HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-04-15 - City Commission Workshop Meeting Minutesf TA
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5811 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321
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TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33320
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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%
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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.
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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.
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With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this
meeting at 12:30 P.M.
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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."
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