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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-03-31 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesI T 0- A 5811 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321 TELEPHONE (305) 722-5900 P 40RI'D March 23, 1988 MAIL REPLY TO! P.O. BOX 25010 TAMARAC. FLORIDA 33320 NOTICE OF CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING Please be advised that there will be a Workshop Meeting of the City Council Thursday, March 31, 1988 at 10:00 a.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 5811 N.W. 88th Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss Police related matters. Carol E. Barbuto City Clerk The public i,s invited to attend, CEB/nr AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS CITY OF TAMARAC CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 1988 TAPE 1 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this Workshop meeting to Order on Thursday, March 31, 1988.at 10:05 A.M. in the Council Chambers. PRESENT: Mayor Norman Abramowitz Vice Mayor Jack Stelzer Councilman Herman "Larry" Bender Councilman Bruce Hoffman Councilman Henry Rohr ALSO PRESENT: John P. Kelly, City Manager Richard Doody, City Attorney Pauline Walaszek, Special Services Secretary City Manager Kelly said the purpose this Workshop was to update the City Council on Police matters. He said staff needed direction by the City Council on certain items that would be discussed. He said the Burglar Alarm Review Board is a major problem and needed to be discussed. He asked Police Chief McIntosh to inform the City Council about the Burglar Alarm Review Board ordinance. 1. BURGLAR ALARM COMMITTEE ORDINANCE V/M Stelzer announced that the Burglar Alarm Review Board did not have a member present for this discussion; therefore, he said he would speak for them. Police Chief McIntosh said the Burglar Alarm Ordinance currently in effect was adopted in 1982. He said there were problems with the Ordinance because of its length and complexity and certain portions of the Ordinance could be eliminated. Chief McIntosh said the first three sections of the proposed Ordinance and the first five sections of the existing Ordinance pertain to the licensing of burglar alarm companies. He said he and the previous City Attorney felt that these sections could be eliminated because the burglar alarm companies were licensed by the County. He said the City of Tamarac did not need to license these companies again because the City could not charge the companies for the license. Chief McIntosh said the City did not have the qualified personnel needed to inspect alarm systems, which has been a problem for the Building Department; therefore, these sections of the Ordinance could be eliminated shortening the Ordinance considerably. He said the existing Ordinance consisted of 28 pages and the proposed Ordinance consisted of 24 pages. Chief McIntosh said the section of the Ordinance stating that the Police Chief or his designee could disconnect alarm systems has never been done and he did not know how to disconnect alarm systems. He said there were several provisions in the Ordinance that he would be designated to do and he did not know how to do. Page 1 3/31/88 Chief McIntosh said there are problems concerning the Burglar Alarm Review Board such as, calling an Officer to testify before the Board regarding a burglar alarm incident. He said the Officer's report covered the incidents and, unless there was an error on the report, a Police Officer should not be required to testify before the Board. C/M Hoffman asked Chief McIntosh if he was familiar with the City of Fort Lauderdale's Burglar Alarm Ordinance and if so, he asked Chief McIntosh for his opinion of that Ordinance in relationship to the City of Tamarac's Burglar Alarm Ordinance. Chief McIntosh said as a previous employee of Fort Lauderdale, he is familiar with the City of Fort Lauderdale's Burglar Alarm Ordinance. He said when he left the City of Fort Lauderdale, he was not familiar with any fines being paid to that City while he was employed. He said the City of Fort Lauderdale had a very simple Ordinance and never resolved the question of who is responsible for the alarms. Chief McIntosh said he and City Manager Kelly surveyed the other Cities regarding their burglar alarm programs. He said some Cities did not have an Ordinance governing alarms and those who did have an Ordinance, in most cases, did not charge a fee. He said the City of Hollywood has not handled an appeal or collected any fines since 1985. V/M Stelzer asked if the Cities were asked about the number of burglar alarms in their City and Chief McIntosh replied, no; however, past surveys have indicated the amount of alarms in each City. Chief McIntosh said most Cities had the same problems that the City of Tamarac has. He said the City of Tamarac used to have 1,000 alarms ringing at the Police Station until the system was removed. Mayor Abramowitz asked Chief McIntosh to inform the City Council of the problems in the Police Department created by this Ordinance other than the problem of the Officer's appearing before the Burglar Alarm Review Board. He asked if this Ordinance is interfering with the functions of the Police Department. Chief McIntosh said this Ordinance did not interfere with the Police Department's functions. He said the Police Department would also be responsible for answering alarm calls whether the alarms were monitored by the City of Tamarac's Police Department or a private company. He said the biggest problem concerned the request from the Burglar Alarm Review Board for the presence of a Police Officer to testify. He said many of the Officers were on duty and the Officers who were off of duty had to be compensated by the City for their time spent at the Burglar Alarm Review Board meetings. He said he has asked the Board to excuse these types of cases to avoid the extra cost to the City and the extra time needed by the Officers. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City Code required a Police Officer to testify before the Burglar Alarm Review Board. Page 2 3/31/88 City Attorney Doody said the matter is presently provided for in the Ordinance and there is an appeal provision in the Ordinance where the Burglar Alarm Review Board reviews false alarm assessments. He said the Ordinance allows the procedure for Police Officers to testify, if needed. He said this provision is only a policy provision and there.were no legal requirements involved. He said there were no legal requirements saying that there had to be a Burglar Alarm Review Board. He said the City assigned the Burglar Alarm Review Board to these matters by allowing the citizens to explain the reasons for their false alarms. C/M Rohr suggested Chief McIntosh inform the City Council of what sections he would like eliminated in this Ordinance. He said by doing this, the City Council would be aware of what the Police Department felt is the correct system for burglar alarm matters. He said he was very concerned about what Chief McIntosh felt about this matter. V/M Stelzer said this Ordinance was created when the Woodlands installed a Burglar Alarm board in the Police Department for expedient Police service. He said this procedure became a problem because there were so many false alarms and, to avoid these problems, false alarm penalties were placed in the Ordinance and a Board was established to hear from the residents regarding the false alarms. He said the Board became a burden to the Police Department and the Board was eliminated. V/M Stelzer said in the meantime, the City wanted to protect the residents of the Woodlands from incompetent alarm companies. He said the City was never in the position to make inspections of burglar alarms because of the liabilities involved. He said the only inspections done by the City would be electrical inspections; therefore, a $50.00 false alarm fee was implemented. V/M Stelzer said the City wanted to protect every resident from incompetent alarm companies; therefore, the City charged $150.00 to the alarm companies for installation as a precaution for faulty alarm systems being installed. He said if the alarm company refused to repair a faulty system, then the repair cost would come from the alarm companies' deposit of $150.00. City Manager Kelly said to have a line by line review of the history of burglar alarms would not solve the problems being discussed at this time. He said staff wanted to receive a consensus by the City Council that the existing and the proposed Ordinance is inappropriate and if the Burglar Alarm Review Board should be eliminated. V/M Stelzer said this Ordinance has been discussed for several years and it has been rewritten by the City Attorney at his request. He said a copy was sent to everyone involved and no one responded by advising amendments. City Attorney Doody said there were several comments given to him informally about the Ordinance. V/M Stelzer said this Ordinance was created to protect the homeowners and handle false alarms. He said the City charged a $50.00 fee for installation and renewal fees, which has been eliminated. Page 3 3/31/88 Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to know what the new Ordinance contained before discussions continue. V/M Stelzer said the Police Department collected $84,000.00 this year on renewal fees and this renewal fee could not be rescinded until January 1, 1989 unless the City wanted to return $84,000.00 to those residents who have paid. He said the personnel handling these records in the Police Department would only be handling false alarms if the .City decided to eliminate the Burglar Alarm Review Board and the fees. C/M Hoffman said there is a lot to be done regarding the burglar alarm problems and he suggested that Chief McIntosh report on this matter as to solutions. He said the Police and Building Departments were heavily involved with burglar alarm matters and he suggested the City consider that at the time, there was no Burglar Alarm Ordinance. He said the Police Chief and the Chief Building Official should be recommending solutions to the City Council regarding these problems. Mayor Abramowitz said he had concerns with the City staff becoming involved with the legality of the Ordinance. He said he would like to see an Ordinance that was simplistic; however, he would like the Ordinance to protect the City, citizens, Police Department and Building Department from problems. City Attorney Doody said he needed direction from the City Council on two matters. He asked if the City Council wanted the Burglar Alarm Review Board eliminated. Mayor Abramowitz said he would favor the Burglar Alarm Review Board being eliminated. He asked why a Board would be needed if the penalties are eliminated. City Attorney Doody asked how far the City wanted to go in licensing these businesses. He said changing the Ordinance would be done by the City Council's fundamental view of the matter. He said if the licensing is eliminated, then a lot of the penalties would be eliminated. Mayor Abramowitz asked the City Council and the City Manager to address the two matters which the City Attorney is concerned about. C/M Hoffman said the City did not need a Burglar Alarm Review Board. He said if the City decided to maintain penalties, the Code Enforcement Board could handle the procedures. C/M Hoffman said if the County had provisions regarding the licensing of Burglar Alarm Companies, then the City should not be involved with this matter. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Building Department should charge a fee for the installation of new alarms. C/M Hoffman said the installation of a new alarm should be handled the same way as the electrical installations are in the Building Department. He said a permit should be purchased for a new alarm system. Page 4 3/31/88 C/M Rohr said the City should not be responsible for the installation of a burglar alarm since the City's responsibility regarding burglar alarms is limited. He said there should be charges for false alarms; however, the Burglar Alarm Review Board should be eliminated because they did not have to power to override a Police Officer's report. C/M Rohr said if an alarm company is licensed by the County than the City should not be involved. He said the homeowner should be responsible for finding out who they are doing business with. C/M Bender said as long as the County had a licensing procedure, the City should not get involved. He said there would always be false alarms; therefore, the Police report would have to state why the false alarm occurred and fees could be based on these reports. C/M Bender said the Ordinance should be simplified by a Board and, when the Ordinance is completed, it should be brought before the City Council for approval. V/M Stelzer said burglar alarm installation should be handled like the electrical permits. He said he would like a deposit made to the City for any type of installation. He said Code enforcement is an easy procedure; however, it would be difficult for the Code Enforcement Officer to determine the cause of a false alarm. He said a Board should be provided to determine the causes of sounding alarms and fining the people who consistently have false alarms. He said it would be better to change the Ordinance to reflect a Police Officer's report as sufficient evidence in the case of a false alarm rather than eliminate the Board. V/M Stelzer said this Ordinance has been in circulation since 1985 and, because of the lack of interest, there has never been meetings regarding these problems. He said a lot of the provisions regarding the installers could be eliminated and the City should not license an installer if the installer is licensed by the County; however, the installer should be required to submit a deposit to the City. Mayor Abramowitz said he could not understand why this Ordinance has not been handled in the past. He said this City Council will be taking some positive action towards this matter. He said he would like to see a substantial fee for installation because it would stop companies from installing incompetent systems. He said the Building Department should be charging the companies for installation and inspecting the installation as they do in all other types of installation. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like a provision in the Ordinance which would prevent residents from constantly having false alarms because of negligence. He said he would like to see the problems with the Police Department eliminated by simplifying the Ordinance. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like the Ordinance drafted to protect the homeowners from incompetent alarm companies by formation of a fee. He said he would like to see the Burglar Alarm Review Board eliminated with a provision in the Ordinance requiring a homeowner to have a faulty alarm system repaired. Page 5 3/31/88 TAPE 2 Mayor Abramowitz asked City Attorney Doody to submit a more simplified Ordinance to the City Council and City Attorney Doody said he now understands the consensus of the Council and he would simplify the Ordinance by scaling back the licensing provisions and by eliminating the Burglar Alarm Review Board. City Manager Kelly said Sections 1 through 5 of the existing Ordinance should be eliminated because they duplicated the County's licensing procedures. He said the Burglar Alarm Review Board should be eliminated and the Building Department should be responsible for providing permits for installation. He said he has received several complaints from residents about the fees being high which resulted in them not being able to buy alarm systems. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that the fees be based on the houses square footages and City Manager Kelly said this suggestion will be considered. City Manager Kelly said the problems regarding frequent false alarms should be pursued as well as others. .-1 Mayor Abramowitz said he would like Police and Building Departments concerns considered while the Ordinance is being Amended. C/M Hoffman asked that the Ordinance be made simpler but more enforceable. He said it would he needless to have an Ordinance that the Police cannot enforce. Chief McIntosh said there were 3,000 false alarms per year being answered by the Police Department and, if these false alarms could be reduced, the Police Department would appreciate it. V/M Stelzer asked how the Amendments discussed would prevent false alarms and Chief McIntosh answered, by inspections from the Building Department. C/M Rohr suggested the Ordinance contain a provision regarding certain amounts of false alarms per year. C/M Bender said all the questions being raised by the City Council at this time were answered in the Fort Lauderdale Burglar Alarm Ordinance. He suggested the City Attorney use this Ordinance as a proto-type for the City of Tamarac's Ordinance. 2. Shaker Village Agreement/Lakes of Carriage Hills Shaker Village Agreement Chief McIntosh said this Agreement came about because of a new law allowing the Police Department to enforce traffic on private streets providing the private associations wanted the Police services. Chief McIntosh said Shaker Village wished to have this type of enforcement on their streets. He said the City Attorney and Shaker Village's Attorney is presently working on this Agreement. Page 6 1 u 1 3/31/88 City Attorney Doody said he spoke with Shaker Village's Attorney regarding this Agreement; however, their Attorney had concerns with the provision regarding Shaker Village holding the City Harmless for an act or cause of action which arose from a Police action. He said the City Council would have to decide if the provision stays in the Agreement. City Attorney Doody said the State Statute's new law provided that the Agreement could contain two provisions. He said one provision allows the City to charge the private entity for the cost of the services provided by the City Police Department; however, after discussion with the City staff, he understood that this provision should not be applied in the Agreement with Shaker Village. He said the other provision is that the City could be held harmless by the private entity, which is what Shaker Village's Attorney is concerned about. Mayor Abramowitz asked Chief McIntosh how he felt about this Agreement and Chief McIntosh said he felt this Agreement is good; however, he is concerned about the residents expecting to see a patrol car at all times on their streets once the Agreement is signed. He said the Agreement only allowed the Police Officers to enforce traffic laws. V/M Stelzer asked if the speed bumps on the street would be eliminated. He said it would be difficult for the Police Officers to pursue a criminal with the speed bumps and Chief McIntosh said he did not believe this matter was addressed. V/M Stelzer asked who would be responsible for installing the speed limit signs and Chief McIntosh said Shaker Village would have to pay for the installation of the speed limit signs. V/M Stelzer said the Police Department had to see that Shaker Village conformed with all of the Department of Transportations (DOT) requirements. He said providing Shaker Village conformed to all the requirements, he does not object to this Agreement. Mayor Abramowitz said the speed bumps had to be eliminated and Shaker Village did have the right to Police protection; however, they have not dedicated their streets to the City and, before the Agreement is signed, he would like the Police Department to see that Shaker Village conformed with all the requirements of DOT. C/M Hoffman asked if the Hold Harmless provision is important in this Agreement and City Attorney Doody said the provision protected the City. He said Shaker Village's Attorney did not feel that the entity's rights had to be waived in order to get an Agreement for Police traffic enforcement. C/M Hoffman asked how the City could be liable by enforcing traffic and City Attorney Doody said the concerns were false arrest, accidents, etc. He said it was interesting that the State provided this provision for the Agreement. C/M Hoffman said if the State provided for the provision and the City Attorney felt that the provision is important, then the City should require the provision in the Agreement and Mayor Abramowitz agreed. Page 7 J, 3/31/88 C/M Rohr agreed that this provision should be in the Agreement and, because the City would be providing a service that they did not have to provide, Shaker Village should approve the Agreement as the City provides. C/M Bender also agreed with the provision being placed in the Agreement. Mayor Abramowitz asked if Shaker Village was anxious to have