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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-05-10 - City Commission Joint Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC CITY COUNCIL AND CHARTER BOARD JOINT WORKSHOP MEETING THURSDAY, MAY 10, 1990 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this meeting to or er on Thursday, May 10, 1990 at 9:15 A.M. in Conference Room #1 (City Hall). PRESENT: Mayor Norman Abramowitz Vice Mayor Bruce Hoffman Councilman Dr. H. Larry Bender Councilman Henry Rohr Councilman Henry Schumann ALSO -PRESENT: Carol A. Evans, City Clerk Pauline Walaszek, Secretary CHARTER BOARD Stan Bernard, Chairman Judy Kitograd Dr. Alfred Wald ABSENT -AND -EXCUSED: Zeke Feldman, Vice Chairman Muriel Davis The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the Independent Charter Review. ------------------------------------------------ Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council would inform the Charter Board of what they agreed on for the amendments of the Charter. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council decided at the' beginning of their workshops that there were changes needed immediately. He said the City Council established a system of priorities 1, 2 and 3. He said he consulted with knowledgeable people and he had to make his determinations on what was good for the City. Mayor Abramowitz said he felt there were several changes to be made; however, he did not want the voters to be discouraged when they were asked to vote on amendments. He said the City Council felt that there should be approximately 5 or 6 items placed on the September, 1990 ballot. He said the Charter Board may not agree with the City Council's recommended changes. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council agreed that there should be priority 1 items placed on the September, 1990 ballot. He said the City Council agreed that Section 4.02. City Council; election, terms and qualifications, Article XI. City Attorney and Section 7.11. Requirements for public bidding, should be placed on the September, 1990 ballot. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council felt that the cap for public bidding of 2-1/2% should be amended. He said the City Council received legal advice from the Interim City Attorney which indicated that the City presently had the right to combine both budgets and use the total. He said the City Council felt that this matter was not a priority 1 item; however, they felt it should be addressed. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council felt that the voters should have a Referendum on the desire to borrow money in whatever fashion that was best in the interest of the City for sidewalk and street lighting projects. Page 1 5/10/90--pw At 9:30 A.M., City Manager Kelly ENTERED the meeting. Mayor Abramowitz asked the City Clerk to submit the dates that the language for the ballot had to be submitted to t County. He said the City Council wanted to place the amendments on the September, 1990 ballot. He said if a Special Election was called for the amendments, it would approximately $29,000.00.; however, if the City placed th amendments on the ballot being submitted by the County, t cost would be approximately $13,000.00. ost Mayor Abramowitz said there was a specific time the City ad to place the amendments on the September, 1990 ballot. Ha said the City Council intended to immediately establish a priority 2 list. He said there were important things to De amended and they would like to spend as little as possible to get the amendments on a County ballot. Stan Bernard, Chairman of the Charter Board, said the Charter Board started reviewing the Charter from the beginning. He said the Board has not finished their review; however, they discussed most of the items in the Charter. He said the Charter Board did not set up priorities because there have been absences of the Board members. He said he would ha e liked to hold more meetings; however, they did review se eral items and expressed their thoughts. Chairman Bernard said the Charter Board felt that Articl ITV: Legislation., was important. He said the Board discussed the terms of office, salaries and expenses of the City Council. He said the Board did not reach a final conclusion on this matter; however, they had recommendations on these items) Chairman Bernard said the Board found several houseclean items and they felt they were not priority items. He sa the Board wanted to see the important amendments placed the September, 1990 ballot. Chairman Bernard said the Board reviewed the Sections pertaining to the City Manager, Qualifications of Electi Ins and Financial Procedures. He said the Board felt they should discuss Financial Procedures further with the people involved. Chairman Bernard said the Articles pertaining to the City Clerk and City Attorney were discussed by the Board. He suggested the Charter Board members inform the City Coun it of the things they felt were important. Chairman Bernard said the Board did discuss the cap for he bidding process and they felt this was a priority item. IHe said this matter was implemented approximately 18 years go and times were different now; therefore, it should be changed. Mayor Abramowitz said he wanted the Charter Board and Ci y Council to discuss their concerns regarding the amendmen s. He said there were certain things that were important to the elected officials; however, everyone seemed to agree tha in the long run, the amendments would benefit the City. Mayor Abramowitz suggested the City Council inform the Charter Board why they felt the amendments they chose sh uld be placed on the September, 1990 ballot. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to hear the Charter and City Council recommendations because there may be re that would change his mind. He said he felt that a two unlimited term would be accepted by the voters; however, after discussing the matter with the City Manager and receiving input from the City Council, he realized that three year unlimited term would benefit the City. Page 2 5/1.0/90-pw Board isons dear J Mayor Abramowitz said every year there was an election and he felt that it was devastating to the staff of the City. He said he changed his mind regarding the terms of office. He said the City Council felt that three year unlimited terms would benefit the City. At 9:35 A.M., Dina McDermott, Assistant City Manager, ENTERED the meeting. Mayor Abramowitz said he was waiting for a reason why the politicians should take the privilege of deciding who should be in office away from the voters. He said the first person that informed him that this would be a dynasty, he would laugh because this was not the intention. Chairman Bernard said the Charter Board felt that a two year term was not sufficient time for anyone to gain knowledge and be constructive in their position. He said the Board would not object to three year terms. He said the Board did not make a decision on succession. V/M Hoffman said the City Council was the legislative body of the City, not an administrative body. He said there were no limitations anywhere on a legislative body concerning succession. He said limits were put on executive branches such as the President, Governor, etc. V/M Hoffman said there has never been restrictions on how many years the Congressmen or State Legislators could serve. He said the two term limitation was put into affect in Tamarac because of political reasons. He said he felt this provision was wrong for the City and he felt the voters would vote to turn the elected officials out of office if they were not appropriate for their positions. V/M Hoffman said the City had a history of one term Mayors and this was because the voters were not pleased with the actions of those Mayors. He said the City would not create a dynasty when the voters made the decisions. He said there were large voting turnouts in the City and, if the elected official was not appropriate -for the City, the voters would vote that person out of office. V/M Hoffman said one of the strongest arguments for unlimited terms was that it took years for the legislators to become familiar with people who could assist the City. He said it took a person years to gain the confidence of the legislators in Tallahassee. He said the City needed the legislators and, if there was a new City Council elected every year, the State legislators did not know who to deal with. He said the City was informed that grants, etc., could not be implemented for the City because they did not know who would be serving on the City Council next year. V/M Hoffman said this was something that did not assist the City and he felt the proper thing to do was to allow no limitation on the terms of office for the City Council; He said he felt two year terms was not long enough for a person to start campaigning. He said he felt the proper number of years should be three years because it gave the City Council unstaggered terms and a year where there were no elections. Mayor Abramowitz said he and Jack Stelzer, former Councilmember, did not see eye -to -eye on several matters; however, he recognized that Mr. Stelzer was bright, hard working, intelligent, knew the City and disagreed with him on the operation of the City. He said not considering the fact that Mr. Stelzer was ill, Mr. Stelzer was not able to serve another year as a Councilmember because the politics of the Charter dictated that Mr. Stelzer could not run again. He said this did not seem sensible. Mayor Abramowitz said the Mayor of Plantation has been serving for 18 years. He said the City of Coral Springs was a Page 3 5/10/90--pw recently having problems because their Mayor of 12 years UAs no longer serving; however, there were no problems before this. Mayor Abramowitz said the dynasty remarks were not true because he ran against one of the most powerful men the City had; however, the voters were not satisfied with this person; therefore, they did not vote for him. Mayor Abramowitz said he was recently informed that Helen ' Massaro, former Councilwoman, was a dictator toward the le ter years of her life. He said he informed this person that t e voters did not reelect her when she became a dictator. Mayor Abramowitz said the continuity of being in office w, lacking in the City. He said when he sat down at the previous budget meetings, he was not the same person that at the first budget meeting. He said when he was first elected, Senator Weinstein and State Representatives Joe Titone and Peter Deutsch visited him. He said he asked e person individually why the City of Tamarac was not recei' grants or State funds when all the surrounding Cities rec assistance. He said each person gave him the same answer which was that there was no Councilmember in office long enough to establish a rapport and relationship with the S