HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-11-01 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesCity Council Workshop Meeting
11/01/93
Page 1
CITY OF TAMARAC
CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1993
CALL TO,.,QEQE$,; Mayor Bender called this meeting to order on
Monday, November 1, 1993 at 1:30 p.m. in the Conference Room #1 of
City Hall.
PRESENT:
Mayor H. Larry Bender
Vice Mayor Irving Katz
Councilman Norman Abramowitz
Councilman Joseph Schreiber
Councilman Henry Schumann
Dina McDermott, Interim City Manager
Mitchell S. Kraft, City Attorney
Larry DuPre, Personnel Director
Karen Jackson, Secretary
Council reviewed documentation regarding Item 1, which Ms. McDermott
distributed to Council. Discussion was held regarding having the
Personnel Director attend this meeting and the consensus was to
invite him to the meeting for his input.
1. DISCUSSION regarding tenure, timeframe and salary
compensation of Interim City Manager's position.
Ms. McDermott said this is a followup to the October 24, 1993
Special City Council meeting where the Council discussed the
Interim City Manager position and read her memo regarding this.
Ms. McDermott recommended that the Council let the City
Administration research other generally accepted practices of
other municipalities in regard to City Manager selection process.
Mayor Bender referred to the City Manager's position description.
He recommended that the requirements and the minimum
qualifications be reviewed and amended. He suggested that the City
look for someone who has had previous City Manager experience.
V/M Katz recommended checking with other cities and incorporate
these findings into the job description.
Mayor Bender said the City needs a Manager with experience.
Discussion was held regarding the experience Council is looking
for in a City Manager.
C/M Schreiber said the City's previous Manager did not have this
experience prior to receiving the position. He said the City needs
to hire someone with 3 to 5 years experience as a City Manager
with all of the educational background required. He recommended
that the City advertise outside the area.
C/M Schreiber said he would like to see this handled prior to the
election in March. He said the City needs to have a City Manager
who will not be controlled or influenced by any elected official.
C/M Schreiber said the Interim City Manager should serve until a
new Manager is hired. He recommended that the City advertise as
soon as possible for this position. Discussion was held regarding
this.
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11/01/93
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Mayor Bender said he would like to give direction on each of these
items separately.
C/M Schumann said in order to maintain and retain stability for
the City, the Interim City Manager should serve until a new
Manager is appointed. He said there is no point in setting a
timeframe for the position of Interim City Manager.
C/M Abramowitz agreed that a timeframe should not be established
for the Interim City Manager and she should remain in this
position until a new City Manager is appointed. He said he does
not understand what is meant by tenure.
Ms. McDermott said it is timeframe, but also there have been some
technical difficulties in the operations between Council and the
City Manager. She said this is the job description that currently
exists. She said Council should be informed when certain issues
are discussed.
C/M Abramowitz said he has always believed that a person should be
paid commensurate with their responsibilities. He said he would
have no objection to giving Ms. McDermott some money for the added
responsibility, but would not agree with a City Manager's salary.
C/M Abramowitz said he would be uncomfortable hiring a person from
Missouri who knows all of the rules and regulations regarding
Missouri and then come into Tamarac and go through a training
process while being paid to be a City Manager. He suggested that a
survey be done of the other cities regarding the procedures they
use for hiring a City Manager.
C/M Schumann said it took Tamarac over $ months to select a City
Attorney.
C/M Abramowitz said a City Manager will be appointed when the
right person is found.
V/M Katz said one of the comments made was the fact that the
potential City Manager would have to have previous City Manager
experience. Discussion was held regarding job qualifications,
experience and administration. He recommended that the City look
for someone who can run the City, can cope with personnel, analyze
a budget and gain the respect of Department Heads.
Mayor Bender said there are City Managers who are looking for
larger cities to manage. Discussion was held regarding this.
Mayor Bender said it has been determined that the Interim City
Manager will serve until a City Manager is hired and tenure is not
an issue. He said the final item to be discussed is salary.
C/M Schreiber said he feels that the present Interim City Manager
is adequately compensated for the position she is holding and for
the additional responsibilities she is taking. He said her current
salary is $57,648.00 with additionals of $11,403.00 plus the
benefit of an automobile, totaling up to $69,051.00.
C/M Schreiber said the Personnel Director is serving as Community
Development Director in addition to his regular duties with no
additional compensation. He said the position of Interim City
Manager is a temporary position and the current salary should be
maintained.
C/M Abramowitz said anybody is entitled to an increase for
additional responsibilities and she should be compensated to a
degree.
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C/M Schreiber recommended that Council review Ms. McDermott's
performance in a couple of months and then possibly compensate her
at that time. Discussion was held regarding this.
V/M Katz said the position of Interim City Manager may not exist
in a couple of months. He said if a person is going to do the work
of a City Manager, they should be compensated for it. He said a 10
or 12 per cent increase of salary is not an inordinate amount of
money.