this Police service and City Manager Kelly said this Agreement could be made to provide this service until the end of this Fiscal Year. He said other areas may also want this type of Agreement which could be provided in the City Budget at the time the Budget is being reassessed. Mayor Abramowitz asked City Attorney Doody if this Agreement could be implemented on a trial basis and City Attorney Doody said he could have the Agreement state a termination date and subject a renewal by City Council approval only. V/M Stelzer asked if the City Code is being met by the roads and City Attorney Doody said this matter was important; however, this law is provided for in the new State Statute and there may be items that have to be experienced for Amendments. He said he foresees problems such as, stop signs, speed limits, etc., that will have to conform to DOT regulations. He said these matters would have to be worked out during the experience. V/M Stelzer asked if the City would be responsible for surveying the area for conformity to the Codes and City Attorney Doody said the City may have do these surveys before the Agreement is signed. C/M Hoffman said the City staff could be depended on to see that these matters are taken care of before the Agreement is signed. Lakes of Carriage Hills City Manager Kelly said Lakes of Carriage Hills has a similar type of Agreement with some exceptions. Chief McIntosh said Lakes of Carriage Hills has no private streets; however, they want Police traffic enforcement in the area. C/M Rohr said he resides there and in 3-1/2 years, he has never seen a police car checking the area for illegal handicapped parking. He said Lakes of Carriage Hills is having a terrible problem with this matter. C/M Hoffman suggested this matter be discussed under Item 3 and Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to know if there were other problems with the parking at Lakes of Carriage Hills. C/M Rohr said there are several problems with traffic in the parking area because there is only one parking requirement for the whole development. Mayor Abramowitz asked Chief McIntosh if he approved of this Agreement with Lakes of Carriage Hills and Chief McIntosh replied no. He said C/M Rohr has been discussing the parking requirements within Lakes of - Page 8 3/31/88 Carriage Hills which did not pertain to what the State Statute provided for Lakes of Carriage Hills. He said the discussions regarding this development pertained to moving violations only. City Attorney Doody said because there were no private streets in Lakes of Carriage Hills, the only way to deal with the matter of illegal handicapped parking is to enforce it. He said this Agreement would not involve that matter. V/M Stelzer asked if the Police were allowed to go into a private development and issue a ticket for illegal handicapped parking and Chief McIntosh said the Police were supposed to be patrolling the area regardless of the Agreement. C/M Rohr said the Police were not patrolling that area. 3. Handica22ed Parking Enforcement Proposal City Manager Kelly said Chief McIntosh submitted a proposal regarding this enforcement proposal. He said there have been discussions regarding having a volunteer program or additional personnel added to the Police Department for patrolling. Chief McIntosh said State Law permitted trained citizens to enforce parking violations; however, the citizens had to be trained for 40 hours at the Police Academy. He said after the training, the citizens were certified by the state to issue parking tickets. Chief McIntosh said two years ago, he had been contacted by citizens of the City regarding this matter at which time he opposed the program because he feared for the safety of the citizens. He said he still has fear for citizen safety because the citizens would be handicapped. He said when people get traffic tickets, they become very nasty and resentful. He said the people receiving traffic tickets had little respect for the Police Officers; therefore, they would have less respect for the volunteers. Chief McIntosh said he contacted the Palm Beach Sheriff's. Office, Broward Sheriff's Officer and Dade Metro Police who have this program in operation and they reported that the programs are successful. He said the Palm Beach Program took 1/3 of the proceeds from the parking fines, which is allowed by State Law, to pay for the necessary equipment, etc., needed for the program. He said the proceeds paid for the uniforms and mileage at 20 cents per mile for the use of their own vehicles. Chief McIntosh said the program would incur more expenses than the proceeds because of monitoring the program. He said it may be better to hire the additional personnel and provide the personnel with scooters for the monitoring of parking violations. He said the personnel would monitor all areas that have handicapped parking. Chief McIntosh said since the fines have been increased to $250.00, it was very difficult to collect the money from the people. He said the City Prosecutor has been getting involved with the collection of the fines because the City is only able to collect 20% of the fines issued. He said it is becoming very costly because of the court proceedings required. i Page 9 3/31/88 C/M Hoffman said he did not believe everything had to be based around making money. He said the City had Ordinances which protected handicapped people and these Ordinances had to be enforced. He said he did not like the idea of having handicapped people patrolling the handicapped areas. He said he would prefer having Police Personnel handle the matters. He said the people who are violating the handicapped parking law should be prosecuted. He said once the citizens realize that the law is being enforced, they would think twice before parking in the handicapped areas. C/M Rohr asked if the uncollected fines were from people out of town and Chief McIntosh replied, no. He said most of the people claim that they did not have the money. C/M Hoffman said the people who do not pay should have their licenses taken away and Chief McIntosh said the Police Department could not revoke the citizens licenses. He said many citizens were asking if the City had a payment plan to pay the fines. C/M Hoffman asked if the state could revoke a person's license for not paying a fine and Chief McIntosh said if the City pursued the cases by involving attorneys, Judges, etc., a person's license could be revoked. Mayor Abramowitz said it may cost the City $500.00 to collect a $250.00 fine. C/M Rohr said if the City had to pay an attorney for a claim, they could ask for legal fees as well providing the case is won by the City and Mayor Abramowitz said if a citizen could not pay $250.00, how would they be able to pay the attorney's fees. C/M Rohr said he could not believe that 80% of the people can not pay the fines. He said there should be a law mandating that these fines be paid by