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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-04-28 - City Commission Special Meeting Minutes7525 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE 0 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321-2401 TELEPHONE (305) 722-5900 RECORD OF COUNCIL ACTIONS/DISCUSSION SPECIAL MEETING CITY COUNCIL OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA There will be a Special Meeting of the City Council held on Friday, April 28, 1989 at 9:00 a.m. in Conference Room #1 (City Clerk's Office), Tamarac City Hall, 7525 N.W. 88th Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. The purpose of this meeting is discussion and possible action on the following: 1. MOTION TO APPROVE Tem Reso. #5402 authorizing approp- riate- City officials to execute an Inter -Local Assistance Agreement with the City of Lauderhill concerning certain median landscaping on Commercial Boulevard between Northwest 64 Avenue and University Drive. FINAL ACTION: RESOLUTION NO. R-89--110 PASSED. APPROVED. 2. a. Negotiation update concerning the Broward Sheriff's Office by City Manager John Kelly. b. Discussion on preparation of a letter to all registered voters concerning the Broward Sheriff's Office offer. FINAL ACTION: -2a.__City Manager gave update. 2b. Discussion was held. The City Council may consider and act upon such other business as may come before it. All meetings are open to the public. Pursuant to Section 286.0105, Florida Statutes 1` arson decides to appeal any decision made by the dty Cc= vvth re -pert to any matter considered at such meeting or h : ar?I rr. cd a record of the proceedings and for such -,;,y :icn- I tr> %Insure that a verbatim record includ;!s upcn v h;ch the appeal is to he based CAE/gt Carol A. Evans City Clerk AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS CITY OF TAMARAC CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 1989 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this meeting to Order on FriUay, April 28, 1989 at 9:00 A.M. in Conference Room #1 (City Clerk's Office). PRESENT: Mayor Norman Abramowitz Vice Mayor Dr. H. Larry Bender Councilman Bruce Hoffman Councilman Henry Rohr Councilman Jack Stelzer ALSO PRESENT: John P. Kelly, City Manager Richard Doody, City Attorney Dina McDermott, Assistant to the City Manager Pauline Walaszek, Special Services Secretary 1. MOTION TO ADOPT Temp. Reso. #5402 authorizing appro- priate City officials to execute an Inter -Local Assistance Agreement with the City of Lauderhill concerning certain median landscaping on Commercial Boulevard between Northwest 64 Avenue and University Drive. SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: RESOLUTION NO. R-89-110 - PASSED APPROVED. City Attorney Doody read Temp. Reso. #5402 by title. * V/M Bender MOVED to APPROVE Temp. Reso. #5402, SECONDED by * C/M Hoffman. Mayor Abramowitz said he reviewed the document and discussed the matter with the Public Works Director, who indicated that the Agreement was fair and equitable. He asked City Manager Kelly if he agreed. City Manager Kelly said he felt that the Agreement was fair and equitable; however, the City Attorney had concerns regarding the matter. City Attorney Doody said there was an Addendum in the backup drafted by his office. He said he originally drafted the Agreement and Lauderhill drafted one of their owL, which was enacted by their City Council. He said the Addendum was for the Agreement because there were safeguards that were not included in their approved Agreement. City Attorney Doody said the Agreement and Addendum should be endorsed and both documents would be sent back to the City of Lauderhill for placement on their City Council Agenda. Mayor Abramowitz said there were several delays on the Grant which was not caused by either City. He said he received several conflicting documents regarding the Page 1 4/28/89 landowners. He said if the Agreement was not executed, the Grant would not be available and City Manager Kelly agreed. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City Attorney contacted the City of Lauderhill regarding the Addendum and City Attorney Doody said Dina McDermott, Assistant to the City Manager, contacted the City of Lauderhill. City Attorney Doody said the documents consisted of a Hold Harmless Agreement, a Termination Clause, etc. He said the Agreement seemed to be drafted by staff and there should be safeguard provisions, within the Agreement. City Attorney Doody said the City of Lauderhill informed Dina McDermott that they would not object to executing an additional Addendum. He said if the City of Lauderhill did not execute the Addendum, the Agreement would be sufficient; however, he recommended that the Addendum be attached. C/M Hoffman asked if the Motion needed to be Amended to include the Addendum and City Attorney Doody said the Resolution included the Agreement and the Addendum in its language. C/M Stelzer asked who owned the median and Mayor Abramowitz said it was determined that the median was shared jointly by the Cities of Lauderhill and Tamarac. C/M Stelzer asked if the road belonged to the County and City Manager Kelly said the Cities were responsible for maintaining the median. C/M Stelzer asked if the County permitted the Cities to dig in the median and Mayor Abramowitz said the County was giving the Cities the money for the beautification. City Manager Kelly said the Public Works Director indicated that the Cities received the authorization from the County to dig in the median. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE At 9:15 A.M., Dina McDermott WITHDREW from the meeting. 2. a. Negotiation update concerning the Broward Sheriff's Office by City Manager John Kelly. b. Discussion on preparation of a letter to all registered voters concerning the Broward Sheriff's Office offer. SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: a. UPDATE given by the City Manager. b. DISCUSSION was held. a. City Manager Kelly said he met with the Police Chief yesterday afternoon and they reviewed several of the provisions which should be included in the proposal. He said there would be a meeting held Monday, May 1, 1989, with the City Attorney, Consulting Attorney and Finance Director to review the provisions. He said there would be a draft contract available for the City Council to review, hopefully, by Tuesday, May 2, 1989. Mayor Abramowitz said this subject was very sensitive and he wanted everyone to have the opportunity to discuss this matter. He said last Monday, April 24, 1989, the City Council received a preliminary spread sheet to review. He said there were matters that should be Page 2 4/28/89 discussed on the spread sheet before he could vote on it. He said he needed more information regarding the proposal and he asked when the City Manager would be able to discuss the matter with the City Council and the residents. City Manager Kelly replied, next week. C/M Stelzer asked if a Workshop meeting would be held and City Manager Kelly said he would be informing the City about the cost savings, service, etc. Mayor Abramowitz said the record should reflect that late last night he went to the City Manager's Office and nothing was discussed regarding the meeting or contract City Manager Kelly had with the Sheriff that morning. He said he suggested this morning that the City Manager take the remaining portion of the day off and spend the entire weekend reviewing the contract so that it could be explained to the City Council and residents logically. C/M Rohr suggested that a Report be given regarding the difference in the Ad Valorem if the City decided to keep the Police Department or merge with the Broward Sheriff's Office. He said the City Council and residents should have the opportunity to review the difference and why. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not want to place a figure in the letter suggested by C/M Stelzer at the April 26, 1989 City Council meeting because the Police Department was not the only Department in the City. Mayor Abramowitz said the Police Department was not the only place where the money was to be spent. He said he recently read an article in the newspaper that was not factual because it indicated that in order for the City to keep the Police Department, the taxes would have to be raised $1.50 per $1,000.00. He said no one was sure at this time what was needed to take care of the City. He said the residents had to be informed intelligently what the costs would be. City Manager Kelly said the article from the newspaper was addressing the impact if the projection was 1 million dollars and Mayor Abramowitz said the reporters had to receive the information from someone; however, the article was informing the residents of only half the information. Mayor Abramowitz said the City would be lying to the residents if it informed them that it would cost a certain amount to keep the Police Department and then change the cost during the Budget process. City Manager Kelly objected to this statement because the article indicated the impact of keeping the Police Department only and Mayor Abramowitz said this was not the concept that the residents may have. City Manager Kelly agreed. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not mean that someone lied to the residents; however, if the facts were not presented logically the residents would perceive it differently. C/M Hoffman said he was particularly interested in the cost of keeping the Police Department or merging with Broward Sheriff's Office. He said the matter should be considered as a separate issue; however, he did not have enough information to vote on the matter. He said there Page 3 4/28/89 was mention regarding a 5% cap on increases in the future and he asked if the cap was for next year, the following year or after the three contracts expired. He said 5% of 5 million dollars was $250,000.00, which was a lot. C/M Hoffman asked if the City would have to worry about an increase next year if a contract was signed for three years with the Sheriff's Office. He said the City Council did not have enough information on the matter to even send out a letter to the residents. He said the residents could not express their opinion until they knew what they should. He said there was not enough information to pursue a conversation at this time. C/M Rohr suggested that the City Council express their concerns so that City Manager Kelly could negotiate with those concerns, such as the length of service. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that a Special meeting be called regarding the matter when the City Manager was ready to make his presentation. He said during the meeting, the City Council and residents could express their concerns because the proposed contract was not final until discussion took place. Mayor Abramowitz said after the concerns were expressed and an agreeable and feasible contract was available, the residents would know everything about the matter that the City Council knew. V/M Bender said the Police Budget represented 1/3 of the City's Budget and he reviewed the past Police Budgets. He said in 1986/87 the Budget was 3.8 million dollars, 1987/88 it was 4.6 million dollars, 1988/89 it was 4.8 million dollars and the 1988/89 projection was 5.9 million dollars. V/M Bender said he would like to know what the projection would be in 5 years if the City merged with the Broward Sheriff's Office compared to the City keeping the Police Department. Mayor Abramowitz said last year the City Council received a revenue income projection from the Building Department during the Budget review; however, after experiencing one year, the City has a shortfall of l million dollars. He said the Budget was an intelligent estimation of income and expenditure; however, the expenditures were certain but the income was not. He said the figures given during the Budget review were only projections and could not be counted as factual. He said it was very difficult to project the Budget for 5 years. V/M Bender said the Miami Herald's report was very good which indicated that the City's source of revenue was diminishing. He said the overall picture was to determine if the source of revenue was going to continue diminishing or was there a possibility of it reversing itself. He said the City Council had to depend on the City Manager to project a reasonable estimate. He said the figures in a contract with the Broward Sheriff's Office would be certain and the projection should almost be precise. Mayor Abramowitz said for several years he has been hearing about Land Section 7 and its tremendous income for the City; however, he did not see the first $.05 of Page 4 4/28/89 the income. He said he did not spend what he did not have and he was tired of hearing about the projections and expectations. C/M Stelzer said 7 years ago the City became locked -in with an Ad Valorem tax because of the previous Finance Director. He said when the politicians did not want to increase rates the City was in trouble. He said the only sure and guaranteed income of the City was the Ad Valorem tax. He said as long as the residents were aware of an adequate Ad Valorem tax for the City, there should not be problems. He said the residents had to be informed that if they wanted services they would have to pay for it. He said the residents should be given a full service City and the Ad Valorem tax and the merge with the Broward Sheriff's Office should not be combined. C/M Stelzer said when the first proposal regarding the Broward Sheriff's Office takeover was received, there was approximately $25,000.00 expected in savings. He said during this time, there was a meeting where a video was shown regarding the Broward Sheriff's Office; however, by the time the election came, the savings was very little. C/M Stelzer said there were figures available at this time and the residents would need to be informed of the largest amount that may be saved and what would be done about the equipment, etc. He said during the last proposal, the Broward Sheriff's Office indicated that they would purchase everything from the City; however, when the contract was completed, the Broward Sheriff's Office selected what they wanted and suggested the City sell the remaining things by auction. C/M Stelzer suggested that the City Council concern themselves with the Broward Sheriff's Office matter only as opposed to the other Budgets. He said there was no urgency to send letters to the residents on the matter. He said once further information was received, the letters could be sent because the residents remember the first letter was sent out. He said the experts should be left to negotiate a feasible and profitable contract for the City. V/M Bender said if the Broward Sheriff's Office received a 5% increase per year it was not the same as the City's Police Department receiving a 5% increase because the City had to give additional benefits over and above the increase. C/M Hoffman said when the City gave 5% to the Broward Sheriff's Office it was overall as opposed to maintaining and buying automobiles, etc. He said the City could save 5 million dollars on the Police contract by disbanding the Police Department and the Broward Sheriff's Office would have to come in for nothing because the residents were paying County taxes. C/M Rohr said the 5% cap was a negotiable item because there were previous negotiations done with other Cities with the Broward Sheriff's Office and the cap was below 5%. City Manager Kelly said when he discussed the contract with Mr. Woodruff, Finance Director, he indicated that the contract would not be final until the matter was Page 5 4/28/89 TAPE 2 discussed with the City Council and residents; however, he was satisfied with the contract but he was not the endorser of the contract. C/M Hoffman said he was not satisfied with the existing spread sheet and C/M Stelzer said the City Council would not be making their decision on the spread sheet. Mayor Abramowitz said Tamarac was one of the very few Cities in Broward County that did not have a Utility tax. He said the surrounding Mayors indicated that they could not run their Cities if they did not have a Utility tax. He said the funds had to come from somewhere and the options were to decrease the services drastically, which he did not approve of, increase the taxes coupled with a Utility tax or other options. He said he was concerned with the residents getting the services that they needed and should have and