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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-04-15 - City Commission Workshop Meeting Minutesf TA e 008D's 1 5811 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321 3 TELEPHONE (305) 722-5900 MAIL REPLY TO: P.O. BOX 25010 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33320 r� Apr! 1 12, 1988 NOTICE Of CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING Please be advised that there will be a Workshop Meeting of the City Council on Friday, April 15, 1988 at 1, 1:00 a.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 5811 N.W. 88th Avenue, Tamarac, Florida, The subject of this meeting is the Fraternal Order of Police, Patricia Marcur io Acting City Clerk AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS CITY OF TAMARAC CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 1988 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this meeting to Order on Friday, April. 15, 1988 at 11:10 A.M. in the Council Chambers. MEDITATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Abramowitz called for the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a Moment of Silent Meditation. PRESENT: ABSENT AND EXCUSED: ALSO PRESENT: Mayor Norman Abramowitz Councilman Herman "Larry" Bender Council Henry Rohr Vice Mayor Jack Stelzer Councilman Bruce Hoffman John P. Kelly, City Manager Pauline Walaszek, Special Services Secretary City Manager Kelly said he met with the Representatives of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and discussed several matters of concern regarding the Police Department's working conditions. He said he suggested that they bring their concerns to the City Council. Phil Forsberg, President of the Fraternal Order of Police, congratulated the City Council and Mayor for their recent appointments to the City Council. He said he represents a body of 64 sworn Police Officers. Officer Forsberg said safety is a big concern of the Police Officers because of the inadequate radio system. He said the radios currently being used by the Police Officers are antiquated and have poor reception. He said the Police Department did not have the funding for extra radios and the radios are in constant disrepair. He said the channels that are used by the Police Officers are used by the Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) as a training channel. He said the dispatchers of the Broward Sheriff's Office were not familiar with Tamarac's Police Officers. He said he is very concerned about the liability of a Police Officer calling for help on a radio that is not working. He said the radios are the Police Officers' life line because there are no backup radios in the Police vehicles. He said this matter is the most urgent problem that the Police Department is facing now. Officer Forsberg said two years ago when the Broward Sheriff's Office merger was discussed and the Referendum took place, the Police Department was promised certain things. He said the Police Department did receive 17 new radios; however, not one patrol officer has a new radio. He said he has been told that once the new Police facility is built, the communication system for the Police Officers will be improved. However, he said the new Police facility will not be completed for at least a year and the safety of the Police Officers has to be improved before then. Page 1 4/15/88 Officer Forsberg said another concern of the Police Officers is the Pension. He said the Police Officers cannot understand why they are being considered as second class citizens. He said currently, the Fire Department has a 3% retirement rate and the Police Department has a 2% retirement rate. He said he understands that the matter is this way because of the money problem and that the Firefighters are younger and healthier; however, when the Police Officers are needed for service they are there. V/M Stelzer ENTERED the meeting at 11:15 A.M. Officer Forsberg said currently, the Police are handling over 2,000 calls per month and are responding to calls with less Officers. He said the Title 185 money is given to the Police Department to fund a Pension Program. He said this matter should be investigated because the Pension system and retirement age are important factors. He said currently the Police Department has 4 Officers that are well beyond the retirement age. He said it is not a healthy situation when a 62 year old Police Officer is responding to calls. He said these Officers cannot afford to retire on 2%; however, the services that the Police Officers are required to perform are in existence. Officer Forsberg said the Police are responding to calls in the time required by the City; however, the calls are being answered through antiquated radio systems and vehicles that are reaching high mileage. He said the problems are transpiring because of lack of funds for the Police Department. Officer Forsberg said the Police Department is constantly being told that vehicles are a big capital expenditure; however, if the vehicles and equipment are not available and working correctly, the Police Officers cannot perform adequate service to the City. Officer Forsberg said he meet with the residents of the Sunflower/ Heathgate area about the problems in their neighborhood. He said these problems are occurring because of the funding for the Police Department. He said the Sunflower/Heathgate residents were asking why their area was not being patrolled and, because of the lack of manpower and equipment, the area is not being serviced properly. Officer Forsberg said the Police Department has been waiting for 10 new vehicles which have not been purchased. He said the Police Chief has asked for 3 motorcycles because of the traffic problems in the City; however, the statistics show that the City needs 12 motorcycles as opposed to 3. Officer Forsberg said in 1987, the Police answered 23,000 calls and, during the same year, there were 1,763 traffic accidents, 9 of the accidents resulting in fatalities. He said there is a need for traffic enforcement; however, this should be done through a Division as opposed to 2 or 3 employees. He said in 1987, the Police Department issued 11,485 traffic citations for moving violations and the traffic problem in the City has to be addressed. Officer Forsberg said the Police Department on demand, under --equipped and, most of all, trained. He said the City did not have the system or the training to cope with criminal Page 2 is servicing under support disasters. 