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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. City Council Workshop Meeting 11/01/93 Page 2 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. City Council Workshop Meeti'r ' 11/01/93 Page 3 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 City Council Workshop Meeting 11/01/93 Page 4 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. City Council Workshop Meeting;.,, 11/01/93 Page 5 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 1