Representatives. He said this was detrimental to the Cit Judy Kitograd said she could argue both sides; however, s read the minutes of the City Council workshop concerning matter. She said she reviewed the newspaper article refe to by the City Council and the editorial indicated that limiting terms allowed a City Council and Mayor to sit in last term of office without accountability. He said the Council and Mayor could be elected and feel that they sho. not be responsible or bothered because they would not be reelected. Judy Kitograd said she reviewed this matter and she felt the people sitting in office could have no accountability the -citizens; therefore, the entire administration and operation of the City was being affected. She said the s of the City was greatly affected because they felt they should wait until the next legislative body was in office She said she worked for the City and she knew this feelin and nothing could get done until the next legislative bod was elected. was ch ,ing live sate e his red I the ity id hat .to kaff Judy Kitograd said the more she reviewed this matter, she felt she could support unlimited terms in office for the ity officials. She said she did not feel that two years was appropriate for the City officials to serve in office. Judy Kitograd said she was concerned with the unlimited t r: proposal being forwarded to the residents of the City in n appropriate manner. She said unless the residents were informed of why this was being proposed, the vote would n t be successful. She said most of the voters indicated tha they were educated; however, this would be seen when the voters were asked to make decisions on a matter that seem d like it would be self-serving for the existing elected officials. Judy Kitograd said the voters may not disagree with the concept; however, they would not give in to the existing ity officials. V/M Hoffman said the voters could vote against a person i they did not feel they were serving the City and Judy Kitograd said she understood this; however, the voters would have to be educated on the reasoning for this amendment. Chairman Bernard said the last time the terms of office w1as on the ballot, the voters elected not to approve the amendment. He said if the City wanted an educational pr ram 1 Page 4 5/10/90-pw for the ballot in September, 1990, there was a short time to educate the public on the amendments. Abramowitz said the atmosphere in the City at this time was not the same as the past. He said talking to the residents as much as he has, he found that the residents had a different frame of mind about the City than they have in the past. Mayor Abramowitz said the City should not be afraid to advance regardless of whether they lost or won. He said the City officials should be willing to propose things to the voters that would benefit the City. He said the City officials should not be the dictators. Dr. Alfred Wald, Charter Board member, said the arguments presented at this time were interesting and beneficial to the City; however, after reading the minutes of the City Council workshop, V/M Hoffman stated that he recommended Option 3 of the recommendation from Carla Coleman, Consultant of the Independent Charter Review. He said V/M Hoffman said. Option 3 was a three year term with a two or three term limit. Dr. Wald said C/M Schumann indicated that Option 3 would provide the Councilmembers only one year extension. He said V/M Hoffman indicated that he would like a three year staggered term with a three term limit. Dr. Wald said at this time, V/M Hoffman changed his mind and agreed with the unlimited terms. He said it was difficult to decide what would be best for the City in the future. He said Ms. Coleman was not positive that unlimited terms of office would benefit the City. He said Ms. Coleman recommended as Option 3 that there be a three year staggered term with a two or three term limit. Dr. Wald said the expert did not know what terms the City officials should serve. He said he agreed with everyone concerning two years not being enough time for the City officials. He said he had to convince himself that more than 9 years in office was needed in the City. He said if he agreed with Ms. Coleman's Option 3, he had to be sure that 9 years or more were appropriate. He said he originally felt that unlimited terms was not in the best interest of the City; however, the existing terms were not good for the City. Dr. Wald said he had to find a solution of compromising the terms as opposed to allowing unlimited terms. He said he felt that three year staggered terms with a three term limit may be appropriate. He said he felt that 9 years in office was appropriate. V/M Hoffman said he did state what Dr. Wald indicated; however, he changed his mind after further discussions with the City Council. He said workshop meetings allowed different opinions and he did change his mind after hearing the.City Council concerns. V/M Hoffman said he felt that his original decision was not proper and he changed his opinion. He said 9 years was a long time for terms in office; however, the age make up of the City officials indicated that young people could not afford to serve as a City official because of the pay scale that presently existed. He said the City Council and Charter Board may continue consisting of retired residents. He said regardless of what was placed in the Charter, age would be a final decision in the out come. He said