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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987-06-23 - City Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes40 MAIL REPLY TO: P.O. BOX 25010 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33320 5811 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321 TELEPHONE (305) 722.5900 June 16, 1987 NOTICE OF CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING TAMARAC, FLORIDA Please be advised that there will be a city Council Workshop meeting on Tuesday, June 23, 1987, at 1:30 P.M., in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 5811 NW 88 Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. The purpose of this meeting concerns the report of the Charter Review Committee. Carol E. Barbuto City Clerk AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS CITY OF TAMARAC? FLORIDA CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING JUNE 23, 1987 Mayor Hart called this City Council Workshop Meeting to Order on Tuesday, June 23, 1987, at 1:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers at City Hall. ILQLL CALL: RRESENT; Mayor Bernard Hart Vice Mayor Sydney M. Stein Councilman Bruce Hoffman Councilman Henry M. Rohr Councilman Jack Stelzer A. Bryant Applegate, City Attorney Yvonne E. Snyder, Secretary Mayor Hart announced the purpose of the Meeting was to receive the recommendations of the Charter Review Committee for a revised Charter and also to receive the presentation of a suggested Charter which was drawn up by the City Attorney. Mayor Hart said the Charter Review Committee was an excellent committee and each member of Council had appointed a member to that committee and also a member of Council and the Chairman of the Charter Board served on that committee. Mayor Hart then turned the meeting over to Councilman Jack Stelzer, who was the Councilperson who served on the commmittee, to present the revisions to the Charter. Councilman Stelzer said Sections 1, 2 and 3 had no changes whatsoever. He said on Section 4.02, the committee recommended to do away with the limitations of the number of terms a Councilman can serve and that now a Councilperson could succeed himself for more than one term. Councilman Stelzer said in Section 4.03 they recommended one word change on the next to the last line, instead of "administrative duties" it should be "ministerial duties". In Section 4.06, Forfeiture of Office, they recommended taking out "any Councilmember who is absent from all Regular Council Meetings for any reason for over a period of seventy-five consecutive days shall forfeit his office, any recess shall be included in the calculation of time provided in this Section." Councilman Stelzer said they recommended changing that Section to read "any Councilmember who is absent from three consecutive Regular Council Meetings, or five out of seven consecutive Regular Council Meetings shall forfeit his office. Any absence previously excused by the Mayor shall not be counted as an absence for the purpose of this Section." Councilman Stelzer said in the Filling of Vacancies, they had recommended taking Section C out and replacing it with "Any vacancy occurring on the Council within 180 days of the next general election shall be filled with the majority vote of the remaining council members. Any vacancy occurring on the Council with more than 180 days remaining in the term, or if the vacancy occurs in the position of Mayor, a special election shall be held for the purpose of electing a Mayor or to fill the vacancy of the unexpired term. Said special election shall be conducted as soon as reasonably possible in conformance with all applicable 1 provisions of law. If for any reason the remainder of Council cannot select a qualified person to fill the vacancy, then the Governor shall be requested to appoint a replacement to fill the unexpired term." Councilman Stelzer said a Section D had been added to Section 4.05 which stated "nothing contained in Section 4.05 herein shall preclude the Governor's right to remove or suspend Councilmembers pursuant to State Law or the Constitution of the United States." Councilman Stelzer said the next change was in Section F, Temporary Chairman, wherein they recommended changing it to read "in the absence of both the Mayor and Vice --Mayor, a temporary chairman for any Council Meeting may be designated by a majority of the quorum present." Section 4.06 is a new Section dealing with Interference with Administration, which shall read as follows: "Except for the purpose of inquiries and investigations under Section 12.01, the Council or its members shall deal with City Officers and Employees who are subject to the direction and supervision of the Manager, solely through the Manager, and neither the Council nor its members shall give orders to any such officer or employee either publicly or privately." Councilman Stelzer stated regarding Meeting Procedures, originally the month of August was designated as the month for vacation. He said they had put into the new Charter the following: "Except for one month designated by Ordinance as a vacation month." The next item changed was Voting