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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-11-25 - City Commission Special Meeting Minutes5811 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE 9 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321 TELEPHONE (305) 722-5900 November 20, 1980 NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETIlVG CITY COUNCIL TAMARAC, FLORIDA, Please be advised of a Special Meeting of the City Council to be held on Tuesday, November 25, 1980 in the West Conference Roam at City Hall, 5811 Northwest 88th Avenue. The purpose of the Meeting is to conduct interviews for the position. of City Manager. 11:00 A-M. Evan Cross 1: 00 P.M. Edward Miller Council may consider such other business as may come before it. The Public is invited to attend. Pursuant to Chapter 80-150 of Florida Law, Senate Bill No. 368: If a person decides to appeal any decision made by the City Council with respect to any matter considered at such Meeting, he will need a record of the proceedings, and for such purpose, he may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. /lc 11/21/80 Carol A. Evans Assistant City Clerk f ON CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING November 25, 1980 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Falck called the meeting to order on Tuesday, November 25, 1980 in the West Conference Room at 11:00 A.M. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Mayor Walter W. Falck C/M Irving M. Disraelly C/M Irving Zemel C/W Marjorie Kelch ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Vice -Mayor Helen Massaro ALSO PRESENT: Evan Cross, City Planner Arthur Birken, City Attorney Mayor Falck read the notice of the meeting indicating that the purpose of the meeting is to conduct an interview for the position of City Manager; he indicated that the interview for Edward Miller scheduled for 1:00 P.M. will be rescheduled. C/W Kelch addressed Mr. Cross and mentioned that when he made application and sent in his resume, he must have had something quite constructive as to changes, etc. and she asked Mr. Cross to reveal them to Council. Mr. Cross said he has had the experience and the pleasure of working with the City of Tamarac for a period of five years and has seen the city grow in his position of City Planner; due to the growth and expansion that has occurred in some areas within the city, he would like to see from a management point of view, better communication between some departments and particularly with the City Council in relation to the City Manager's office. He himself tends to be more on the quiet side; City Council is in office to legislate and he is a strong proponent of City Manager/ City Council form of government in that the City Manager is the lead employee in the City and is responsible for the day to day operations, the City Manager can help form policy and recommend policy but it is also the City Council that sets the policy. The City Manager should oversee the policy that has been laid down. He indicated that under the various City Managers personal- ities have been involved, but he would like to take a back seat to City Council as to how the operation of the City is run, but to get things done in as quiet and efficient manner as possible. C/W Kelch asked Mr. Cross if he considered himself from the position he has had in the past and the present position he now holds to be thoroughly familiar with the goal of the City of Tamarac and the transitions through which it has come and does he think he is familiar with all of the operations of the City as it stands such as Public Works, the Building Department, Finance and especially the utility we are now concerned with and if he thought he was capable of taking a leadership position in those various fields. Mr. Cross said he doesn't question the fact that he would be capable of doing this. He said he doesn't know the workings of the various departments, but that any new City Manager would have the same problems. He said he is very aware and he has helped implement certain changes, for the better he hopes, within the city code and he does have some insight into some of the departments, not all -- he feels he has a pretty good knowledge of Public Works and has frequent contact with Mr. Thissen and has known him and most of the people in his department for many years, as is the situation with most of the Department Heads that are around that long -- Finance, feels he is knowledgeable and has worked with municipal plans, but was not associated with the bond issue when it came to the utilities; this was the City Manager's and City Attorney's link with the Finance Department. V/M Massaro is now in attendance. -1- November 25, 1980 /Pe ft C/W Kelch asked Mr. Cross if he had experience with budget and Mr. Cross replied yes, that he has worked with Mr. Gross on the budget; he also did a salary survey and sat in on the budget meetings with the various Department Heads and was aware of how the budget,was put together at least as far as this City was concerned and in Deerfield Beach he also assisted the City Manager in putting their budget together. C/W Kelch asked Mr. Cross if he would say that when he came here that the chief reason for his employment was his knowledge of grant acquisitions, etc. and then asked if he was satisfied with the amount of effort that has been put forth in this regard. Mr. Cross said he felt one of the primary reasons for his being hired was his knowledge of grants and he thinks we had our best overall year in grants to the City; he is also happy with what was received, but obviously we could always do more. He said one of the areas he did not have time for was in the research area; he feels a little bit more effort can be put into the grant side of Tamarac either in-house or with the use of a consultant. C/M Zemel asked Mr. Cross if he believed that as a City Manager when he gives responsibility to a department head, that he must also give authority with it and how far would that authority go. Mr. Cross said responsibility and authority go hand in hand; it depends on the situation and there is a communications situation improvement that he sees here in particular between the City Manager's office and some of the Department Heads and one of those things can be specifically relegated to what he was speak- ing of when he was asked should such and such a problem or information be necessary or need to be determined, it is the responsibility of the Department Head to do that, but he thinks at first certain parameters can be established, at which point in time the Department Head can go to that limit and should they be reached, to come back to the City Manager for further infor- mation or for further input; he