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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991-12-11 - City Commission Workshop Meeting Minutesn CITY OF TAMARAC 7525 Northwest 88 Avenue �P Phone (305) 722-5900 Tamarac, Florida 33321-2401 R� Fax (305) 722-4509 December 2, 1991 NOTICE OF WORKSHOP MEETING CITY COUNCIL OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA There will be a Workshop Meeting of the City Council on Wednesday, December 11, 1991 in Conference Room #1 of City Hall, 7525 NW 88 Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. The purpose of this meeting is to interview candidates for the position of City Attorney as follows: 9:00 a.m. _ William J. Gray 10:00 a.m. - Saul Smolar All meetings are open to the public. In the event this agenda must be revised, such revised copies will be available to the public at the City Council meeting. Carol A. Evans City Clerk CAE/nr THE CITY OF TAMARAC IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER AND DOjzS NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS CITY OF TAMARAC 7525 Northwest 88 Avenue Tamarac, Florida 33321-2401 Phone (305) 722-5900 Fax (305) 722-4509 December 2, 1991 **REVISED 12/10/91 NOTICE OF WORKSHOP MEETING CITY COUNCIL OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA There will be a Workshop Meeting of the City Council on Wednesday, December 11, 1991 in Conference Room #1 of City Hall, 7525 NW 88 Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. The purpose of this meeting is to interview candidates for the position of City Attorney as follows: ** 1:00 P.M. - Saul Smolar ** 2:00 p.m. - William J. Gray All meetings are open to the.public. In the event this agenda must be revised, such revised copies will be available to the public at the City Council meeting. CAE/nr Carol A. Evans City Clerk THE CITY OF TAMARAC IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER AND DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS C/C Workshop Meeting 12/11/91/elo Page 1 CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1991 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this City Council Workshop Meeting to order on Wednesday, December 11, 1991 at 1:00 p.m. in Conference Room # 1, City Hall, 7525 NW 88 Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. PRESENT: Mayor Norman Abramowitz V/M Dr. H. Larry Bender C/M Irving Katz C/M Henry Schumann C/W Diane Glasser ALSO PRESENT: John P. Kelly, City Manager Carol A. Evans, City Clerk Peter Mack, Personnel Director Ellen Wood, Secretary Mayor Abramowitz said the purpose of this meeting is to interview candidates for the position of City Attorney. Mayor Abramowitz introduced SAUL SMOLAR to the Council. C/M Schumann asked Mr. Smolar what his personal interests were outside of law. Mr. Smolar said his interests are golf, all sports and he is active in the University of Miami Hurricane Club. He said the rest of his time is devoted to his legal practice. C/M Schumann asked Mr. Smolar why he preferred municipal law to a general practice. Mr. Smolar said his first position out of law school was with a municipal law department and he enjoys working for govern- ments. He said he feels comfortable in the government environment. C/M Schumann asked if West Palm Beach used outside counsel on litigation or does someone in the City Attorney's office handle litigation. Mr. Smolar said he handles litigation and the City also have outside counsel for certain cases. C/M Schumann asked what is the determining factor in sending a case outside. Mr. Smolar said he is an Assistant in Palm Beach and does not make the determination. He said there are attorneys that handle all personal injury cases. He said he handles all workers' compensation cases, Code Enforcement and Building Department related matters and Planning and Zoning matters. He said there are cases that are determined to be so specialized that an outside attorney is essential to handle it. He said an example of this is a securities matter in the Finance Department. C/M Schumann asked Mr. Smolar the budget of the City Attorney's office in West Palm and Mr. Smolar said about $500,000.00 a year for the City Attorney, 4 Assistants and the Support Staff. C/M Schumann asked if West Palm is self -insured and Mr. Smolar said they were self -insured. C/C Workshop Meeting 12/11/91/elo Page 2 V/M Bender asked what the population was in West Palm and Mr. Smolar said 75,000 people. V/M Bender asked if Mr. Smolar knew what part of the budget was used for outside attorneys. Mr. Smolar said the $500,000.00 does not cover outside attorneys. He said the personal injury cases handled in-house take up a lot of that amount. V/M Bender asked if West Palm had a Risk Manager and Mr. Smolar said yes. V/M Bender asked if this person does any kind of