HomeMy WebLinkAbout1984-10-31 - City Commission Joint Special Meeting MinutesMAIL REPLY TO:
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October 1.5, 1984
NOTICE OF WORKSHOP MEETING
CITY COUNCIL
TAMARAC, FLORIDA
There will be a Workshop Meeting of the City Council
on Wednesday, October 31, 1984 at 9:30 A.M. in the
Council Chambers of City Hall, 5811 NW 88 Avenue,
Tamarac.
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss Procedures
for Committees.
The public is invited to attend.
Carol A. Evans
Assistant City Clerk
"An Equal Opportunity Employer"
MAIL REPLY TO:
P.O. BOX 25010
TAMARAC, F LOR IDA 33320
5811 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE 0 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321
TELEPHONE (305) 722-5900
OCTOBER 15, 1984
REVISED OCTOBER 23, 1984
NOTICE OF JOINT WORKSHOP MEETING
CITY COUNCIL AND CHARTER BOARD
TAMARAC, FLORIDA
There will be a Joint Workshop of the City Council and
the Charter Board on Wednesday, October 31, 1984 at
9:30 A.M. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 5811
NW 88 Avenue, Tamarac.
The purpose of the Workshop is to discuss Procedures
for Committees.
The public is invited to attend.
Carol A. Evans
Assistant City Clerk
"An Equal Opportunity Employer"
CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA
JOINT WORKSHOP MEETING
OF THE
CITY COUNCIL AND CHARTER BOARD
Procedures for Committees
October 31, 1984
Tape CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Philip B. Kravitz called the meeting to order at
1 :3� 0 A.-M., on Wednesday, October 31, 1984, in the Council Chambers at
City Hall.
Mayor Kravitz read the Notice of the Joint Workshop Meeting which was
scheduled to discuss Procedures for committees, and added that this
meeting is in response to a request from Vice Chairman Jim Godin of
the Charter Board, by memo dated September 24, 1984.
PRESENT: CITY COUNCIL —Mayor Philip B. Kravitz
Vice Mayor Sydney M. Stein
C/M Jack Stelzer
C/M Raymond J. Munitz
C/M Allan C. Bernstein
- Chairman, Ben Lieber
Vice Chairman, Jim Godin
Moni Avidon
Alice Norian
Melanie Reynolds
ALSO PRESENT: City Manager, Elly Johnson
City Attorney, Jon Henning
Secretary, Carol M. Thrasher
City Attorney Henning referred to Temp. Ord. #1128 and advised that all
of the changes since 8/21/84 have been incorporated into this revision
as Articles V and VI of the City Code. Melanie Reynolds advised that the
Charter Board members do not have copies of this ordinance. The Vice Mayor
suggested that while copies were being made, Mr. Godin could explain the
reason for requesting the meeting.
Mr. Godin reported that the intent was for the Charter Board to be present
to assist Council in changes to this Ordinance and the Charter.
City Attorney Henning continued by pointing out the two parts of the
ordinance, the first part being a listing of the committees and creation
of several new committees. He added that the second part is committee
procedures. He advised that C/M Stelzer has suggested several changes to
the second part for discussion by the Council and Charter Board.
Mr. Lieber asked if Article 5 would contain the duties, functions and
limitations of the various committees and City Attorney Henning reviewed
the listing of committees, with the new section listings for the City Code.
He added that the committees have been alphabetized with their previous
section listings crossed out and the new language underlined.
Mr. Henning stated that the revision also includes proposed new committees
and the functions as underlined in this revision, with the first being a
Charter Review Committee; the second the Insurance Advisory Committee; and
the third the Investment Advisory Committee. Mr. Henning stated that
the Investment Advisory Committee has been approved by Resolution and will
be included in the Code by this Ordinance.
Melanie Reynolds asked if all committees will now be by Ordinance in order
to be in the Code and Mr. Henning confirmed that they would. Mr. Lieber
repeated his question if the functions of all committees will be listed
in the Code. City Attorney Henning explained that the three committees
in this text were not previously included in the Code and can be discussed
in this meeting. Mr. Lieber stated that the Charter Board acknowledges
Council's right to appoint committee members; however, he believes that the
Code should list all those committees, with their functions.
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City Attorney Henning stated that there are three functions of this temporary
ordinance and distributed copies of C/M Stelzer's requested revisions.
City Attorney Henning stated that this temporary ordinance is being dis-
cussed; it has not had a first reading and has not been passed. He advised
that this ordinance has three purposes: it creates a new section of the Code
where all Committees will be listed. He added that it also adds two new
ccnTrmttees and implements the Investment Advisory Camuttee into the Charter.
He added that the listing in previous sections of the Charter will be
renumbered and included in one section for committees.
