HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-04-28 - City Commission Special Meeting Minutes7525 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE 0 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321-2401
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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