HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991-11-19 - City Commission Joint Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC
7525 Northwest 88 Avenue
Tamarac, Florida 33321-2401
Phone (305) 722-5900
Fax (305) 722-4509
August 21, 1991
NOTICE OF
JOINT WORKSHOP MEETING
CITY COUNCIL AND CHARTER BOARD
There will be a Joint Workshop Meeting of the City Council and
Charter Board on Tuesday, November 19, 1991 at 11:00 a.m. in
Conference Room #1 of Tamarac City Hall, 7525 N.W. 88th Avenue,
Tamarac, Florida.
The purpose of this meeting is:
1. Discussion on proposed Charter amendments.
2. PUBLIC Z&ATICIPATION - Any member of the public may speak to
any issue which is on this meeting notice. Speakers will be
limited to three minutes during this item and at public
hearings. There will be a thirty (30) minute aggregate time
limit for this item, and speakers are encouraged to sign up in
advance with the City Clerk prior to their participation.
The City Council may consider such other business as may come
before it.
All meetings are open to the public.
In the event this agenda must be revised, such revised copies
will be available to the public at the City Council meeting.
Carol A. Evans
City Clerk
CAE/nr
I HE CITY OF TAMARAC IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER AND DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STAT US
Joint Workshop Meeting of
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CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA
JOINT WORKSHOP MEETING
OF
CITY COUNCIL & CHARTER BOARD
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1991
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this Joint Workshop
Meeting between the City Council and the Charter Board to
order on Tuesday, November 19, 1991 at 11:00 a.m. in
Conference Room # 1, City Hall, 7525 NW 88th Avenue, Tamarac.
PRESENT:
CITY COUNCIL
Mayor Norman Abramowitz
V/M Dr. H. Larry Bender
C/M Henry Schumann
C/M Irving Katz
C/W Diane Glasser
CHARTER BOARD
Chairwoman Muriel Davis
Vice --Chairwoman Judy Kitograd
Morton Winter
Dave Krantz
Isaac "Zeke" Feldman
ALSO PRESENT:
John P. Kelly, City Manager
Chris Carsky, City Attorney
Mary Blasi, Finance Director
Paul Novack, Charter Board Attorney
Ellen Wood, Secretary
1. DISCUSSION ON PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS.
Mayor Abramowitz said the purpose of this Joint Workshop
Meeting is to discuss the proposed Charter amendments and he
recommended no action be taken today. He said this is an
exchange of views between the Charter Board and the City
Council. He said the format will be that the Charter Board
will present their ideas, the City Council will present their
ideas and there will be a general discussion regarding ideas
presented and, after public participation, the meeting will
be adjourned. He said the City Council will meet at a future
date and will discuss their feelings and the Charter Board
will do the same.
Mayor Abramowitz said the following is the information
obtained from Jane Carroll's office concerning the 1992
Election dates. He said for the Election on March 10, 1992,
the Ballot wording must go to Jane Carroll's office by
January 17,1992. He said the first primary is September 1,
1992 and the Ballot wording must go to Jane Carroll's office
by July 20, 1992. He said the Presidential Election is
November 3, 1992 and the Ballot wording must go to Jane
Carroll's office by July 31, 1992.
Mayor Abramowitz turned the meeting over to Chairwoman Davis
for the Charter Board's portion of the meeting.
Chairwoman Davis said the Charter Board has discussed and
considered Articles 4,6 and 8 in the Charter. She said these
are the Charter Board's priorities.
Chairwoman Davis said in Article 4.02, they propose that the
terms for Council and Mayor be extended from 2 years to 3
years. She said they also propose that the succession of
terms be extended from 2 to 3 terms with an effective date
for both of March, 1993. She said this would be 2 separate
questions on the ballot.
Chairwoman Davis said in Article 8, they propose the terms of
the Charter Board members from 2 years to 3 years and also
the limitation of terms from 2 to 3 terms, both effective /
March, 1993. She said these will also be 2 separate V
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voting for one or the other or both.
Chairwoman Davis said the next priority is Redistricting,
Article 6.03. She said the Board feels it is better to extend
the Redistricting to 3 years rather than every year. She said
they also feel that the Committees report shall not be final
but that they should give their report to Council and the
Charter Board to decide if they approve and if it is approved
that the Council will make the Ordinance. She said if the
Charter Board does not agree with the total report, they
would have the right to make a report and submit it to
Council for Council to make the Ordinance. She said this
would be effective in March, 1993.
Chairwoman Davis said the next proposal is from Article 8.04,
Compensation of Charter Board members. She said they have
proposed that each Charter Board member be given $100.00 a
month compensation, effective March, 1992.