if the City was fortunate enough to get bright, young people to serve the City, he did not want to limit their years of service. C/M Rohr said there were many thoughts concerning the amendment and he felt a decision had to be based on what would benefit the City. He said there was no City that was completely in the same position as Tamarac. He said the City Page 5 5/10/90-pw r 1. had older people and younger people were not able to servo the City because they had to work. He said the City Council had to come to City Hall every day and a person gainfully employed could not serve. He said a former Charter Board member, Ron Catronio, was a perfect example of this. C/M Rohr said most of the people that served as City officials were retired and most of the retired people wero 65 years of age or older. He said people were living longer more active and the Mayor in Sunrise was 80 years old; however, he was very alert and able to serve the City. He said the idea of 9 years being too long to serve as City official may not be unreasonable. He said he felt that the type of candidate that came forward in the City since he was serving should not be pushed out of the City because of the terms of office. C/M Bender said Ms. Coleman provided several suggestions �n the Independent Charter Review and she informed the City officials of what options should be considered. He said �e originally approved of three year unlimited terms and Ms. Coleman indicated that the existing system in the City wa4 limited and it created an atmosphere which shifted more influence to the City Manager. C/M Bender said Ms. Coleman indicated that the City Manager was a non -policy making coach. He said Ms. Coleman indicated that the City Manager was the only high ranking City official non -mandated to change every two to four years. He said the existing system had faults and it automatically shifted the policy making responsibilities to the City Manager. He said this was not what he would like done and the City Manager should remain as the administrator of the City while the City Council remained the legislators. C/M Bender said any type of limitation precluded the Citylto obtain momentum and accomplish what should be done in establishing a rapport with the higher legislators. He said he believed that three year unlimited staggered terms shotiAld be implemented because it would be the best thing for the, City. Mayor Abramowitz said with the exception of one person sitting at this meeting, he did not think that any of the. existing City officials would be serving a 9 year term. ke said the future had to be considered and he did not personally etch himself in stone; however, no one had the right to take away from the voters the ability to make the decision of who should serve in office. He said this was the main concern about changing the terms of office. He said'he was not ashamed to work as long as the voters wanted him 'o. He said he wanted the voters to make the decision of who would work for the City. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like the City Council and Charter Board to consider the future. He said C/M Benderiwas correct in pointing out that the balance of power was being shifted to the City Manager. He said this was not where the power belonged because the City Manager and City Council had specific functions in the City. Judy Kitograd said there were many people in the City that were the age of 40 or 50. She said many of these people were able to serve the City; however, they would not do it because they would not be able to serve long in the positions. S]�e said if the City was looking for younger people to get involved with the City and have continuity, unlimited terns would be better. 1 I Page 6 5/10/90-pw V/M Hoffman said at the present time there were four Councilmembers that were not able to run again for office and did not have accountability to the voters. He said because a person had to face the voters he had to explain his actions to the voters and he felt this was very important. City Manager Kelly said he was in favor of the unlimited terms of office. He said Ms. Coleman's recommendation was being misinterpreted. He said his responsibility was not being shifted from the administrative to policy making; however, he had a greater degree of influence over the policy making by virtue of his administrative position. He said other Cities that had Councilmembers serving unlimited terms had better positions of influence in Broward County. TAPE 2 City Manager Kelly said the Other Cities were receiving more assistance from the State because they would be around in the future. He said when Mayor Abramowitz was first elected, he scheduled a meeting with the County so the County Commission could become familiar with Mayor Abramowitz. He said when he was first hired there was a position that the City did not work with Broward County because they were the enemy. City Manager Kelly said the last time the terms of office was placed on the ballot, he approved it; however, the voters saw this as supporting a former Councilmember. He said because of this, the matter was voted down; however, he would support unlimited terms of office no matter who it would affect because it would serve in the best interest of the City. He said if a person wanted to continue running, the voters would decide who should remain in office. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council expressed their opinions on the first amendment. He said he was sure about the amendment concerning the terms of office. Mayor Abramowitz said the second amendment should be discussed and, at the next meeting, a final decision could be made. C/M Rohr said he wanted the Charter Board to realize that the City Council's consensus was to amend the Charter to three year unlimited terms of office and Chairman Bernard said the Charter Board was aware of this. Mayor Abramowitz said the next amendment was eliminating the mandatory need of having an In-house City Attorney, Section XI. Mayor Abramowitz said he always felt more comfortable having an In-house City Attorney. He said he argued that this position was needed in the City because he liked having the City Attorney available when needed. Mayor Abramowitz said he found out in reality that this was not needed. He said since an Interim City Attorney was working for the City, he found absolutely no lack of ability for the City Council to get the legal advice needed. He said he asked Interim City Attorney Ruf to submit information concerning the cost savings by not having an In-house City Attorney and using a Consulting Attorney. Mayor Abramowitz said he was informed that having a Consulting Attorney as opposed to an In-house Attorney would be a cost savings of approximately $100,000.00. He asked City Manager Kelly if he was correct in stating this cost savings and City Manager Kelly replied, basically the figures were correct. Chairman Bernard said the Charter Board considered the City Attorney amendment in the same way. He said if the City could Page 7 5/10/90-pw save a lot of money by not having an In-house City Attorney it would be in the City's best interest. He said the Boar has not voted on this matter; however, the Board gave a consensus on this matter. He said the Board has not asked for documentation on the cost savings; however, outside legal services were always needed by the City, which would cost more money if the City continued having an In-house City Attorney. Dr. Wald said approximately 1-1/2 years ago he mentioned something about the City Attorney position to Mayor Abramowitz. He said Mayor Abramowitz informed him that iti would cost more money having a Consulting Attorney as opp oed to an In-house City Attorney. Dr. Wald said it made more sense to change the Charter to allow a Consulting Attorney to work with the City. He said he felt it was important to employ a Consulting Attorney vho had an outside interest providing it was not in conflict with the City. He said he discussed this matter with Interim City Attorney Ruf and he was informed that approximately $100,000.00 per year could be saved by having a Consultan Attorney. Dr. Wald said the Consulting Attorney was asked to handle cases that could not be handled by the In-house Attorney Mayor Abramowitz disagreed with this statement. Dr. Wald said he felt that Interim City Attorney Ruf was the expert and it was better to have this type of relationshi as opposed to having an In-house City Attorney. He said he id not object to amending this Article to eliminate the mandate of the City having an In-house City Attorney. Mayor Abramowitz said Interim City Attorney Ruf was presently handling the City's business. He said the City Council felt that the Charter should be amended to reflect that the Ci y "may" not "shall" have an In-house City Attorney. He said another City Council may decide to have an In --House City Attorney. C/M Rohr said the savings to the City was based on the budget for the previous City Attorney. He said it would be difficult to get someone that was as knowledgable as Interim City Attorney Ruf for the rate presently being paid. He said he felt the savings would be more and the quality of knowledge was important. Mayor Abramowitz said it seemed that the City Council and Charter Board felt it was a necessity to change the Chart r to reflect the City having the option to hire an In-house City Attorney. ------------------------------------------------ Mayor Abramowitz said Section 7.11. Requirements for pub bidding., should be changed to reflect dramatic changes i the bidding process. He said he was able to sit down wit staff and see how the bidding procedures occurred. He sa' the City needed a replacement for a 30 year tractor, whic cost more money than a fleet of vehicles. He said the Ci had the ability to save $9,000.00 by using the State Cont for the purchase of a tractor. He said the law required City to go out to bid, reject the bid, etc. He said after everything was completed the City used the State Contract, Mayor Abramowitz said staff was being paid to waste half their time by doing things that were not beneficial to tx City. He said it was like building a 17 billion dollar prison to house people that received parking violations. said he was not able to make as many changes as he felt v necessary; however, an amendment was needed to this Sect' of the Charter. Page 8 5/10/90-pw is rl y act the He re n 1 1 Chairman Bernard said the Charter Board felt this was an important amendment. He said the Board felt that the third paragraph in the Section should be increased from thirty to sixty days for bid acceptance. Mayor Abramowitz said he understood the thot:gtt bet. nd this suggested amendment; however, if the Cit , v: ss. .fo m r;date sixty days, it would take several months be:ioic- a bid was accepted and approved. Dr. Wald said according to the