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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-05-24 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC CITY COUNCIL AND CHARTER BOARD JOINT WORKSHOP MEETING THURSDAY, MAY 24, 1990 QQL IQ ORDER* Mayor Abramowitz called this meeting to order on Thursday, May 24, 1990 at 1:00 P.M. in Conference Room #1 (City Hall) . PRESENT 6 Mayor Norman Abramowitz Vice Mayor Bruce Hoffman Councilman Dr. H. Larry Bender Councilman Henry Rohr Councilman Henry Schumann ALSO PRESENT: John P. Kelly, City Manager Carol A. Evans, City Clerk Pauline Walaszek, Secretary UHARTER, SOARD Stan Bernard, Chairman Zeke Feldman, Vice Chairman Judy Kitograd Dr. Alfred Wald Muriel Davis The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the Independent Charter Review. ------------------------------------------------------------- Mayor Abramowitz said at the last joint workshop meeting between the City Council and Charter Board, the City Council informed the Charter Board of what methods they used to make their determinations. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council reviewed the Independent Charter Review and they prioritized the amendments for the Charter. He said the City Council reviewed the priority items to determine what was the most important. He said the City Council decided that it was best not to put too many items on the ballot because it could confuse the voters and the voters would lose interest. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council felt that the following items should be placed on the ballot: 1) Street lighting 2) Sidewalks Charter Amendments 3) IV, Terms of Office 4) 7.11, Requirement for Public Bidding 5) XI, City Attorney Mayor Abramowitz said when the Charter Board was informed of these items, -'they were asked to express their recommendations. Stan Bernard, Chairman of the Charter Board, said the Charter Board met prior to this meeting and there were things the Board read in the City Council workshop meeting minutes that disturbed them. Page 1 5/24/90-pw Chairman Bernard said in the City Council minutes of 1990, there were several things in the minutes that comment on; however, he wanted to inform the City Co specific things. pri4 30, mld cof V/M Hoffman said this meeting did not pertain to the inures of the City Council workshop meetings. II Chairman Bernard said he knew the minutes were not being considered at this time; however, he would like the City Council to explain what they meant by their statements. He said there were several statements made that seemed like the City Council would like to eliminate the Charter Board. Mayor Abramowitz said it was unfair for Chairman Bern rd to discuss something from a document that the City Counc-1 did not have before them. V/M Hoffman said regardless of the contents of the minutes and what an individual Councilmember stated, it was not the issue at this time. He said the City Council's recommendations did not include the elimination of the Charter Board. He said if a City Councilmember stated something that the Charter Board nembrs felt derogatory, it was not relevant at this time. He said this was also true about the City Council being angry with the har er Board for something they said. He said statements mada by either body had nothing to do with this meeting. He suggeste th Charter Board and City Council discuss the items they oul like on the September, 1990 ballot. V/M Hoffman said there was nothing stated in any meeti gs f the City Council that recommended the Charter Board be eli ina ed. Chairman Bernard said this was one of the reasons the Charter Board wanted the City Council to explain their statements. He asked the City Council to hear the concerns of the Charter Board so the concerns could be satisfied. Chairman Bernard said he discussed this matter with Ma or Abramowitz over the telephone and he changed his opini n t an extent after the discussion. Chairman Bernard said he was only one member of the Chartei Board and he agreed with what he and Mayor Abramowitz discussed. He said the Charter Board was very upset with some of the statements made by the City Council. Chairman Bernard said the minutes indicated "V/M Hoffrr Charter Board should not have a right to set a salary attorney". He said he did not understand why this mat being discussed by the City Council and V/M Hoffman wa Chairman of the Charter Board when they voted to hire attorney. Chairman Bernard said he recently received a call by a from the Miami Herald. He said he informed the report( saw no reason why the Charter Board and City Council st disagree. He said the reporter asked if the Charter Bc what was occurring with the City Council and he repliec did not know. He said the reporter asked if the staten recently made should be printed in the paper and he rex because he had no conflicts with the City Council and r expect to have a conflict with the City Council. Page 2 5/24/90-pw n s id the or n er as th hei own reporter r that he ould and <new thar. he ent e lied yes, e di not 1 �r Chairman Bernard said approximately two hours after his discussion with the reporter, he received the minutes of the City Council workshops. He said after reading the minutes he thought the reporter previously read the minutes before contacting him. Chairman Bernard said he was disturbed with the minutes and some of his concerns were alleviated when he spoke with Mayor Abramowitz. He said when the Charter Board met, there were several concerns about the comments made by the City Council and the Charter Board would like to know why the statements were made. Chairman Bernard said if he stated the things the City Council reflected in their minutes, it would appear that the Charter Board should be abolished. V/M Hoffman asked if the Charter Board reviewed the minutes of the Charter Board meeting to see how he voted when they voted to have. their own attorney and Chairman Bernard replied, no. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Charter Board disagreed with the City Council's statement regarding the Charter Board having an attorney and Chairman Bernard replied, yes, because they were forced to have an attorney. Mayor Abramowitz said he thought the Charter Board was referring to the City Attorney and Chairman Bernard said his comments regarding an attorney was for the Charter Board. He asked who would set the cost for an attorney if the Charter Board was put in a position where they needed an attorney. Chairman Bernard said the minutes indicated C/M Rohr stating that he did not object to having a Charter Board; however, he did not know if the City needed a Charter Board. He said C/M Rohr also stated that the Cities of Florida were managing without a Charter Board; therefore, the City of Tamarac should not be any different than the other Cities in Florida. Chairman Bernard said C/M Rohr also stated that if the City did not want to deal with problems by eliminating the Charter Board then restrictions should be set. Chairman Bernard asked what this meant and if the City Council had any restrictions created or suggestions to curtail the Charter Board's activities. Mayor Abramowitz asked if this statement made by C/M Rohr was enacted by the City Council and Chairman Bernard said he stated several times that the City Council did not take action on the things indicated at their workshop meetings. Mayor Abramowitz asked if Chairman Bernard was asking him to restrict the Councilmembers from stating what they felt and Chairman Bernard replied, no. Mayor Abramowitz said Chairman Bernard was referring to comments made by the City Council and everyone in the room had the right to make their feelings known; however, the only time things were enacted was when there was a specific motion that was noted on. Chairman Bernard said he did not intend to stop anyone from giving their opinion. He said when opinions were expressed and transcribed in minutes, the meanings may be misunderstood. Page 3 5/24/90-pw Mayor Abramowitz asked Chairman Bernard to state the comments he made during the City Council workshop meetings concerning the Charter Board. Chairman Bernard said there were comments made by Mayor Abramowitz; however, he did not highlight the comments as a concern. Chairman Bernard said he was not attacking anyone. V/M Hoffman said he did not understand the purpose of this discussion. Chairman Bernard said if the Councilmembers were sitting as Charter Board members and things were stated by the City Council that were not understood, the Charter Board would want to know why the City Council made the statements. V/M Hoffman asked what this had to do with the amendments previously discussed by the City Council and Charter Board. Chairman Bernard said the things he was bringing to the City Council had nothing to do with the amendments of the Charter. He said he was informing the City Council that.the Charter Board was disturbed by statements made by the Councilmembers. V/M Hoffman said the Charter Board had the right to be disturbed about the statements made by the City Council; however, these concerns should be brought to another meeting as opposed to this meeting which was to agree on the amendments of the Charter for the September, 1990 ballot. V/M Hoffman said he believed the Charter Board should not have the right to set a salary for an attorney. He said the Charter Board could not levy taxes and the Charter Board expenditures had to be approved by the City Council. He asked why the Charter Board should have the right to set a salary for something when the Charter Board could not produce the money for the expenditures. V/M Hoffman said during the workshop meetings the City Council expressed their opinions. He said the other Councilmembers did not agree with him on the matter; therefore, the matter was not considered as an amendment. He said because of this, this matter was no longer an issue. He asked if he was not able to express his opinions. Chairman Bernard said everyone had a right to give their own opinion and this was what he was doing presently and Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council was listening to the Charter Board's opinions. Chairman Bernard said it seemed that the City Council was trying to stop the Charter Board from expressing their concerns. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not understand the reasoning for these matters being discussed at this,, meeting; however, Chairman Bernard should continue. Chairman Bernard said C/M Rohr also indicated that the Charter Board should be an advisory board for the City Council. Chairman Bernard said if the Charter Board was an advisory board the City Council could select who they wanted to serve on the Board. Page 4 5/24/90-pw Mayor Abramowitz said Chairman Bernard was picking out comments made by a Councilmember who had the right to give his opinion. He said there were articles in the newspapers made by a Charter Board member; however, the City Council was not informing the Charter Board that they did not like the comments made. Chairman Bernard said he did not know what articles Mayor Abramowitz was referring to because the Charter Board did not have copies of the articles and Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council did not have copies of the minutes with them that Chairman Bernard was referring to. V/M Hoffman said it seemed like the Charter Board decided to come to this meeting to fight with the City Council. Mayor Abramowitz said he and Chairman Bernard discussed these concerns and he informed Chairman Bernard that there was no attempt to eliminate the Charter Board. He said the City Council did not agree with the recommendations in the Independent Charter Review and they did not include it in the priority system. Mayor Abramowitz said it seemed that the Charter Board came to this meeting to fight with the City Council. Dr. Alfred Wald, Charter Board member, said the Charter Board did not come to this meeting to fight with the City Council. He said the concern was not for what the City Council did but for what the City Council's attitude was when they made their statements as indicated in the minutes of the City Council workshop meetings. Dr. Wald said it was easy for the City Council to select the amendments of the Charter that they were interested in. He said the Charter Board was not interested in the street lighting and sidewalk projects. Mayor Abramowitz said the members of the Charter Board should be interested in these things because they were residents of the city. Dr. Wald said he was referring to the Charter amendments. He asked how the Charter Board could be interested in making amendments to the Charter when the City Council minutes stated, "The City Council should be accountable to the voters and not in a watchdog agency such as the Charter Board". Dr. Wald said the Charter Board was now asking the Councilmembers why they made these statements and Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Charter Board felt the Charter Board should continue in the future. Chairman Bernard said if the City Council had suggestions for amendments to the Charter, they should inform the Charter Board. Mayor Abramowitz said this meeting was called so the Charter Board could inform the City Council of any amendments they would like in the Charter. Muriel Davis, Charter Board member, suggested that the concerns of the the City Council and Charter Board be discussed at another meeting. She said this meeting was called for the City Council and Charter Board members to come to an agreement regarding the Charter amendments for the September, 1990 ballot. Page 5 5/24/90-pw Mayor Abramowitz said this meeting was called for a specific purpose and the things being discussed did not pertain to the purpose of the meeting. He said Chairman Bernard was referring to the workshop minutes of the City Council; however, when he asked for the minutes of the Charter Board, they were not available. Chairman Bernard said the minutes of all the Charter Board meetings were available. He said there were minutes dated April 12, 1990, April 27, 1990 and May 4, 1990. Mayor Abramowitz said the minutes of these meetings were not available yesterday. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that the purpose of this meeting continue and, if needed, another joint workshop meeting could be called to discuss the Charter Board concerns. Chairman Bernard said he felt that there should be another joint workshop meeting called between the Charter Board and City Council regarding some of the statements made by the City Council, C/M Rohr said he made a comment concerning the Charter Board and, after listening to what was presently occurring at this meeting, he was more committed to the idea that an elected Charter Board and City Council could not and would not ever agree with each other. C/M Rohr said the Charter Board may not like his statements; however, he believed that in the future the residents would decide that the Charter Board should be an advisory board as it was in other Cities. He said the Cities could not have two elected bodies attempting to run a City. Vice Chairman Feldman asked if there was an emergency to get the amendments on the September, 1990 ballot. Mayor Abramowitz said there would be a difference in costs by putting the priority 1 items on the September, 1990 ballot as opposed to holding a special election. Vice Chairman Feldman said he would like the record to reflect the answer to be "no" and Mayor Abramowitz said his answer to the questions was "yes". Vice Chairman Feldman asked Mayor Abramowitz to state why 'there was an emergency and Mayor Abramowitz suggested that Mr. Feldman ask his next question. Mayor Abramowitz asked Chairman Bernard to ask his members to remain under control and Chairman Bernard said Mayor Abramowitz was chairing this meeting. Mayor Abramowitz said he was trying to be as impartial and as honest as possible and Chairman Bernard said he was