subrogation cases and Mr. Smolar said yes. V/M Bender asked if one individual does this and Mr. Smolar said, no, he has handled them and so have different attorneys in the office. C/M Katz asked if Mr. Smolar gets involved with any labor negotiations. Mr. Smolar said it is handled in-house by the Personnel Director. He said none of the attorneys attend the bargaining sessions. C/M Katz asked about annexation and the comprehensive land plan and whether Mr. Smolar handled these. Mr. Smolar said Palm Beach is aggressive as far as annexations. He said they want. more land within the City limits. He said he works with property developers and owners who want to come into the City. He said he also handles any challenges concerning being contiguous or compact. He said he works with the zoning Department and Land Use and Comprehensive Plan Amendments and challenges to that. He said the State reviews all of these amendments and very recently challenged one of West Palm's amendments. He said he was directly involved. C/M Katz asked if he was prosecutor for Code Enforcement and Mr. Smolar said he represents the City Staff and the Board has an outside attorney. He said his office represents the City so that when there is a foreclosure on a lien everyone is on the same side. C/M Katz asked if an alternative for 162 for Code Enforcement was used and Mr. Smolar said he brought a pack with him that has the Ordinance that was enacted. C/M Katz asked about Mr. Smolar's short tenure on jobs. Mr. Smolar said when he was with a private firm, it was until he got another job in local government. He said he did not want to continue private practice. He said he worked for the City of Deerfield Beach and there was a split in the Commis- sion and he did not have support from all of them. He said he was City Attorney in Deerfield Beach. C/W Glasser asked Mr. Smolar if he has handled any real estate for the City and Mr. Smolar said, yes; in the last year the City has bought and sold property that he has handled. C/W Glasser asked Mr. Smolar the 'make-up of his office. Mr. Smolar said there is a City Attorney and 4 Assistants and that he is an Assistant. C/W Glasser asked in terms of an office in Tamarac, what would be needed in personnel and equipment. Mr. Smolar said as a full time City Attorney, he would need a law library, a legal secretary with a word processor and an office. 11 1 1 V C/C Workshop Meeting 12/11/91/elo Page 3 Mayor Abramowitz asked what the Budget of $500,000.00 for the City Attorney's office includes. Mr. Smolar said it .includes a City Attorney, 4 Assistants and each has his own secretary. He said the $500,000.00 is spent in-house and for some additional outside legal work. He said each year is different as to how much outside work is needed. He said litigation is very expensive. He said one of the cases they have is where the City is looking to recover a certain amount of money by suing someone who engineered a water treatment facility. Mr. Smolar said regarding the City of Tamarac, any kind of legal budget would be made up of the attorney's salary, the secretary, books, court costs and outside legal fees, taken from prior years and estimated. Mayor Abramowitz asked Mr. Smolar what he gets paid a year and the value of his entire package. Mr. Smolar said he gets $55,000.00 and the regular benefits that a City employee receives. He said he gets deferred compensation of $100.00 a month, health insurance, 2 weeks vacation, $5,000.00 life insurance and a pension plan where the City contributes 5%. He said its approximate value would be $10,000.00 and the City pays for the health plan. Mayor Abramowitz asked Mr. Smolar if any Boards require that he work in the evening or attend evening meetings. Mr. Smolar said, yes,,with the Historic Preservation Board and the Planning Board. He said he has attended night meetings with other cities for which that he has worked. He said City Council meets every week at 6:00 p.m on Monday night and as the Assistant, he goes for any matter that he is working on. Mayor Abramowitz asked what determines his duties and the other Assistants. Mr..Smolar said each has general areas and Boards that they represent and. Commission matters are assigned at Staff meetings once or twice a month. Mayor Abramowitz asked if Mr. Smolar has any questions regarding the City. Mr. Smolar said he is familiar with the City but not with individual members of the Council. City Manager Kelly asked if- there was any involvement with the labor relations on the part of the Attorneys office. Mr. Smolar said they do not participate. City Manager Kelly asked if they are involved in Utilities. Mr. Smolar said, yes, he is the attorney for the Utility Department. He said they have inter -local agreements with other municipalities. He said they have a wastewater