in Quorum and the last sentence had been changed to read "An affirmative vote of the majority of the Council shall be required to enact an Ordinance and an affirmative vote of the majority of the quorum present shall be necessary to adopt a Resolution." In Section 4.14, Code Enforcement Board, they recommended changing it to read as follows: "The Council, by Ordinance, shall create and appoint a seven member Code Enforcement Board. The organization, powers and functions of this Board shall be in compliance and co -extensive with State Law." In Section 5.02, relating to the City Manager, it was changed to read "The Council may by Resolution appoint a qualified City Manager for an indefinite term, or it may enter into a renewable contract for a term not exceeding two years, on terms and conditions as shall be provided by the Appointment Resolution of the contract." Under Suspension or Removal, it originally read "Council may suspend or remove the Manager by a majority vote of all Councilmembers. Upon demand by the Manager, a public hearing shall be held prior to suspension or removal." He said they recommended changing it to read "Council may suspend or remove the City Manager for malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance by a preliminary resolution, by a majority vote of all Councilmembers stating a reason for the removal, a copy of which shall be delivered promptly to the Manager. Upon request by the Manager, a public hearing shall be held at a Council Meeting not earlier than 15 days or later than 30 days after the request is filed. The manager shall continue to receive his salary until the effective date of removal." Under Appointment of Department Heads, the recommended change was as follows: "He shall appoint, direct and supervise the heads of all departments and if required, Assistant City Manager." 1 2 Under Suspension and/or Removal it shall read as follows: "He shall suspend or remove any employee or appointed administrative officer except as otherwise provided by law by rules adopted pursuant to this Charter when he deems it necessary for the good of the City. He may authorize any administrative officer who is subject to his direction and supervision to exercise such powers vested in that officer." In regard to the Acting City Manager it was recommended to read as follows: "The Manager shall designate a qualified City Administrative Officer to exercise the powers and perform the duties of Manager during his temporary absence and disability. During such absence or disability, the Council may revoke such designation at any time and appoint another qualified Officer of the City to serve until the Manager shall return to his duties." Councilman Stelzer said they recommended taking out all the execution of duties and providing one catch-all to read as follows: "The Manager shall perform all administrative/ managerial duties and functions as made to prescribe in this Charter or by Ordinance or Resolution by the Council. Such duties and functions shall include, but not be limited to execution of bonds, contracts, issuance of checks, collection of revenue, purchasing functions, budget duties, accounts and audits and such other duties as may be required by the Council. Periodically the Manager shall report to the Council at a public meeting an up to date summary of his conduct of City affairs under his supervision." Councilman Stelzer reported in the Redistricting, only one change was made. He said it originally read "Each year within thirty days after the municipal election." He said they recommended changing it to read "Every four years after each Presidential Election." On the Redistricting Report, Councilman Stelzer said it was recommended to be changed to read as follows: "The report of the committee shall be submitted to the Council for their final decision." Councilman Stelzer reported the Oath of Office was taken out of the Charter. He said they were recommending the new one to read under Section 6.04, Elections, to read as follows: "Duly elected municipal officers shall take office and be sworn in within ten days after election, with a specific date to be decided by Ordinance." Councilman Stelzer said the recommended change in Section 6.09 was from 7% to 10%. He said Section E was taken out from the old Charter and changed to read as follows: "The Council shall provide by Ordinance procedures relating to the form and requirements of petition for Initiative Referondum ." He said they were taking out the 90 days. Regarding Financial Procedures, it was recommended to read as follows: "The general fund budget shall provide a complete financial plan of all financial funds and activities for the ensuing fiscal year and shall contain such details and be in such form as may be required by law, and by Council. Also, it shall show comparative figures for expenditures and revenues for the current and past fiscal years. The total of estimated expenditures shall not exceed the total of estimated revenue and appropriated fund balance." Councilman Stelzer said in Section 7.03, they recommended changing the word from "may" to "shall" and added "general fund". He said the old Charter did not say general fund and there was always a question of what was the total budget. 