Melanie Reynolds asked if any consideration had been given to cutting down
on the number of committees. Mr. Lieber stated that the Charter Board should
not be concerned with the formation and number of Committees. Vice Mayor
Stein clarified that the duties of existing committees are already in the
Code and this revision codifies them into one Article; it proposes two new
committees; and implements a co mi:ttee that has already been established by
Resolution.
Vice Mayor Stein suggested that this meeting was scheduled for the Charter
Board to provide their advice and comments on this Ordinance and nothing
else should be discussed. Melanie Reynolds suggested that the Charter Board
was at a disadvantage -!because they had not received copies of this Ordinance
prior to this meeting. She expressed her feeling that this was a bad
Ordinance and should not be discussed without having had the opportunity
to review it.
The City Attorney advised that this Temporary Ordinance was provided for
discussion purposes and Mr. Lieber asked to what degree the Charter Board
would have input prior to voting. City Attorney Henning advised that this
is a Workshop and there can be no vote. C/M Stelzer clarified that this
ordinance was written by the City Attorney to provide the basis for Workshop
discussion, adding that it is in rough form and is not being considered for
any vote at this tame.
Mr. Avidon referred to a breakdown of committees provided to then by the
City Attorney in June 1983 which showed 13 cam-ittees. He continued that
this ordinance shows 14, and asked what was added or deleted. Mr. Henning
reviewed that the Redistricting Committee and the Sister City Committee
were new; the Code Advisory Ccmnittee was deleted; and the Law Advisory
Commmittee was added. Mr. Avidon corrected that the Redistricting Committee
was included in the June 1983 listing.
Mr. Henning continued that during the review for this ordinance they found
the Salary and Wage Control Board in the Charter, which had not been used.
Mr. Avidon pointed out that the Pension Board was not included. Mr. Henning
stated that he has not been asked to prepare any changes and that this was
merely an attempt to rearrange the order and place Committees in one section.
He pointed out that the Burglar Alarm Committee, the Pension Board, the Board
of Adjustment and the Redistricting Committee were not being included in this
section because they pertain to other special chapters in the Code and are
covered in the specific chapter.
Mr. Henning advised that two new committees are being proposed and the
Investment Advisory Committee is being implemented. C/M Munitz asked if
there had been any changes in the Investment Advisory Committee since the
Resolution and Mr. Henning advised that pages 3 and 4 are annotated with
C/M Stelzer's requested revision to eliminate the role of the Mayor from
this committee. He advised that page 2 was also annotated with proposed
changes to the Charter Review Committee, to suggest that the Committee is
provided by Council by Resolution, with the goals of the committee specified
in the Resolution.
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City Attorney Henning continued that the third provision of this temporary
ordinance is Procedures on page 4, with the first item being that no person
can serve on more than two committees; and the second being that elected
officials and employees of the City should not be eligible to serve on
committees. C/M Stelzer referred to letters from two different Cannittee
Chairmen with recommendations for the same person and asked if an applicant
is given a choice in this case. Mr. Henning advised that an applicant's
preference should be discussed during an interview.
C/M Stelzer stated that there are certain cases where membership on one
committee could cause a conflict of interest with membership on another
c anittee and referred specifically to the Planning Commission and the
Board of Adjustment. Alice Norian suggested that a person may be qualified
to serve on both committees but it is the Council's decision at the time
Of appointment. C/M Stelzer advised that Council has no way of knowing
whether or not a person is more qualified for membership on one committee
or another. He stated that Council wants to prohibit the possibility of
predetermined votes whereby anyone voting on a ruling with one committee,
that he has previously voted on in another committee.
Alice Norian suggested that it is Council's responsibility to research the
applicants and appoint members to the proper committee. C/M Stelzer stated
that the applicant must state his preferences for membership. C/M Bernstein
suggested that the application form be changed to include a requirement for
the applicant to list all committees applied for and his preference for
membership. Mr. Lieber agreed and pointed out that an applicant can check
every box on the form. He suggested that separate applications should be
filed for each committee or the present application form should include
instructions for the applicant. Melanie Reynolds advised that the City
Clerk is currently revising the application form and suggested that this
revision could incorporate changes suggested by others.
C/M Stelzer suggested that discussion on the application form be held for
a different time and that discussion continue on the procedures of this
proposed ordinance to prevent membership on two committees where there
could be a conflict of interest. Melanie Reynolds agreed with C/M Stelzer
and suggested that there can also be a conflict between membership on the
Planning Commission and the Beautification Committee. C/M Stelzer said
that dual membership only creates a conflict when it involves the Board of
Adjustment, because the function of every other Committee is advisory.
Vice Mayor Stein agreed that the ordinance should concern only dual service
with the Board of Adjustment; however he agreed with Ms. Reynolds that
there could be a conflict of interest in any two committees. He continued
that he assumes that a qualified member would disqualify himself if such
a conflict occurs.
