Abramowitz asked why Mr. Noe did not inform the City Council of Hollywood about the arrangement that the City Attorney had and Mr. Noe said he did not know. Mr. Noe said he had testified under oath, with the State's Attorney, that he had no personal knowledge that Mr. Coslow had a personal relationship with a City employee. He explained the case situation in Hollywood. C/M Abramowitz asked if Mr. Noe is married and Mr. Noe said he is divorced with no children. Mr. Kraft stated that it is improper to ask for marital status and other such personal questions during the interviews. Mr. Noe said he is not married and does not have children, but hopes to get married and have children and he lives in Hollywood. C/M Abramowitz asked what Mr. Noe would do if he were appointed and a Council member would direct him to do something which really belonged in the administrative area of the City. Mr. Noe said it would depend on what was requested. He said within the administration of the government, the Manager has a number of prerogatives. He said if an elected official, a citizen or anyone else asks him to do something, he would do it, if he feels it is proper. C/M Abramowitz asked if he would inform the rest of the Council and Mr. Noe said it would depend on what the request was. C/M Abramowitz exampled a situation involving being directed to put a sidewalk into a particular location and Mr. Noe said it would not be up to him to make such a decision. He said this would be prepared as an agenda item for consideration by Council. He said the more sensitive a piece of information is, the quicker he would provide it to the governing body. Mr. Noe said he would not be concealing information that is of interest or sensitive to the governing body. He said he may very well recommend against the proposed item on the agenda. He said his job is to help to understand how the system works. He said his 1 City Council Special Meeting 2/18/94/KJ Page 7 job would be to get the decision to the proper people so that the decision can be made. C/M Abramowitz asked what the millage rate was in Hollywood and Mr. Noe said it was almost 6. C/M Abramowitz asked if Hollywood has a utility tax and how much it is and Mr. Noe said yes, but he was not sure of the amount. He said if 10% is the maximum, then Hollywood maxed out on the utility tax. He said it included electric and telephone but he was not sure if it included water and sewer. Mayor Bender said it has been the tradition of the City of Tamarac to not have a contract with the City Manager but to use the Resolution process. Mr. Dupre said any question asked about marital status is considered to be discriminatory and is illegal. Further discussion was held regarding this. V/M Katz said there are approximately 25% of the residents who do not pay ad valorem taxes and an additional 35% who pay under $100. He said annually, William Markham's office has been reducing the assessed value on the property in the City. He said one of the articles that was written during Mr. Noe's tenure was the fact that he did not have the necessary cooperation from Hollywood's Council. V/M Katz said there are some very important aspects of a relationship between a City Manager and the Council. He said there has to be an on -going dialogue and an even distribution of information. He said problems arise when one person states that someone else is getting better information than he. He asked how Mr. Noe would dispute what was in print. Mr. Noe said he believes in the process of government. He said the process he used in Prince William County and in Hollywood concerned major issues. He said they went through goal -setting sessions and, when the new Commission took over, they went through a strategic planning process setting goals. He said the goals were then tied to the budget. He said he has never concealed a piece of information from any elected official. V/M Katz asked how Mr. Noe's agenda meetings were held in the past and Mr. Noe said they were conducted between the Staff and himself. He said any Staff member has the prerogative to generate whatever needs the governing body's action. He said his system is a Resolution which states all of the pertinent facts and generating backup information for the governing body to understand, in depth, what the issues and alternatives are and what the recommendation is. V/M Katz asked if he prepares a budget statement for the Council and public and Mr. Noe said the single most important document is the budget letter prepared by the City Manager. Mr. Noe said the Contingency Fund should be at least 5% of the General Fund Budget, which is the national standard. He said it is necessary to have some money for things that are not anticipated. He said that is not the General Fund. He said the Fund balance is somewhat sacred and it is only touched when there is an emergency. He said the Contingency is what is utilized. C/M Schumann asked why Hollywood did not implement the restructuring which could have reduced the spending by 2.5 million dollars. Mr. Noe said there were some very tough things in that restructuring plan which included taking three lifeguards off the beach, forcing the police department to reorganize and other such City Council Special Meeting 2/18/94/KJ Page 8 issues. He said it is his job to bring tough issues to the governing body, to make a recommendation and to recognize that they will not be able to support everything that he recommends. Mr. Noe said every government and every corporation that survives in the world is restructured. He said the governing body will be remembered by what it has accomplished, not by the money it saves. Mr. Noe said he had recommended taking some of the crossing guards off the street and so did the police department. He