3 , Councilman Stelzer said in the last paragraph they changed it to read "The adoption of the budget shall constitute appropriations of the amounts specified therein as expenditures from the funds indicated and shall constitute a levy of the property tax therein proposed, if any. If it fails to adopt a budget by this date, the amounts appropriated for the current operation for the current fiscal year shall be deemed adopted for the ensuing fiscal year on a month to month basis, with all items in it pro rated accordingly until such time as Council adopts a budget for the ensuing fiscal year." In Section 7.08, investment of City Funds, Councilman Stelzer said the entire Section had been taken out because a referendum had been passed as to where investments could be made. He said they were now adding 7.08 A "all City funds shall be deposited only in banks or trust companies designated by the State as qualified depositories pursuant to Florida Statutes." In Section 7.08 C it was recommended to read as follows: "Any City funds on deposit not currently needed for public purposes shall, by Council Resolution, be invested in Local Government Surplus Funds, Trust Funds referred to in 166.261 of the Florida Statutes, United States Bonds, Treasury Notes and/or Bills, any other investment up to the maximum amount insured by the Federal Government or any agency thereof." Councilman Stelzer said the entire Section 7.08 had been removed from the old Charter. In Section 7.11, Requirements for Public Bidding, the amount of $2,000.00 in the old Charter was changed to $5,000.00, and they added the following sentence: "Any purchase of a product requiring competitive bidding shall have public notice appearing in the newspaper." In Section 7.13, Requirement for Referendum, he said they were making the 2 1/2% specific, the 2 1/2% limitation would be on the current general fund budget. He also said in the last part of the requirement for referendum, they added the following: "If a grant fund amounts to 50% or more of the cost of acquisition, this section shall not apply." In Section 7.19, Franchises, the original Charter read as follows: "The Council may by Ordinance, except where referendum is required after public notice of public hearing." He said they took out the part which read: "except where referendum is required after public notice of public hearing". He said they understood it does not have to go to referendum in public hearings where a franchise is given. Councilman Stelzer said it originally read "No franchise or renewal shall be for a longer period than forty years." He said they changed that to read as follows: "The City Council may determine the length of the franchise in accordance with applicable laws." In Section 8.01, Charter Board Membership, they recommended it be changed to read that the members could run for unlimited terms. Councilman Stelzer said in Section C, Extended Absence for Officers, they recommended adding the following to that Section: "Any absence previously excused by the Chairman shall not be counted as an absence for the purpose of this Section." Councilman Stelzer said in Section 8.02 A. they took out the entire section and substituted the following: "The Board shall have the power to conduct inquiries into Charter violations and violations of the Oath of Office. A Board member shall be authorized by the Board to make preliminary inquiries of all City 4 1 1 Officials and Employees and collect such documents and facts which are relevant to the matter. The Board shall not make any charges or determine the merits of the matter, but in its discretion may forward such matter to the appropriate authorities, including but not limited to the offices of the State Attorney, the U.S. Attorney and the Attorney General." Councilman Stelzer said that Section originally read "The Board shall consider or oppose amendments to the Charter. The Board by a vote of at least three affirmative votes shall have a right to submit such proposal to a referendum at the next City wide election." He said they were recommending that to be changed to read as follows: "The Board shall consider and submit proposed amendments to the Charter to the City Council for their approval in sufficient time for inclusion of such proposed amendments on the ballot. Such proposed amendments, if approved by the City Council, shall be submitted to the voters in any election that is conducted by the Supervisor of Elections in which all voters of the City are eligible to vote." Councilman Stelzer said they eliminated Section 8.03 pertaining to the Charter Board. In Section 10.03, Suspension or Removal, they added the following to that Section: "However, upon demand by the City Clerk the Council shall hold a public hearing prior to suspension or dismissal where proof of these charges shall be substantiated." Councilman Stelzer said under City Attorney, they added "The City Attorney or his Assistant shall legally represent, the municipality." Under Section 12.01, Personnel, they added the following: "Except where a Union Contract may provide