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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-08-03 - City Commission Special Meeting MinutesF O BOX 25(i10 7 AMARAC rL ORIDA 33320 RECORD OF COUNCIL ACTIONS/DISCUSSIONS SPECIAL MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA There will be a Special Meeting of the City Council on Thursday, August. 3, 1989 at 10:00 A.M. in Conference Room #1 (City Clerk's Office) of City Hall., 7525 NW 88 Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. The purpose of this meeting is to consider the following items: 1. MOTION TO APPROVE the proposed Millage Rate for the 1989/90 Budget. FINAL ACTION: APPROVED the proposed Millage Rate at 4.9510 for the 1989/90 Budget. 2. MOTION TO APPROVE the proposed Debt Service for the 1989/90 Budget. FINAL ACTION: Agendized by Consent and APPROVED the amount of .7187. 3. MOTION TO ACCEPT a check in the amount of $1,500.00 from Ruden, Barnett, McClosky, Smith, Schuster & Russell for the Economic Development Forum to be held on August 3, 1989 in Tamarac City Hall at 6:00 P.M. FINAL ACTION: Agendized by Consent and ACCEPTED the above check which was inadvertently made payable of the City of Tamarac and should have been made payable to the Tamarac Chamber of Commerce. 4. MOTION TO APPROVE payment of a check in the amount of 1,500.00 to the Tamarac Chamber of Commerce for the Economic Development Forum. FINAL ACTION: Agendized by Consent and APPROVED. The City Council may consider and act upon such other business as may come before it. TAII meetings are open to the public. Carol A. Evans City Clerk Purs-.ant to Section 286.0105, rtorida Statutes If a rI rson decides to appeal any decision made by the city Coon;..' vjith respect to any matter considered at such meeting or henrr', , he will need a record of the proceedings and for sm:" he may need to ensure that a verbatim record incluP", ;;cony and evidence upon which the appeal is to bo b =:: CITY OF TAMARAC CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 1989 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this meeting to Order on Thursday, August 3, 1989 at 10:00 A.M. in Conference Room #1 (City Clerk's Office). PRESENT: ABSENT AND EXCUSED: ALSO PRESENT: Mayor Norman Abramowitz Vice Mayor Dr. H. Larry Bender Councilman Bruce Hoffman Councilman Henry Rohr Councilman Jack Stelzer John P. Kelly, City Manager Ken Burroughs, Finance Director Dina McDermott, Assistant to the City Manager Pauline Walaszek, Special Services Secretary 1. MOTION TO APPROVE the proposed millage rate for the 1989/90 Budget. SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: APPROVED a tentative millage rate of 4.9510 for the 1989/90 Budget. City Manager Kelly said the meeting was called so that the City Council could set the tentative millage rate for the 1989/90 Budget. He said before the City Council went on vacation it was agreed that the tentative millage rate should be 6.70; however, this rate was set based on the possibility that it could be lowered before it was sent to the County Appraiser's Office. City Manager Kelly said the City Council received the proposed Budget and may feel that the tentative millage rate could be lowered before it was sent to the County Appraiser's Office. He said the proposed Budget provided' that there would be an operating millage rate of 5.3893 and a Debt Service of 0.47. He said these proposals equalled a 60% increase in the Operating Budget and a 41% decrease in the Debt Service, which was an overall impact of a 40% increase. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council recently received the City Manager's Budget Message and he had the opportunity to superficially review the Budget. He said before the City Council went on vacation there were circumstances that required the City Council to set a tentative millage rate of 6.70. Mayor Abramowitz said he informed the City Manager that he would like to see the tentative millage rate of 6.70 reduced before it was sent to the County Appraiser's Office. He said everyone was aware of the financial problems of the City and he felt that everyone was paying the price of the neglect and political expediency made Page 1 W©AE within the last 15 years. He said he would be making a recommendation for a tentative millage rate and he felt that his recommendation would not harm the City financially. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the tentative millage rate could be lowered but not raised once it was sent to the County Appraiser's Office and the City Manager replied, yes. C/M Hoffman said he felt that the City was not having financial problems. He said the City was as financially sound as any City in Broward County. He said over the Years the City has been under taxed and living in a fools paradise. C/M Hoffman said when this Budget was completed the City would be in a good financial position. He said the City would not be taxing higher than any other City in the vicinity. He said the City would have the lowest taxes and the City was not going bankrupt. He said anyone who rumored that the City was going bankrupt was doing a disservice to the City. He said once and for all the residents should be aware that Tamarac was the third lowest. taxed City in the County. He said Tamarac was one of the two Cities that did not have a Utility Tax. V/M Bender said he reviewed the proposed Budget; however, the Utility Budget was not completed. He said based upon the material he received, he felt that a tentative millage rate could be set which was significantly lower than 6.70. Mayor Abramowitz said since he became the Mayor he experienced several things, good and bad. He said he was a very conservative person; however, he was very pleased to see that there were positive things occurring in the City. He said the City has consistently been talking about the revenue which would be generated from Land Section 7; however, nothing has been received by the City from Land Section 7. He said this was changing because the City was presently receiving applications from interested parties for Land Section 7. Mayor Abramowitz said the professional staff in the City was excellent and they understood the quality of life desired by the residents. He said the City lost millions of dollars because of the ESM matter and the tax monies generated by the residents would not pay for the maintenance of the City. He said the elected and appointed officials and staff were required to try and bring tax -generating businesses into the City that would place the City back on the right track. Mayor Abramowitz suggested that a tentative millage rate of 4.8910 be sent to the County Appraiser's Office. He said he felt that this would not be dangerous and was a realistic figure without playing games. V/M Bender said he agreed with Mayor Abramowitz. He said he felt that once the complete proposed Budget was available the millage rate could be reduced further. C/M Hoffman asked if the Operating Budget millage rate and the Debt Service millage rate was sent separately to the County Appraiser's Office. 1 1 Page 2 8/3/89 Ken Burroughs, Finance Director, said the millage rates were separated on the forms required to be submitted; however, the percentage of increase used was only from the Operating Budget. He said the Debt Service was a separate line item. C/M Hoffman asked if Mayor Abramowitz's recommendation was for the millage rate of the Operating Budget and Mayor Abramowitz replied, yes. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the proposed Budget being discussed was the Operating millage only and City Manager Kelly replied, yes. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council Workshops for the Budget review had to be set and he knew that the Public Hearings regarding the Budget were to be held within specific times. He said he would like to wait until the City Council vacation was over and the Councilmembers were settled before the Budget Workshop meetings were scheduled. He asked the Councilmembers to review their calendars for the next few weeks so that the Budget Workshop meetings could be scheduled. C/M Rohr asked if the City Manager was satisfied that the proposed Budget would allow the City to operate appropriately without eliminating services. City Manager Kelly said last year's Budget was for $22,198,000.00. He said he reduced this year's Operating Budget by 1.7 million dollars from last year's Operating Budget. He said this year's Operating Budget requests were reduced by 4 million dollars. He said he directed the Finance Director to cut the expenditures for this year's Budget; therefore, the Departments were asked to submit lower Budgets. He said Social Services could not be reduced because of the needed services. City Manager Kelly said the Budget contained no provisions for Capital expenditures unless the City Hall property was sold. He said the Insurance Policies were being reviewed and, during the Budget Workshops, the Policies would be reviewed as to the impact on the City and staff. He said there were no salary increases and no considerations regarding negotiations. He said there was a low Contingency Budget in the amount of $252,000.00; however, this was needed and should be considered at the Budget Workshops. City Manager Kelly said the Budget was tighter than he would like it to be; however, the management and leadership skills were available to implement this type of Budget. Mayor Abramowitz