HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-12-02 - City Commission Special Meeting MinutesTA
� M7�
U C�
a
P
7525 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE 0 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321.2401
TELEPHONE (305) 722.5900
SPECIAL MEETING
CITY COUNCIL OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA
There will be a Special Meeting of the City Council on Friday, December 2, 1988 at 11:00
A.M., in Conference Room *1 (Room 103), City Clerk's Office, City Hall, 7525 N.W. 88th
Avenue, Tamarac, Florida.
The purpose of this meeting is discussion and possible action on:
MOTION TO ADOPT Temp. Ord. * 1415 on first reading
amending Article 1 of Chapter 19 of the Code of Ordinances of
the City of Tamarac pertaining to the City's Pension Plan
( tabled on 11 /23/88),
FINAL ACTION:
APPROVED on first reading. Second reading and public hearing will
be held during a Special City Council meeting on Wednesday, December 21,
2. *5249 awarding
Bid *88-38 for group life and AD&D insurance to North
American Life Assurance Company.
FINAL ACTION: RESOLUTION NO. R-88-323 PASSED.
3. M OT I ON TO ,AP..P ROVE attendance at a L I fe Safety
Seminar given by the National Fire Protection Association
for Fred Hoffman, Dan Wood and George Wasiles of the
Building Department to be held in Orlando, Florida on
December 11 through 15, 1988.
4. a. *5251 awarding
a project to Broward Typeset & Graphics for printing of
the 25th Anniversary Calendar at an approximate cost
of $5,000.00, waiving bidding requirements due to time
restraints.
b. the transfer of $5,000.00 from
Recreation Regular Salary Account *001-550-572-120 to
Printing and Binding Account *001-550-572-470 to
temporarily accommodate this project and these funds will be
reimbursed as the collection of monies is completed.
FINAL. ACTION: RESOLUTION NO. R-88-324 PASSED.
..APPROVED.
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS
5• approving a Christmas
tree sale by the Fraternal Order of Police ( FOP) on City owned property
located east of the Public Works Building on Commercial Boulevard.
FINAL AOT14N: RESOLUTION NO. R-88--325 PASSED.
APPROVED. ._
6. HQjION TOAPPRQV attendance at a Wastewater edhnical Training
Workshop at the TREEO Center, University of Florida for John Rabl and
James Robinson from December 5 through December 8, 1988.
The Council may consider and act upon such other business as may come before it.
All meetings are open to the public.
Patricia Marcurio
Acting City Clerk
PM/gt
1
1
1
CITY OF TAMARAC
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1988
TAPE 1
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this meeting to Order on
Friday, December 2, 1988 at 11:00 A.M. in Conference Room #1 (City
Clerk's Office).
Mayor Norman Abramowitz
Vice Mayor Jack Stelzer
Councilman Dr. H. Larry Bender
Councilman Bruce Hoffman
Councilman Henry Rohr
ALSO PRESENT:
John P. Kelly, City Manager
Richard Doody, City Attorney
Patricia Marcurio, Office Manager
City Clerk's Office
Pauline Walaszek, Special Services
Secretary
AGENDIZED BY CONSENT
6. MOTION TO APPROVE attendance at a Wastewater Technical
Training Workshop at the TREEO Center, University of Florida
for John Rabl and James Robinson from December 5 through
December 8, 1988.
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION:
AGENDIZED by Consent.
(SEE PAGE for Final Action)
* V/M Stelzer MOVED to AGENDIZE Item #6 by Consent, SECONDED by
* C/M Hoffman.
VOTE:
ALL VOTED AYE
3. MOTION TO APPROVE attendance at a Life Safety Seminar
given by the National Fire Protection Association for Fred
Hoffman, Dan Wood and George Wasilas of the Building Department
to be held in Orlando, Florida on December 11 through 15, 1988.
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION:
APPROVED.
* C/M Bender MOVED to APPROVE this Item, SECONDED by C/M Hoffman.
V/M Stelzer said this Seminar would cost $3,400.00.
City Manager Kelly said this would be the upset cost when
the costs were totaled.
C/M Hoffman asked if it was necessary that three people
attend the Seminar.
City Manager Kelly said each person needed the
certification.
C/M Rohr asked if the total cost was paid by the City and
City Manager Kelly replied, yes.
Page 1
12/02/88
Mayor Abramowitz asked if City Manager Kelly felt this
Seminar was necessary and City Manager Kelly said to keep
these employees certified to make the inspections the
Seminar was necessary.
VOTE:
ALL VOTED AYE
4. a. MOTION TO ADOPT Temp. Reso. #5251 awarding a project
to Broward Typeset & Graphics for printing of the 25th
Anniversary Calendar at an approximate cost of $5,000.00,
waiving bidding requirements due to time restraints.
b. MOTION TO AUTHORIZE the transfer of $5,000.00 from
Recreation Regular Salary Account #001-550--572-120 to
Printing and Binding Account #001-550-572-470 to temporarily
accommodate this project and these funds will be reimbursed
as the collection of monies is completed.
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: RESOLUTION NO. R-88-324 - PASSED
APPROVED a. and b.
a. City Attorney Doody read Temp. Reso. #5251 by title.
* C/M Bender MOVED to APPROVE Tem2_ Reso. #5251,
* SECONDED by C/M Rohr.
Mike Couzzo, Director of Public Works, said the Parks and
Recreation Department was recommending the City create a
12 month calendar incorporating all of the events that
the Parks and Recreation Department offers. He said
there would be a directory page of the agencies and
support groups utilizing the services of the City.
Mr. Couzzo said the calendar would be made available to
various Condominium Associations to incorporate their
events on the calendar. He said each month on the bottom
of each page, there would be advertisements sponsoring
the calendar at $100.00 per advertisement for a total of
$2,400.00 for the year.
Mr. Couzzo said there would be 2,500 copies sold of the
calendar; therefore, the cost of the calendar versus the
expense would be a wash.
C/M Hoffman had concerns with the Condominium
Associations placing there meetings and events on the
calendar because of the many Condominium Associations in
the City. He asked if there would be enough available
space on the calendar for the information.
Mr. Couzzo said the Condominium Associations were
contacted and the logistics of placing this information
on the calendar was not a problem. He said there were
several Condominium Associations expressing interest in
this project; however, the dates of their events was not
a conflict with space availability. He said all of the
Condominium Associations would not be participating in
this project.
Mr. Couzzo said the back page would be for a main sponsor
at a cost of approximately $1,000.00. He said this cost
would offset the production cost as well.
C/M Rohr had concerns with the demand of the calendar
being more than 2,500.
Page 2
J
1
1-1
1
12/02/88
Mr. Couzzo said he agreed; however, a second printing
could take place if needed. He said he would rather
print 2,500 rather than more to avoid over printing
costs.
C/M Rohr said the more copies printed the greater the
advertising revenue would be. He asked who would be
receiving the calendars.
Mr. Couzzo said these calendars would be for sale at
$1.00 per calendar.
Mayor Abramowitz said the Parks and Recreation Department
has been asked not to lose money on this project.
C/M Rohr had concerns with the residents buying the
calendars when there were several agencies giving free
calendars.
Mr. Couzzo said several agencies discontinued giving free
calendars. He said this matter was researched and the
cost for most calendars ranged from $6.00 to $8.00
because of the printing.
Mr. Couzzo said the City's calendar would provide the
service and reference materials that several residents
would like to have and $1.00 for this information was
very reasonable.