otherwise, no employee or appointed official in City service for six months or more shall be removed, suspended or demoted unless he has at his option a public hearing at which charges of malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance shall be established. The Personnel Manual shall include proper provision to carry out this policy." Councilman Stelzer said Section 12.03 was taken out. Councilman Stelzer said under the Pension Plan, some of the paragraphs were changed around, but there was no actual change in the Retirement or Pension Plan provisions. He said they took out the following: "The Investments and Administration of the plan shall conform with the City Charter provisions regarding Investments of City Funds." It was changed to read as follows: "The Investments and Administration plans shall conform with all requirements of Federal and State Laws and applicable rules and regulations thereunder, and will preserve and maintain the interest of the participants." In the Section relating to Limitations on Suits for Damages, the entire Section was taken out. In the Section relating to Signatures on Bonds and Checks, the following was added: "All Bonds, Checks and Electronic Transfers shall be signed or approved in writing by the Mayor and the Manager." In Section 13.01, Boundaries, Councilman Stelzer said all the boundaries had to be inserted. Councilman Stelzer stated that these were all of the changes the Charter Review Board had recommended. 5 `"r Mayor Hart said each member of Council had a copy of the proposed changes and he hoped during the month of July each member would read and review these changes so they would be familiar with it when they return from vacation. Mayor Hart informed members of the public that copies of these documents could be obtained in the City Clerk's Office. Mayor Hart then asked Bryant Applegate, City Attorney, for a preliminary explanation of the changes he was proposing. City Attorney Applegate said he sat with the Charter Review Board during most of their meetings and answered many legal questions which were raised. He also said he would be happy to meet with the current Charter Board and review the revised Charter he was proposing. City Attorney Applegate said most of what he had submitted was prepared from the model charter put out by the League of Cities for Local Governments in the State of Florida. He stated in addition to that he had included what he thought to be good provisions from other charters in municipal governments. Mr. Applegate said in Section 10.01, Boards and Committees, the changes he proposed would not lock Council into a Board or Committee that is incorporated into the Charter and then if a year later Council determined the Board or Committee has no purpose or is not functioning the way it should, then Council would be free by Ordinance to make the appropriate changes. Mr. Applegate said there were several things in the draft Councilman Stelzer presented which he had problems with, one of them regarding Council meetings twice a month except for one month designated by Ordinance as a vacation month. He said he did not feel an Ordinance was needed, in other words, there did not have to be two readings and a public hearing for Council to determine when their vacation would be. Mr. Applegate said he did not feel the Code Enforcement Board needed to be a part of the Charter. Mr. Applegate said in the Section regarding Financial Procedures, the Finance Director had directed the language which was used and he had drafted it primarily from other Charters. Mr. Applegate said for the protection of the Public, certain things should be included in all franchise agreements. He said he was surprised at how short the major franchise agreements were which the City of Tamarac had had for years. Mr. Applegate said he also included in his draft a provision for the sale of real property, wherein the only way the City could dispose of real property was by sealed bid procedure. He said the procedures to implement this should be established by Ordinance. Mr. Applegate said he left out the investigative authority for the Charter Board, but it would be up to Council to decide that. Mr. Applegate said in regard to the City Attorney position, he left out that he had to be in-house. He said the reason for doing this was across the State of Florida some cities had found out that after they were built out, the house runs itself and they may only need outside Counsel on occasion. Mr. Applegate said he went into detail regarding the duties of the City Manager. 