the benefit of the City. C/M Stelzer said every time the Utility tax was proposed there was so much opposition; however, if the Ad Valorem taxes were increased the residents could not oppose and Mayor Abramowitz said the residents could not really oppose a Utility tax either. C/M Stelzer asked why the City Council did not approve the Utility tax last year and Mayor Abramowitz said he did not drop the Utility tax because of the opposition. Mayor Abramowitz said the Utility tax was not implemented because it was not fair to all of the residents. He said there were other options available last year; however, this year those types of options were not available. He said the City Council is going to have to make a decision in the best interest of the City regardless of whether the residents object. V/M Bender said the City Council was discussing two different ways of raising taxes; however, the Ad Valorem tax did not cover all of the residents but the Utility tax did. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that a Special meeting be called regarding this matter when the City Manager had further information. C/M Rohr suggested that the Cities that have the Broward Sheriff's Office should be contacted regarding their experience such as length of time, increases, etc. City Manager Kelly said he had all of the existing contracts available for review. b. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not want this meeting called to draft a letter to the residents regarding the Broward Sheriff's Office takeover; however, sending a letter to the residents was a very good idea. He said the only difference in opinions regarding the letter was that the letter should not contain a certain figure. C/M Stelzer said he indicated that the letter should indicate an "at least" figure. Mayor Abramowitz said C/M Stelzer proposed that the letter contain a "yes" or "no" ballot, the yes being that the taxes be raised to keep the City's Police Department or, no that a proposal should be made with the Broward Page 6 EINEAN Sheriff's Office for a takeover as opposed to raising the taxes. He said this type of ballot was like laying the ground work for something in the future and he objected to this. Mayor Abramowitz said he wanted the residents be given a chance to express their opinions on the matter. C/M Hoffman said the draft a letter until available. He said for their opinion if was based on. City Council could not discuss or further facts and information were the City could not ask the residents they did not know what their opinion C/M Hoffman said when the facts were available, the City Council should review them and draft a letter based on the facts asking the residents if they felt the same way the City Council did. C/M Stelzer asked how the City intended getting the answers from the residents and C/M Hoffman said he was interested in the facts of a Broward Sheriff's Office contract versus the facts of the City maintaining its own Police Department. C/M Stelzer said these facts would be evident when the letters were sent back by the residents and C/M Hoffman said the City Council did not object to a tear off ballot being sent to the residents; however, the City Council objected to a letter being sent without the specifics being known. * C/M Rohr MOVED to TABLE this Item, SECONDED by C/M Hoffman. C/M Stelzer said the discussion was only for the preparation of a letter. Mayor Abramowitz said he could not make a decision on this matter until the facts were available. He said the format of the letter could be discussed and C/M Stelzer said the discussion pertained to preparing a letter that would contain the correct figures when they were available. C/M Stelzer said the matter should not be Tabled because it was only a discussion and Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council already approved a letter being drafted when the facts were available. C/M Stelzer said the only action being taken at this time was a discussion and the City Council agreed to wait until further information was available before the letter was drafted. * C/M Rohr WITHDREW his Motion to TABLE and C/M Hoffman WITHDREW * his SECOND. C/M Stelzer said he was concerned because the matter was a political football when it was proposed in the past. He said he did not want this to occur again and have 3,000 residents cause the City Council to make a decision. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that the residents be informed that the ballots would not be counted unless the residents placed their name and address on the ballots. Page 7 4/28/89 C/M Hoffman said there may only be 1,000 responses to the letter; however, he wanted to read each response to understand the residents' concerns. Vickie Beech, Resident, suggested that the letter not be drafted to influence the residents but to inform them of the facts. She suggested the City Council consider the type of increase that would be made for the Ad Valorem so that the City did not reach its cap and have problems in future years. Mrs. Beech asked City Manager Kelly if it was true that the Police personnel were already being interviewed by the Broward Sheriff's Office and City Manager Kelly replied, yes. C/M Hoffman said if the Broward Sheriff's Office took over the Police Department, part of the cost factor would depend on what personnel would be available before a figure could be presented. Mayor Abramowitz said if this was taking place it did not mean that the City Council made a decision. City