C/M Rohr had concerns with the Condominiums' meeting
dates being placed in the calendar. He said one
Condominium Association was not interested in another
Condominium Association's meeting date.
Mr. Couzzo said the information would be for each
individual Condominium that wanted to participate in the
meetings.
C/M Rohr asked why this would be done because it added to
the cost.
Mr. Couzzo said this matter did not add to the cost and
Mayor Abramowitz said this project was a Public Relations
project.
Mr. Couzzo said this project was a pilot project for the
City and the Department. He said after this project was
implemented, there may be modifications made for next
year.
Mayor Abramowitz said this type of project was done by
the City of Plantation and Mr. Couzzo indicated that the
project was successful.
Mr. Couzzo said the City of Plantation was selling their
calendars for $3.00 and it was being distributed
successfully.
C/M Bender said this project was a test program and all
of the answers would not be known until the project was
implemented. He said the costs were a gamble; however,
more than half the costs would be returned. He said the
project should proceed and suggested it be approved.
Mr. Couzzo apologized for this matter being brought to
the City Council at such a short notice. He said he
Page 3
u
12/02/88
would like
the calendar printed before the new
year;
therefore,
there was a rush in proceeding with
the
project.
VOTE:
Mayor Abramowitz
- Aye
V/M Stelzer
- Aye
C/M Bender
- Aye
C/M Hoffman
- Nay
C/M Rohr
- Aye
b. C/M Bender
MOVED to APPROVE Item 4 b., SECONDED
by V/M Stelzer.
Mr. Couzzo said this money would be needed in an account
to secure the costs for printing. He said the money
would be reimbursed to the account as the sponsors and
the sale of the calendar proceeded. He said there were
sufficient funds in the salary account to make the
transfer and the matter was reviewed by the Finance
Director.
City Manager Kelly said there was approximately $2,025.00
available in the account and Mr. Couzzo proposed to
freeze the salary position for the Recreation Supervisor
which was presently open since Mimi Mannion resigned. He
said the position would be frozen for three months to
insure that the monies would be available.
C/M Bender asked if the monies going in and out of the
account could be determined and Mr. Couzzo replied, yes.
C/M Bender asked that the City Council receive reports as
to the action in that account.
C/M Rohr asked if there would be a new procedure
regarding the Parks and Recreation activity schedule. He
said the Parks and Recreation Department and the
Tam -A -Gram would be working together to publish the
activity schedule as opposed to the Parks and Recreation
Department sending out separate schedules.
Mr. Couzzo said he met with the Public Information Board
and discussed this matter. He said he suggested that the
procedures be drafted and presented to the City Council
because of the transfer of funds.
C/M Rohr said at this time the Parks and Recreation
Department was spending approximately $15,000.00 a year
for mailings whereas it would only cost $500.00 per month
having the information in the Tam -A --Gram. He said there
would be a tremendous savings. He suggested that the
savings be used for the calendar if there was a
shortfall.
Mr. Couzzo said the calendar may assist in reducing the
numbers of mailings needed because all of the Parks and
Recreation activities would be in the calendar.
City Manager Kelly said the formal bidding was waived for
this project; however, other bids were secured but
Broward Typeset & Graphics was the lowest bidder. 14
VOTE: Mayor Abramowitz - Aye
V/M Stelzer - Aye
C/M Bender - Aye
C/M Hoffman - Nay
C/M Rohr - Aye
Page 4
12/02/88
5. MOTION TO ADOPT Temp. Reso. #5252 approving a Christmas
tree sale by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) on City owned
property located east of the Public Works Building on Commercial
Boulevard.
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION:
APPROVED.
RESOLUTION NO. R-88-325 -- PASSED
City Attorney Doody read Temp. Reso. #5252 by title.
* C/M Bender MOVED to APPROVE TeT2. Reso. #5252,
* SECONDED by C/M Hoffman.
Mike Von Hofen, Assistant City Planner, said the Hold
Harmless Agreement has been signed and the insurance was
received. He said the facilities were inspected by the
Building Department and the Community Development would
be signing off on their inspection.
V/M Stelzer asked if the City owned the Durban Paper
Stock Company driveway and City Manager Kelly replied,
Yes.
City Manager Kelly said the fees for the tree sale were
waived; however, the permits were not. He said a tree
for the interior of the Municipal Complex would be
donated.
VOTE:
AGENDIZED BY CONSENT
ALL VOTED AYE
6. MOTION TO APPROVE attendance at a Wastewater Technical
Tra n ng Workshop at the TREED Center, University of Florida
for John Rabl and James Robinson from December 5 through
December 8, 1988.
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION:
AGENDIZED by Consent on Page 1.
APPROVED for an amount not to exceed $500.00.
Bob Foy, Director of Utilities/Engineering, said the
total cost was $492.00 which included tuition. He said
the travel expenses would be $320.00.
V/M Stelzer said the total should not exceed $800.00 and
Mayor Abramowitz agreed.
C/M Bender said the figures indicated by Mr. Foy did not
add up to $800.00.
V/M Stelzer said $270.00 for tuition fees was not
included and Mayor Abramowitz asked who paid the tuition
fees.
Mr. Foy said the cost for the tuition fees was in the
Budget, was authorized and did not need approval. He
said the request for approval was for the overnight
expense.
Mayor Abramowitz said the backup indicated $172.00 for
lodging and $320.00 for travel expenses.
V/M Stelzer said the cost should not exceed $500.00.
Page 5
12/02/88
* V/M Stelzer MOVED to APPROVE this Item not to exceed $500.00,
* SECONDED by C/M Hoffman.
VOTE:
ALL VOTED AYE
Mayor Abramowitz announced that the City Manager, City
Attorney and Assistant City Planner recently appeared
before the Broward County Planning Council and he
congratulated them on doing such a good job.
City Manager Kelly said one item on that Agenda was
regarding the rezoning of the Public Works Property. He
said the rezoning was unanimously approved by the Broward
County Planning Council and two acres would be exempt
from the Plan and zoned commercial. He said the balance
of the property was under the Wellfield Protection
Ordinance and the City would prepare a Declaration of
Covenants and Restrictions.
City Manager Kelly said the second item on that Agenda of
concern was that the City of North Lauderdale proposed a
rezoning to Utilities for the property north of Banyan
Lakes on Bailey Road. He said the City was successful in
having the rezoning modified so that the bottom portion
would be maintained as residential with no access to the
industrial properties for the protection of the
residents.
C/M Hoffman said the City Council was pleased with this
success and he asked if the purchaser of the Public Works
property was pleased.
City Attorney Doody said the purchaser was indicating
that the rezoning was acceptable.
V/M Stelzer asked if two acres was enough for commercial
zoning and City Manager Kelly said the acreage for
commercial zoning was more than sufficient for a gas
station.
2. MOTION TO ADOPT Temp Reso. #5249 awarding Bid #88-38
for group life and AD&D�insurance to North American Life
Assurance Company.
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION:
APPROVED.
*
*
RESOLUTION NO. R-88-323 - PASSED
City Attorney Doody read Temp. Reso. #5249 by title.
C/M Bender MOVED to APPROVE Temp. Reso. #5249,
SECONDED by C/M Hoffman.
V/M Stelzer asked how the premiums were paid.
Larry Perretti, Personnel Director, said the City paid
for Life and AD&D Insurance wholly.