4/15/88 He said the Police Officer's morale on a scale of 1 to 10 is 0. He said the Police Department is asking the City Council to support the solutions to the problems of equipment and, most of all, safety. Officer Forsberg said recently, a Police Officer was run down by a motorist while directing traffic on University Drive and, after this incident, the Police Officers were given traffic vests. He said this type of simplification of the issue is upsetting the Police Department. He said the Police cannot fight the crime without equipment; therefore, the problems must be addressed. Officer Forsberg said two years ago, the residents voted against having the Police Department merge with the Broward Sheriff's Office. He said the Police facility was approved by Referendum to the residents; however, the Police facility was put on hold because of the new Municipal Complex. He said the Police Department is tired of being second class citizens and, it is a wonder that the Police Officers want to work for Tamarac. He said the Police Department has dedicated Officers who continue to respond to calls. He said the Police Department is interested in having the City work to solve the Police Department's needs as opposed to constantly discussing the problems. Officer Forsberg said if the Police Department has to bring these matters to the residents for support, they will do it. He said maybe the residents' decision to keep the Police Department as opposed to merging with the Broward Sheriff's Office was wrong. He said the City will always have morale problems with the departments; however, at this time, the Police Department did not have a level of morale. Officer Forsberg said the Police Department had a manpower shortage because of injuries and the services of the Department are being done by 40 to 45 Police Officers working three shifts. He said the neighboring communities' Police Departments have grown and progressed; however, Tamarac's Police Department is remaining the same. He said the City's population has increased and will continue to increase. He said the statistics show that Tamarac's Police Department does not have half of what the neighboring communities' Police Departments have. Officer Forsberg said the City of Sunrise had 121 Police Officers; whereas, Tamarac only had 77 Police Officers, minus the disabled Officers and staff. He said Tamarac had 45 Police Officers to cover a territory of 14 square miles. Officer Forsberg said the Police Department needed funding, improvement on the Pension, equipment and training. He said the Police Department has kept the crime rate at a reasonable level; however, it has increased and the manpower was not available for the detective bureau experience. He asked the City Council to considered these matters and address them in the near future. City Manager Kelly said he agrees and supports the concerns of the Police Department; however, he did not like the way Officer Forsberg addressed these items because of the distortion and generalities used. He said Page 3 4/15/88 Officer Forsberg said the Police Department has not been improved in two years, which is not true. He said new police vehicles have been purchased for the Police Department. City Manager Kelly said Officer Forsberg mentioned the City of Sunrise's population; however, Tamarac's population was not referred to and Tamarac's population is considerably less than Sunrise. He said Officer Forsberg mentioned that Tamarac had 77 Police Officers; however, only 45 were available as opposed to the City of Sunrise's 121 Police Officers. He said Tamarac's Police Department did not need as many Police Officers as Sunrise. He said Officer Forsberg said that Tamarac's area of coverage is 14 square miles when it is only 11.6 square miles. City Manager Kelly said the main purpose of this Workshop was to inform the City Council of the serious needs of the Police Department. He said he did not want to have these concerns addressed through emotional circumstances; however, he did understand that the matters are emotional to the Police Officers. He said it was not fair to represent the Police Department's concerns to the City Council this way. City Manager Kelly informed the City Council that the Fraternal Order of Police was not the Police Chief's forum even though the concerns being addressed are the same concerns addressed by the Police Chief at a recent Workshop meeting. He said the concerns of the Police Department are the same; however, the City and the Police Department are trying to work together to solve these problems. V/M Stelzer asked where most of the 11,485 citations were given and Officer Forsberg said he would imagine that most of the citations were given on Pine Island and Commercial Boulevard. C/M Rohr asked how long a Police Officer had to serve before retirement benefits are allowed and Officer Forsberg said he could not answer this; however, Officer Rosen could answer. Russ Rosen, Police Officer, said he has not served on the Pension Board for two years; however, the Pension age at that time was 65. He said under Chapters 175 and 185, 1% of all casualty insurance that is written in the State of Florida, is sent in the form of a check to the Tamarac Police Department for better benefits. He said 1% of casualty insurance is sent by the State in check form to the Fire Department for better benefits. Officer Rosen said the prior required retired age was 65; however, the Firefighters and Police Officers retirement age was lowered to 60. He said there came a time where the Police Officers and Firefighters contributed 5% to their Pension which reduced their retirement age to 57. He said a freezing age for retirement was 57; however, the Pension Board changed the retirement freeze to exceed 57. Officer Rosen said he would be 62 years old this month and he could work