Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-02-22 - City Commission Special Meeting MinutesCity Council Special Meeting 2/22/94/KJ Page 1 CITY OF TAMARAC_ CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1994 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Bender called this meeting to order on Tuesday, February 22, 1994 at 3:00 p.m. in Conference Room #1 of City Hall. PRESENT• Mayor H. Larry Bender Vice Mayor Irving Katz Councilman Norman Abramowitz Councilman Joseph Schreiber Councilman Henry C. Schumann "11416IR2 Dina M. McDermott, Interim City Manager Mitchell S. Kraft, City Attorney Larry DuPre, Personnel Director Carol A. Evans, CMC, City Clerk Karen Jackson, Secretary 1. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - Any member of the public may speak to any issue which is on this meeting notice. Speakers will be limited to three minutes during this item. There will be a thirty (30) minute aggregate time limit for this item, and any speakers are encouraged to sign up in advance with the City Clerk prior to their participation. Si Bauer, resident, expressed his appreciation for the Council's expeditious selection of a new City Manager. 2. MOTION TO APPROVE selecting a new City Manager. APPROVED selecting Robert S. Noe, Jr., as new City Manager subject to a successful background check and physical. Personnel Director and City Attorney were directed to negotiate a contract for future Council action. C/M Schreiber MOVED to APPROVE the appointment of Robert S. Noe, Jr., as the new City Manager, SECONDED by C/M Schumann. C/M Abramowitz said he was told by Mr. DuPre that most of the background checks have been made with the exception of a criminal background check. He said he would cast his vote with the proviso in the Motion based on the completion of the background check and whatever other checks need to be made. Mr. DuPre said he knew that Hollywood had done an extensive background check on Mr. Noe and, since that time, he has been the subject of public scrutiny. He said he has a current DMV report and will have a credit report within the hour. He said he has verification of Mr. Noe's degrees and work experience. He said the only thing remaining would be a criminal check from August 27, 1991 to the present, which will take approximately three days to receive. Council reviewed the background checks currently available. Mr. DuPre explained the handouts. Mr. DuPre said he spoke with the Personnel Director of Hollywood who indicated that Mr. Noe's records were okay. He said he received clearances on the other two candidates; however, he did City Council Special. Meeting 2/22/94/KJ Page 2 not do a credit report on them due to not wanting to create a public document that does not need to be generated. C/M Schumann asked if a National Crime Information Center Report was being done and by whom and Mr. Dupre said Continental Security is handling this. Mr. Dupre said it is not uncommon to make a job offer pending satisfactory completion of the reports. C/M Abramowitz asked if there is a probationary report attached to this appointment. Mr. Dupre said it can be done both ways. He said an "at will" employee always has probation. He said he serves at the will of the City Manager who can dismiss him without cause. Mr. Kraft said in reviewing Mr. Kelly's Resolution, he was placed on a probationary period. C/M Abramowitz asked how the probationary period works and Mr. Kraft said the probationary period would be up to the Council, based on negotiations and terms. C/M Abramowitz said appointing a City Manager is one of the most important actions to take. He asked if a probationary period would be a part of a contract with Mr. Noe. Mr. Kraft said the probationary period is subject to negotiations. C/M Abramowitz asked if this is a normal practice and whether a penalty clause can be placed into the contract. Mr. Dupre said any candidate that Council would select will request some sort of protection and job security and a severance period, which will also occur in the probationary period. Mayor Bender said Council can consider utilizing a Resolution as previously done, which can include these clauses. C/M Schreiber said the City Manager needs to feel that he is able to do his job and have time to prove himself. He recommended that the City Manager be given a year to prove himself, make it difficult to remove him and provide security for the job. C/M Schumann said the candidates did not mention a contract. V/M Katz asked with whom, where and when this is to be negotiated. Mayor Bender said the negotiation process and the drafting of the Resolution need to be discussed. He said these would then come back to Council for final approval. C/M Abramowitz asked if the conditions for the negotiations will be discussed by Council and Mayor Bender said, yes. C/M Abramowitz said there are certain things that Council is in favor of and others that Council may be against. V/M Katz asked what the Resolution being presented on Wednesday is going to consist of. Mr. Kraft said the resolution would consist of the terms of employment, the salary, severance package and other such items. V/M Katz asked if the Resolution will be approved with the appointment of whichever candidate stating he is the choice of Council subject to an employment negotiation finally being approved by the Council. City Council Special Meeting 2/22/94/KJ Page 3 Mr. Dupre said he