VOTE:
ALL VOTED AYE
1. MOTION TO ADOPT TTemP. Ord. #1415 on first reading
am ne ding Art cle 1 0 Chapter 19 of the Code of Ordinances
of the City of Tamarac pertaining to the City's Pension Plan
(tabled on 11/23/88).
Page 6
f�
1
1
1'
12/02/88
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION:
APPROVED on first reading.
Second reading will be held at a Special
City Council meeting on December 21, 1988,
at 10:00 A.M.
City Attorney Doody read Temp. Ord. #1415 by title.
* C/M Bender MOVED to APPROVE Temp. Ord. #1415 on
* first reading, SECONDED by C M Rohr.
Mayor Abramowitz introduced Larry Perretti, Personnel
Director, Patricia Marcurio, Office Manager of the City
Clerk's Office, Ruth Russo, Pension Board Trustee and
Robert Sugarman, Attorney for the Pension Board.
Mayor Abramowitz said he has not been aware of the
Pension Board's procedures or purpose until he received
Martin E. Siegal Company. He said he was very disturbed
with the Pension Board's procedures after reading the
Report.
City Manager Kelly said the Item under discussion was
Amendments submitted by Marvin Clayton, Insurance
Commissioner of Tallahassee. He said the Amendments had
to be approved in order for the City to receive the
Police and Firefighter 175/185 Benefit Tax Monies.
Mayor Abramowitz asked who Marvin Clayton was and Ruth
Russo, Pension Board Trustee, said Marvin Clayton was
from the Tallahassee Insurance Commission and this office
issued State monies for Police and Firefighters.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if Marvin Clayton was unhappy with
the performance of the Pension Plan.
V/M Stelzer said the Pension Board created an Ordinance
and the Amendments were sent to Marvin Clayton who
selected minor changes and required the changes to be
made before the City received the Police and Firefighter
175/185 monies.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Amended Ordinance complied
with Marvin Clayton's request and V/M Stelzer replied,
yes.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if there was a good reason for
Marvin Clayton holding the Police and Firefighter monies
from the City.
Robert Sugarman, Attorney for the Pension Board, said
when the Pension Board rewrote the Pension Plan, there
were three goals in mind. He said one goal was to make a
general flexible Pension Plan that would empower the
Board of Trustees to do what was necessary to effectively
administer the Plan without having to ask for City
Council approval every few months to get the power to
administer the Plan.
Attorney Sugarman said
the second goal was
to
design the
Plan to conform with
industry practice. He
said the
Pension Industry has
become very regulated
by
regulations
issued by the Federal
Government. He said
the
benefit of
the regulations were
that there was a lot
of
case law to
back up anything done
if done conforming with
the
regulations.
Page 7
12/02/88
Attorney Sugarman said the Pension Board adopted several
things mandated by the Government for the private sector
even though it was not a requirement. He said the reason
this was done was because the provisions were fair,
reasonable and, if the Pension Board was questioned as to
it's procedures, the case laws could be referred to.
Attorney Sugarman said the third goal was to tighten up
granting of disability benefits. He said the Amendments
had to be sent to the State Insurance Commissioner's
Office because they collected a tax on Liability, Theft
and Fire Insurance which is sent to Tallahassee and sent
back to the City's Pension Board to be used for benefits
for Police and Firefighters.
Attorney Sugarman said the cost for the City receiving
the monies which, this year was approximately
$250,000.00, was to abide by the Statutes and the way it
was interpreted by the Insurance Commissioner's Office.
He said when the Insurance Commissioner, Marvin Clayton,
reviewed the Amendments, a number of technical
corrections were suggested. He said approximately 90% of
the corrections did not affect the Pension Plan's
operations and he felt that the corrections were not
necessary; however, because the State was holding the
monies until the Amendments were made, it was easier to
make the corrections as opposed to fighting them.
Attorney Sugarman said there were a few changes that
would impact the Plan and they were listed in the letter
from the Actuary to the Personnel Director.
Attorney Sugarman said the first major change insisted
upon by Marvin Clayton was a change in the Standard
Benefit. He said when an employee retired, the Plan
allowed an option of benefits which were worth the same
thing. He said one of the benefits was a single life
annuity which consisted of figuring how long the employee
would live, how much money it was worth and everything
else was made equal to this. He said although the
standard form of the benefit was in a Joint and Survivor
Annuity meaning a Pension would be paid to the employee
and the employee's spouse would receive 50% of the
Pension after the employee's death. He said the employee
at the time of retirement could choose another form of
benefit offered that was actuarialy equivalent.
Attorney Sugarman said the single life annuity was not
the standard benefit mandated by the State. He said the
State wanted a 10-year certain in life annuity meaning
that if an employee died before 10 years, someone else
received the benefits for the next 10 years. He said
because there were retirements in the City of Tamarac
retirement occurred with at least 10 years of life
expectancy. He said this change would be a small cost to
the City and Pension Plan.
Attorney Sugarman said the second major change was a
requirement that the basis upon which the Pension was
calculated and the contributions were made was changed r
from base pay to total pay because Firefighters and
Police Officers had a lot of supplements and incentives
and everyone worked overtime.
Attorney Sugarman said the third major change was a
change in disability benefits. He said when the Pension
Board tightened up on disability benefits it was required
that all applicants apply for Social Security, Long Term
Page 8 �l�
12/02/88
Disability and Workers' Compensation if the disability
was service -connected. He said if the applicants did not
apply to these agencies, they could not receive their
Pension. He said the employees were required to send
their Federal Tax returns each year to inform the Board
if they were still disabled or working somewhere else.
Attorney Sugarman said Marvin Clayton indicated that this
could not be done for Police and Firefighters because
once they were disabled, their tax returns could not be
checked and they could not be required to apply for other
benefits. He said the Amendment indicated that in order
for a Police Officer or Firefighter to get the disability
benefit provided by the Pension Plan, the Plan's
requirements had to be complied with.
Attorney Sugarman said the Pension Plan required that the
provision in the Plan had to be met by applying for all
the other benefits in order to receive a 75%
service -connected disability Pension and, if the
provisions were not complied with, the service -connected
disability benefit would be cut from 75% to 42% which was
the State minimum. He said the applicants would comply
because they would not want this to happen. He said this
change should not be a large added cost.
TAPE 2
C/M Hoffman asked if the Pension Plan required the Police
Officers and Firefighters to apply for Social Security,
Long Term Disability and Workers' Compensation benefits
and, if they refused, their Pension Benefit would be
reduced to 42% and Attorney Sugarman replied, yes.
C/M Hoffman asked why this provision was being deleted
completely and Attorney Sugarman said the requirement
that the benefits be applied for was eliminated from the
Plan; however, another benefit was established for the
applicants who did not apply for the other benefits.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if it was required that the
applicants apply and Attorney Sugarman said in order to
receive the 42% State minimum, the applicants did not
have to comply; however, to get the 75% benefit
compliance was required by the Pension Plan.
Mayor Abramowitz said Attorney Sugarman indicated that
Marvin Clayton stated that the Pension Plan could not
require the applicants to apply for benefits with the
other Agencies and Attorney Sugarman said Marvin Clayton
objected to the Pension Plan not giving the applicants
who did not comply a benefit. Attorney Sugarman said
Marvin Clayton indicated that the Police and Firefighters
had to receive at least 42% in benefits as required by
the State.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Pension Plan was acting
legally by requiring the applicants to apply for benefits
from the different Agencies in order to receive 75% in
benefits and Attorney Sugarman replied, yes.