6 Mr. Applegate again stated he would be happy to work with Council and the Charter Board in reviewing the drafts and putting a final Charter together. Mayor Hart said in reviewing the draft set up by the City Attorney he found it more explicit and more readable than the one submitted by the Charter Review Board. Mayor Hart also said the draft written by the City Attorney was much simpler and condensed much of the information in the other draft into more workable and readable paragraphs. Mayor Hart said he would like to have a new draft drawn up by the City Attorney during the month of July while Council was gone which would amend certain paragraphs for rediscussion. Mayor Hart suggested Section 4.02 be amended to the terms of office to conform with the present Charter because this had gone to the vote of the people and they had voted as to their opinion on it. City Attorney Applegate said'he had drafted the proposed changes before this had been voted on by the residents of the City. Mayor Hart said his other suggestion would be on Section 4.03, Compensation and Expenses, it should be amended to conform with the present Charter and the Charter Review Committee's recommendations. Mayor Hart also said in Section 6.05, the City Attorney, had recommended a change to 7%, the Charter Review Committee had recommended 10%, and they were both a reduction from the State recommended Municipal Charter, which recommends 15%. He said he would recommend a change to 10% which could be discussed when Council returns from vacation. Mayor Hart also recommended under Section 11.01, Charter Board, that they go with the Charter Review Board's recommendation which would call for an elected board. He also said the terms of office should conform to City Council, with two consecutive terms limitation. Mayor Hart said he would also like the opinion of Council and the Public on two ideas he had in mind. He said regarding terms of office most cities in the State of Florida have a four year term. He said he would like to see a limitation of eight years put in to conform with the Governor's position in any elective office. Mayor Hart said he would also like public opinion on salaries and expenses, as to whether the Charter should have a clause allowing a cost of living increase based on Social Security adjustments each year. Vice Mayor Stein said he did not feel any amendments should be made to any of the drafts which were being discussed. He said he felt they should not be discussing anything except some public input. He said he would like both drafts to be sent to the Charter Board as they were to be reviewed and they could send their recommendations to Council as soon as possible for their opinion. Vice Mayor Stein said he felt there were many things which needed to be straightened out and the members of Council needed to review these changes while on vacation and then come back and discuss them. He again stated he felt both drafts should be turned over to the Charter Board for their review. 7�/- Mayor Hart said he had no objection to turning over both drafts as they were to the Charter Board, but he said he would like his suggestions, even if it had to be in a third copy, to also go to the Charter Board for review. Councilman Hoffman said since this was a Workshop he did not feel it proper to make any recommendations or take any action. He said he had read both drafts and there were things in both of them he liked and things in both of them he disliked. He said he also felt both drafts should be sent to the Charter Board for their review and recommendations. He said after the Charter Board makes their recommendations, he felt Council would be in a better position to voice their opinions. Councilman Rohr said he was very disheartened to see so few people present for the public hearing which had been called on supposedly such an important subject. He said apparently the citizens of Tamarac were not overwrought about the importance that some people place on the Charter Board or the Charter. He said it seemed if there were a little more interest it would imbue the Council with a little more spirit of accomplishment. He further said he was very disappointed with what was occurring in the City, and that he felt Council was anticipating the importance of certain things when there was absolutely no importance. Councilman Stelzer said he had not compared the draft the Attorney prepared with the one the Charter Review Committee had prepared, but he said he did see some items in the .City Attorney's draft that did not look right. Councilman Stelzer stated one paragraph had to do with the election of the Vice Mayor, he said they were not sworn in at the time that was designated. Councilman Stelzer said in the Removal Authority, the City Attorney had no provisions for hearings. Councilman Stelzer said on page 19 there seemed to be double talk relating to boards and committees and he asked who would make the changes referred to, the Charter or the City Council. Mr. Applegate replied some of the boards were changed by the Charter and he said it was clear the Council could abolish or amend any existing boards. He said it was not meant to be double talk. Councilman Stelzer then asked if the City Council could abolish boards or committees and Mr. Applegate replied they could. Mayor Hart then asked for public comment. Ms. Florence Bochenek, resident of Tamarac, asked how the public had been informed of this public hearing. She said she felt many more people would have attended the meeting if they had been aware of it. Mayor Hart replied the notice of the meeting was posted by the City Clerk as it was always done. He said it was handled in the same manner it had always been done. Dr. Alfred Wald, resident of Tamarac, said he