said the responsibility to prepare and present the Budget to the City Council was the City Manager's. He said the City Manager has done an excellent job in preparing the proposed Budget; however, once the City Manager submitted a proposed Budget to the City Council, it was the City Council's responsibility to review the Budget to make sure that there were no other reductions available. He said the City Council was responsible for running the City in the best financial position available. Mayor Abramowitz said change was a terrible thing; however, the City was now paying the penalties for years of neglect. He said the residents were not going to Page 3 8/3/89 approve the changes; however, the.changes were necessary. He said when he reviewed the proposed Budget and found something that he did not agree with, he would object to it. C/M Hoffman said there were several things that the City Council and staff would like to do; however, the things could not be dune. He said with the reduced Operating millage the vital functions of the City would be maintained. He said the City would have better Police protection because of the merger with the Broward Sheriff's Office. He said the fire protection would not be decreased and the streets would be maintained. C/M Rohr said two years ago he stated at a Town Meeting that the residents would have to realize that the services would have to be paid for. He said his anticipations came true and the bills had to be paid. He said the residents had to realize that the City had to have income in order to function appropriately. Mayor Abramowitz said he was very pleased with the proposed Budget and, after the City Council review, he would like to see the proposed Budget even better. He said he informed the City Manager last year of several things that were needed, such as a sweeper; however, the cost was $50,000.00. He said there were six men cutting 6 million square footage of grass every month; however, a determination had to be made of what was wanted versus what was needed. * V/M Bender MOVED to ACCEPT a tentative Operating millage of * 4.8910 for the Budget year of 1989/90, SECONDED by C/M Rohr. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE Mayor Abramowitz asked the City Manager to review the calendar for the next month to determine what dates were available for the Workshop meetings. City Manager Kelly said the first Budget Public Hearing date should be set at this time. At 10:30 A.M., Mayor Abramowitz RECESSED this meeting and RECONVENED at 10:40 A.M. with ALL PRESENT except C/M Stelzer. The City Council AGREED that the first Budget Public Hearing would be held on Thursday, September 14, 1989 in the Council Chambers at 7:00 P.M. C/M Hoffman said Mr. Burroughs indicated during the Recess that there may be a problem with the tentative Operating millage recently approved. Mr. Burroughs said the millage was calculated on a base of 1.2 billion and C/M Hoffman said this was what was reflected in the backup. Mr. Burroughs said the figure had to be reduced by 5% because it was not collected. Page 4 1 1 WQ:. C/M Hoffman asked why this information was not placed in the backup. He said he expected the gross taxable value to be 1.2 billion and Mr. Burroughs this was the gross taxable value; however, this amount would not be collected. Mayor Abramowitz asked what the 5% equated to in millage and Mr. Burroughs said the millage for the Budget was $1,201,4331000.00. C/M Hoffman said there was a shortage of $63,000.00 per mill and Mr. Burroughs agreed. C/M Hoffman asked what the millage rate should be and Mr. Burroughs said the millage rate should be 5.1991. Mr. Burroughs said if 4.8910 was equated to allow for the discounts, uncollectables and adjustments, the millage rate should be 5.1991. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not feel that it would not be feasible to submit a tentative millage rate of 4.8910. City Manager Kelly said there would be a problem if this was done. Mr. Burroughs said the City Manager's Budget would be reduced by $601,000.00 and City Manager Kelly said the City Council should not create7 a box at this time. City Manager Kelly said the Workshops would allow the City Council to cut the Budget, if possible. Mayor Abramowitz said he saw several things in the Budget that could be reduced and he wanted the millage rate to be as realistic as possible. He said several people found there it difficult to hear the were several items that truth; however, could be reduced he felt without harming the operations of the City. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not disagree with submitting a millage rate of 5.1991 and V/M Bender said he would agree with the millage rate of 4.8910 being submitted. C/M Hoffman suggested that a millage rate of 4.990 be submitted to avoid the possibility that the Budget would be boxed in and C/M Rohr agreed. C/M Rohr said the millage rate could always be lowered, if possible. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not object to C/M Hoffman's suggestion; however, he did not want to play a game. Mayor Abramowitz said he wanted to submit what he felt was comfortable. V/M Bender said he reviewed the proposed Budget and he did not feel uncomfortable with submitting a millage rate of 4.8910. C/M Rohr said he just returned from vacation and he was not in the position to make a determination; however, he did not want the City to be boxed in because of a few pennies when the millage rate could be reduced in the future. C/M Hoffman said he was comfortable with a millage rate of 4.8910; however, he did not realize that the gross taxable value had to be discounted. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City Council agreed with a millage rate of 4.9510. Page 5 8/3/89 * V/M Bender MOVED to RECONSIDER his Motion, C/M Hoffman * RECONSIDERED his Second. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE * V/M Bender MOVED to RESCIND this Motion, SECONDED by C/M * Hoffman. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE * V/M Bender MOVED to APPROVE a tentative millage rate of * 4.9510 for the 1989/90 Budget, SECONDED by C/M Hoffman. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE Mayor Abramowitz said he hoped that after reviewing the Budget the millage rate could be further reduced providing the City could operate in an appropriate manner. 2. MOTION TO APPROVE the proposed Debt Service for the 1989 90 Budget. SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: APPROVED the Debt Service to be .7187 for the 1989/90 Budget. TAPE2 City Manager Kelly said the Debt Service for the Budget should be determined. Ken Burroughs, Finance Director, said the Debt Service was not computed in the Roll Back or the percentage of increase; however, it should be submitted. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Debt Service could be lowered, if possible, in the future and Mr. Burroughs replied, no. Mr. Burroughs said the Debt Service would be .4757 and Mayor Abramowitz asked what the Debt Service was before the changes. C/M Hoffman said the Debt Service should be approximately .724 and Mayor Abramowitz asked what the Debt Service would be based on last year's figure. C/M Hoffman said the Debt Service last year was .8136 and he asked what was deducted from this figure. Mr. Burroughs said the Debt Service should be .7187. Mayor Abramowitz asked if this was based on the amount of residents in the City last year and Mr. Burroughs said this was based on the assessed valuation. * C/M Hoffman MOVED to APPROVE the Debt Service to be .7187, * SECONDED by V/M Bender. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE City Manager Kelly suggested that the City Council consider when the Budget Workshops begin, preferably, next week. 3. MOTION TO ACCEPT a check in the amount of $1,500.00 from Ruden, Barnett, McClosky, Smith, Schuster & Russell for the Economic Development Forum to be held on August 3, 1989, in Tamarac City Hall at 6:00 P.M. Page 6 8/8/89 I]- 1 SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: ACCEPTED the check which was inadvertently maybe payable to the City of Tamarac and should have been made payable to the Chamber of Commerce. City Manager Kelly said that Ruden, Barnett, McClosky, Smith, Schuster & Russell, submitted a check to the City of Tamarac for the upcoming Economic Development Forum which should have been submitted to the Chamber of Commerce. He suggested that the City Council accept the check in the amount of $1,500.00 and then make a Motion to Approve the expenditure of $1,500.00 to the Chamber of Commerce for the Economic Development Forum. * V/M Bender MOVED to ACCEPT a check in the amount of $1,500.00 * submitted by Ruden Barnett for the Economic Development Forum, * SECONDED by C/M Rohr. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE 4. MOTION TO APPROVE payment of a check in the amount of $1,500.00 to the Tamarac Chamber of Commerce for the Economic Development Forum. SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: APPROVED. * C/M Hoffman MOVED to APPROVE the expenditure and submission * of $1,500.00 to the Chamber of Commerce for the Economic * Development Forum, SECONDED by C/M Rohr. VOTR! ALL VOTED AYE With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this meeting at 11:10 A.M. "This public document was promulgated at a cost of $65.60 or $8.2,0 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 APPROVES AT MEETING OF-3/S`7 City Clerk Page 7