C/M Hoffman asked if the previous requirement was
enforced and Attorney Sugarman replied, no. C/M Hoffman
asked why and Attorney Sugarman said the Pension Board
did not administer the Pension Plan. Attorney Sugarman
said the Pension Board only governed the Pension Plan.
C/M Hoffman asked who administered the Pension Plan and
Attorney Sugarman said the Pension Plan was administered
at different times by different Agencies such as
Page 9
12/02/88
Personnel, Risk Management and the Finance Departments.
Attorney Sugarman said the responsibilities were shared
by these departments; therefore, there was no clear
delineation as to who was responsible for what.
Attorney Sugarman said when an application for a
disability benefit was received the Pension Board would
determine if the applicant was disabled and if the
disability was service -connected or not. He said once
these determinations were made the amount of the benefit
and the payments and offsets were calculated mechanically
by the Finance Department.
C/M Hoffman said before the calculations were done,
someone had to see that the applicant applied to the
different Agencies.
Mayor Abramowitz said he was informed that the Pension
Board was an autonomous body and the City was involved
only when the Pension Board ran out of money. He asked
Attorney Sugarman if this was correct and Attorney
Sugarman replied, no.
Attorney Sugarman said the Pension Board was an
autonomous body; however, the Pension Board had no
employees. He said the Pension Board had no one to do
it's work. He said when a Pension was approved the
Trustees did not administer the payments as some Pension
Plans do.
Mayor Abramowitz said he was being informed that the City
should not be involved with the Pension Board's powers
and duties; however, he was also being informed that the
administration of the Pension Board/Plan was in the
Finance Director's hands as well as other Departments.
He asked how the Finance Department could do the
calculations on a Pension applicant if the Pension Board
did not direct this to be done.
Attorney Sugarman said in order to save the City money
rather than hiring someone to administer the Pension
Plan's finances, the Finance Department performed the
necessary functions.
C/M Rohr said the Pension Board was a body overseeing the
Pension Fund; however, Attorney Sugarman was stating that
when an employee applied for Pension benefits the Pension
Board was not responsible for the validity of the claim.
Attorney Sugarman said this was not correct because this
action was one of the powers of the Pension Board
Trustees.
C/M Rohr said Attorney Sugarman indicated that the
Pension Board did not request the individual to apply for
other benefits from other Agencies.
Attorney Sugarman said this was not done by the Pension
Board because there were no employees. He said there was
no one for the applicants to come to.
C/M Rohr asked if it was the Pension Board's
responsibility to inform the Financial Officer about the
applicant needing to apply to the other Agencies before
applying for a Pension with the Board to determine if the
application was legitimate and how it should be paid.
Page 10
12/02/88
Attorney Sugarman said the Finance Director is a member
of the Pension Board.
C/M Rohr asked why the determination was not made by the
entire Pension Board that the Finance Officer, who was
also a member, be told to handle certain procedures
before presenting the Pension payment to the applicant.
Attorney Sugarman said when the new formula was
established for determining Disability Pension benefits,
the Finance Director was part of the the Board's decision
because he was a member of the Board and he voted on the
Amendment. He said the Finance Director issued a Report
to the Pension Board every month and the Finance Director
or his assistant sat on the Board and voted on the
Disability Pension applications. He said the Finance
Director had a copy of the Ordinance and a financial
statement was submitted to the Board every month.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Pension Board felt that the
Finance Director should be a Trustee on the Board and
administer the Pension Plan's finances. He said the
Report from Marvin E. Siegal Company was very bad and it
indicated that no one was taking care of matters. He
said he was asked to sign a transfer of funds for
Disability Pensions in the amount of $14,411.53 for
November, 1988. He said he was not qualified to verify
the validity of the Pension applications and felt that it
was not the City's business as to the Pension Board's
actions; however, the City became involved if the Pension
Plan ran out of money; therefore, the City should have a
responsibility as to the financial actions.
Mayor Abramowitz said he could only refer to the Pension
Board and Plan by what Martin E. Siegal Company reported.
He said if Martin E. Siegal Company was incorrect in the
Report, it should be reputed. He said he was very upset
with the Report because it indicated that the Finance
Director was responsible in implementing the rules and
regulations of the Pension Board. He said if this is
true it was not logical because the Pension Board should
be administering the procedures of Pension applications.
He asked if the Pension Board's responsibility ended once
the Pension Benefit was granted.
Attorney Sugarman said the Pension Board reviewed the
Pension recipients every year and Mayor Abramowitz asked
how this was done.
Attorney Sugarman asked if the City Council wanted to
know how the procedure would be and Mayor Abramowitz said
he would like to know how the reviews were done in the
past.
At 12:00 P.M., City Manager Kelly WITHDREW from the
meeting.
Attorney Sugarman said each file was reviewed each year
to see if the Pension recipient was still disabled.
Mayor Abramowitz asked how the Pension Board could make
this determination and V/M Stelzer said it was determined
by a doctor.
Attorney Sugarman said if the disability recipient had a
bad back, the Pension Board would send the recipient to a
doctor selected by the Pension Board.
Page 11
12/02/88
Attorney Sugarman said before the Pension Board
determined if a person was disabled, a medical report
from the employees doctor was received and, if the Board
had any questions as to the total extent of the
disability, the employee is sent for a second opinion by
the Pension Board's hired doctors.
Mayor Abramowitz asked how many applicants were sent to
the Pension Board's doctors and Ms. Russo said the
majority of the applicants were sent for a -second
opinion. Mr. Perretti said every applicant was sent for
a second opinion.
Mayor Abramowitz asked what the Pension Board did if
their doctors indicated that the applicant was not
disabled and Attorney Sugarman said the Pension Board
would deny the Pension application.
Ms. Russo said this has not occurred and Attorney
Sugarman agreed.
Mayor Abramowitz asked Attorney Sugarman if there was
anything in Martin E. Siegal Company's Report that he did
not agree with.
Mr. Perretti said he did not agree with Marvin E. Siegal
Company's Report on several items.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if there was anything in the
Report that could not be complied with by the Pension
Board because of the law and Attorney Sugarman replied,
yes.
Referring to Page 1 of Martin E. Siegal Company's Report,
Attorney Sugarman read, "In light of this, the Board may
wish to consider recommending to the City that the City's
Long Term Disability contract be modified or terminated."
He said the Report suggested that the Pension Board
inform the City as to whether the City should have Long
Term Disability Insurance; however, the Pension Board did
not have this authority to do this and it was not the
Pension Board's responsibility.
Referring to Page 2, Paragraph 1, Attorney Sugarman read,
"The effective date of disability benefits." He said the
Report indicated that if a recipient received a payoff of
their accrued vacation and sick time it should be used to
determine the disability benefit amount. He said this
was incorrect. He said the Report indicated that while
the recipient was receiving the payout a disability
benefit should not be given and this was incorrect
because it was contradicting to the collective agreement
and the payout was compensation for services rendered in
the past.
Referring to Page 2, Paragraph 2, Attorney Sugarman said
the Report indicated that the Pension Board should assist
the employee in filing applications for Social Security
and Workers' Compensation. He said this matter was
resolved; however, the administration aspect of this
provision has not been determined.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the provision was not
implemented because the Pension Board did not have the
manpower to administer the provision and Attorney
Sugarman said the offset provision was passed very
recently; however, it was not implemented.