said he was attempting to force examination and scrutiny of situations that had not been scrutinized for a long time. He said he feels it would have been in the City's interest if these recommendations were granted. Mayor Bender referred to the statement Mr. Noe made about accomplishments and saving money and stated that if money is saved that can be used to accomplish some of the projects recommended. Mr. Noe said if he was hired as City Manager, he could run the City on the money that is collected. He said if Council decided to run the City on 3 mils, the residents would not remember the Council because they wanted to run the City on 3 mils, because the City cannot be run on 3 mils and provide the level of service that the residents have become accustomed to. He said in order to satisfy the residents, the services are a must. C/M Abramowitz asked if Mr. Noe is currently employed and Mr. Noe said, no. C/M Abramowitz asked what is expected by Mr. Noe if he were offered the job. Mr. Noe said he has 19 years managerial experience and this should be taken into consideration. He said he has given very little thought to what a compensation package should be. He said he has focused on what he needed to convey to Council in terms of philosophies and other such statements. He said he would expect to be compensated fairly and competitively. V/M Katz asked if Mr. Noe has any questions he would like to ask Council. Mr. Noe said he would .like to hear from all of Council as to what role they expect the City Manager to play and whether they want a strong or weak Manager. C/M Schumann said he would be hired to be an administrator. Mr. Noe said if he is hired, he would exercise the prerogative that he has in the Charter and the Code and would resist encroachment and will do so as politely as he knows how. V/M Katz asked the amount of expenditures permitted for the City Manager to disburse prior to going to Council for approval during his tenures in Prince William County and in Hollywood. Mr. Noe said in some cases it was $10,000 and in others, as much as $50,000 in settlement situations. He said this was taken to the Commission prior to being consummated. Mr. Noe said a newspaper article stated that the City Commission "discovered" that the City Attorney and City Manager had paid $50,000, which is not true. He said the City Attorney and Assistant City Attorney went to the Commission regarding this issue. He said he did not go along to brief each Commission member. He said each Commissioner was briefed on the $50,000 settlement prior to its being consummated. TAPE 3 1 City Council Special Meeting 2/18/94/KJ Page 9 V/M Katz said the City Manager should not be allowed to make a settlement in that amount. He said negotiating is one thing but approving a settlement is another. He said Tamarac's Charter permits the City Manager the latitude of spending $10,000 without bringing it before Council. He said Council should not be inundated with paperwork on everything that occurs throughout the City administratively but the Council should be informed. V/M Katz said he does not want a City Manager that is going to be intimidated but would like a City Manager who is sensitive to the elected body. He said the City Attorney and City Manager are directly responsive to the Mayor and Council. He said there has to be a shared concern for the well-being of the City. He said he would not appreciate a City Manager who would embarrass any Council member, nor should an elected official embarrass the City Manager. Mayor Bender said he would like to see a City Manager who will take care of operations and allow the elected officials to do the legislative work. He said he is looking for a strong City Manager with a good program, providing the necessary directives to handle all of the operations. Mayor Bender said there have been problems with a lack of communication, verbally and physically, to move information throughout the City. He said the City needs to give a maximum amount of service to all individuals who want to do business in the City. C/M Schreiber said he has been looking for a City Manager who is independent, that resists special pressure and special interest and serves the needs of the Council equitably. He said the manager should do the job in the best interest of the City and come to Council with all information without withholding data. He said the City needs a professional who knows how to prepare a budget, to carry out programs and do the job. Mr. Noe asked if Council expects to be involved with personnel decisions or do they expect to dictate to the City Manager what goes into the proposed budget. He said the Charter provides that the Department Heads shall be appointed by the City Manager with the concurrence of the Council. C/M Abramowitz said that needs to be changed. Mr. Noe asked if Council is going to allow the City Manager to select the people that he feels are appropriate to run the City or is Council going to question every person being brought in. C/M Schreiber said that is the authority of the City Manager, Mr. Noe asked if Council is going to support the City Manager in his decisions and Mayor Bender said this has been the practice. C/M Abramowitz said there has been a great deal of interference with the workings of the City Manager and the Department Heads, which is one of the reasons that new applicants are being interviewed. He said if Mr. Noe is not an independent person, then he does not belong in the position. He said if Council does not support the City Manager, then the City should not have a City Manager form of government. Mr. Noe asked what the role of the City Attorney is and whether the City Attorney is the chief legal advisor to the Council or whether the City Attorney is approached to second