Charter, the invitation bid was to contain an acceptance clause gr nt nc the, City a minimum of thirty days for bid acceptance. E=e. .aid the City Code indicated that there be sixty days to get the bid acceptance. He said there could not be one thing in the Charter and another thing in the City Cade. City Manager Kelly said when this matter was dircusr-.ed during the City Council workshop meeting it wa:; cc').,: that the amendment be rewritten to provide the gteatest ilexibility. He said Chairman Bernard and Dr. Wald an their statements. He said sixty days would give st:a: greater flexibility. V/M Hoffman said the City did not have to receive greater flexibility because the City made the decision on how many days it would take to accept a bid. Mayor Abramowitz asked if a minimum of thirty days affected the operations of the bidding process and City Manager Kelly said thirty days may not be enough time. City Manager Kelly said a major project would require more time because the contractors had to work harder than usual to respond to the specifications. He said more lead time was needed and it worked out better for the City staff. He said staff was able to review the specifications and bids if sixty days were implemented. Mayor Abramowitz asked what the administration would like the elected officials to do and City Manager Kelly said sixty days would be appropriate. He said the ?ang:.age could be submitted to the City Council and Charter Board if approved. City Manager Kelly said the City needed greater, flexibility by allowing up to sixty days and staff wculu provide an appropriate provision for the ballot. Dr. Wald said the City presently allowed for sixty days; however, the Charter only provided for thirty days. He suggested the Charter be amended to reflect the Code said. V/M Hoffman asked why the Charter should stipulate time limits. He said the time limits should be in the Code and the Charter should refer to the Codes. Mayor Abramowitz said if the City could create a provision that was more practical than the existing language, he would approve it by looking at it as a resident. V/M Hoffman said it would be practical if the City informed the residents that the elimination of the time limits in the Charter should be done because it was addressed in the City Code. City Manager Kelly said the City Council recently discussed that the administration should make a recommendation to the City Council regarding it being better for 15, 30, 45 or 60 days. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not want to lose a bid because of complications of the bidding requiremc.7,zz. Page 9 rr� 5/10/90-pw V/M Hoffman suggested the City Council and Charter Board review this matter and discuss it at their next meeting. C/M Rohr asked if it would be a problem in changing the Charter to indicate a maximum of sixty days and City Manager Kelly said the minimum time to respond on a bid should be sixty days. C/M Rohr asked if a minimum of sixty days would create a problem and City Manager Kelly said if the amount of time Is included in the Charter he would prefer a minimum of sixt days. C/M Rohr asked if City Manager Kelly would like to see th time limit eliminated from the Charter. City Manager Kelly said he preferred the time limit be eliminated from the Charter because it was in Mayor Abramowitz suggested the City Council and Chi `r:w:r Board review this matter and make their decision at a laz-tr date. Dr. Wald said there has been no discussion about :h-e 2--1/ % cap limit on capital projects and Mayor Abramowit2 said the City Council felt that this.matter was a priority 2 item. City Manager Kelly said there was discussion conc(,i:ning bidding involving the State contracts. He said tli. City was not required to go through the bidding procedure before g ing with the State contract; however, it was done several tim s to compare the cost difference with the State. He said t1le State usually compiled bid specifications that the City m y not be able to do. He said the State bid provided a convenient bid package that already went out to bid. City Manager Kelly said usually the State contract provid d bids that were good prices. He said this was possible because of the volume the State was dealing with. He sai the Cities were allowed an option of going out for their wn bids or using the State contracts. He said there were so e instances where the Cities were able to do better by doin their own bidding process. He said once in a w:Ilile, the ity tested the State contracts by doing their own bidding bef re going with the State contract. 7 Mayor Abramowitz said every Friday he reviewed the fig',.,,,Leps and everyone was frightened to sign a contract without going to competitive bidding. He said he understood this; howe er, he did not feel this was a good business practice. At this time, Mayor Abramowitz RECESSED this meeting at 1 :35 A.M. and RECONVENED at 10:45 A.M. with ALL PRESENT . Chairman Bernard said the Charter Board spent several hours discussing the salaries and expenses for the City Council. He said the Board did not reach a decision on this matter; however, they would discuss it further. Dr. Wald said Section 7.13 referred to the 2-1/2% cap on the budget and in the past this matter was a great concern. He said several people had concerns about what the budget mount actually was. He said the former City Attorney indicate that the City was appropriate in considering the City budget to be the General and Utility budgets. Mayor Abramowitz said the legal interpretation the City Council received was the Charter provided for 2--1/2% of the entire budget of the City and had nothing to do with excess money or use of funds. Dr. Wald said the Charter mentioned the Utility Departmei and he would like to clarify in the future how the Utilil Department should be incorporated better regarding the operation of the City. t y 1 LI Page 10 5/10/90--pw Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to have the Interim City Attorney present because he would be remiss by giving a legal interpretation. He said if this matter was considered as a priority 1 item, it should be discussed; however, the City Council and Charter Board should have another meeting before finalizing the amendments. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Charter Board had other things they felt should be placed on the September, 1990 ballot. Chairman Bernard said there may be other things the Charter Board wanted to add to the September, 1990 ballot; however, they would like to meet to finalize their review of the Charter. Mayor Abramowitz said he would ask to do whatever was needed in order to inform the public of the amendments agreed upon by the City Council and Charter Board. He said the priority 2 items should be given to the public to consider. Mayor Abramowitz suggested the City Council and Charter Board schedule another meeting to discuss and finalize the amendments. He said the City Council would be addressing the priority 2 items for the next Referendum after the September, 1990. Chairman Bernard said a member of the Charter Board asked why the City Council was in a hurry to place the amendments on the September, 1990 ballot. V/M Hoffman said the City could place the amendments on the September, 1990 ballot which would be done by the County as opposed to the City having a special election. Chairman Bernard asked if the amendments could be placed on the ballot in November, 1990 and Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Charter Board members and City Council were too busy to be able to devote their time on the important amendments for the September, 1990 ballot. V/M Hoffman said the November, 1990 ballot would required voting on a Governor, State Representatives, etc. He said he felt there would be enough on the November, 1990 ballot; therefore, he would like to have the important amendments of the City Charter to be on the September, 1990'ballot. Mayor Abramowitz said having too many items for the voters to decide would create a problem. He said the City Council felt it would be better to put the major amendments on the September, 1990 ballot because it would not be as confusing. Chairman Bernard said the Charter Board was not challenging when the amendments should be put on the ballot; however, he would like the record to reflect the concern of a Charter Board member who was not present. Mayor Abramowitz said he was sure that there may be people who would like this matter deferred to 1997; however, this did not make sense. He said he was very pleased with the City Council and Charter Board reviewing the Charter and making amendments. Dr. Wald asked where or how the amendment for the increase in salaries for the City Council would affect the existing City Council members. Mayor Abramowitz said he would like the language of the ballot to indicate that the amendment would be effective upon approval. Chairman Bernard said he felt that when an item was approved it should be enacted immediately. He said an item should n"t remain in abeyance for 2 or 3 years. Page 11 5/10/90-pw Mayor Abramowitz said if the voters did not like the pers up for reelection, they could vote that person out. He s there were certain things in the existing Charter that ne to be amended; however, he felt that the priority items should be addressed first. He said he felt that the City Council and Charter Board had to make amendments that wou be beneficial for the City now and in the future. Mayor Abramowitz said there were several people who asked that the Charter Board be eliminated; however, the City Council did not feel this way. V/M Hoffman said he felt it and City Council could sit to the City in the future. id ded was great that the Charter Bo Ird at a meeting and items beneficial C/M Bender said the Charter was a document that should be stable for a long time. He said the Charter should not have specific provisions that often required revisions. He said he felt the Charter should be revised to contain broad guidelines with specifics left to the City Code to implement the working details. He said there were several things i the existing Charter that should only indicate where the rules and regulations could be found such as City Code or!y State Statutes. C/M Bender said the City Code should be amended as oppose to having to go to Referendum to make changes to the Charter He said the Constitution of the United States was broad a d it implemented the structures. He said he felt the Chart r should not contain specifics and the City Council and Cha ter Board should consider this when they make their decisions on the amendments to the Charter. Dr. Wald said if the amendments were done in this way thee' matter was entirely different than the decisions that the' City Council and Charter Board were making. He said C/M Bender suggested that the entire Charter be amended inste'd of amending the priorities. C/M Bender said he was not indicating this; however, he would like to see the revisions of the Charter implemented whenever possible. He said it may take several years to get the amendments implemented; however, when all the amendments ere made the Charter would be a solid structure for the City.'