Page 12
�1
1
I
12/02/88
Attorney Sugarman said the person who used to handle the
administrating was the previous Risk Manager, Judy
Deutsch. He said the applicant used to go to the Risk
Manager and get the applications for Pension and Long
Term Disability and inform the applicant about Workers'
Compensation and Social Security. He said the Risk
Manager would present the files to the Board; therefore,
the Pension Board knew that these provisions were being
administered.
Attorney Sugarman said when the applications came before
the Pension Board a determination as to the validity and
granting of the Pension benefit was made and the matter
would be forwarded to the Actuaries and then to the
Finance Department for payment.
C/M Hoffman asked how many disability recipients applied
with the other Agencies for benefits and Attorney
Sugarman said there have been none since the Ordinance
was amended in requiring this procedure.
Mr. Perretti said there was a misconception about Social
Security versus the Pension Plan. He said the 175/185
State Laws pertaining to Firefighters and Police Officers
could care less about Social Security.
C/M Hoffman said Attorney Sugarman indicated that the
benefit could be reduced to 42% for Firefighters and
Police Officers if they did not comply with this
provision and Attorney Sugarman said this would be true
once the City Council approved the Amendments.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if a person could refuse to apply
with the other Agencies without suffering any
consequences prior to this Amendment and Attorney
Sugarman replied, yes, because the Pension Board could
not legally apply the provision.
Mayor Abramowitz asked why and Attorney Sugarman said
Marvin Clayton informed the Pension Board that they could
not legally require the Firefighters and Police Officers
to apply for Social Security.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if Marvin Clayton approved the
present Amendment and Attorney Sugarman replied, yes,
providing the Firefighters and Police Officers continue
receiving the State minimum benefit of 42%. Attorney
Sugarman said the provision in the past eliminated the
Pension payment until the requirements were met and
Marvin Clayton said the Firefighters and Police Officers
had to receive at least 42% because it was State
mandated.
Mr. Perretti said the 175/185 State Statute refers to an
individual's disability as long as they could not perform
their profession: therefore, if a Police Officer lost his
hearing in both ears such as, Larry Leiman, the State
felt that Mr. Leiman was 100% disabled under the City's
Pension Plan; however, if Mr. Leiman applied for Social
Security, he would never collect Social Security because
Social Security would indicate that Mr. Leiman could
work. He said Social Security was a Federal
Administration not a State Administration.
C/M Hoffman asked if the Amendment would apply to Mr.
Leiman and Attorney Sugarman said when the Pension
Page 13
12/02/88
Ordinance was readopted by the City Council, there was no
requirement in the Ordinance for applying with these
Agencies.
Attorney Sugarman said the Ordinance was sent to Marvin
Clayton and the Pension Board received Martin Clayton's
Amendments.
Mayor Abramowitz asked who wrote the Ordinance that did
not include the requirements for applying with the other
Agencies and Attorney Sugarman said he wrote the
Ordinance.
Attorney Sugarman said the provision was not in the
original Ordinance and he did not know who wrote it. He
said he took the Ordinance and rewrote it.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the provision was included when
Attorney Sugarman rewrote the Ordinance and Attorney
Sugarman replied, no. Mayor Abramowitz asked why and
Attorney Sugarman said it was something that the Pension
Board overlooked because they did not feel that it was a
concern and they did not expect the volume of disability
applications.
Attorney Sugarman said the Ordinance was mailed to Marvin
Clayton, he returned his Amendments to the Pension Board
and, at the same time, the Pension Board was receiving a
greater volume of disability applicants than expected.
He said the Pension Board had to determine what could be
done to reduce the disability claims and how they would
be able to administer the appropriate actions. He said
the Pension Board hired professional firms for advice in
this problem. He said the previous Risk Manager, Judy
Deutsch, was handling the administration.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if Judy Deutsch was a part of the
Pension Board or a paid consultant and Ms. Russo said
Judy Deutsch was not a paid consultant. Ms. Russo said
Judy Deutsch was a Trustee of the Pension Board who was
elected by the employees.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if Attorney Sugarman consulted
with the Risk Manager regarding the provisions while the
Ordinance was being rewritten and Attorney Sugarman said
the Risk Manager was a Pension Board member; however, he
did not think that he consulted with the Risk Manager
personally regarding the provisions.
Attorney Sugarman said the provisions were not normally
included in Pension Ordinances. He said when the Pension
applications began to come in, Judy Deutsch was asking
the applicants if they were applying with the other
Agencies and the applicants did not want to apply because
they would not get any greater benefits from the Agencies
than they were getting from the City's Pension Plan.
Mayor Abramowitz asked how long ago this matter was
occurring and Attorney Sugarman said approximately the
last 6 months.
Mayor Abramowitz said it had to be longer than six months
because the first computer printouts he reviewed seemed
to indicate the matter occurring for several years.
V/M Stelzer said the Pension Disability recipients were
recent and Ms. Russo agreed.
Page 14
1
1
1
12/02/88
Attorney Sugarman said when these problems began to
occur, the Pension Board began to Amend the Ordinance to
tighten up the disability provisions in the Plan. He
said during this time, negotiations with Marvin Clayton
were taking place; therefore, the Amendments were
combined for the City Council to approve.
C/M Hoffman asked if the. City Council should have been
informed of these matters and Attorney Sugarman said the
City Council had an interest; however, the,Pension Board
was solving the problem and did not need to consult the
City Council on the matter.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Pension Board would have
felt the same way if they ran out of money and Attorney
Sugarman said he could not foresee this happening.
Ms. Russo said the City Council had a Liaison sitting as
a member on the Pension Board and there were Minutes of
every meeting.
C/M Hoffman said he never received a copy of the Minutes
of the Pension Board meetings.
V/M Stelzer said the Pension Board provided for Long Term
Disability to protect the employees; however, there were
many disability claims especially in the Police
Department. He said the Pension Board became concerned
with these disability claims and began to find a solution
to avoid the numerous claims by reviewing the offset
matter.
Mayor Abramowitz asked how much money was spent from the
Pension Plan in the past year for Disability benefits and
V/M Stelzer said this could not be determined at this
time. V/M Stelzer said he had been fighting the fact
that the Pension Board should not be in the Insurance
business and should not have to pay Disability benefits.
He said this was why the Pension Board hired a company to
handle the disability claims and administer of the
matter.
C/M Rohr asked if the Pension Board could force
disability applicants past and future to conform to the
new provisions in the Ordinance and Attorney Sugarman
replied, yes.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Amendment was given to
Marvin Clayton for review and approval and Attorney
Sugarman replied, yes.
Attorney Sugarman said when the Pension Board tightened
the disability provisions, negotiations were taking place
with Marvin Clayton; therefore, the matter was not
brought to the City Council until a,solution was found.
He said he was not going to have the City Council approve
an Amendment that Marvin Clayton would be changing in the
future.
Mayor Abramowitz said the Pension Board should have kept
the City Council informed of the matter.
C/M Hoffman asked if a Police Officer could do light duty
work as a Police Officer and Attorney Sugarman said this
matter has come before the Pension Board.
Page 15
12/02/88
Attorney Sugarman said the State Law indicated that the
injury must permanently and wholly prevent the employee
from rendering useful and efficient service to the City
as a Police Officer. He said Larry Leiman was a Police
Officer who lost his hearing and was assigned to duty as
an Administrator Officer; however, when the new Ordinance
was passed, Mr. Leiman applied for disability because he
could not be a full-time road Police Officer. He said
the Police Chief was contacted regarding light duty work
for Mr. Leiman and the Police Chief indicated that there
was no light duty work available. He said the Pension
Board had to grant a disability Pension to Mr. Leiman
because he was permanently disabled from his continuous
and regular duty.