guess the City Manager. C/M Abramowitz said the City Attorney does not work under the City Manager and all agreed. City Council Special Meeting 2/18/94/KJ Page 10 V/M Katz said the Risk Manager needs to work closely with the City Attorney as well as the City Manager. He said the Personnel Director has to have some input from the City Manager as well as the City Attorney. Mr. Noe said he wants the City Attorney to be totally independent and give the Council and the City Manager the best legal advice that he or she can render. He said the City Attorney is the City Attorney for legal measures. He said he intends to develop a good relationship with the City Attorney and to use him as much as possible in the substance of the government outside the legal area. He said if the City Attorney is the sixth Commissioner, then he would like to defer to one of the other two candidates. Mayor Bender said the City Attorney's position is prescribed in the Charter. Mr. Noe said he feels that if he is the City Manager, then his job is to create the best City organization that can possibly be bought with the money that is provided through the tax rate. He said he is committed to excellence. Mr. Noe expressed his appreciation for being included in the finalists in the selection process. He said there is an outstanding suit pending in Hollywood, which involves an employee that he dismissed who sued him on a number of charges. He said every charge has been dismissed in Federal Court with the exception of one, regarding whether this employee received a name clearing hearing. Mr. Noe said this is a very narrow issue in the law. He said this employee was offered three name clearing hearings and refused all three. He said he will provide more information to Council if they require it. He recommended that the City Attorney contact Joe Serrota, who is an outside attorney on this issue, if more information is needed. V/M Katz asked for clarification on the statement regarding looking for the best employees available and asked if he would first be looking at the current City employees. Mr. Noe said he believes in promoting from within but sometimes it is necessary for fresh blood. He said his job is to analyze all aspects. C/M Abramowitz said many times when a new person comes in they bring their own staff. He recommended that the new City Manager look closely at what is currently available within the City prior to looking outside. He said this is a very important issue to him. Mayor Bender RECESSED the meeting at 3:45 p.m. and RECONVENED at 4:00 p.m. with ALL PRESENT. C/M Schreiber said Ms. Perrotta was very impressive on planning, which is her strongest point. He said Council received a call from a person who indicated that there was a group of 40 people who strongly supported her. C/M Abramowitz said having an excellent background in planning is one of the paramount things that generally, a City Manager does not have. He said there are other facets which are very important, such as the ability for someone to be able to weld Department Heads and Staff into a well cohesive working machine. He said he has had the privilege of working under these conditions as well as where the employees are not happy. City Council Special Meeting 2/18/94/KJ Page 11 C/M Abramowitz said one of the major things that any new City Manager in this City would have to do is to have the courage, intelligence and intestinal fortitude to stand their ground with the full knowledge that they do work at the pleasure of the Council. C/M Abramowitz said he has been told that Ms. Perrotta is a tough gal. He said there is a good possibility that there will be 2 or 3 new Council members. He asked if this disturbs her. Ms. Perrotta said it seems that she is being asked three inter- related questions: 1) How does her planning training relate to her managerial skills; 2) What the perception is of whatever is meant by being a tough manager; and 3) What are her instincts about what could change when the Council changes. C/M Abramowitz said tough in a very positive form, knowing the position that she would be in and the responsibilities and what the Charter says and the job demands. Ms. Perrotta said she based all of this on her training in planning, in research and in management. She said she goes about her business by being very well informed. She said she passes this information on to the people who she works for. She said she worked fairly extensively directly for Council for special projects, such as for an annexation. She said she has confidence in the information which she passes on. Ms. Perrotta said she will take responsibility for any error that may occur. She said it is her responsibility to analyze the information that she receives and provide Council with some options. She said her products are very good, if not excellent. She said people take her documents as models, which have related much to capital improvement programming involving many diverse communities and all the departments of the cities with which she has worked, with her coordinating the entire effort. Ms. Perrotta referred to a capital improvement program she was involved in. She said this meant that she had to submit all compliance reports and studies to the Federal and State governments, getting the projects off the ground, dealing with the contractors, the communities and the various departments in the City and closing these contracts and grants in conjunction with the City's budgetary process. Ms. Perrotta gave her history with the cities of Pompano Beach and Jacksonville. She said her responsibilities were to oversee long range planning, special projects and the capital improvement plans for the cities. Ms. Perrotta said she has had in-depth experience in planning. She said she