treat- ment plant that services Palm Beach, Lake Worth and some other jurisdictions and they have on going negotiations with them as far as their percentages in paying out. He said they are now going to form an authority and have them participate. City Manager Kelly asked about bond issues and debt service. Mr. Smolar said they have not had any since the time he has been with the City. City Manager Kelly asked if they had any special taxing districts in the City that Mr. Smolar is involved with or familiar with. Mr. Smolar said he is familiar with special taxing but does not have any in this City. City Manager Kelly asked about Mr. Smolar's interaction with the Finance Department. Mr. Smolar said he does collections V C/C Workshop Meeting 12/11/91/elo Page 4 for them. He said they have many people filing bankruptcy and corporations going into receivership and properties getting foreclosed which involves work with finance in getting City liens and bills paid. C/M Schumann asked if he was allowed any outside practice. Mr. Smolar said approval is needed. He said he does not have the time to take on any cases but he could ask for permission if he wanted. He said at times he has gone to traffic court with members of his family. C/M Schumann asked Mr. Smolar if he has any questions of Council. Mr. Smolar asked about the City Election Process. Mayor Abramowitz said the City is going to referendum to make changes on the election process. He said the election process is now every two years and members can only succeed them- selves one time and run for two terms. He said the City is in the process of trying to change this. C/W Glasser said there is an election every year for two year terms. C/M Schumann said even districts run in even years and odd districts run in odd years. Mr. Smolar asked if there were any members of Council that were about to meet their maximum term. Mayor Abramowitz said there are but the law also stipulates that the Mayor can run for Council once he reaches his maximum and the Council can run for Mayor. V/M Bender asked if Mr. Smolar was involved with franchise agreements. Mr. Smolar said, yes that he writes them. V/M Bender asked if Mr. Smolar did a subsequent periodic analysis for conformity with the franchise agreement to see that the City is getting what it. is supposed to get. Mr. Smolar said the Finance Department does that. He said he just negotiated a franchise with Southern Bell. V/M Bender said he finds that once a franchise agreement is written, the Finance Department cannot be relied on to see that the City is getting gross revenue because they have no way of knowing. He said someone has to evaluate it. Mr. Smolar said he has not been involved in that. He said the City has an internal Auditor. V/M Bender said this is not really an audit but an audit for conformity. He said an ordinary audit is just examining the books and adding a disclaimer. He said this City has not had an audit for conformity of franchise agreements for twenty years. He said he feels that the legal department has to get involved in it. He said if unincorporated areas are brought in, the map changes and the franchise companies do not have the latest maps. He said people here were sending their fees to the County. Mr. Smolar asked how the legal department would get involved; and V/M Bender replied by reviewing it periodically to conformance of City, State and Federal Regulations. He said they change and it affects the percentage that can be charged. Mr. Smolar said he has not done any of this but it is a good idea. He said he is not a financial expert so he would rely on the expertise of someone in that area. He said it would be best to work together. V/M Bender said he is looking for ways to get revenues into the City without raising taxes. He said an example is recycling where the City has an opportunity to gain money in the future based upon sharing the profits on the sale of the . I C/C Workshop Meeting 12/11/91/elo Page 5 recycled material. He said unless these things are looked inta:now and planned for the future, cities will be losing money. Mr. Smolar said he has not had any experience with this. C/M Katz asked if Mr. Smolar was working in a City Manager form of government. Mr. Smolar said they just went to strong Mayor two weeks ago and prior to that it was City Manager. C/M Katz asked if the City Attorney was responsible to the City Manager or to the Council. Mr. Smolar said to the City Manager. He said the three places he worked prior to that, the attorney was answerable to the City Council. Tape 2 C/M Katz asked if they have a Charter Board there and Mr. Smolar said they have a Charter Review but now it is not ongoing. He said they have a Charter but not a permanent Charter Board. C/M Katz asked whose responsibility it was to review the Charter. Mr. Smolar said no one on an on -going basis. He said when they changed to strong Mayor, the Attorney's office did the updating of the Charter to reflect what was passed by referendum. C/M Katz asked if most of the litigation is done in-house and also with the Boards and Committees. Mr. Smolar said any Board that he represents, he also does litigation for. Mayor Abramowitz asked if Mr. Smolar's average day is a full day and Mr. Smolar said he had a full day plus. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Assistants have a full day, how can the Attorney justify litigation for the Assistants. Mr. Smolar said if things got very tough and he could not handle them he would tell the Attorney so. He said if a trial is underway, there is no way time can be devoted to other matters so they are put on hold. He said many of the things he handles are requests for legal opinions from departments and they do not have to be done instantly. Mayor Abramowitz asked the population and Mr. Smolar answered 75,000 people. Mayor Abramowitz said there is a City Attorney, 4 Assistants and 5 legal people for 75,000 residents. He said Tamarac has 48,000 people and is looking for a full time attorney with no assistant, but with a part time legal secretary and a well stocked legal library, he is working at the pleasure of the City Council. He said this City is active and asked Mr. Smolar if he foresees a problem. Mr. Smolar said Tamarac has the Sheriff's office doing the police work and with any legal department that is a great deal of legal work. He said there is no problem with the active Council members. He said West Palm Beach is the seat of County Government and has many big projects. City Manager Kelly asked Mr. Smolar about competitive negotiations and contract document preparation. Mr. Smolar said he revises AIA contracts and makes adjust- ments. He said he reviews contract documents for construction projects. He said they are building a big police facility and his involvement has been preparation of the documents for the V/ C/C Workshop Meeting 12/11/91/elo Page 6 construction of the facility and the pre -bid conference. C/M Katz asked Mr. Smolar what he would expect his salary structure to be. Mr. Smolar asked what the Council would expect as far as hours and C/M Katz replied whatever is required of the full time attorney. Mr. Smolar asked if there was just one night meeting a month and C/M Katz answered one Board and one Council meeting. Mr. Smolar said he would want a substantial increase. He said some benefits are more important than take home pay. V/M Bender said Mr. Smolar should be interested in what Tamarac's benefit package is worth. Mr. Smolar said he would want an increase in pay, benefits, security, pension and deferred compensation. Mayor Abramowitz said the last attorney has been with the City for 16 years as a consulting attorney. Mr. Smolar asked if this attorney would continue doing outside work for the City. Mayor Abramowitz responded that the only one who can make that determination is the City Attorney. Mr. Smolar presented a packet to Council of references and samples he has written. Mayor Abramowitz thanked Mr. Smolar for coming. Mayor Abramowitz called for a 5 minute recess at 2:00 p.m. and reconvened at 2:05 p.m. with all Council members present. Mayor Abramowitz introduced WILLIAM J. GRAY to Council. C/W Glasser asked Mr. Gray if he has ever worked as a City Attorney or Assistant City Attorney for a city. Mr. Gray said technically no, but he has been a partner in a large Miami firm which specializes in utilities and regulatory work. He said in this capacity he had been hired as special counsel for several municipalities from time to time. He said he did work for Hollywood, Davie and Pembroke Pines. He said he has had 30 years of law experience. C/W Glasser asked what requirements Mr. Gray would have with personnel or equipment. Mr. Gray said he would need a good library, a computer system and a legal secretary. C/W Glasser asked Mr. Gray why he wanted to leave private practice to be a City Attorney. Mr. Gray said he has reached Senior Status with the law firm where he is and is entitled to retire with a handsome package. He said he commutes to the Fort Lauderdale and Miami offices regularly. He said he likes this kind of practice. He said he represents municipalities and corporations in the utility business. He said they go throughout the State before municipalities, counties, the Public Service Commission and Environmental Protection Agency. C/W Glasser asked Mr. Gray if he has ever dealt with labor laws and Mr. Gray said, no, the firm has a specialty in almost everything but criminal or labor. He said he has handled workers' compensation cases and labor union contracts. 