not chairing this meeting; therefore, he could not call for order. Mayor Abramowitz asked the Charter Board to inform the City Council of any Charter amendments they would like on the September, 1990 ballot. Vice Chairman Feldman said he would like the record to reflect that he felt this was a white -wash because the City Council was not giving him the opportunity to ask questions. Page 6 5/24/90-pw Mayor Abramowitz said this meeting was for the expressed purpose of allowing the Charter Board to inform the City Council of what Charter amendments they would like placed on the September, 1990. Chairman Bernard asked that Vice Chairman Feldman be able to ask his questions and receive answers from the City Council. Mayor Abramowitz said he felt that Mr. Feldman was making a speech as opposed to asking a question. Mayor Abramowitz said the more he listened to the discussions at this time, the more he agreed with C/M Rohr's statement. Mayor Abramowitz said he spoke with Chairman Bernard by telephone and he stated that the statement in the minutes was that he never intended and would not intend to endorse the abolishment of the Charter Board. Muriel Davis said if the meeting was not going to be about the Charter amendments, she could not remain at this meeting. Chairman Bernard said Mayor Abramowitz was chairing the meeting; therefore, he should inform the participants of how the meeting would be held. Mayor Abramowitz said as the Chairman of this meeting, he wanted the Charter Board to inform the City Council of what Charter amendments they wanted on the September, 1990 ballot. Chairman Bernard said the Charter Board did not disagree with an amendment of Section 7.11, to raise the bidding amount from $5,000.00 to $10,000.00. Chairman Bernard asked what the City Council meant by amending this Section of the Charter. V/M Hoffman said the Charter presently demanded that the City have an in-house City Attorney that could not work for any other clients. He said the City Council felt that this was not a feasible or economical matter for today's times. He said he felt that it would serve the City better to have a part-time City Attorney or a full-time City Attorney that had outside clients. He said the Charter presently stated that the City must have a full-time City Attorney and the City Council would like the language changed to permit the City Council to make a decision regarding the need for an attorney. V/M Hoffman said if the City allowed an Attorney to work with the City as well as with non -conflicting clients, they could get an attorney of a much higher caliber as opposed to paying for a full- time employee. He said the type bf attorney the City would receive for the wage of that position would not be the highest caliber. V/M Hoffman said the City used an outside attorney firm for many different items; however, this was no longer occurring because the existing Interim City Attorney could handle things that an in- house may not be able to handle. He said the City could save money by using a contractual attorney and better legal service would be available. Page 7 5/29/90-pw Mayor Abramowitz said he always wanted to have an in-house attorney to answer any questions or concerns that may arise; however, the existing Interim City Attorney, Alan Ruf, has been assisting the City on a part-time basis and there was always an answer when needed. Mayor Abramowitz said he changed his mind because the City was adequately protected and there would be a savings of a $100,000.00. He said Interim City Attorney Ruf has done rall mofely the outside legal cases for the City and he could continue this type of service. Mayor Abramowitz said based would be receiving and the his mind. He said the City Charter be amended to "The on the quality of service the City cost savings has helped him to change Council was suggesting that. the City "may" have an outside attorney". Mayor Abramowitz said he would fight if a person was hired who did not have municipal experience. He said the City would not be able to get attorneys with several years of experience at the present wage the City could afford to pay. He said there were Cities bigger than Tamarac that did not have in-house attorneys. Chairman Bernard said he did not disagree with the reason for the amendment; however, he wanted the Charter Board to know exactly why the amendment was being recommended. Dr. Wald asked if there would be consideration for the City Attorney to assist the Charter Board when needed and Mayor Abramowitz replied, yes. Mayor Abramowitz said Chairman Bernard asked if the Charter Board could get a legal opinion from the Interim City Attorney. He said Interim City Attorney Ruf said he would assist the Charter Board with legal opinions and inform them if the matters were a conflict Of interest because he worked for the City Council. Dr. Wald asked if this would be included in the Charter and Judy Kitograd, Charter Board member, said this matter was indicated in the title of Section 8.03. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council did not want the wording for the Charter Board to have their own attorney removed; however, the City Council wanted to make the decisions of a need for an in- house attorney. He said he would not approve of the language in the Charter to be changed to "the City Attorney would also be the Attorney for the Charter Board". Chairman Bernard said the Charter Board was concerned with having to pay an attorney for advice when the City Attorney could give the advice. Muriel Davis said if the City Council felt that the City Attorney could assist the Charter Board in legal opinions, this matter should not be discussed further. C/M Bender said the Charter, Section 8.03(b), indicated that the Charter Board shall be entitled to the use of the services of the City Attorney. Page 8 5/24/90-pw 1 Mayor Abramowitz said when the previous City Attorney resigned, he became very nervous because he wanted the City to be covered. He said Interim City Attorney Ruf has stated that he would work with the Charter Board. He said he was very pleased with the existing operations of the Interim City Attorney. Mayor Abramowitz asked if everyone agreed that this amendment should be placed on the September, 1990 ballot. Everyone AGREED with this Charter amendment. Chairman Bernard said the City Council suggested that there be three year unlimited terms. Mayor Abramowitz said he thought about this matter for several months and he felt that two year unlimited terms would be appropriate as well if approved by the voters. Mayor Abramowitz said he changed his mind because two year terms were disastrous to the staff of the City. He said every year there was an election and staff suffered as much as the candidates. Mayor Abramowitz said a three year term seemed to be more feasible and he felt that no one had the right to make a decision about who remained in office other than the voters. He said this government was legislative and the voters should determine who should legislate the City. Mayor Abramowitz said the City of Plantation, had the same Mayor for 18 years and, recently, Ben Geiger, Mayor of Coral Springs, resigned after several years as Mayor of that City. Mayor Abramowitz said there were several people of power in the City that were not serving at this time because the voters did not elect them. He said no one except for the voters had the right to determine who should be in office. Chairman Bernard asked if Mayor Abramowitz was recommending unlimited terms and Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council felt that the voters would make the determination of who should reside in a legislative position. V/M Hoffman said workshop meetings were held to discuss concerns and see if opinions would change because of the circumstances. He said he first felt that there should be three year capped terms; however, after discussing the matter, he changed his mind. He said workshop meetings were held so opinions and considerations could take place so everyone could make a positive decision. Chairman Bernard said he also had a different opinion until the matter was discussed further. RAPE-2 Chairman Bernard said the Charter Board did not favor three year unlimited terms. He said they recognized that a two year term was very short for the officers to become familiar with the job. He said the Charter Board was in favor of two 3 year terms. Judy Kitograd and Muriel Davis said they did not agree to this. Chairman Bernard said the Charter Board did not vote on this matter; however, he was in favor of two 3 year terms. Page 9 5/24/90-pw Mayor Abramowitz said he and Jack Stelzer, former Counc disagreed on 99% of the things they discussed; however, Stelzer was hard working, knowledgeable, industrious ar about the City. He said if Mr. Stelzer was not ill, he have been able to run again for office because of the X Charter regulations. He said he did not feel it was pi person as experienced as Mr. Stelzer was not able to ri office. Chairman Bernard said he did not feel that two year to appropriate and he favored two 3 year terms. ilm mber, Mr. d he cared wo ld not resent opei that a n again for ms ioere Judy Kitograd said after much research and thought she was comfortable with her decision. She said the concept of three year terms was a compromise and she did not feel that unlimited terms would be approved by the voters. She said she felt that the hands of the elected would be tied again to serve two 2 year terns. She said she felt she could get the voters to understand t e n ed for three 3 year terms. Muriel Davis said when she went out of town she felt that there should be two 3 year terms; however, after reviewing the matter further, she was comfortable with three 3 year terms. She said 9 years was a good length of time to serve the'City and the voters would be comfortable with this as well. C/M Schumann said the terms could be limited for any anount of years; however, the voters would make the final decision a out who should run for office. He said unlimited terms would rot take anything away from the voters. He said it was being made mandatory that a person could not run for more than 9 Nears. Muriel Davis said in the past there were several peopl in office who did not know enough to step down from their positi ns d it took a lot to get the people out of office. Judy Kitograd said the political arena worked on name eco ition and not always on the person's ability. She said this was by she wanted to give other people the chance to run for offi e. Mayor Abramowitz asked the Charter Board to state thei opi ions regarding what amendments should be placed on the Sept mber, 