Mr. Godin suggested that the new committees run for three years on a trial
basis and then added to the Charter. Vice Mayor Stein pointed out that any
committee can be removed by Ordinance.
C/M Bernstein referred to the annotated changes on page 4 and asked why a
person may not serve on both the Board of Adjustment and the Burglar Alarm
Committee. The Vice Mayor stated that a fine from the Burglar Alarm
Ccnmittee can be appealed to the Board of Adjustment. Council discussed the
possibility of appeals between these committees and the City Attorney advised
that the decisions of both of these committees were final and appeals would
go to the courts. Alice Norian suggested that this subject could be resolved
by enacting a Confliot of Interest Ordinance or by including a chapter in the
Charter to cover it.
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Mayor Kravitz stated that the Council and Charter Board must decide the
necessity for these new committees and establish guidelines for them. He
continued with the first committee, which is the Charter Review Commnittee
on page 2.
Mr. Avidon stated that he is against having a Charter Review Board because
the Charter Board was elected by the people to represent them in the formation,
review and revision of the Charter. Fie continued that the Charter Board is
to submit such changes or deficiencies to the people by referendum. He
expressed his doubts that a Charter Review CamYnittee was in line with the
Charter; however Chapter 4.08 states that the Council may create certain boards
to assist with their functions, but not in the formation of the Charter.
Tape
2 Melanie Reynolds agreed with Mr. Avidon and expressed her feeling that it is
an invasion of the function of the Charter Board to have such a committee
that reports to Council.
C/M Munitz stated that the Charter Board has assigned specific sections of
the Charter to Board nym-bers for revision and he suggested that this is not
an effective way of making the Charter meaningful. He said that the concept
of a Charter Review Board should be discussed because any revision to the
Charter should include input from other sources as well as the Charter Board.
C/M Munitz continued that he envisions that this committee would review and
incorporate all such input for a complete rewrite of the Charter. He said
that the procedure being followed by the Charter Board in assigning sections
is not conducive to constructive action with the Charter. He added that
these were his reasons for requesting the creation of a Charter Review
Committee.
Mr. Lieber stated that the previous Charter Board introduced 10 amendments
which were accepted by the people of the City. He continued that one of those
amendments provided the right of the Charter Board to introduce its own
changes to the Charter. Mr. Lieber said that it is not incumbent on the
City Council to establish procedures for the Charter Board. He explained
that the Charter Board felt that the most appropriate way to bring the
Charter up to date was for each of them to study a particular section and
make recommendations to the remainder of the Board. He added that any changes
will ultimately be made by the entire Board and presented to the people for
acceptance. Mr. Lieber suggested that if Council wants a committee to rewrite
the Charter, that Committee should be called a Charter Revision Committee,
for the specific purpose of rewriting the Charter. He suggested that this
Ordinance would be creating a committee which will actually replace the
Charter Board and he does not believe that Council has that right.
C/M Stelzer referred to Melanie Reynolds' statements and pointed out that the
functions of the Charter Review Committee have been crossed out, with the new
revision providing only that the City Council may establish such a Committee
by Resolution, which will specify the goals of that Comtittee. He added that
at this time, Council only wants the right to add this to the Code.
Mr. Codin advised that he had suggested the assigrmient of sections in order
to provide a fresh approach for discussion and review of the Charter.
Alice Norian stated that the Charter Board was elected by the people and are
under oath to perform specific duties. She said that Council's recommendation
to create a Charter Review Committee would place control of the Charter under
the Council. Ms. Norian referred to statements by C/M Stelzer when he was a
member of the Charter Board, with regard to the same attorney representing
both the Council and the Charter Board. She stated that a new Charter is
needed and the Charter Board welcomes all input. She added that each member
of the Charter Board is reviewing specific sections and they are looking
forward to having unbiased, undivided and self-serving legal assistance in this.
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Vice Mayor Stein stated that he has not taken a position regarding the
Charter Review Board and added that the Council does not need anyone's
permission to appoint a Ccnu ittee. He said that this temporary ordinance
is providing that this Committee may be established by Resolution and does
not include any additional powers. The Vice Mayor stated that he does not
agree with C/M Munitz and added that it is the Charter Board's job to
rewrite the Charter. He pointed out to the Charter Board that Council
may also propose Charter amendments and they can elect to appoint an
advisory committee to assist then in that effort. Vice Mayor Stein stated
that this is the purpose of this Committee and added that there cannot be
two Charter Boards..
C/M Bernstein agreed with the Vice Mayor and added that the City Council
has many tasks and therefore has the right to create such committees to
assist them. He continued that Council relegates detail to these committees
for only those things that Council itself has the right to do.