Chairwoman Davis said these are all of the amendments that
the Charter Board proposes.'
Mayor Abramowitz asked if anyone on the Charter Board wants
to make comments and then he will ask anyone on the Council
to make comments. He said the same thing will happen when
they go to the Council.
Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council has the right to put
things on the ballot. He said if Council does not agree with
the complete concept they will not put it on the ballot.
C/M Schumann asked if the terms of office were the same that
were proposed last time.
Chairwoman Davis said except that they are two separate
amendments so that the voters have a choice. She said a
person can succeed themselves twice.
V/M Bender said he feels it should be 3 year terms and revert
back to unlimited terms.
C/W Glasser said the Mayor's race falls at the same time that
Districts 2 & 4 are open, if someone wants to run from 1 & 3
it means they have to resign their post; therefore this
precludes those people from having an equal opportunity to
run for the Mayorship. She said the length of term for the
Mayor could be changed so that it falls at a different time
or all elections in the same year.
Mayor Abramowitz said every year there is an election in this
City and Staff is traumatized and it is a detriment to the
City. He said at the next Joint Meeting, the City Council
should take a vote to support this or change it and then it
will be worked out.
C/W Glasser said it is not going to affect next year and if
Council finds that there are other things to put on, this
does not have to be a priority, it can go for another
election.
Mayor Abramowitz said Article 8 concerning the Charter
Board's length and number of terms will be discussed. There
was no discussion.
Mayor Abramowitz said both sections of Article 4 have been
discussed. He said next is Article 6, Redistricting. He said
if the Charter Board does not agree with the Redistricting
report it is their right or obligation to have a report of
their displeasure and recommendation. He said Council has the
same opportunity.
C/M Schumann asked why have a Redistricting Committee if they r'
do not have any authority. He said Council and the Charter c/
Board both have 4 people in the Committee and the Committee
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Page 3
Vice -Chairwoman Kitograd said the Charter Board felt that the
report should be approved by an elected body and not an
appointed body.
C/M Schumann said the Committee does have guidelines to
follow.
Mayor Abramowitz said he felt there should be checks and
balances.
V/M Bender said the Redistricting Committee is made up of
representation of both sides. He agreed with C/M Schumann. He
said the Committee should have the opportunity to review the
objections and have them reflected. He said communications
need to be kept open and he wants the Redistricting
Committee's decision to be final after they consider
Council's comments.
C/M Katz said any advisory board who's decision becomes final
is allowing for legislative rights that were given to this
body by the City when Council was elected. He said if there
is a problem with their determination and it is presented to
the legislative body and there is disagreement, the
legislative body should make those suggestions to the
advisory Board so it can come up with a better decision. He
said the legislative body's decision should be final.
Attorney Novack said the word "final" in the Charter is
ambiguous. He said to say that the report is final which is
what the Charter says, only says that the report may not be
changed but it does not mandate any Ordinance or other
decision just because a report is final. He said it means
that the Redistricting Committee cannot change it's report
once it is rendered. He said to imply that the decision of
the Redistricting Committee is final is not lawful. He said
law -making authority cannot be delegated to an appointed
body.
Mayor Abramowitz said the Redistricting Committee has no
right to make a decision that belongs to the elected
officials to take legislative action.
C/M Katz said the Redistricting Committee and the Charter
Board would both be considered advisory.
C/W Glasser said the Redistricting Committee has perimeters
that they have to follow. She said other rules come into
effect from Jane Carroll's office. She said the report is
presented at a joint meeting and corrections can be made at
that time.
C/W Glasser said she is against changing it from 1 year to 3
years because it is done by registered voters in the
district. She said three years is too long and with the
Redistricting Committee there is no burden on Council or the
Charter Board.
ape 2
C/W Glasser said the west could also grow and have a strong
hold within a three year period and she wants to stay in the
one year redistricting.
Mayor Abramowitz said the format is that the issues be worked
out independently.
Chairwoman Davis said next is an addition to Article 8 which
concerns compensation of Charter Board members.
Mr. Krantz said it is an elected office and the right people
are not going to come in if there is not even a nominal
salary to show appreciation. Vice -Chairwoman Kitograd agreed. ��
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Meeting of
Charter Board
He said when the Charter was written there was a
population of 20,000 and now the population is up to 46,000
and times and situations have changed and $200.00 would be
appropriate.
C/M Katz said he made a similar suggestion for Council.
C/W Glasser said the City has to come into the twenty --first
century. She said the electorate also has to be considered.