C/M Schumann said anytime anyone gets a promotion, whether in the
private sector, public sector, or in the military, additional
compensation is provided because additional responsibilities are
placed on the person who received the promotion. He said an
increase is in order for the Interim City Manager.
Further discussion was held regarding a salary increase for the
Interim City Manager.
C/M Schumann said if the search continues beyond March, 1994,
there will only be two people on Council who are certain to remain
on Council, V/M Katz and C/M Schreiber. He said the new City
Manager could be selected by this Council or any subsequent
Council and it could take longer than the election.
Discussion was held regarding Ms. McDermott's current salary.
C/M Schumann recommended a $5,000.00 increase for her duties as
Interim City Manager.
C/M Abramowitz recommended a $6,000.00 increase and V/M Katz
recommended $8,000.00.
C/M Schreiber recommended that no increase be given for the
position of Interim City Manager.
TAPE 2
Mayor Bender recommended a $5,000.00 increase.
V/M Katz said another issue which is equally important is that
everyone has the best interest of the City at heart. He said the
City needs to create stability and a feeling that the City is
going in a unified direction. He said it is important to the
employees and the residents to have stability.
V/M Katz said there is a sense of uncertainty due to the lack of
Department Heads within the City. He said it is important that Ms.
McDermott receives all the cooperation that Council can provide to
her in order for her to do the job. He said it is necessary to
provide a feeling to the employees that they are answerable to one
person, who is the Interim City Manager, until the City Manager's
position is filled. He recommended that Council give her a vote of
confidence for her job.
Ms. McDermott said it is very important that Council work with her
and support her in order for Council to receive their information
equally, correct, and on time. She said there have been some
instances where Council members have requested information
directly from Staff. She said there are occasions that Staff may
not provide complete information to Council and it is not provided
to all of Council.
C/M Abramowitz said in the past a Council member was brought up on
charges because he interfered with the administrative matters of
the City. Discussion was held regarding this.
C/M Abramowitz said it is very important that all members of
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Council receive the same information and it should go through the
City Manager. He said the City Manager should know everything that
is going on.
2. DISCUSSION regarding criteria for recruitment of a City
Manager.
C/M Abramowitz recommended that information be received from
several cities regarding their requirements for City Manager.
V/M Katz said the International City Manager's Association (ICMA)
has a group of retired Managers, who work with different cities in
this process. He suggested that Ms. McDermott impose on ICMA for
their suggestions and assistance. He said this would be a means of
impartiality and C/M Abramowitz agreed.
C/M Schreiber asked if Council should meet with ICMA prior to
advertising and V/M Katz said, yes.
Mayor Bender asked if ICMA has a book available regarding this
information and Ms. McDermott said there are a number of options.
Discussion was held regarding this.
Ms. McDermott said there is also the Florida City and County
Manager's Association (FCCMA), of which she is also a member. She
said Florida Range Riders are available, individuals that have
been retired from the profession, but remain to assist others in
this area. She said there is an area representative in Fort
Lauderdale who is presently assisting another city with their
search.
Ms. McDermott said several cities in the past couple of years have
conducted searches for City Managers and suggested that a Range
Rider be invited and to also obtain job descriptions from other
cities and their processes for review by Council.
Ms. McDermott said the cities that recently conducted these
searches were Sunrise, Oakland Park, Wilton Manors, Hollywood,
Pembroke Pines and Dania.
Mayor Bender requested that copies of Tamarac's job description
for City Manager and ICMA's book be furnished to Council for
review and Ms. McDermott agreed.
Mayor Bender said there have been times where the Council and City
Manager did not agree. He said it is necessary to "downsize to the
right size" in the City.
Discussion was held regarding the ICMA books.
C/M Schreiber asked if the Range Riders screen applicants for a
City.
Ms. McDermott said they offer advice to the municipalities.
C/M Schreiber asked if they do interviews of applicants and Ms.
McDermott said they are an advisory group, but she would look into
it.
C/M Schreiber asked for the Personnel Director's recommendation.
Larry DuPre, Personnel Director, said the current job description
for City Manager is outdated and needs to be amended. He
recommended that someone with Personnel experience rewrite the job
description in order to use the proper terminology and meet all of
the EEOC requirements.
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11/01/93
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Ms. McDermott stated that the Charter, Article V, also needs to be
carried in the description. Further discussion was held regarding
this.
Mayor Bender requested that Ms. McDermott access the ICMA
recommended job description for City Manager and then tailor it to
meet the needs and requirements of Tamarac.
Ms. McDermott referred to a memo regarding Code Enforcement.
C/M Abramowitz said he is unhappy with the Code Enforcement
system. He recommended a workshop be held to discuss the Code
Enforcement procedures.
With no further business, Mayor Bender ADJOURNED this meeting at
2:35 p.m.
AROL AeEVA5NfS, CMC
CITY CLERK
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