. V/M Hoffman said the City Council was making recommendations for the future. He said the City Council wanted to remove limitations on the terms of office, having a City Attorney and the amount of time required for referendum. He said h felt the Charter should indicate the prohibition of what he City was not allowed to do rather than mandate what shoul be done. Judy Kitograd said the Charter Board discussed this and t ey were not disagreeing with the amendments. She said there were several things in the Charter that the Florida Statutes addressed. She said the Board felt that a lot of the language in the Charter could be eliminated because of the Florida Statutes language. She said the Charter could appropriately reflect "as per the Florida Statutes". She, said this could be done for items that the City Code addressed as well. C/M Bender said the Charter should indicate that the Cit Council should have an expense account in accordance wit City Code. He said the Charter should be the frame work the City to follow as opposed to describing the material needed. He said if these amendments were made to the Charter, it would stand up for several years without additional changes. , the for Fl LI Page 12 5/10/90-pw Mayor Abramowitz said he did not want the Charter to be an instrument of political expediency. Chairman Bernard said the Charter Board felt there were certain things that could be moved into different areas in the Charter. He said a part in the financial procedures sections could be moved into the City Manager section. He said qualifications and elections had provisions that could be moved to other areas; however, these items were not priority items. Mayor Abramowitz said these were things that should be discussed and, if needed, they could be amended. He said = previously Chairman Bernard stated that there were articles -that-were put on the ballot which were defeated. He said he feltI the items were voted down because they were perceived to be instruments of political expediency. He said he was convinced that the voters and elected officials were perceiving things differently today. Mayor Abramowitz said the outlook may have changed because the City Council and Charter Board could sit and discuss items in the best interests of the City. Mayor Abramowitz said the next meeting could be set once everyone was aware of what days were convenient for them. Chairman Bernard said one of the Charter Board members would be away to May 23, 1990 and he knew time was important for the amendments. He asked if the meeting could be set after that date. Mayor Abramowitz said the time frame was important; therefore, the dates for the meetings had to be scheduled in time so the amendments could be placed on the ballot. He said before meeting dates were set for the City Council, he asked the Councilmembers to review their calendars to see what days would be best. Mayor Abramowitz asked the City Clerk to send out a memorandum to the City Council and Charter Board concerning when the amendments had to be submitted to the County. V/M Hoffman asked if two public hearings were required. TAPE 3 Carol Evans, City Clerk, said the amendments would have to be approved by Ordinance which required two readings and the second reading had to be a public hearing. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the amendments had to be adopted by Ordinance before the amendments were submitted to the County and Ms. Evans replied, yes. Dr. Wald asked if the amendments would be submitted by the City Council or Charter Board and Mayor Abramowitz said he was not sure. Mayor Abramowitz asked if it made a difference how the amendments were presented. Mayor Abramowitz said he did not think about this matter and V/M Hoffman said the City Clerk just indicated that the amendments had to be approved by Ordinance. Dr. Wald said the Charter indicated that the amendments did not have to be approved by Ordinance. He said the City Council and Charter Board agreed that they would discuss this matter when the matter occurred. He said he was asking the City Council this question for informational purposes. Mayor Abramowitz said he was not prepared to give an answer on this matter because he did not think about this. Dr. Wald said the Charter indicated that the Charter Board could place Charter amendments on a ballot. He said there i a Page 13 5/10/90--pw were legal opinions which indicated that this could not b done. He said there were problems concerning this matter and the City Council and Charter Board agreed to discuss this matter when it occurred. Mayon Abramowitz said this was being dones however, the I indicated that the amendments had to be approved by Ordinance. He asked if the Charter Board was able to adc an Ordinance and Dr. Wald replied, no. With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this meeting at 11:10 A.M. A OL A. EVANS, CITY CLERK' "This public document was promulgated at a cost of $79.00 or $6.50 per copy to inform the general public, public officers and employees of recent opinions and considerations of the City Council of the City of Tamarac." 1 1 Page 14 5/10/90-pw