C/M Hoffman asked if the disability applicants could be
brought back to fill the positions of dispatcher and Mr.
Perretti said this could not be done because there were
two different Unions involved.
C/M Hoffman asked if an able -body Police Officer could be
assigned to work as a dispatcher and Attorney Sugarman
replied, yes. Mr. Perretti said this could be done if
the Police Officer was certified. Mr. Perretti said
dispatchers had to be certified and pass a dispatching
and teletyping test; however, there would be problems
With the bargaining unit because the Police Officer was a
dues paying member.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the existing disability
recipients could be legally forced to apply to the other
Agencies and Attorney Sugarman replied, yes. Attorney
Sugarman said this provision would not cost the
recipients anything except time.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Pension Board could deny
disability benefits if the other Agencies denied benefits
because they did not find that the applicant was
Permanently disabled.
V/M Stelzer said there was a permanent disability and a
disability in being a Police Officer. He said if the
recipient could not perform the duties of a Police
Officer, the recipient was entitled to the benefits
provided in the City's Pension Plan.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the benefit could be reduced to
42% if the other Agencies refused benefits and V/M
Stelzer said the only way the benefit could be reduced
from 75% to 42% is if the applicant refused to apply for
the benefits of the other Agencies.
Mayor Abramowitz asked who made this law and Attorney
Sugarman said the Pension Board made this rule.
Mayor Abramowitz asked where it stated that if an
applicant applied with the other Agencies and was denied
that the City's Pension Plan could not reduce the benefit
from 75% to 42%.
Attorney Sugarman said the State Law defined disability;
however, there were several definitions of disability.
He said the easiest definition was the State Law's which
was "unable to render useful and efficient service as a
Police Officer in his regular duties". He said Social
Security's definition is "unable to engage in any gainful
employment".
Page 16
/s
1
14
12/02/88
TAPE 3
City Attorney Doody said other than road patrol there
must be other duties that could be performed by a Police
Officer.
Attorney Sugarman said Larry Leiman was in that type of
position; however, the Police Chief came to the Board and
said he would be reassigning Mr. Leiman to road patrol
rather than as Administrative officer.
Mayor Abramowitz said the Police Chief was not the City
Manager or the City Council. He asked if the Pension
Board brought the matter to a higher authority other than
the Police Chief.
Ms. Russo said the City Council and City Manager had
representatives sitting on the Pension Board as Board
members.
Attorney Sugarman said with all due respect, it was not
the Pension Board's responsibility to inform the City how
to do it's job or to assign applicants to positions in
the City.
Attorney Sugarman said when the Department Heads indicate
that there was not a job available for the applicants,
the Pension Board had no other alternative but to grant
the Disability Pension.
Mayor Abramowitz said the Pension Board was aware of this
problem and, after the fact, the Pension Board was asking
the City for assistance. He said either the Pension
Board was autonomous or not.
Ms. Russo said the Pension Board was not asking the City
Council for assistance. She said the Pension Board hired
professional consultants to do a Report on the matter and
review the disability claims.
C/M Hoffman said the Pension Board should have come to
the City for assistance and Attorney Sugarman said the
Pension Board solved the problem.
Mayor Abramowitz said Larry Leiman was receiving
$2,000.00 monthly because a Department Head decided that
Mr. Leiman could not be used. He said if he was a
Pension Board member, he would have asked the Department
Head's boss, who is the City Manager, to review the
decision. He said when there were problems with money
the Pension Board should bring the problem to the
attention of someone that may be able to assist them.
City Attorney Doody said the Pension Board determined if
an applicant was entitled to benefits. He asked if the
Pension Board determined the amount of the benefit and
Ms. Russo said the Actuaries made this determination.
City Attorney Doody asked if the Pension Board decided
that the applicant was entitled to the Actuaries Report
and Attorney Sugarman said once the Pension Board made
the determination that the applicant was disabled and it
was service -connected, the remaining procedures were
handled ministerially.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the amount determined by the
Actuaries was paid with the Pension Board investigating
further and Attorney Sugarman said the Finance Department
paid the amount.
Page 17
12/02/88
Attorney Sugarman said the Pension Board was surprised
when they found out that the Risk Manager was informing
the applicants to apply for benefits with the different
Agencies but not telling the Finance Department to offset
or check the costs.
Mayor Abramowitz had concerns about granting disability
benefits to applicants that were denied benefits from
other Agencies.
Attorney Sugarman said the applicant would receive the
full benefit from the City's Pension Plan providing the
applicant complied with the Plan's provision regarding
applying with the other Agencies regardless of whether
they denied benefits.
Mayor Abramowitz asked who would adjudicate that the
applicant applied with the other Agencies and Attorney
Sugarman said the Pension Board hired a professional to
do this.
Attorney Sugarman said the standard disability benefit
for Police Officers and Firefighters was based on the
employees' ability to render useful or efficient service
to the City as a Police Officer or Firefighter.
Mayor Abramowitz asked whose terminology this was and
Attorney Sugarman said the terminology was provided by
State Law.
Attorney Sugarman said this Law was the easiest for the
employees. He said the Social Security Law was for
anyone disabled and unable to engage in gainful
employment. He said the Workers' Compensation Law was
for an employee unable to earn what was previously
earned.
Mr. Perretti said there was nothing stopping the City or
the Pension Plan from having 175/185 monies in the
Pension Plan; however, if the 175/185 monies were
eliminated, the State's Fund would be eliminated. He
said if everyone wanted to eliminate the money, the City
Council could recommend the Pension Board do this and the
disability provision could be drafted as the City
pleased. He said he represented the City Manager and V/M
Stelzer represented the Mayor on the Pension Board.
Mr. Perretti said he, V/M Stelzer, Judy Deutsch and the
Finance Director were always against keeping disability
in the Pension Plan because they felt that disability
should not be involved with the Pension Plan and
interfere with the Pension Plan by offsetting Pensions.
He said the 175/185 monies were always wanted by the
Union representatives who were sitting on the Board
because of the confinements.
C/M Hoffman said it would not take many more people going
on disability to equal the monies being received from the
State and Mayor Abramowitz agreed.
C/M Hoffman said Police Officers could do several things
such as clerical and administrative work. He said a
Police Officer who hurt his back could do something in
the office as opposed to going on Disability Pension.
Mr. Perretti said this was true; however, the City did
not have these types of classifications in the Budget.
Page 18
1
12/02/88
Attorney Sugarman said a Disability Pension could not be
denied based on the way the State Statue was presently
written. He said George Strittmatter injured his back on
the job and the Fire Chief appeared before the Pension
Board stating that he did not have a position for Mr.
Strittmatter; therefore, the Pension Board had to
determine if Mr. Strittmatter met the qualifications for
the Ordinance and the answer was yes. He said if the
Pension Board decided that the Pension Benefit should not
be granted and Mr. Strittmatter took the matter to the
Courts with the Fire Chief indicating that there was not
a position available for Mr. Strittmatter labelling Mr.
Strittmatter as unable to render his continuous and
regular duty as a Firefighter, the Pension Board would
lose the case.
City Attorney Doody said he did not doubt Attorney
Sugarman's arguments; however, the Fire Chief has come to
him regarding the problem with disability. He questioned
why the person making the determination that there were
no positions available was stressing a problem with
disability. He asked if the Department Heads were aware
of the ramifications in making this type of decision.