not reinstating their car registrations, etc., until the fee is paid and the State should be willing to help the Cities on these matters. Mayor Abramowitz asked the Councilmembers to comment on how they felt the monitoring of the program should be handled. C/M Rohr said he spoke with a gentlemen involved with a handicapped program who said the participants of the program would help the City with this matter without expecting compensation. Chief McIntosh said he contacted this gentleman but he never replied. Chief McIntosh said he had fifty volunteers for the program and Mayor Abramowitz said he had several names of volunteers in his office. C/M Bender said he would like the enforcement of this law to be as economical as possible because of problems with the collection of fees. Mayor Abramowitz said he would prefer the program have as many persons as possible rather than 3 to 4 monitors. He asked City Attorney Doody to research the enforcement of Ordinances and having volunteers for the program. Page 10 3/31/88 V/M Stelzer said he was not happy with the volunteer program because of the liability to the City. He said he would like to see illegal handicapped parking enforced; however, he would like to see the Police Department doing the monitoring regardless of the cost involved for the needed personnel and equipment. He said the biggest violators were people who had handicapped spouses and used the handicapped spaces for convenience. He said these people need to be monitored. City Attorney Doody said he would speak with the Risk Manager regarding the liability; however, the volunteer program could be used providing the volunteers signed an Agreement holding the City harmless. City Manager Kelly said he is in favor of the volunteer program and the research done by Chief McIntosh regarding the other Cities proving that the program would be successful. He said Tamarac could research how the other Cities protected themselves from liability; however, the program would be very economical for the City. C/M Rohr said the citizens involved in the volunteer program would be better monitors because they would be monitoring areas around their residences. He said once the program is in effect, the program would be successful because the citizens would realize that the City is serious about this problem. 4. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS -- TELEPHONE DEVICE -- DEAF Chief McIntosh said Florida Statute 427.507 requires that the Cities have a telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD) in order for deaf citizens to contact the Police Department. He said the telephone contained a printout and the cost of the system is about $1,000.00; however, there is a monthly charge by Southern Bell of $36.00 per month. City Manager Kelly said this system would be included with next year's budget proposal. 5. PSAP PROPOSAL City Manager Kelly said this item is the communications system in the new Police Station regarding the E-911 which would provide direct communication to the Police Department for emergency service. He said manpower impact would have to be increased causing an increase in the budget. Chief McIntosh said the City presently dispatches calls through the Broward Sheriff's Office under their Cooperative Dispatch Center program. He said Tamarac had a monitor only at this time which is not a full-time dispatcher. Chief McIntosh said the new Police Station would contain an 800 mhz radio system. He said the City would need more personnel to operate this program appropriately. Mayor Abramowitz RECESSED this meeting at 11:30 A.M. and RECONVENED at 2:00 P.M. with ALL PRESENT. Page 11 3/31/88 TAPE 3 5. PSAP PROPOSAL (Continued) C/M Rohr asked if the City is paying for the service used with the Broward Sheriff's Office and Chief McIntosh replied, no. Chief McIntosh said the CDC provided Police communication to the Cities who did not have their own communication system. He said several Cities have left the CDC system because they obtained their own system and because of the few people the Broward Sheriff's Office has in the program, they are working on a charge that the remaining Cities would have to pay to stay with the CDC program. He said the cost that Tamarac would have had to pay for the program in 1983 was $12,000.00 per month or a little over $144,000.00 per year. Chief McIntosh said the County discontinued the idea of charging the Cities; however, they indicated that they would be charging the Cities at a future date and would assess the charge by the City's population. Chief McIntosh said the City planned to have their own communication system which would require 9 additional personnel. He said the system would need a dispatcher, a monitor and a full-time receptionist and the personnel would be cross -trained. Chief McIntosh said in 1983, the City decided to have their own 800 system and the County granted 4 channels under a slow growth system. He said the slow growth system allowed the City 5 years to get the program started and in operation. He said radio channels were difficult to obtain and the City's 5 years would be up in February, 1989; therefore, the City had to have the system in operation by then to keep the four channels. Chief McIntosh said the City only had the base station which is cleared once a day to satisfy the FCC. He said the hand-held radios being used are in poor condition and the Police Officers are upset because they are the Police officer's lifeline on the street. He said the radios were inspected in 1986 and the report said that the radios were in poor to ba-d condition. Chief McIntosh said the new Police Facility and communication system would not be ready until January, 1989. He said the 9 additional people would cost the City $180,000.00 per year; however, these people would not be added for a 12 month period. City Manager Kelly said it is important for the City Council to understand that the channel access is important. He said if the PSAP proposal is not implemented, the City would not have an option in having their own PSAP program. He said the Broward Sheriff's Office could begin charging the Cities at any time and, once they enact that cost, the City may not be able to incur the cost needed for the program because the channel access may not be available. City Manager Kelly suggested that the City install the conduits for the program and continue with Broward Sheriff's Officers program this year. He said by doing Page 12 3/31/88 this, the City is gambling and more is involved in the matter than the proposal. He said monies are available for the securities system. V/M Stelzer asked if the cost of all communications was considered in the planning for the Police Station and City Manager Kelly replied, yes. V/M Stelzer asked if this discussion pertained to a 6 month budgetary matter and City Manager Kelly said the City Council recently approved the pursuit of the PSAP proposal