11 J C/C Workshop Meeting 12/11/91/elo Page 7 C/M Katz asked Mr. Gray if he is involved with Comprehensive Land Use and Zoning. Mr. Gray said he has been involved in zoning and eminent domain. C/M Katz inquired of Mr. Gray's expertise with the firm. Mr. Gray responded his work involved administrative law and regulatory work throughout the State of Florida before the Public Service Commission, County Commissions and other commissions that regulate water, sewer and gas that have zoning and environmental disputes with their clients. C/M Katz asked if Mr. Gray has ever been exposed to contracts involving more than one city. Mr. Gray said in the City of Hollywood they were involved in extensive litigation twice around with a large user wastewater and sewer agreement whereby the City of Hollywood is the regional plant for 5 or 6 municipalities that all feed in. He said they have been involved. in negotiating those kinds of contracts, amendments and litigation disputes. Mr. Gray said he was also involved with Pembroke Pines in acquiring different water and sewer companies. He said in Sarasota they represented a Dade County Water and Sewer Company that has large, extensive systems. C/M Katz asked Mr. Gray if he is equipped to cope with a single person office. Mr. Gray said they have 60 attorneys in 4 firms. He said he does all of the regulatory administrative work and draws upon research staff if needed. V/M Bender asked if Mr. Gray has any experience with city government. Mr. Gray said except for occasions where they were special counsel to those cities and constantly with corporate utility clients and working with Sarasota County constantly. V/M Bender said the firm works with other cities and Mr. Gray in the field of rate, administrative and environmental regulation. C/M Schumann asked if a LLB Degree and a JD Degree are the same thing and Mr. Gray said yes and no. Mr. Gray said the legal profession used to give out Bachelor's of Legal Law for those who graduated from professional school and when a Doctor Degree was received the person became a medical doctor so they replaced it with a Doctor of Jurisprudence. He said t--- also has a Masters Degree from NYU. C/M Schumann asked how long Mr. Gray has had the AV rating and Mr. Gray said about 7 years. C/M Schumann said Mr. Gray also has community services listed and one is the United States Air Force Academy Parents Association. Mr. Gray said he has 0 son that graduated last year. He said his daughter went to the Coast Guard Academy for a year. C/M Schumann asked Mr. Gray if he would classify himself as a litigator and Mr. Gray said, no. Mr. Gray said he handles litigation from time to time but is a regulatory and administrative lawyer. Mayor Abramowitz said Mr. Gray is one of the top experts in regulatory experience and a Senior Partner in a very prestigious law firm. fie said a City Attorney is very different, he works under the direction of the City Council. He said there is an election every year in the City of C/C Workshop Meeting 12/11/91/elo Page 8 Tamarac and the environment is entirely different from what Mr. Gray is accustomed to over the years. He asked if Mr. Gray would be comfortable with this. M Mr. Gray said it has been his lifestyle because in representing utility clients he is constantly going before municipalities or negotiating with them. Mayor Abramowitz said the City has a one man practice with the ability to go outside for legal help. He said the table of organization as it stands today is an attorney, a secretary and whatever support help he can get from Staff. He said this position requires time, night meetings, an active Council and is a full time job. Mr. Gray said he would expect there to be an understanding of chain of command, who would direct inquires to the legal department. Mayor Abramowitz asked what monetary expectations Mr. Gray had. Mr. Gray said he has had a 30 year practice and has done public service. He said this job would not be a stepping stone for him. He said with his expertise and experience and the way he develops and handles himself in dealing with Mayors and presidents of corporations, and also his experience with municipal bonds, he would be looking in the range of $95,000 to $100,000 and a package. C/W Glasser asked if Mr. Gray is aware that night meetings are involved and Mr. Gray said, yes. C/M Katz asked Mr. Gray if there was a need for an outside professional, would he have a problem leaving consideration of this firm aside so that they would not be set above other firms with expertise. Mr. Gray said he would not be obligated but he would certainly consider them. Mayor Abramowitz said that. Mr. Gray comes with the highest of recommendations. He thanked Mr. Gray for coming. With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED the meeting at 2:30 p.m. Carol A. Evans City Clerk F1