feels that on a day to day basis full authority and responsibility of the Department Head is necessary. C/M Zemel asked if he were the City Manager of Tamarac, approxi- mately how many people would be directly responsible to him. Mr. Cross answered that each Department Head would be directly responsible, as would the Assistant City Manager and in the entire city, the City Manager has entire supervisory control over every employee. C/M Zemel asked Mr. Cross if he would as City Manager feel that it was his position to tell a Public Works employee that he was not doing his job. Mr. Cross replied no; should a Public Works employee not perform as he should, he feels it is necessary to go to the Department Head and for the Department Head to deal with that employee and if this is not resolved through the Department Head, or the employee has done nothing about this, then he would see as a point of necessity, going to that employee himself. C/M Zemel asked if a Public Works employee was not performing properly, who would Mr. Cross hold responsible. Mr. Cross replied that the Department Head would be responsible ultimately. -2- November 25, 1980 /pe i C/M Disraelly the City, are happen or be asked Mr. Cross, having been on the inside of there any basic changes that he thinks should implemented. Mr. Cross replied yes; in those areas of the City that he has not had total knowledge of, he can't right now say he would. As fax as the Planning, Building and Zoning Deparments were concerned, he thinks that there needs to be a better break- down description of duties at the Department Head level, exactly what the Chief Building Official is responsible for. In this City of late, the Chief Building Official has even said to him that he is responsible for the South Florida Building Code; obviously that is true, but Mr. Cross thinks as Department Head of the City in areas that are associated with building but aren't in the code, this could be or should be the responsibility of the Chief Building Official and he should be made aware of that -- those duties need to be clarified with that employee. C/M Disraelly asked about Mr. Cross's feeling on the Land Use Plan, Zoning and Development and should changes be made there. Mr. Cross said he would like to see certain changes of which some administratively have already been implemented. He indicated that within the actual administration of the handling of the development, in-house they totally revamped the entire site plan process in terms of meeting dates, required number of days, deadlines, etc. and things move on a fairly smooth basis. Mr. Cross stated that as to what relates at the City Manager level, a previous applicant was asked what he felt about the various Council people being assigned special duties by the Mayor; inasmuch as there is a lot of on -going development to go within the City of Tamarac, Mr. Cross said he would like to see some better coordination between the City Council and the Planning and Zoning Department and also feels that there is a lack of continuity --staff members should definitely be at certain meetings and vice versa. He said he doesn't see the City Manager being a primary participant in daily occurrences as far as development of the City; staff people are for that. C/M Disraelly asked Mr. Cross to expand on what he said about the Mayor delegating certain areas to Council Members. Mr. Crosd said he thought this is the right of the Mayor and the City Council to be associated with various aspects within the City; various Council people who have had previous knowledge in regard to their business activities and their concern for the City, should have the right, or if asked by the Mayor, to become familiar with and associated with special duties assigned. He indicated that he would not like to see the City Council becoming overseers of these functions of the administrative staff as that is what the City Manager is for. C/M Disraelly questioned Mr. Cross about the difference in Deerfield Beach. Mr. Cross indicated that their Council worked in the evenings as there were no retired members and they didn't have the time to put in that the City Council has here; also from the school of thought of the strict Council Management form of Government, the City Council implemented policy legislatively and there was a full time administrator there to handle things. Mr. Cross feels their might need to be some refinement with the Tamarac system, but actually there is no problem with it. C/M Disraelly asked Mr. Cross about his rapport with the pro- fessional departments such as the Police and Fire Departments and what thoughts does he have. Mr. Cross stated that on a personal basis, he feels he gets along with every department head in the City and works well with all heads of the City. -3- November 25, 1980 /pe J do C/M Disraelly mentioned to Mr. Cross that since he has been working in the City and knows a lot of people in the City and is friendly with some of them, would he have a problem if someone was not doing a proper job to have to fire that person; would there be a tolerance towards one and not the other. Mr. Cross replied no, but indicated that's a question that when asked about any in-house employee, they have to say no, but he wanted to expand on that. One of the things that he thinks needs to be done within the City is the annual review or semi-annual review of employees; he feels that the Deerfield evaluation worked more smoothly and is not happy with the evaluation form this City uses. He feels that other than the Department Head, the format that we have now does not give the City Manager the necessary leverage that is necessary to either suspend, fire or reprimand employees of the City, particularly under the union situation that we have in the City now. C/M Disraelly asked if he became City Manager and the Land Use Plan having been basically implemented and approved by the County, would the City have to replace the Planner, or can that be done on a part-time basis. Mr. Cross indicated that he didn't think the City would need a full time Planner within the next few years, but doesn't think the City Manager should be involved in reviewing site plans, etc. as he has too many other things to do. C/M Zemel asked Mr. Cross if one of the Council people should e reviewing site plans with the developer) does he feel that it's very desirable that a member of our planning staff be present at that time. Mr. Cross said he thinks, as he mentioned before, better com- munication is needed and yes, a staff member should be involved in that situation; prior to submission of a project, a developer should really meet with the Council people on the nuts and bolts of the project. Council people should meet with the developer