at a cost of $44,000.00 and authorized him to appear before the Broward County Commission as a delegation request to push for the proposal because the County required the Cities to do this. V/M Stelzer asked why this matter is being discussed if the City Council approved the matter and City Manager Kelly said he is concerned with the fact that all of the monies needed for this program has not been identified in the approval. City Manager Kelly said Mayor Abramowitz stated that he did not like surprises; therefore, because the entire package has not been completely identified to all the members of the City Council, he wanted to inform them at this time of all the costs. He said the cost for this system would be proposed for next year's budget. C/M Bender asked Chief McIntosh if he was referring to the hand-held Police radios and Chief McIntosh replied, yes. C/M Bender asked if consideration has been given regarding having the poor radios rebuilt and Chief McIntosh said the radios have been repaired several times and were beyond further repair. C/M Bender suggested Chief McIntosh check into a rebuild program. C/M Rohr asked if $180,000.00 for the additional employees would include benefits and Chief McIntosh replied, yes. C/M Rohr said since the City did not know when the Broward Sheriff's Office would charge for the CDC program, the City should get their own program ready for operation; however, use the County's program until they decide to charge. He said if the Broward Sheriff's office's program is free, the City should take advantage of it instead of paying $180,000.00 a year. C/M Hoffman asked if radio equipment had to be replaced if the City decided to stay with the Broward Sheriff's Office program and Chief McIntosh replied, yes. C/M Hoffman asked Chief McIntosh if he is dissatisfied with Broward Sheriff's office's Service and Chief McIntosh replied no; however, the Police Department would operate more efficiently and expediently with their own communication system. C/M Hoffman asked how much response time would be saved and Chief McIntosh said he could not answer that question thoroughly because the response time depended on the types of calls. He said under normal circumstances the City should receive the call from the Broward Sheriff's Office within two minutes; however, there have been Page 13 3/31/88 instances when the call was not directed to the City until 30 minutes after the initial call. He said the Police Department would have more control of the communications if they had their own system. C/M Hoffman asked if the Police Department could continue using the channels if the City decided to share the system with the Broward Sheriff's Office and Chief McIntosh replied, no. Chief McIntosh said the Police Department would be losing the 4 channels in February, 1989, and the only way to get the channels back is to reapply for the channels and hope for approval. C/M Hoffman said it would be better to use the Broward Sheriff's Office system as opposed to spending $180,000.00 per year for the Police Department to handle their own system. Mayor Abramowitz said he was aware of the advantage of having a full state of the art Police Department and the fact that the system was previously approved by the City Council. He said he is concerned with the fact that the Police Officers and the citizens are in jeopardy because the Police equipment being used is not adequate. He said he would be the first one to vote to spend the money for new equipment under these circumstances and he asked Chief McIntosh if the citizens are in jeopardy if the City Council decided to deny this system. He said,if they are, then he would be willing to approve this system; however, if the citizens are not in jeopardy, he would like to see this matter handled in another way as opposed to paying $180,000.00 per year. V/M Stelzer asked if the Bond money for the new Police Station had to be used for the project and City Manager Kelly said he was not aware that the Bond law required this procedure. V/M Stelzer asked if the conduits could be placed in the new Police Station for the future and, in the meantime, use the Broward Sheriff's Officers system and Chief McIntosh replied, yes. V/M Stelzer suggested the conduits be placed in the new Police Station and,when the time comes to use the system, the budget could be discussed. Chief McIntosh said he was not asking the City to spend the money for this project. He said he was asked to explain what is needed for the project to operate. V/M Stelzer said the City could continue using the Broward Sheriff's Office system until the Budget allowed the monies needed for the City to have their own system. Chief McIntosh said whether the City had this system or not, the hand-held radios would have to be replaced. C/M Hoffman asked the City Manager what he would recommend if the new system is denied and City Manager Kelly said he would meet with Keith Emery, Construction Manager, on this matter. Page 14 11 u I 3/31/88 City Manager Kelly said the City had to decide if the PSAP program would be used in the new Police Station at this time for construction purposes and because the County Commission wanted to know if the City will be using the Broward Sheriff's Office program. He said the City would be eliminating options given by the Broward Sheriff's Office system if the City would be using their own system. He said he would speak with Keith Emery and Ken Fyler, Communications Expert, regarding this matter and report back to Council with the findings. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City would be violating the Bond issue if the decided not to use the PSAP Program and City Manager Kelly said the City is not obligated to spend any of the Bond money if the project could be done under half the amount of the anticipated Bond. C/M Hoffman asked if a fund could be established with the Bond money for the expected equipment for this system and City Attorney Doody said he would discuss this matter with the Bond Attorney and report back to the City Council with answers. At 2:30 P.M., C/M Rohr WITHDREW from the meeting. C/M Bender said when the new building is constructed and an addition is needed, it would cost the City additional. money. He said equipment cost also increased every year; therefore, the City Council should receive information regarding what the cost would be for each year the City decided to withhold the purchase of this equipment and adding the needed personnel. City Manager Kelly said he would submit this information for the City Council. 