was very happy to hear the City Attazney. and the Council had recommended the Charter Board be given the opportunity to look over the Charter revisions. He said the Charter Board members had never seen a copy of the draft which had been prepared by the City Attorney. He said there were now three drafts which needed to be reviewed. He further said he did not understand why everyone hated the 8 .. Charter Board and wanted to get rid of the Charter Board from the City Manager on down. Dr. Wald further said in regard to the posting of the public hearing, he did not see it posted anywhere, and that he found out about it over the weekend. Dr. Wald also said in the Charter, there were a number of times it mentioned that a quorum is necessary to consider a meeting and then it goes on to say that a majority of the quorum is all that is necessary to pass whatever Ordinance or Resolution. He said that meant that two people could rule the roost, where it had originally said three people had to vote on whatever was going to be passed. He said he did not feel that was right. Dr. Wald said in Section 5.05 which Councilman Stelzer read, the Oath of Office had been left out. He said this was an Oath of Office by everyone who worked in the City, those who were elected and those who were just employees. He said he felt that everyone who was elected or worked for the City should take this Oath of Office so they would live up to the Charter, or the Charter Board could not take any action. Mr. Zeke Feldman, resident of Tamarac, said he had attended a Charter Board Meeting wherein a motion had been made to hold a Workshop Meeting and it was turned down, without having a second to the motion. He said he would like to know how they would act when this goes before them. Mayor Hart said he could not answer for the Charter Board. Ms. Vickie Beech, resident of Tamarac, said she concurred with many of Dr. Wald's comments. She also said with the many things which had gone wrong in the should have been addressed City over the years, and clarified in the those Charter. things She said it should have been much more explained in the Charter that there would be. no controversy at a time when dismissal or benefits take place. Ms. Beech also said she felt many of the problems in the City had not even been addressed and that over the years with all of the high priced top guns the City has had, they had never seemed to correct the problems which faced the City. She said there was the possibility the City was not getting qualified people in those positions. Ms. Beech further said she felt the Charter Board was in existence for a reason, that you have to have a "watchdog" for every government in order to protect the people. Ms. Beech ended in saying that if anyone had any idea of getting rid of the Charter Board they better not run for political office because they would never make it. Mr. Stan Bernard, resident of Tamarac and member of the Charter Board, said he did not feel there was any rush to put a new Charter through since there was not an election until next March. He said in his opinion the matter did not need to be rushed, there was plenty of time to work on it. Mr. Irving Weber, Chairman of the Charter Board, requested that all comments and recommendations as a result of the Workshop be forwarded to the Charter Board for their review. City Attorney Applegate said he would be willing to work with any Charter on the books as long as he felt it was legally acceptable. He said he would draft what Council and the Charter Board felt was a good proposed Charter. 9 ✓ Mayor Hart again suggested that when the City Attorney sends his draft to the Charter Board that there be an attachment with his suggested amendments on it. Councilman Hoffman said since there would be minutes of the Workshop Meeting typed by the Secretary that each member of the Charter Board be given a copy, and the Mayor's suggestions would be contained therein. Councilman Stelzer said he had only made some observations, that before he could make recommendations to the Charter Board he would have to review both drafts. Vice Mayor Stein said he would like to direct a statement to Vickie Beech. He said he did not remember anyone saying anything about abolishment of the Charter Board. He said that certainly did not need to be an issue because it would cloud any decent work that could be done. Vice Mayor Stein also said after all the suggestions from the Council, the Charter Board and the public that perhaps they would be able to come up with a Charter that would be acceptable by the people. Mr. Irving Weber, Chairman of the Charter Board, said he would like to inform the public members who were present that he would welcome any comment from any public member sent to his office. There being no further comment from the public or from Council, C/M Hoffman MOVED to ADJOURN the meeting at 3:15 p.M., SECONDED by C/M Rohr. CAROL E. BARBUTO CITY CLERK This public document was promulgated at a cost of $25.40 or $2 65 per copy to inform the general public and public officers and employees about recent opinions and considerations by the City Council of the City of Tamarac. 10 1 j 1