once a project is in-house and there definitely should be a staff member there, but he doesn't think a developer is going to come in prior to submitting application, site plans, fees, etc. C/M Zemel asked if all these conversations and dicussions should take place in City Hall where the Planneris available at all times and no place else? Mr. Cross answered yes. V/M Massaro asked Mr. Cross if to his knowledge any meetings of this type have taken place anywhere other than City Hall and Mr. Cross answered not to his knowledge. V/M Massaro indicated that to her knowledge these types of meetings do not occur any other place but City Hall. V/M Massaro asked Mayor Falck if on variousoccasions she has called him in on preliminary discussions when the City had subjects to be brought to Council that were controversial? Mayor Falck answered that she had called him in. Mayor Falck made note of the lack of recommendations when they come to Council; he indicated that a lot of material comes from Staff, but nothing with actual recommendations which is a general observation. Evan Cross said he hopes that his department is not being dis- cussed, because that is the way he writes his memorandums and he feels that Staff should provide recommendations --4- November 25, 1980 /pe J where necessary and the City Manager should require that. When he was Assistant City Manager in Deerfield, they had a general form when an item was going to be agendized which asked what the title was, gave two or three sentences of analysis on it and on the bottom, space for staff recommendations; that form had to be completed and attached to back --up and this is one of the things he would like to see implemented here. Mayor Falck asked Evan Cross what he felt the level of training overall was here all the way down the line. Mr. Cross said he finds that the majority of management personnel have either worked their way up through the ranks either in another city or within Tamarac and there tends to be a lack in certain areas of management schooling; people may know the nuts and bolts of their job, but may not have the administrative ability to carry it off and he sees that as the situation here. Mayor Falck said not many of our people attend seminars on management and in order to really move ahead, that one really needs to be exposed to sessions of this kind to broaden oneself. Mr. Cross indicated that in years past through IPA Grant, what one can do and needs to be done in conjunction with a college or similar institution, it can be funded through IPA,Management Training for the Staff, maybe more of a five day intensive training situation, or hire a consultant -- take Department Heads and middle management people and give them some basic management skills, possibly during the summer or some other slow time. Mayor Falck asked Mr. Cross if he was at all familiar with the completed staff report form of operation and Mr. Cross answered no. Mayor Falck stated that this was started at least a half dozen times, but it never really was used; it is a method where the problem is cited or the project is cited, what affect the Project would have on the budget, etc. and it winds up with a recommendation or alternate methods as to what would happen if the project is implemented or not implemented. Mr. Cross indicated that he has a Masters Degree in Public Administration and even though he has come through the ranks, he has been training from the management side for quite some time and Mr. Gross has used him in certain areas administratively and management wise affd' feels that his record is quite good; he has either been associated with or involved with a form or method of management that is being discussed and agrees that it should be initiated, put through and maintained. Mayor Falck questioned Mr. Cross regarding evaluation forms and asked if he believed that the way they are being handled at the present time may be contributing to significantly affecting moral. Mr. Cross said yes to a certain extent and thinks what has happened in the City of Tamarac has occurred in many governments; it is a by-product of government employment -- in effect, the City of Tamarac doesn't have a Civil Service Program and there is no Civil Service Board; Deerfield Beach did, but the same thing tends to happen in Deerfield as happens in Tamarac or in any government -- if one does adequate work, you know by looking at a scale, what you will earn a year from now, etc. There is no financial means to highly motivate personnel in the City. In Deerfield and also in Ft. Lauderdale, they incorporated a management package. For example, they were going to hire a City Planner in Deerfield this year and the range used to be $21,000.00 to $30,000.00 with possibly 5% jumps along the line, but they do not do that any more; they have a range of $20,000 to $30,000.00 with no jumps in between. If a Department Head is hired,, depending upon his work, a raise could then be given. This was incorporated -5- November 25, 1980 /pe in Deerfield to get away from levels; the whole government structure of financial reward for employees tends to cause a poorer morale than a better morale. He feels that there are certain things that can be done here, not only as a Department Head, but all the way down the line to increase morale. Mayor Falck asked about waste in the operations, anything from lost time to lost motion to non -productive effort. Mr. Cross said referring back to Deerfield Beach once more, they happen to have a very sophisticated computer system and the last thing that was done while he was there was to control waste and duplication of effort by a monthly report and things are working very well. He indicated that the City of Tamarac didn't necessarily have to use a computer system, but a management study could be instituted to control waste and duplication of effort; in his department, there is a lot of paper that comes and goes, blueprints, etc., but it is not all waste and sometimes necessary. C/M Zemel referred to a variation of Peters Principle and asked Mr. Crossif in the five years he has been around City Hall with no personalities .involved, has he observed possibly in any area that the City is outgrowing the Department Head; that he is no longer capable of handling the job as effectively as before. Mr. Cross gave his answer as yes. C/W Kelch asked Mr. Cross if was willing to comment on salary, they would be willing to listen. Mr. Cross said it is negotiable. The Mayor thanked Mr. Cross and ajourned the meeting at 12:00 P.M. f 'W NjMA OR ATTEST: ASSISTANT CITY CLERK This public document was promulgated at a cost of $63.91, or $2.56 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. -6- November 25, 1980 /pe APPROVED 5Y CITY COUNCIL ONu ���/