6. PENSION DISABILITY CONCERN Chief McIntosh said in 1987, the City Council approved a new Pension Plan which allowed Police Officers and Fire Fighters to retire as a result of a disability with a 75% monthly salary. He said since the Plan was approved, he has had 4 Police Officers retire and there were several other Officers waiting to retire. Chief McIntosh said he had 5 positions open because the personnel is out ondisability and he had 4 other positions open which have not been filled. He said because of the Department's standards, it is not easy to fill the open positions. Chief McIntosh said the City had good pay and benefits; however, the Pension Plan has always been a problem. He said if a person becomes disabled, the Plan covered them with good benefits; however, the regular Pension created the problems. Chief McIntosh said he presently had 6 employees over the age of 60 working the streets, which is not a good situation for Police Officers at this age. He said the regular Pension is very poor and, because of this, these Officers could not retire. Chief McIntosh said Police Officers receive 2% Pension at retirement and the Firefighters were receiving 3% Pension at retirement which is causing a problem with the Police Officers. He said the Police Union is very upset with this inequity and want to negotiate these matters. Page 15 r 1 3/31/88 City Manager Kelly said he would be meeting with the Union Representatives to discuss their concerns; however, he wanted the City Council to be aware that the difference of the 2% to 3% Pension in the Departments are determined by the circumstances in each Department. He said the Police Department is very large with older, less healthy individuals and the salaries are higher than the Fire Department. He said the Fire Department is a small Department, with younger, healthier individuals and the salaries are lower than the Police Department. City Manager Kelly said a physical standard program is being discussed for the Police Department. He said the issue regarding 75% disability would have to be reviewed because it is becoming too attractive to the employees in these Departments. He said after his discussions with the Unions, he would report back to the City Council about those discussions. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the money being given to the employees for Disability Pension is coming from the City Pension Fund and Chief McIntosh replied, yes. Mayor Abramowitz asked why the Unions were upset and Chief McIntosh said the Unions were upset about the Fire-- fighters receiving 3% Pension when they were getting a 2% Pension. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the employees were upset because employees are retiring on disability at 75% which invaded the employees contributions and well as the City's and Chief McIntosh said the employees should be upset; however, he would rather have the Union discuss this matter. He said when the Pension Fund expires, the City will have to pay the costs. City Manager Kelly said there will be a Financial Workshop on Monday, April 4, 1988 at 10:00 A.M. and this matter would be discussed then. He said he would ask the Pension Board to attend this meeting to answer the City Council's concerns. Mayor Abramowitz asked when the Police Contract would be up for negotiations and Chief McIntosh replied, September of this year; however, the Pension Plan did not pertain to the Police and Fire contracts. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Pension Plan is being negotiated and Chief McIntosh said the Personnel Director felt that the Pension Plan should be negotiated; however, some of the employees in the Plan are not in the Police and Fire Unions. Mayor Abramowitz asked City Manager Kelly if the Pension Plan could be negotiated and City Manager Kelly said the City had a Pension Board and the members of that Board are representing the Unions. V/M Stelzer said the Pension Board has tried for several years to get parity between the Police and Fire Departments and the Plan had been proposed that both the Police Officers and the Firefighters receive 3% Pension; however, when the budget discussions began, the Police Officers' 3% was decreased to 2% because of the cost involved. Page 16 1 3/31/88 TAPE 4 C 1 V/M Stelzer said the Pension Plan is discussed by the Pension Board members and proposed to the City Council for approval. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the members of the Pension Board were the only people negotiating these matters and V/M Stelzer replied, yes. He said the Board members were representatives of the Unions. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City Council could input their concerns to the Pension Board and V/M Stelzer said the Councilmembers have never involved themselves with the Board. Mayor Abramowitz asked why and V/M Stelzer said he did not know why. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like the City Council to become more involved with the Pension Board through the Council's representative, which is V/M Stelzer. C/M Bender said he is very frightened of what is happening with the Pension Disability problems. He said he would like to see a projection of the experience of the program and find solutions to these problems before the Pension Fund and the City run out of money. Chief McIntosh said Pension Disability is a big problem and is getting worse. He said Pension Disability and the 3% Pension are two different matters and the concerns at this time should be directed to the Disability Pension because of its increasing problems at 75%. V/M Stelzer suggested that this matter be discussed at the Financial Workshop. Mayor Abramowitz said he wanted a projection report, in detail, submitted to the City Council for their review. He said the report should include whether a projection report was given regarding the Plan before it was approved and if the City Council was informed of what may occur in the future years. V/M Stelzer said it is very hard to project how many employees would be applying for disability. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the disability employees were reviewed yearly and V/M Stelzer replied, yes. He said the Police Officers and Firefighters have to be able to pass the recertification requirements. C/M Hoffman said he remembers the presentation given regarding the disability pension and the 75% Disability Pension had not been discussed as far as projection. He said the concern presented to the City Council had been that the Police Officers and Firefighters risked their lives for the City; therefore, they should be able to collect 75% Disability Pension for their family. He said the problems with the Plan were not discussed with the City Council. C/M Hoffman said the City Council is not informed properly about detailed matters. He said the City Councilmembers are not Administrators; therefore, decisions had to be made by the City Council on the information given to them by the City staff. He said the City Council should begin to get adequate information before they approve these matters. Page 17 3/31/88 Mayor Abramowitz suggested City Manager Kelly get more information from the Department Heads before bringing matters to the City Council. He said as the Mayor and a member of the Council, he did not want to approve an item and find out later that he approved a matter he was not totally aware of which resulted in harming the City. C/M Hoffman said he is not finding fault with the City Manager; however, he would like to see the City Manager request more information from the Department Heads. City Manager Kelly said the Plan was proposed and, at this time, the City is reviewing the proposal's impact within the last 6 months. He said even if the Plan had projections, the City could not determine the outcome without the experience. C/M Hoffman said it is easy for the City to approve matters; however, it is very difficult for the City to rescind their approval. He said he would prefer to know all of the facts before making important decisions. 