until age 70 because it is the freeze age of the Government; however, Police Officers and Firefighters can be released from their duties before the age of 70. He said for every year of service, 2% of the 1 fl Page 4 t._ 4/15/88 Pension is given. He said at this time, he has 13 years of service with Tamarac and, if he was to retire, he would retire with 26% of his Pension. He said if the Police Officers' Pension was increased to 3%, like the Firefighters' Pension, he would be able to retire at 39% Pension. He said he would retire with a 3% Pension; however, a 2% Pension could not be financially feasible. C/M Rohr asked if the 2% Pension included the casualty payments and Mr. Rosen replied, yes. Officer Rosen said he understands that the money received for the casualty insurance is supposed to be used for the Fire and Police Departments for better benefits; however, there is a possibility that the money is being deposited into the Pension Fund. He said he was not positive that this was happening. C/M Rohr asked if Officer Rosen was contributing 5% to the Pension and Officer Rosen said upon reaching age 57, he was frozen out of the Pension Plan and, at age 61, he was allowed back into the Pension Plan. He said if he was to retire tomorrow, he would have to pay back the difference in the money from age 57 to 61 which is about $4,000.00; therefore, the Finance Department is deducting a double Pension payment to pay back this Pension. C/M Rohr said Officer Rosen is an unusual case because he started employment with the City at a later age; however, the Pension benefits would be good for an employee who began working for the City at age 25. He said it was not proper to say that the Pension Plan was inadequate or unfair. Officer Rosen said the concern in this matter is that the Fire Department is receiving 3% retirement benefits and they are contributing the same amount as the Police Department. He said the Police Department is only receiving 2% retirement benefits resulting in more money from the State. He said there seems to be a problem with the State checks and he recommended this matter be investigated. C/M Bender said he would like the City Manager to investigate the safety, Pension and equipment problems of the Police Department and report back to the City Council with the information. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to address the Police Department through Officer Forsberg. He said safety and Pension should be discussed separately. He said because of the length of time he has been in office, he is not aware of the City's pensions. He said he guaranteed that every member of the Council was concerned about the safety of every Police Officer who is out on the street. He said this matter will be addressed because of its importance. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council understands the Police Department's problems and he assured the Police Department that the problems will be addressed; however, all of the departments have problems and requests. He said the City had a problem with funds and, until the funds can be obtained, there are going to be matters which are not resolved as quickly as they need to be. He said he understands that the Police Department is not Page 5 r 4/15/88 TAPE 2 operating as accurately and adequately as they would like to be; however, solutions have to be found because of the money problems. He said these matters are being addressed and will not be put on hold. V/M Stelzer said he has served on the Pension Board from the past 4 years to the present and the Pension Plan at this time has improved 100%. He said there is a problem with the 3% retirement benefit and, because of the budget, the 3% retirement benefit for Police Officers has been denied. He said the 3% retirement benefit will be proposed in the budget this year to see if it can be implemented. V/M Stelzer said the Police Department will be receiving vehicles by borrowing money from another fund. He said the present communication system is being provided by the Broward Sheriff's Office; however, the new Police facility will have an E-911 system. He said the City Council is not trying to hold back the Police Department. He said the Police Department has improved over the last few years and will continue improving slowly. Officer Forsberg said each year, Police vehicles have always been an issue in the City. He said he is focusing on the improvements of the Fire Department to the Police Department. He said there have been improvements in the Police Department; however, vehicles should not be as big an issue as it has been because the Police Department could not operate without vehicles. C/M Rohr said the Police Department's radios should be a priority concern of the City. He said he would like to see this matter corrected before anything else because it protects the lives of the residents and the Police Officers. Officer Forsberg said the Police Department agrees that the radio problem should be corrected first. He said City Manager Kelly objected to the statistics which were given; however, the statistics could be obtained and he was bringing these concerns to the City Council as a Street officer. Mayor Abramowitz said that the Police Department's safety is very important and he appreciates the Police Department's honesty in presenting these matters. City Manager Kelly said based on the information he received by the Police Department regarding radios, he discussed the matter with Keith Emery, Construction Manager. He said Mr. Emery suggested that the Police antenna be placed in the Police facility plans so there will be no problems with continuing the communications matter. He said bond monies would be used to purchase all of the needed radios. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to receive more information on this matter. Corporal Dave Harris said he has been employed with the City for 14 years and the thing that bothers him most regarding the Pension is that the 1% contribution was raised to 5% with the understanding that the City would be increasing its contribution from 4% to 6.8% in order to give the Departments better benefits. He said since then, the Fire Department was given a 3% retirement benefit and the Police Department were given 2% Page 6 I 1 4/15/88 retirement benefit. He said the Police Department handles more calls then the Fire Department; however, the Police Department is second rate to the Fire Department. He suggested the retirement Pension be evenly distributed to the departments. Corporal Harris said he would not have agreed to contributing 5% to the Pension if the City did not agree to pay a 6.8% contribution. He said personally, he believes that the matter has been handled fraudulently and the money should be paid back by the City to the Pension Fund. Mike McGrane, 12 year veteran of the Tamarac Police Officers and Chairman of the Florida State Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council, said he would like to remain employed for his full 20 years. He thanked the City Manager and the City Council for hearing the Police Department's concern and he said this is the first time the Police Department had a chance to address their concerns to the City. Officer McGrane said the Police are dedicated to protecting the residents of Tamarac and understand the City's predicament regarding money. He said the Police Chief has fought for 8 years to improve the Police Department; however, it is not what it should be. He said the capital improvements would improve the Police Department so that the residents could be better served by getting criminals out of Tamarac. Officer McGrane said the Police Department consisted of 77 Police Officers and 3 Detectives. He said the Police Department did not have specialized training and the City will be having criminals that the Police Department will have to be specially trained for. He said the Police Department only had 38 caliber shot guns; however, the Police Chief is in the process of purchasing 9 millimeter carbines for better protection. Officer McGrane said the radio system was obsolete when it was purchased 12 years ago by the Sheriff's Department. He said the radio system has never worked well. He said the Broward County Sheriff's Department did not intend to improve their radio system until 1992 and their current system is patchworked. Officer McGrane said regardless of whether the Broward Sheriff's Office system is used or the City implements their own, the Police Department wanted and needed a good radio system. He said Sergeant Harmuth worked very hard to propose a radio system which would be in the best interest of the City. He said other Cities bought radio systems at a low cost and the systems do not work properly. He suggested that Sergeant Harmuth's proposal be reviewed by the City Council because it is the best system for the City's needs. Officer McGrane said the Police Department needed more support systems such as tactical and surveillance in finding the criminal before the law is broken. He said everything the Police Chief has asked for is legitimate and definitely needed. He said the Police Department is speaking from an emotional view because they are in danger and endangering the residents because of lack of equipment. Page 7 4/15/88 Officer McGrane said in 1980, a law was passed regarding the 185 money being paid to the Police Officers benefits. He said the City is required to pay 6.8% towards the contribution as opposed to using the 185 money for their contributions. He said the 185 money is supposed to be used for the Police Officers Pension and the Police Officers are supposed to be given the choice as to using the money towards their Pension or contributing the money to the Pension Fund. He said the Police Department is concerned with the 1985 money being properly credited to the Police Officers' Pension. He said the Police Department is hoping to avoid litigation for those contributions. Officer McGrane said the calls for service have increased so greatly that the Police Officers are spending more time on reports than patrolling. He said the reports could be placed on a code -out system through the Broward Sheriff's Office; however, Tamarac's Police Officers are still hand writing reports. He said the use of he code -out system would allow the Police Officers to spend more time on the street. He said he is not criticizing the administration; however, he is suggesting that the City look into the alternatives available for a more efficient and safe Police Department. Irving Katz, Resident of Lakes of Carriage Hills, asked if the Police Department received any revenue from the citations given. Police Chief McIntosh said a portion of every fine paid came back to the City and was put in the City's General Fund. Mr. Katz suggested that a portion of the inspection fees for the Condominiums be given to the Police Department. C/M Rohr said there are cost factors for the City to maintain their Police Department and the monies generated by other items offsets those costs. C/M Bender said he is very concerned with the safety of the Police Department and the residents. He said the City had a Communications Consultant and new radios are being purchased in a year or so; however, the Police Department is having a problem now and the matter should be pursued as soon as possible. He suggested the City Manager investigate the matter to determine if it can be solved until the new radios are purchased. He said the Police Department may be able to rent the equipment until the new equipment is purchased. Mayor Abramowitz said he wanted the Police Department to believe that the City Council and the City Manager will be investigating these problems and will be working diligently to correct them. Officer Forsberg thanked the City Council, Mayor and City Manager for giving the Police Department the opportunity to present their problems. He said these matters are important and had to be addressed. Page 8 1 1 1 4/15/88 1 With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this meeting at 12:30 P.M. r CAROL E. BARBUTO, CITY CLERK - "This public document was promulgated at a cost of $108.90 or $3.03 per copy to inform the general public, public officers and employees of the recent opinions and considerations of the City Council of the City of Tamarac." Page 9