has developed documents and presentation packages to be made to the communities. She said when appearing before the community, she feels responsible for everything that she says and is very careful about this. She said her credibility has been maintained. V/M Katz said the question was directed to the other areas of expertise which Ms. Perrotta may have and what makes her believe that she can be the City Manager. He said he is aware of who she is and what she has done. He asked if the other areas of expertise that are required of a City Manager qualify her to be a City Manager. Ms. Perrotta said she has been working for people who have allowed her opportunities to present her work directly to Council. She said her work was presented to her bosses and reviewed. She said she provides training for team -building and has worked with Department Heads. She said there have been many fingers which have touched the product when it is presented to Council. City Council Special Meeting 2/18/94/KJ Page 12 V/M Katz asked if her style allows for open discussion with Department Heads and Council. He asked if her experience with budget preparation was strictly for planning or was it preparation of what the City would need in total. Ms. Perrotta said she prepared the budget for North Miami Beach in total. She said she completely revised the City's budget process so that it would be more program -driven instead of being incremental. She referred to the Capital Improvement programs and other programs which she handled. V/M Katz said the City of Tamarac does not have a utility tax and there are a number of things that Pompano Beach has that Tamarac does not have. He said Tamarac has limited resources. He said the City has 25% of the residents who pay no taxes and an additional 35% who pay under $100. He said the assessed valuation of the City is depreciating, even with new construction, because of the older parts of the City. V/M Katz asked what can be done to revitalize the revenue procurement to compensate. He said the City cannot always increase the ad valorem to supplement the losses. Ms. Perrotta said there is no simple answer to this but there are funding sources to be looked at in order to preserve the quality of the community. She said as the community ages, there will be a greater need for social services and other such services. She said these types of services are expensive due to being highly trained personnel intensive programs. V/M Katz asked where the funding would come from for these services and Ms. Perrotta said the fees currently being charged would need to be reviewed to ensure that the costs are being covered. Ms. Perrotta said if the costs are not being covered, the fee schedules may need to be adjusted. She said the ability for franchise fees and taxes would need to be reviewed. She said there are various charges for which the City may not be aware. Ms. Perrotta said these charges would need to be researched and justified. She said the City needs to find the right combination for its tax base to make sure that there is enough income to cover expenses as well as being able to project the expenses for the next five years. She said it is very important to have a good capital improvement program. V/M Katz asked what Ms. Perrotta would include in her budget message to the Council as the Contingency to the General Fund. He asked what type of formula she would be looking for. Ms. Perrotta said it is generally said, "the more, the better". She said she would shoot for 20% of the overall budget but the City would be lucky to get 10%. C/M Schreiber asked what her mode of operation would be if she were selected as City Manager. He asked if she would be able to resist the pressures from Council and is an independent person. Ms. Perrotta said she has never been dismissed or asked to leave any other position she has held. She said she would serve at the Council's pleasure and if she were asked to leave, she would leave gracefully. Ms. Perrotta said her way of approaching finding out about a new City is by studying the budget, conversing with the employees, and her priority would be the welfare of the community and the budget's integrity. She said she would then begin to build relationships and look for gaps in the organization. She said she [J F_ I City Council Special Meeting 2/18/94/KJ Page 13 would meet with the advisory boards for input and would take all of this information back to Council for direction. Ms. Perrotta said all of the information she gathers would be fed back to the Department Heads and Council. She said there may be a need to reorganize or possibly revise some of the job descriptions or a reallocation of the City's resources and other such changes. C/M Schreiber said the City has an area known as Land Section 7, which is undeveloped property seeking development. He asked what Ms. Perrotta recommends to motivate and activate development of this property and to bring in the proper tax ratables to help the City. Mayor Bender said this is land that the City does not own. TAPE 4 Ms. Perrotta said she has been involved in the economic development in some of the worst areas throughout Florida. She said she was involved with the waterfront property along the St. Johns River in Jacksonville and turned it into something that would assist the tax base for the City. C/M Schreiber asked if she hired outside professionals or utilized the in-house personnel. Ms. Perrotta said much of the work was done in --house but they did have some professional assistance. She explained the economical program she utilized for the success of this project. C/M Schreiber asked what her feeling is regarding industrial development as opposed to residential development. He asked if one has an advantage over the