Mr. Avidon suggested that the Charter Review Committee is the subject of a
Workshop scheduled for 11:00 A.M. and discussion could be in more detail at
that time. Mayor Kravitz agreed. Mr. Avidon referred to dual membership
on committees and asked if an elected official could serve on committees
appointed by the Council. Mayor Kravitz advised that the remainder of the
committees in the text would be discussed at this time.
Mayor Kravitz continued with the Insurance Advisory Committee. C/M Munitz
advised that after discussion with the City Attorney, he sees no need for
this Committee and suggested no further discussion be held on it. Mayor
Kravitz stated that the Council or the Mayor should not get involved in
administrative duties and the City Manager is capable of handling this.
He suggested that this subject should be left to the discretion of the City
Manager's Office. All agreed.
C/M Stelzer asked, on the same basis, why the Investment Advisory Ccm ittee
.is needed. Vice Mayor Stein said that this Committee was already established
by Resolution and added that this temporary ordinance is only to add it to
the Code. He continued that discussion at this time is only to address the
requested change made by C/M Stelzer to remove the role of the Mayor in this
Committee.
Mayor Kravitz advised that this Committee was established by the previous
administration and he is opposed to taking the Mayor's position from this
Committee. C/M Stelzer explained that he suggested this change because all
Liaison assignments are made by the Council and if the Mayor is not appointed
as liaison to this acumttee, then his role with the Ccra-ittee is incorrect.
C/M Munitz referred to the Mayor's objection to the role of the previous
Mayor with regard to this Committee. C/M Stelzer stated that his reason
for the requested change was only to correct the procedure.
Mayor Kravitz stated that the purpose of this Committee was strictly advisory
to the Finance Department with regard to suggestions for investments and he
feels it is important for the Mayor to have this role, because of his position.
The Vice Mayor suggested that the role of the Mayor could cause a conflict of
interest in the event that he is on the Board of any bank. C/M Stelzer
repeated his question as to whether or not the Investment Committee is needed
and the Mayor :replied in the affirmative.
C/M Bernstein advised that he has been a member of this Committee and was
recently appointed as liaison. He continued that the function of the Committee
is primarily as a watch -dog over large sums of money being invested. He added
that the Finance Department is doing a good job and even though there could
be a possibility of funds being unwisely invested or invested because of
certain influences, it is not happening at this time. He said that up to now
the Ccxmuttee has only been advisory and he believes that it will continue in
this manner.
10/31/84
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Alice Norian observed that both the City Manager and the Finance Director
are qualified and questioned the need for this Committee. She said that
anyone could advise either of these gentlemen on the subject of insurance
or investments at any time.
Vice Mayor Stein stated that there is a question of whether the Committee
is needed and the Mayor said that this subject will be discussed at a
Council Meeting. City Attorney Henning asked if any changes were needed
on the draft at this point and the Mayor advised that if Council wishes to
continue the Committee, then no further changes are necessary.
Continuing with Committee Procedures, C/M Munitz referred to
page 5 where it states that all cammittee menbers must be residents of the
City. He asked if consideration had been given to a previous suggestion of
the President of the Chamber of Camierce that business owners and/or managers
became involved in various committees. C/M Stelzer stated that this was
already added to the Beautification Committee. City Attorney Henning
clarified that the question was whether or not this provision should apply
to all cammittees or if it should be by exception. All agreed that it
should be by exception.
Vice Mayor Stein referred to page 4 and stated that there should be no
question that members should not serve on more than two boards. C/M Stelzer
repeated his suggested change regarding conflict of interest with the Board
of Adjustment, but the Burglar Alarm Committee should be crossed out.
Melanie Reynolds asked if the Recreation Director serves on the Recreation
Committee and the Mayor advised that she does not have a vote on this
Committee. Ms. Reynolds advised that if the Recreation Director does not appear,
the Committee does not hold a meeting. C/M Munitz stated that if there is
a quorLrn, they should a meeting whether she is there or not. Mayor Kravitz
agreed.
Mr. Avidon referred to page 4b) and pointed out that the Public Information
Committee calls for a member of the Council and the Charter Board. C/M
Stelzer advised that this is an exception in the Charter.
Mr. Lieber asked if the Charter Board is prohibited from appointing Co mmittees
and the Mayor advised that the Charter Board could have whatever committees
it chooses.
Mr. Godin referred to page 5 regarding the Retirement Plan and asked if this
was exempt. The City Attorney confirmed that it was.
Vickie Beech, resident, asked if input from the public is invited during a
Workshop. Mayor Kravitz replied that the public is especially invited to
speak at a Workshop; however time does not permit that at this Workshop.
Mayor Kravitz adjourned the Workshop at 11:00 A.M.
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This public document was promulgated at a cost of $ /v�� 0'1or $ 3
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.
QZ
10/31/84
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