Mayor Abramowitz said the Department Heads were making
decisions that should be made by their superior and Ms.
Russo said the Department Heads did not want a certified
Police Officer or Firefighter placed in a light duty
position and not be able to utilize them.
Mayor Abramowitz said he was concerned with the
Department Heads who represent the majority of the
disability claims coming to the City Manager, City
Attorney and City Council complaining that the problem
with disability had to be corrected.
Ms. Russo said when the existing disability recipients
were reviewed by the consultants and the consultants
Report that certain recipients could return to work,
there would be problems in providing positions for those
recipients.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the problem with getting these
people back to work would be with the Department Heads
and Ms. Russo replied, yes. Mayor Abramowitz disagreed.
Mr. Perretti said he understood that Mayor Abramowitz
disagreed; however, he suggested that a Workshop meeting
take place as soon as possible with the City Council and
staff to find a solution to this problem. He said rather
than the Pension Board being messengers, the City Council
should hear from the Department Heads first hand.
Mayor Abramowitz said he wanted the Finance Department
removed from the Pension Board because the only direction
the Finance Department should be getting is to draft a
check. He said the Finance Department should not be
involved in the decisions of the Pension Board.
C/M Hoffman said he heard that Disability claims should
not be included in the Pension Fund and he asked who
should be responsible for handling disability claims and
Mr. Perretti said the City had a Long Term Disability
Plan.
Page 19
12/02/88
C/M Hoffman asked if the City Council agreed that the
Pension claims should not be involved in the Pension Fund
and how the disability claims should be handled.
Attorney Sugarman said the City had to bargain with the
Unions to get the benefit out of the Pension Plan and,
assuming the Unions agreed, the Pension Plan had to be
amended removing any reference to disability. He said
after this was done, the cost of disability benefits had
to be determined by the Actuaries compared to the 175/185
monies.
C/M Hoffman asked if the State would not give the monies
to the City if the provision was eliminated from the
Pension Plan and Attorney Sugarman replied, yes.
Attorney Sugarman said when the provisions were
eliminated from the Pension Plan, the Firefighters and
Police Officers would set up a separate Fund to receive
the State money and purchase benefits from it. He said
the main concern was if the Actuarial cost exceed or was
less than the State money.
C/M Hoffman asked if Attorney Sugarman felt the City
Council should have been apprised of this matter being an
option and Attorney Sugarman said considering that
removing Disability Pensions from Public Employee
Pensions was such an unusual step because no one else did
it, it was in the realm of possibility for the Pension
Board to notify the City Council.
C/M Hoffman said he was concerned that two members of the
Pension Board stated that the Pension Fund should not be
responsible for Disability Pensions and this was the
first time he heard about it.
Attorney Sugarman said the Pension Plan always had an
Ordinance that provided a Disability Benefit and the
State required an Ordinance.
City Attorney Doody asked if the Police Officers and
Firefighters set up their own procedure for the money
which would include the same procedures as presently
being done by the present Pension Plan.
Mr. Perretti said the Police Department wanted to have
their own Pension Board and Plan.
Attorney Sugarman said eliminating Disability Pensions
from the Pension Fund was a radical and not a reasonable
thing to do.
C/M Hoffman said he was disturbed that the City Council
was not informed of this matter until this meeting.
C/M Rohr said the main concern was to avoid the problems
that occurred in the past from happening in the future.
He said if the City was to get into a better position it
had to be determined immediately.
Mayor Abramowitz asked what the Amendments did for the
Pension Plan that it did not do in the past and C/M Rohr
said he would like a provision in the Pension Plan
stating that reassignment must take place before a
disability Pension was granted.
Page 20
1
1
1
12/02/88
Attorney Sugarman said if the regular and usual duties of
a Police Officer and Firefighter included the other job
descriptions this could be implemented in the Pension
Plan. He said when the Department Heads inform the
Pension Board that there were no jobs available, the
Pension Board had to grant the Pension and felt that the
Pension Board was a dumping ground for the Fire and
Police Departments.
Mayor Abramowitz said this was more reason for the
Pension
Board to seek a higher authority and Attorney
Sugarman said the position of the disabled recipient
would be granted a disability and the Departments would
turn around and hire someone at a lesser pay.
City Attorney Doody said he finds it odd that the same
people were confronting him and indicating that there
were problems.
C/M Rohr said something had to be provided in the Pension
Ordinance indicating that no one would be granted a
permanent disability Pension without the City Manager
reporting to the City Council about the matter. He said
this would avoid the Department Heads making the
decision.
V/M Stelzer said he was disturbed that the Fire Chief and
Police Chief were appearing before the Pension Board
stating that they could not use the disabled employee and
then complaining to the City Attorney that something had
to be done about the disability matters.
City Attorney Doody said this matter should be addressed
with the Department Heads present. He said he has been
informed that there were problems with the disability
Pension.
Mayor Abramowitz said the Fire Chief and Police Chief
commented about the disability matter during the Budget
Workshops.
V/M Stelzer said he was not pleased with the conflict
with the Department Heads concerning this matter.
C/M Hoffman read a letter submitted to the City Manager
regarding the recent disability claims (SEE ATTACHMENT).
Mayor Abramowitz said he has heard several concerns from
employees regarding the Pension Fund running out of
money. He said the Police and Fire Chiefs expressed
their concerns several times regarding this matter. He
said if the City was involved in providing money for the
shortfall in the Pension Plan, the City Council and City
Manager should be involved with the Pension Plan's
process. He said the Department Head should not be
making determinations as to whether the employee should
go out on a Disability Pension.
Mayor Abramowitz asked what Amendments were made that
would address these problems.
V/M Stelzer said it was very difficult for the Police and
Fire Chiefs to keep a disabled employee in the
departments when they needed qualified and able employees
available.
Page 21
12/02/88
Mayor Abramowitz said he had concerns with the Department
Heads making this type of determination.
C/M Hoffman read from the letter by the Police Chief
regarding Officer Timothy Glasglow and Attorney Sugarman
asked why the Police Chief was coming before the Pension
Board indicating that there were no positions available
for these disability recipients and V/M Stelzer agreed.
Mr. Perretti said the Pension Board tapes reflected the
Police and Fire Chiefs indicating to the Pension Board
that there were not position available. He said the
problem was that the positions were budgeted and the
Police and Fire Departments needed the positions filled
by able bodied Police Officers and Firefighters.
C/M Bender said the Police Chief was requesting
dispatchers and he suggested that something be worked out
where the disabled Police Officers be certified for the
dispatching positions.
Mr. Perretti said the 175/185 State Law provides that if
a Police Officer or Firefighter was disabled from doing
his regular duty, the Pension Plan had to pay for the
employees disability Pension.
At 1:10 P.M., Patricia Marcurio WITHDREW from the
meeting.
City Attorney Doody said there were different positions
that could be made available for the disabled Police
Officers or Firefighters. He said he could respect the
Department Heads wanting to preserve their budgetary
positions.
C/M Hoffman said this was the first time the City Council
was aware that the disability Pension could be eliminated
from the Pension Plan. He said he was not sure that the
disability Pension should be eliminated from the Pension
Plan; however, it should have been investigated. He said
he was concerned that this problem has been occurring and
the Pension Board has not informed anyone of the
problems.