Mayor Abramowitz said he would support the amount the Charter
Board requested as a salary.
Mayor Abramowitz said the following is the City Council's
priority basis. He referred to Carla Coleman's report,
Section 7.13, Capital Improvements and the determination of
what makes the City's budget. He said the Charter states that
anything over 2-1/2% of the budget must go to referendum. He
said the legal opinion that Council has received is that the
budget at this moment is 36 million dollars. He said the
Council wants to make the Charter clear and concise so there
is no ambiguous language on what constitutes the budget. He
said some say the budget is only the general fund and
Council's interpretation is that it is not factual. He said
one way to do this is to raise the 2-1/2% to 5% to 7% but it
was the determination of Council to leave the 2-1/2% as is
and define "budget".
Mayor Abramowitz said the next priority was terms of office,
Section 4.04 and he wants to leave it until last. He said
Redistricting, Section 6.03, was one of the items.
Mayor Abramowitz said a major item was expenses and
compensation of City Council, Section 4.04. He said the
Section of the Charter, Article 7, regarding Financing was
given to V/M Bender to make changes with the Attorney. He
said they took the language from the City Charter that was in
conflict with the State and changed it as per the State.
Mayor Abramowitz said these are the things that the City
Council deems a priority and asked Council if anything needed
to be added.
C/M Katz said yes, 5.01, 5.02, 5.04. Mayor Abramowitz said
that is finance. After discussion, it was decided that it was
City Manager's.
Mayor Abramowitz said it was a suggestion made by V/M Bender
but it is not marked as a priority. He said this would be
discussed at Council's meeting.
Mayor Abramowitz said he wanted to discuss Capital
Improvements. He said it is a source of contention in this
City and it needs to be refined to come into the twenty-first
century. He said the City cannot operate when it has to go to
referendum everytime it wants to spend a couple thousand
dollars. He said C/M Schumann asked what happens if something
is needed in an emergency and the voters say no.
Mr. Winter asked if there was a court case pending on this
and Mayor Abramowitz said yes, it has been there for two and
a half years.
C/M Schumann said 7.13 of the Charter says 2-1/2% of the then
current budget. He said Carla Coleman says the present
language limits capital projects to 2-1/2% of the current
budget without referendum, however, the language does not
clearly define what funds will be considered part of the City
budget. He said if the utilities is not part of the budget of
the City, then what is it. He said no one has ever told him
that it is not part of the budget. He said the Charter needs
to define "budget".
r,
1
Mayor Abramowitz said the City just completed a study and l%
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was drafted the State law also requires that the garbage and
solid waste is separated,as an enterprise fund.
V/M Bender said he feels that the general fund and utilities
should be combined to make one budget and the 2-1/2% will be
applicable to the total budget. He said this way the 2-1/2%
does not have to be changed.
C/M Schumann said it still has accounts receivable and
accounts payable. V/M Bender said everything would be
.identified separately.
Ms. Blasi entered the meeting at 12:05 p.m.
Ms. Blasi said proprietary funds cannot be combined with
general governmental funds, general and utilities. She said
it is not allowed under accounting procedures because they
have different accounting regulations. She said the City can
say total City Budget instead of fund but Finance has to keep
them segregated into funds.
C/M Katz said he suggests that the City follow the format
presented to Cooper City that separated the two budgets as it
presently exists and that the cap be raised from 2--1/2% to an
acceptable percentage for an emergency project. He said one
section of their Ordinance said the referendum requirement of
this section shall not apply to capital projects within the
water and sewer utility system of the City nor shall it
apply to expenditures mandated by Federal or State
Government, which would take in Tamarac's garbage.
C/W Glasser agreed to putting everything together as the
budget. Mayor Abramowitz also agreed with the majority. He
said the City needs to stop the expensive litigation. He said
there is one City, one area and one budget.
C/M Katz said the City has two sources of revenue, one of
fees and one of tax. He said he would like to keep them
separate.
Melanie Reynolds, resident, said the Charter needed to be
revised to include Tamarac Utilities West so that it's budget
could be considered.
Mayor Abramowitz said that concludes capital improvement. He
said they would go on to Expenses and Compensation, 4.04. He
said the way this is done is ludicrous. He said for every
dollar that Council gets, it takes three dollars to monitor
it. He said it would be in the City's best interest to do
away with this system or make a situation where Council has
to come in with records but with a better system. He said
Council is underpaid and expenses and compensation are
detrimental.