Manager Kelly said this matter was a very big business deal and the Broward Sheriff's Office would not take the City's word on the personnel, equipment and facility. He said the City's Police Officers were just as concerned about the impact this would have on them as the residents. He said the Police Officers were inquiring on their own as to their responsibilities and what was available should this takeover occur. He said the Broward Sheriff's Office was inquiring with the City as well. He said the routine of necessity had to occur before any intelligent proposal could be made for either side. Joe Padwa, Resident, asked how many people voted in the previous election concerning the Broward Sheriff's Office takeover and Mayor Abramowitz replied, 5,000 out of 30,000. City Manager Kelly said approximately 26,000 registered voters were in the City during the 1986 Referendum and 15,466 voted to approve; however, the vote was part of a Countywide election. He said there was a difference of 724 votes. Phil Braverman, Resident, said that he heard the 1 million dollar increase in the Police Department was made by the Chief who had a strong interest in merging with the Broward Sheriff's Office. He asked if the increase was realistic. Mayor Abramowitz said the 1 million dollar contract did not include the new Police Union contract, which would be in effect next week. City Manager Kelly said the preliminary Budgets submitted by the Departments were supposedly bare bones and the proposed Police Budget was very strict. He said the proposed Budget did not include salary increases which was not allowed; however, most of the costs were figured because last year the City deferred most of the obligations in the Union contract to provide vehicles as required. He said last year the Police Department was entitled to 9 vehicles and they only received 3. He said this year, the Police Department could request 21 1 1 ..- 4/28/89 vehicles; however, the Police Chief only requested 15, which was supported by the Public Works Department. He said for these vehicles alone, the cost would be approximately $247,000.00 and there was additional personnel needed, which would cost approximately $380,000.00. He said there was a cost for $125,000.00 for a computer --aided Dispatch, which would be needed by the City's Police Department; however, the Broward Sheriff's Office would not need this. He said the Budget was very minimal and with this information, he informed the City Council the Budget for the Police Department would be increased by approximately 1.1 million dollars. Lou Silverman, Resident, suggested that the letter sent to the residents have their names and address printed on the area that was to be signed by them. C/M Stelzer suggested that there be two sets of election labels, one set for the envelope and the other for the letter. The City Council agreed with this suggestion. Mr. Silverman said the letter should contain the pros and cons so that the residents who do not approve can not say that they did not have a chance to express their opinions. Helen Rosen, Resident, asked what the City would do if the Broward Sheriff's Office did not exist and Mayor Abramowitz said when he informs the residents that they were already paying for the Broward Sheriff's Office in their taxes they are surprised. Mayor Abramowitz said when he asked the residents why they opposed the Broward Sheriff's Office, they gave him every excuse possible except why it would be bad for the City of Tamarac. Mrs. Rosen said there was discussion in the` past regarding the Cities uniting with the City of Fort Lauderdale as opposed to being independent and she asked if the City Council would approve this. C/M Hoffman said he would approve this if it was in the best interest of the City. Mayor Abramowitz said the Police Chief's Association recently surveyed the Cities and found that there were several Cities in Broward County which could not afford to have their own Police Departments. He said he believed the next concern the City would be faced with was merging the Fire Department. C/M Hoffman said if the City Council was asked to sign a contract with the Broward Sheriff's Office where the unit patrolling Tamarac was controlled by the Broward Sheriff's Office in Fort Lauderdale, he would vote against it. He said the only way he would consider having a Sheriff's unit was if the City Council and City Manager had control over the personnel and operations of the unit. He said he would never approve turning anything over to a County Government in Fort Lauderdale unless it was controlled locally in the City. V/M Bender said the letter should be sent to the residents; however, the information given to the residents should be what was happening with the City at this time. Page 9 4/28/89 C/M Stelzer said Mayor Abramowitz stated that the first thing reviewed in the Budget was the income; however, this was incorrect. He said the first thing reviewed in the Budget was the expenses and the Ad Valorem was determined Efter the expenses and income was returned. Mayor Abramowitz agreed with C/M Stelzer. With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this meeting at 10:25 A.M. N MAN ABRAMOWITZ, MAYOR CAROL A. EVANS, CITY CLERK "This public document was promulgated at a cost of $88.00 or $1.10 per copy to inform the general public, public officers and employees of recent opinions and considerations of the City Council of the City of Tamarac. CITY OF TAMARAC APPROVED AT MEETING OF 02 City Clerk 1 1 Page 10