V/M Stelzer said the Pension Board has been advocating
that they should not perform the functions of an
insurance company and this was one of the reasons why
Long Term Disability insurance was implemented. He said
this problem began about six months ago and the Pension
Board has been working diligently to solve the problem by
hiring professional consultants to investigate the
matter.
Attorney Sugarman said if the Fire and Police Chiefs kept
coming before the Pension Board indicating that there was
no work available for the disabled employees there was
not much the Pension Board could do. He said he would
like to answer Mayor Abramowitz's question as to what the
Pension Board did to correct these problems because there
seemed to be a suggestion that nothing was done by the
Pension Board when there were several things done.
Mayor Abramowitz said he was not meaning that the Pension
Board was not resolving the problems. He said he wanted
to know what the resolutions were.
Page 22
12/02/88
Attorney Sugarman said the Pension Board has taken three
major courses of action. He said the Ordinance was
amended to make the Disability Pensions as restrictive as
possible in accordance with the State Law. He reviewed
the Amendments with the City Council.
C/M Bender suggested that the procedures required by the
Pension Board be spelled out in the Ordinance.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the
Ordinance after the approval
if the Ordinance was adopted
175/185 monies would be sent
Doody suggested that further
January 1, 1989.
City could revise the
and City Attorney Doody said
before January 1, 1989, the
to the City. City Attorney
Amendments be made after
Attorney Sugarman said most of the recommendations in the
Report from Martin E. Siegal Company were complied with
except for hiring an outside administrator.
Attorney Sugarman said when the Pension Board received
the Report, they were surprised to see that the offsets
were not being computed by the Finance Department and
Risk Manager. He said this matter would be corrected for
the future.
Mayor Abramowitz had concerns with the consultants
recommending certain things that were illegal and
Attorney Sugarman said the consultants indicated that the
Report should be reviewed by the Pension Board's legal
counsel because they were not lawyers.
Attorney Sugarman said there were problems because the
Long Term Disability Insurance Company indicated that the
Long Term Disability was offset by whatever the
disability Pension was; however, the Pension Plan
indicated that the Pension Benefit was offset by any Long
Term Disability benefit paid. He said the City's Policy
and the Pension Board were claiming to be second;
however, the matter was settled by offering the Pension
pl.�,►► a good deal for being the' offset. He said the
reason the matter was not pursued was because the
contract was about to expire.
Mr. i>erretti said the Long Term Disability Contract with
Norvh American Life would be expiring March 1, 1989.
Attorney Sugarman said the Pension Board received a
Report on October 71 1988 and it was reviewed during the
Pension Board's October, 1988 meeting. He said the
Pension Board complied with the recommendations submitted
by Martin E. Siegal Company by the Pension Board's
November, 1988 meeting. He said the Pension Board hired
an outside Administrator to review the Disability
Pensions, past and current. He said this company would
deal with the disability claims and, when everything was
accomplished such as applications, doctor reports, etc.,
the applications would be brought before the Pension
Board with their recommendations. He said the company
would review each disability claim every year.
C/M Hoffman asked if there could be an Agreement with the
Cleveland Clinic in examining and reviewing the
disability claims.
Page 23
12/02/88
Attorney Sugarman said Judy Deutsch was in the midst of
investigating the Cleveland Clinic and the Sunrise
Rehabilitation Center's programs.
C/M Bender said the City Council should act on the first
reading and, before the second reading, the Ordinance
should be reviewed and possibly amended.
City Attorney Doody said the matter should be approved on
second reading so the City could receive the 175/185
monies and, after January 1, 1989, the Ordinance could be
reviewed and amended as needed.
Attorney Sugarman said when the Ordinance was passed on
the first reading Marvin Clayton would order the checks
and, as soon as the Ordinance is passed on the second
reading, the checks would be issued to the City.
City Attorney Doody said he would like to have the second
reading as soon as possible. He said he would discuss
the matter with the City Clerk's Office to see the next
available date for advertising in compliance with the
City Charter.
VOTE:
ALL VOTED AYE
V/M Stelzer suggested that a Workshop be held regarding
the matter with the disability concerns of the Police and
Fire Chiefs.
C/M Rohr said this matter should be reviewed to see how
the problem with the positions and disability claims
could be avoided in the future.
With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this
meeting at 1:35 P.M.
RMAN ABRAM WIT YOR )
CAROL A. AN , CITY CLERK
"This public document was promulgated at a cost of $227.00 or $6.31
copy to inform the general public, public officers and employees of
recent opinions and considerations of the City Council of the City
Tamarac."
Page 24
per
of
u �'f OF TAMARAC
APPROVED AT MEETING OF /Z - -P 8 88
City Clerk
1
1
MEMO To:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
REFERENCE:
CITY OF TAMARAC
CITY MANAGER
INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM
Councilman Bruce Hoffman
John P. Kelly, City Mana
October 20, 1988
READING FILE/UNABLE SQUAD/YOUR MEMO DATED„10/19/88
The concerns expressed by the Police Chief are echoed by the
Fire Chief and Public Works Director. The Pension Board is
also greatly worried by the tremendous financial
impact it
faces with this continuing saga.
A report to the Pension Board (copy attached) is
expected to be
discussed at the next meeting on 10/27/88 at 8:30
A.M. Independent
but subsequent to that meeting, a workshop will
be scheduled at
which staff recommendations will be deliberated.
Mayor Abramowitz
had already been alerted to the need for such a
workshop.
JPK:mr
cc: Mayor and Council
ALL DEPARTMENT HEADS
PENSION BOARD
Co
CM
..
C'>
eltq 4t
INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM
P.D. #88-9-21
MEMO TO: John Kelly, C lty Manager.
FROM: Joseph McIntosh, Chief of Police
DATE: September 21, 1988
SUBJECT: THE "UNABLE" SQUAD
REFERENCE: Disability Pension
SEP 22 waq
CITY MANAGER
CITY OF TAMARAC
By now you must believe that I am a broken record
as I have been repeating over and over about the disability
pension needing to be changed. During the past year, five (5)
officers have gone out on 75% disability which means that they
now have more take-home pay than when they were working and it
will continue for the rest of their life. Thies is very attractive
and tempting to other officers who would like to be receiving
that kind of money for doing nothing. At the present time,
there are five (5) more officers lined up and ready to go for
the disability pension. Those five are:
1. Officer George Bruder - who has some kind of a shoulder
problem which is from an old injury which occurred
several years ago. He has now been on Workers Comp.
since August 30th.
2. Officer Joseph Neary ' is another one who claims
problems from an old injury and he has been out since
September 1st.
3. Sergeant Robert Helton - recently had shoulder surgery
from an old injury and has been out since August 18th.
4. Officer David Harting - has not worked since February 2,
1988 and it is not clear what is wrong with him. The
last thing I heard from our Risk Manager was that he
was to report back to light duty which had been approved
by his Doctor. That was on August 19th and he hasn't
reported to the Police Department. I have brought this
matter to the attention of Larry Perretti.
5. Officer Timothy Glasgow - has been working light duty
for the past year. We recently learned that he will
never be able to perform as a Police Officer. He also
had shoulder surgery and cannot raise his right arm.
At least he is here every day and doing something.
POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
1
1
i/
John Kelly,
The "Unable" Squad
page two
Something has to be done and changes made in the
pension plan to put a stop to this farcical situation.
Councilman Hoffman hit it right on the head when he said,
there will be nobody left to do the job.
P
JM/cb
1
7�-� of Police