other. Ms. Perrotta said it depends on where the development is located. She said there are not too many residential developments that appear attractive near an interstate highway and there are sites that are very attractive depending on the transportation corridor available. Ms. Perrotta said industrial and commercial development helps the City to expand its tax base and they do not demand the same type of services that the residential area would. C/M Schumann asked what Ms. Perrotta meant by her "day being structured". Ms. Perrotta said she utilizes "to do" lists, journals and other such mechanisms to keep on track. Mayor Bender asked if Ms. Perrotta would like to ask any questions of Council. Ms. Perrotta said there is the issue of the upcoming election and the hiring of a new City Manager. She asked how the Council feels about this. Mayor Bender said he does not feel that one thing has to do with the other. He said the consensus from Council at previous meetings was that the City would proceed in hiring a new City Manager as soon as possible. Ms. Perrotta asked if the City is prepared for the demographic changes that it will be undergoing in the next 5 to 10 years. C/M Abramowitz said he does not feel the City is prepared for such a change. Mayor Bender said the City currently is predominately retired people and in the future, there will be a mix. He said there is a need for a revitalization program and a need for innovative ideas City Council Special Meeting 2/18/94/KJ Page 14 to activate empty shopping centers. He said the City needs to provide the services necessary. V/M Katz said there are areas in the City which have condominiums that are going on the market at inordinately low prices, which causes the potential for blighted areas. He said the most drastic change that will occur in the City will not be the new or younger people coming into the City but the fact that the City is creating blighted areas by not being proactive rather than reactive. V/M Katz said if the City does not do something about these areas, the City will be creating ghettos where no revenues are being produced. He asked if she, as a City Manager, is prepared to come before Council and declare a section in the City as blighted. Ms. Perrotta explained Section 3, Chapter 163 of the State Statutes regarding blighted areas. She said she has used this Section many times in other areas, which is an excellent planning guide. She said this Section provides no new authority that the Council does not already have. Further discussion was held regarding this Section of the Statutes. Mayor Bender said the City needs to plan for the future. Ms. Perrotta expressed her appreciation to Council for the interview. Mayor Bender requested recommendations from Council regarding the three finalists. C/M Schumann said each of the candidates are well -qualified. He said after this final discussion with the three, the Council members may be thinking that one candidate is more heavy weighted than the others. He said all of the candidates answered the questions in a clear and concise manner. C/M Abramowitz said he has narrowed his selection down to two of the three. He said he is not able to vote at this meeting and if it comes to a vote, he will leave. He said he would like to give more thought to the candidates. V/M Katz said a decision of this caliber deserves time to evaluate. He said there is a meeting scheduled for Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. and each of the candidates should be made aware that there will be background checks done. He recommended these background checks be started in the morning. C/M Schreiber said he has interviewed these people twice and the City is fortunate that the candidates were excellent. He said he feels that one is better than the others based on presentation and experience. He said he would vote for Mr. Noe. C/M Schreiber MOVED to APPROVE the selection of Mr. Noe as the new City Manager. C/M Schreiber said he sees no need to delay the process any longer. C/M Abramowitz asked if there has been a background check and Mr. DuPre said no, but the job offer could be extended contingent upon the successful passing of a background check or the Council can delay the appointment until Tuesday. C/M Abramowitz left the meeting at 4:50 p.m. SECONDED by C/M Schumann. V/M Katz said he is not prepared to vote at this time and requested the opportunity to evaluate until Tuesday. City Council Special Meeting 2/18/94/KJ Page 15 D L7 C/M Schumann WITHDREW his Second, based on action being taken on Tuesday. Mayor Bender asked if this would hinder the preparation of a Resolution with the City Attorney. Mr. Dupre said all of these candidates are working in the public sector and their backgrounds are public record. He said they have all worked in positions where background checks have been done on them. He said he can do a DMV, a criminal background check, and a credit report in less than one day. He said he can visit the cities involved to review their personnel records. V/M Katz said this would not delay negotiations. Discussion was held regarding the timing of the negotiations and background checks. Mayor Bender recommended this be held until Tuesday, provided it can be added to the agenda for Wednesday's regular meeting. Ms. McDermott said there would not be a problem with adding it to Wednesday's agenda. V/M Katz MOVED to APPROVE making the appointment on Tuesday, February 22, 1994, at 3:00 p.m. and vote on a Resolution at Wednesday's regular meeting, SECONDED by C/M Schumann. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE With no further business, Mayor Bender ADJOURNED this meeting at 4:55 p.m. NORMAN ABRAMOWITZ MAYOR CAROL A. EVANS, CMC CITY CLERK CITY OF ` A ARAC APP VED AT MEETING OF City Clerk