has approached all three candidates and asked them their basic requirements for the position. He said he has a general idea what each of the three candidates consider as essential for the job offer. He said he did not discuss the details with them. V/M Katz said he wants to know what will be happening during the negotiation and selection process. Mayor Bender said the Council needs to make the appointment and then proceed with the conditions and details of the employment. V/M Katz said he would like to know what the ground rules are. Mayor Bender said the first thing would be to appoint the person, second is to give direction to Personnel to negotiate and then draft a Resolution including the negotiated items. C/M Schumann said if the person appointed does not agree to the negotiations then someone else could be appointed. V/M Katz said he wants to be present at the meeting and he has already circulated a memo stating that he will be leaving the Regular Council meeting at 9:30 a.m. He said he would like to know if this will be discussed after he leaves the meeting tomorrow. Mayor Bender said it is not possible for the Resolution to be drafted prior to tomorrow's meeting. Discussion was held regarding this. Mr. Kraft said he will be working on the Resolution to be presented to Council. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE Mayor Bender recommended that Council give direction to the City Attorney and the Personnel Director to proceed with negotiations incorporating the comments and concerns of Council. C/M Abramowitz asked what Mr. DuPre's conversation with Mr. Noe consisted of. Mr. Dupre said no one has entered into negotiations with any of the candidates. He said the expectations varied between the different candidates, such as moving expenses for Mr. Beach. He said Mr. Noe had indicated that he would like four weeks vacation leave. He said Mr. Noe feels that he will be putting in many hours working as City Manager and does not expect to receive compensation time. Mr. Dupre said he informed Mr. Noe of Council's concern about an accumulation of leave being an unfunded liability. He said he suggested that if he gets four weeks vacation leave he will only be able to carry-over two weeks to the following year and never have more than a maximum accumulation of leave. C/M Abramowitz asked what the maximum accumulation is and Mr. Dupre said the maximum for any one year would be four weeks with a carry-over of two weeks, which means the maximum that he could ever be paid for would be six weeks at one time. Mr. Dupre said Mr. Noe expressed concern that there may be times when he will have to go to a luncheon or other function where he will have to pick up the tab. He said Mr. Noe would like to be reimbursed for those expenses that he incurs that are in the course of his employment with the City. He said he had suggested to Mr. Noe that the City should put a cap on that, which would be at the Council's discretion. City Council Special Meeting 2/22/94/KJ Page 4 REVISED: 3/23/94/PP Paragraph 7, Line 1 Mr. Dupre said Mr. Noe would also like the City to pay for memberships to professional associations, such as ICMA and the Florida City and County Manager's Association. He recommended that Council put a cap on this. Mr. DuPre said Mr. Kelly always had the same insurance as other employees and this should not be a problem with Mr. Noe. He said customarily, cities pay for the health insurance of the City Manager and their family. He said severance is an issue that Council will need to discuss and work out. Mr. DuPre said ICMA recommends 18 months severance pay; however, he feels this is excessive. He said either six or twelve months is common severance pay in City Manager contracts. C/M Abramowitz recommended a survey be done in Broward County on what the normal severance is. Mr. DuPre said either six or twelve months is the normal. He explained that severance pay is effective if a person is fired without cause, which protects City Managers against the whims of the elected officials. He said if the City Manager is fired for cause or he resigns, no severance is paid. He said just cause is normally defined as conviction of a felony or a misdemeanor directly related to the job. C/M Abramowitz said Mr. Noe had made a comment during his interview that he is currently in litigation. He asked if just cause is a matter of interpretation by the Judges and Mr. Kraft said if it is for a felony or misdemeanor directly related to the job. C/M Schumann asked about an activity involving moral turpitude Lnt-e-rp-r-e-t-a-t-ion and Mr. Kraft said that is definitely something that would have to be interpreted by the courts. Further discussion was held regarding this. Mr. DuPre suggested that Council may want to consider a 4 to 1 vote on situations such as malfeasance, instead of a 3 to 2 vote. Mr. Kraft said the Charter dictates how the Council can replace a City Manager with a majority vote. Mr. DuPre said Mr. Kelly's salary was $80,000 plus benefits upon his departure. He said Mr. Noe feels that his experience is greater and more diverse and is requesting $85,000. He said Mr. Noe had stated that this can be negotiated. C/M Abramowitz said Mr. Kelly did not start at $80,000, it took him seven years to reach that salary. He said there should be incentive for someone who is working for someone else. He said he does not expect Mr. Noe to come to Tamarac with a $65,000 offer. He recommended a six month probation and then additional money would be provided. Mayor Bender said Mr. Kelly was making $99,000, which included the benefits. He recommended that the offer begin at $70,000 to $75,000 plus benefits. C/M Abramowitz asked what Mr. Noe's salary was in Hollywood with his benefit option plan and Mr. DuPre said he could find out. V/M Katz referred to Mr. Kelly's Resolution and said there should be protection for the City as well as the individual. He recommended the Council consider a 10% to 15% increase following probation. Mayor Bender RECESSED and RECONVENED the meeting at 3:45 p.m. with ALL PRESENT. City Council 2/22/94/KJ Page 5 Special Meeting TAPE 2 Mayor Bender said Mr. Kelly's exact salary was $80,341 plus benefits totaling to $99,799. He said Kelly Carpenter's salary was $57,066 plus benefits totaling to $70,936. He recommended that other cities be contacted regarding their salary offers. C/M Abramowitz said he has found that taking a man off a job is a very difficult thing to do since there is an extreme moral obligation. He said Mr. Noe is not currently employed, which does not diminish his ability or experience. He said the other two candidates were gainfully employed. Mr. Dupre said the person Council selected is one of the outstanding candidates in the country, not in South Florida. He said if this person's work experience can help the City work more efficiently and combine operations that could mean the difference between the minimum Council would want to pay and what Council wants to pay now. He said any of these three candidates would have been excellent but the person Council picked is the most experienced. Mr. DuPre said Mr. Noe requested that he have an annual review for his performance as well as for discussing Council's goals and expectations and what he needs to do to meet those goals and objectives. Mr. DuPre said the Personnel Director of Hollywood had stated that Tamarac is getting a very independent City Manager. He said Mr. Noe is very conscious of the rights and prerogatives of the City Manager's office. Mr. DuPre said Mr. Noe has requested $7,500 in Deferred Compensation, which is the same as what Mr. Kelly was receiving. He said Mr. Noe will not be participating in the City's retirement plan so there will not be any contribution to that. Mr. DuPre said he recently completed a salary survey and the Department Heads and Senior Staff of Tamarac are not well compensated. He said Tamarac is not competitive with other cities. Mr. DuPre said Council can consider a lower salary until after the probationary period. C/M Abramowitz said he feels Council has chosen the right person. V/M Katz suggested a review after six months with a bonus of 15% to stay or 15% to leave. C/M Schreiber said Mr. Noe has 15 years of managerial experience and the City needs to pay for what it gets. He said Mr. Noe needs to have some protection with at least six months security based on a no -cause dismissal. He suggested this be started immediately. Mayor Bender asked if Mr. Kraft and Mr. DuPre have enough information to begin drafting a Resolution. Mr. Kraft asked about the car allowance. Mayor Bender suggested that the City offer Mr. Noe $75,000 plus benefits with an increase after a six month probation. C/M Schumann recommended negotiating $75,000 plus benefits, including hospitalization, car allowance and $7,500 in Deferred Compensation. Mr. DuPre said Mr. Noe would prefer a car allowance versus a car to utilize. He recommended $450 per month, which would provide for all maintenance, gas, auto insurance and other such items. REVISED: 3/23/94/PP Paragraph 3, #7 City Council Special Meeting 2/22/94/KJ Page 6 V/M Katz said this would be cheaper than providing a City car. Mr. DuPre said he will contact Mr. Noe immediately following this meeting to begin negotiations. He clarified Council's requests as follows: 1) Reimbursement of expenses incurred on -duty 2) 4 weeks vacation 3) Membership to professional associations (limited to two) 4) Insurance the same as any other employee 5) Annual review 6) Deferred compensation ($7, 500) 7) Car allowance of $450 per month inclusive 8) Cellular phone for business only 9) Probation and review 10) 6 month severance pay 11) Salary C/M Abramowitz said six months is not acceptable. He recommended less severance pay be suggested to Mr. Noe. V/M Katz said he is more concerned with having a review and a probationary period and then provide severance at that time. C/M Abramowitz said he would have no problem providing severance pay after the six-month probationary period. Mr. DuPre said he does not feel that Council could get any of these three candidates to accept the job without severance pay. Discussion was held regarding the six-month probationary period and severance. Mr. Kraft asked if Council is contemplating no severance during the six-month probationary period. V/M Katz said he had offered 15%. C/M Abramowitz recommended that a severance pay stipulation be included following the probationary period. Ms. McDermott suggested that Council review the City Manager Recruitment Book for guidelines on this issue. Mayor Bender said this item will not be on the February 23rd agenda. With no further business, Mayor Bender ADJOURNED this meeting at 4:20 p.m. NORMAN ABRAMOWITZ MAYOR CAROL A. EVANS, CMC CITY CLERK CITY OF TAMARAC APPROVED AT MEETING 0 _J � , City Clerk H I� IJ