V/M Bender said the expense account vas established ten years
ago and adjustments need to be made. He said the
accountability should be restricted to the point that $25 to
$30,000.00 are spent a year for bookkeeping to maintain an
$11,000.00 appropriation for expenses and then to keep the
records for years. He said the expense account should be
given to Council once a year, records kept with receipts and
possibly quarterly or semi-annually turn them in. He said at
the end of the year if money is left over several things
could be done, either retain the money and pay taxes on it or
turn it back in to the City.
C/M Katz said credible candidates for the office require more
than the $300.00 monthly to maintain a position and the
office. He said it is a losing proposition. He said the
salaries for Council should be raised to $6,000.00 and
$7,200.00 for the Mayor. He said receipts should be
maintained up to the $2,000.00 and anything not utilized
should be additional income with taxes paid on it.
1W
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gets paid and in many cases when expenses are given to a
particular person..and they have the opportunity to keep it as
salary and paying taxes rather than going out and seeing the
public, they sometimes do not do the job that they should be
doing. She said it is important that the people that sit on
Council go out and represent the City and be present at
functions.
C/W Glasser said she did agree that Council should be able to
get that money in advance because more is needed at different
times. She said the money should be accounted for and not
kept as income.
C/M Schumann said if a lump sum is given and accounted for
quarterly, annually or semi-annually, what is left can be
given back to the City. He said it should not be income.
Mayor Abramowitz said his objection is that monetarily it
does not make sense. He said it is a shame that a person has
to be rich to be on Council because there are many charitable
donations and invitations because of an elected position.
Tape 3
Discussion was held on what functions are refundable and they
agreed that often invitations are received simply because of
their position in the City.
C/W Glasser asked if City Manager Kelly approves all expenses
of the City Council and Mayor Abramowitz said he also works
for the City Council.
V/M Bender said in this City, the only people that can run
for office are those that are retired and have a good income.
He said young people should be encouraged to run for office
and if they do not have the money and maintain a full time
job, they do not have the luxury of being in elected office.
He said there are many things that are not in balance and
they need to try and relieve pressure.
Chairwoman Davis said "expense" needs to be defined so that a
determination can be made as to what is a legitimate expense.
Mayor Abramowitz said the City Manager has a ruling from the
Attorney General.
Chairwoman Davis suggested that expense vouchers be handed in,
once a year.
Mr. Novack said the problem is the expense of handling and
the bigger problem is the appropriate use. He said this is
not going to be affected by how a member gets reimbursed or
how often.
Mayor Abramowitz said it is handled in other cities by not
putting any stipulations regarding how the expense is spent.
C/M Katz said Lauderdale Lakes and Deerfield Beach get their
expense allowance in monthly checks and they are not required
to submit receipts for the money. He said he feels there
should be accountability.
Mr. Novack said even if there is not a provision in the City
Charter as to what is proper and what is not, Council is
subject to State law. He said if there is no accountability,
there could be problems with IRS. He said one solution would
be to increase the salary and do away with the expense
account. He said there is not a possibility of taking
politics out of it.
Discussion was held regarding expenses and salaries.
1.1
Mayor Abramowitz said the business Council is in is to be out
and about.
Joint Workshop Meeting of
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Page 7
C/M Katz said it is not only what he can do regarding City
business but now by being an elected official he cannot do
what he could do as a private person.
V/M Bender said the Charter mandates the salary that they get
and it is set by Council. He said the City should not get
involved in this, but the salaries for the Mayor and Council
should be set by the County or the State. He said the County
has their salary regulated by the State. He said this takes
the politics out of it. He said maybe the City could tie into
a formula like that.
Mayor Abramowitz said they need to talk about what they are
going to do now. V/M Bender said they are reviewing the
Charter and he is addressing that particular section.
Mayor Abramowitz said they were now going to talk about terms
of office. He said Council wants the time element extended to
more than two years.
C/M Schumann said he wants unlimited terms.
V/M Bender said 3 year terms, unlimited.
Mayor Abramowitz said the Council will meet and discuss what
they have heard and what they want to do at a Special Joint
Meeting at which time the Council will have the opportunity
to make the vote.
Mayor Abramowitz said the feeling of the Council was not to
put a million things on the ballot because it would confuse
the public. '
Mayor Abramowitz asked if there was any public participation.
Melanie Reynolds, resident, expressed her concerns that the
Council and Charter Board are doing things for their own
benefit and not for the public. She said there should be
public input in these workshops.
With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED the
meeting at 12:50 p.m.
CAROL A. EVANS
CITY CLERK
"This document was promulgated at a cost of $157.14 or $ 3.93
per copy to inform the general public, public officers and
employees of recent opinions and considerations of the City
Council and Charter Board of the City of Tamarac."
L,