1990 ballot. C/M Rohr said he understood the concerns of serving in more than 9 years; however, the City Council and Chart to look at what was best for the City. He said younge gainfully employed were not able to run for the City C said the job of the City Council required daily attend younger person who had to work was not able to take ti work to attend meetings, etc. C/M Rohr said most Cities that had younger people sery their Council met twice a month at night and did not h in the City. He said he did not want anyone precluded running for office because the voters would make the f decision. He said experience was very important and a needed time to learn the position. Muriel Davis said she did not feel that the voters woul understand an amendment of unlimited terms. offi e for r Bo rd had peo le unci . He nce nd a e off from ng and ve o fices al ew 3fficer Mayor Abramowitz said he agreed with Muriel Davis because i realistic. Page 10 5/24/90-pw MW V/M Hoffman said 9 years was practically a life time for someone running and serving in office. He said he agreed that politically the people would accept a limitation of three terms rather than unlimited terms. He said there was discussion taking place that was not important because the City may not pay enough money to attract young working people because the younger people could not take time off from work, V/M Hoffman said the Charter Board recently had a young man serving on the Charter Board and the man could not come to meetings because he would be losing money. He said he did not feel that the younger people would be running for office for a long time. Chairman Bernard suggested that the City Council and Charter Board come to an agreement regarding this amendment. Vice Chairman Feldman said the City Council was suggesting that there be unlimited terms. He said the past has proven that dynasties had to fall. He said the Charter Board members did not believe in unlimited terms and he felt that when a person was in office too long the work and power of that person became the rules. Vice Chairman Feldman said he felt that unlimited terms should not be enacted and he said the Charter Board felt this way. Judy Kitograd said Vice Chairman Feldman should not speak for the Charter Board since a vote by the Charter Board regarding the terms office was not taken. Mayor Abramowitz said there were several different opinions of the Charter Board members and he asked if a decision could be made. Chairman Bernard said the Charter Board has not taken a vote on the amendments; however, the Board gave a consensus. Chairman Bernard said Mayor Abramowitz indicted that he would like to have another joint workshop meeting. Muriel Davis suggested this matter be resolved at this time and Judy Kitograd said the minutes of the Charter Board indicated their discussions and conclusions. Mayor Abramowitz said two Charter Board members were indicating that they would like to resolve this matter. He suggested each Councilmember and Charter Board member give their consensus on the terms of office. Dr. Wald said there has not been discussion regarding the terms of office for the Charter Board and Mayor Abramowitz said the amendment pertained to the elected officials. Mayor Abramowitz said the terms of office did not pertain to the City Council only. He said the terms of office for the Charter Board would be amended like the terms of office for the City Council. Chairman Bernard said he would like to have three 3 year terms. Dr. Wald said he would like have three 2 year terms. Vice Chairman Feldman said he would like to abstain from giving his consensus at this time. Page 11 5/24/90-pw Muriel Davis said she would like to have three 3 year tormsl Judy Kitograd said she would like to have three 3 year term. Mayor Abramowitz said there were three members of the Board who would like the terms of office to be three 3 and Chairman Bernard agreed. Mayor Abramowitz asked if City Council would give their on this matter. C/M Schumann said he would like to have unlimited three terms. C/M Rohr said he would like to have three 3 year terms. rr- r ar terms con ensus yea C/M Bender said he would like to have three unlimited terms V/M Hoffman said he would like to have three 3 year terns. Mayor Abramowitz said he was impressed with the comment sta ing that the voters may agree with unlimited terms; therefo e, e would like to have three 3 year terms. Mayor Abramowitz said there were three amendments to thEl Ch rter that the Charter Board and City Council agreed should b pl ced on the September, 1990 ballot. He asked if the Charter Board ad anything else that they would like to see placed on the Sep ember, 1990 ballot. Chairman Bernard said he felt that the amendments recen ly discussed should be placed on the September 4, 1990 bal ot; however, the Charter Board minutes indicated that they xte sively reviewed the existing Charter. He said there were seve al recommendations for amendments. He said he did not wan an one to think that the Charter Board was not properly reviewing the Charter. Chairman Bernard said the amount of items for the next all t should be considered and he did not feel that these ame dme is would cause a conflict between the Charter Board and Ci y C uncil. Mayor Abramowitz said there were several things that sh uld be discussed and amended in the Charter as well as discuss on n things that were not in the Independent Charter Review. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like two public hearings called and by July 20, 1990, the language for the ballot had to be submitted to the Supervisor of Elections in Broward County. He said he City would save a lot of money by placing items on the ballot that the County would be hosting. Mayor Abramowitz said it was possible that more meetings wo ld be held to discuss other items in the Charter; however, he did not want too many things on the ballot. He said the other chances in the Charter would not stop the City from operating prop rly, therefore, they did not have to be addressed at this time. Muriel Davis said she felt that the bidding cap should I and she asked if legally the City was able to combine ti and Utility budgets. Page 12 5/24/90-pw e e nged eral Mayor Abramowitz said this matter was addressed several times and the Interim City Attorney informed the City Council that the City had every right to combine the two budgets; therefore, he did not feel this matter should be placed on the September, 1990 ballot. Mayor Abramowitz said during the previous election, the City of Davie placed approximately 30 things on the ballot and this befuddled the public. He said this was why the City Council prioritized their items. Muriel Davis said if it was legal to combine the two budgets, there would be a big difference in the existing 2-1/2% allowance. Judy Kitograd said if the combination of the two budgets was legal, there was a lot of housekeeping language in the Charter that had to be addressed. Dr. Wald said Carla Coleman, Charter Consultant, indicated that a legal opinion regarding the combination of the two budgets should be investigated. He said he felt that the statement of the need for a legal opinion did not mean an in-house legal opinion. Mayor Abramowitz said he had confidence in the opinions of the City Council and Charter Board attorneys. He said Ms. Coleman felt that the matter should be implemented by a legal opinion. He said Ms. Coleman had a few opinions that he did not agree with. V/M Hoffman said this matter could be considered at a later date. He suggested that a joint public hearing of the Charter Board and City Council should be held on the amendments. He said the first public hearing would be good because the City Council and Charter Board would receive more information from the residents. Carol Evans, City Clerk, said the consensus of the City Council and Charter Board pertained to only Section 4.02. Mayor Abramowitz said the terms of office should pertain to both bodies and Ms. Evans said Section 8.01 should also be included as an amendment on the ballot. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like the terms of office to apply to the Charter Board and City Council. Muriel Davis said her concern regarding the bid increases was how the City Manager would determine the percentage if it was not evident. Mayor Abramowitz said the City had a legal opinion that was approved by several attorneys and Muriel Davis said the City Council would be basing the combination of the two budgets as one because of a legal interpretation. Mayor Abramowitz agreed. V/M Hoffman said the only time the 2-1/2% was considered was when the City needed to spend money without going to referendum. He said he did not see this occurring in the near future. Mayor Abramowitz said the projects for street lighting and sidewalks were going to referendum because of the funds needed for these things. C/M Rohr suggested Chairman Bernard come to the City Council Office to get information regarding what the priorities were and Muriel Davis said this information was available in the minutes. Page 13 5/24/90-pw C/M Rohr said if there were things that the City Coun it Charter Board wanted to put on the November, 1990 bal ot, should consider and discuss them in the near future. nd they Mayor Abramowitz said there would be meetings scheduled f r the priority 2 and 3 items to be amended in the Charter in thE future. He said amendments to the Charter were needed and the Cit Council and Charter Board should not disagree. Judy Kitograd said she did not see the urgency to havE mo e amendments to the Charter submitted for the November, 199 election. She said the election would be held for thE Go ernor and Congressional positions. She said she felt the p ior'ty 2 list would require a lot of discussion; therefore, it sho ld not be rushed. C/M Rohr said he disagreed with not having more items pla ed on the November, 1990, because it would assist in reduci g t e numbers of amendments for the Charter. Mayor Abramowitz said when he entered this meeting he was in favor of unlimited terms; however, he changed his mind beca se there was validity in having three 3 year terms. C/M Rohr suggested that the Charter Board members att nd he City Council workshop meetings on their discussions regard'ng heir amendments. With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED thil meeting at 2:30 P.M. A, � -�- CAROT, A. EVANS CITY CLERK "This public document was promulgated at a cost of $8 .94 $6.00 per copy to inform the general public, public o fic( and employees of recent opinions and considerations of the City Council of the City of Tamarac." Page 14 5/24/90-pw r s 1 1