7. POLICE STATION CONSTRUCTION City Manager Kelly said the new Police Station would be completed no later than January, 1989 and should be operating within 90 days after the completion date. He said he had the flow chart for the Station and he would submit them for the City Council's review. 8. MANPOWER PROJECTIONS ANNEXATIONS City Manager Kelly said he asked Chief McIntosh to report on the manpower needed in the Police Department next year regardless of whether the City annexed other areas. He said assessments were determined based on the areas which are anticipated as being annexed. Chief McIntosh said a study had been done regarding three areas. He said if and when the Sabal Palm Land Use is annexed, the Police Department would need one additional Police Zone which consisted of 5 additional employees. Mayor Abramowitz asked if there is information regarding the revenue from the parcel and City Manager Kelly said he would provide that information to the City Council. He said the City would gain revenue for that parcel. 9. C.B. PROGRAM City Manager Kelly said the City has a C.B. Outfit which functions out of the Public Works Department. He said he had been concerned with the liability to the City and the effectiveness of this C.B. Outfit and asked for reports from the various Departments. Chief McIntosh said the Police Department is not directly involved with this C.B. Outfit; however, from February 6, 1988 to March 8, 1988, the C.B. Outfit responded to 6 C.B. calls for Police assistance. He said the C.B. Outfit handles several other calls from other Cities as well. C/M Hoffman asked why the item is on the Agenda and City Manager Kelly said the C.B. Outfit is looking for space to operate because the Public Works Department is moving into a new facility. He recommended that the C.B. Outfit use a room at Fire Station #2. Page 18 \ i 1 1 L 3/31/88 City Manager Kelly said the C.B. Outfit is an asset to the City and Mayor Abramowitz asked if the C.B. Outfit cost the City money. City Manager Kelly said the City provided the space for the C.B. Outfit only and Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City could get a liable suit because of the C.B. Outfit. City Attorney Doody said there is always a chance that an attorney would attempt to involve the City in a case; however, he felt that City could defend themselves against this matter.. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the people involved in the C.B. Outfit were Tamarac citizens and Chief McIntosh replied, yes. C/M Bender said this C.B. Outfit is an asset to the City because they participate in emergency situations; therefore, he would approve the C.B. Outfit being accommodated because it is not costing the City money to have the extra assurance. V/M Stelzer said there were 16 people in the C.B. Outfit and they were an asset to the City. He suggested this C.B. Outfit be located at Fire Station #2. 10. ATV -ALL TERRAIN VEHICLES City Attorney Doody said he submitted the proposed Ordinance to the City Council and he has received suggestions regarding the Amendments. He said he understands how the City Council feels about this Ordinance and he would draft an Amended Ordinance with all of Council's concerns. He said once he drafts this Amended Ordinance, he would submit it to the City Councilmembers for their final review. 11. OTHER BUSINESS C/M Hoffman said several months ago he requested that the problems concerning swale parking be considered. He said he would like to see an Ordinance created for these problems especially for all night parking; however, the Ordinance should reflect that there are areas in which swale parking is allowed, such as, churches, synagogues, etc. He said the City could issue permits to these organizations who need to use swale parking. C/M Hoffman said he is very concerned with the house across the street from the City Hall. He said the house consistently has limousines parking on the swales which is an eyesore to the City. Mayor Abramowitz said he has heard several complaints about this house and Chief McIntosh said that particular resident has not violated any laws; therefore, enforcement can not take place. City Manager Kelly said he and the Chief Building Official have researched the problems with the house and there is nothing in the Code that is being violated by that homeowner. City Attorney Doody said he would check the Code to see if an Ordinance regarding swales existed and, if not, he would draft an Ordinance and submit it to the City Council for review. Page 19 3/31/88 Mayor Abramowitz asked if there is an Ordinance that only allows so many people in a home and City Attorney Doody said the South Florida Building Code does not address the issue of how many people can reside at one address. Vickie Beech, resident, said she has seen the house with the limousines working on cars, etc., for two years and, at this time, there is a recreation vehicle parked in the back yard. Mayor Abramowitz said he has recently accepted the responsibility of talking to those residents who have complaints. He said City Manager Kelly used to handle these matters; however, because of the amount of calls in a day, City Manager Kelly's time was being limited to handle other matters. He said he is taking the complaints and directing those complaints to the appropriate departments. City Manager Kelly informed the City Council that the project for the drainage on 76th Street has had problems and, in order to correct the problems, it would cost approximately $12,000.00 more. He said he authorized the project to proceed and the Change Order for the project will be submitted to the City Council at the next Regular City Council meeting with the exact amount and specifications of the terms and conditions for the additional work. With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this meeting at 3:30 P.M. W/111 wilmealmm'; "This public document was promulgated at a cost of $216.00 or $6.00Iper copy to inform the general public, public officers and employees of recent opinions and considerations of the City Council of the City of Tamarac." �J 1 Page 20