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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-01-01 - City Commission Joint Special Meeting MinutesMAIL REPLY TO: P.O. BOX 25010 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33320 5811 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE 0 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321 TELEPHONE (305) 722-5900 March 22, 1985 JOINT WORKSHOP MEETING CITY COUNCIL AND CHARTER BOARD There will be a Joint Workshop meeting between the City Council and the Charter Board on Monday, April 1, 1985 at 10:00 A.M-. in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss working relationships between the City Council and the Charter Board. The public is encouraged to attend. � , Carol E. Barbuto Assistant City Clerk AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA JOINT WORKSHOP MEETING CITY COUNCIL AND CHARTER BOARD April 1, 1985 Tape 1 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Kravitz called the meeting to order at 10:00 A.M. on Monday, April 1, 1985 in the Council Chambers of City Hall. ROLL CALL: CITY COUNCIL- PRESENT: ABSENT AND EXCUSED: CHARTER BOARD- PRESENT: ALSO PRESENT: Mayor Philip B. Kravitz Vice Mayor Helen Massaro Councilman Arthur H. Gottesman Councilman Raymond J. Munitz Councilman Sydney M. Stein Morris Haber, Chairman Jim Godin, Vice Chairman Zeke Feldman, Secretary Moni Avidon Bruce Hoffman Elly F. Johnson, City Manager Jon M. Henning, City Attorney Patricia Marcurio, Secretary Mr. Haber said the Charter Board felt they would like as much harmony as possible and they requested this Workshop Meeting for the purpose of better communication. He said the Charter Board members will state their respective concerns. Mr. Hoffman said the Charter Board would like to be considered for liability insurance to protect against any action that might be brought against them by a resident of Tamarac. Mayor Kravitz asked the City Attorney if the Charter Board is covered by this insurance at the present time and Mr. Henning said the Florida Statutes, #768.28 provide for the limited waiver of soverign immunity for public officials and employees. He said that historically the government could not be sued and about ten years ago there was a limited waiver for certain negligent acts. He said the Charter Board is part of the City, which is a Corporation which acts through it's Agents; namely, the Council, the Charter Board, the City Manager and his staff and all public officials. He said the Florida Statutes state that as long as a person is actina within the scope of their authority, a person cannot be held personally liable. He said there are liability limitations of $100,000.00 per person and $200,000.00 per incident. regarding the claimant. Mr. Henning noted that the converse of that law is that if a person acts outside his authority, the City would not be liable but the person may be personally Tiable. V/M Massaro asked if "within their authority" would cover what they say at a Charter Board meeting only. Mr. Henning said it is not as important where the statements might be made but rather what is said. Mr. Hoffman said the Charter Board would like to be considered for the same health insurance coverage that the City employees have. Mr. Henning said there are two things to be considered; first, the carrier, and the City is self -insured and, second, the Legislative desire. He said he would have to check if there is any legal reason whether this is applicable such as, stipulations that a person must be in City Hall a certain number of hours per week, etc. Mayor Kravitz said the last time this was discussed it was determined that the Charter Board would have to receive a salary in order to be eligible for health insurance. Mr. Henning said it may require a Charter Amendment giving the Charter Board $1.00 per year and he will research this further. He asked if any of the Charter Board members or their spouses are receiving Medicare because through the Federal requirements, there is a difference between supplemental and primary coverage and the City is not allowed to give supplemental coverage to Medicare. 4/l/85 /pm Mr. Feldman said the Charter Board respectfully recommends that it be placed on the Council agenda that those elected on the Charter Board be called "Commissioner" or "Charter Board Commissioners". He said the Council appointees have a title of "Fishing Commissioner", "Commissioners of Human Relations", "Planning Commissioner" and "Park Commissioner". He said as elected officials and not appointees he requested the Charter Board be given equal consideration. Mayor Kravitz said the last time this was discussed the legal opinion was that this would have to be by referendum because it is not in the Charter. Mr. Henning said he has recommended that, unless the Charter provided otherwise, Committees be called "Committees" and not "Commissions". He said in the Broward County community, sometimes the term "Commissioner" is misunderstood. He said he does not believe that the term "Charter Board member" carries any less dignity than "Commissioner" would. Mayor Kravitz asked Mr. Henning to research this further, and give the Council and Charter Board a written opinion. Mr. Godin said he felt the Charter Board should have beenmore involved with the ground breaking ceremony and the -Festival of Lights _ ceremonies. Mayor Kravitz requested the City Manager give the Charter Board proper recognition for any future functions of the City. City Manager Johnson said there is no problem with this. Mr. Haber said there have been complaints within the Charter Board that there is not cooperation from staff and he requested the Council instruct the staff to be more cooperative with the Charter Board. City Manager Johnson said he would like specifics. Mr. Haber referred to vouchers he requested and the City Manager said the vouchers referred to were submitted to Mr. Haber. City Manager Johnson said the Charter Board should put an amendment in the Charter stating that receipts should accompany a voucher. He said there is one place in the Charter which states that elected officials may submit a voucher. V/M Massaro said the intent of the Charter has always been that itemized bills should be submitted. C/M Munitz said it may be necessary to have an amendment to the Charter to determine what is acceptable as a^ Voucher. Mr. Henning said this could be done by Resolution and V/M Massaro said it could be done by intent. City Manager said there should be no problem in the future and he will send a memo out to Council and Committees concerning this. Mr. Avidon said the people of the City consider the Charter Board the Watchdog of the City for the people. He said both Charter Board and Council should work in harmony. He questioned why he cannot speak about Section 7.08 a) "where the Council shall from time to time in its discretion designate banks or trust companies as City depositories." He referred to Section 7.08 c) which states, "any City funds on deposit not currently needed for public purposes may be invested in short-term United States Bonds, Treasury Notes and/or Bills and any other investments as authorized by law up to the maximum amount insured by an agency of the Federal Government." Mr. Avidon said the City Manager's attitude at the Charter Board meetings has Tape 2 been a hostile one. City Manager Johnson said he is an employee of the Council and is under their direction. He said there were many problems when he came on board. He said the Parks and Recreation Director does not approve bills, the person who is responsible is the City Manager. He said everything that was requested by Council has been taken care of and he is more than happy to work with the Charter Board. He said he was advised by legal counsel not to respond to any questions concerning ESM at this time. Mr. Avidon said the City Manager did a remarkable job with all the recent problems, however, he must abide by the Charter. He referred to Section 8.03 c) of the Charter, all expenses charged against the approved budget shall require the approval of the Board." Mr. Henning said he discussed with the Charter Board the three aspects of budget: preparation, that is, working with the City Manager to determine a proposed budget, second, the actual approval of the fiscal budget which is done 100% by Council, and third, spending, expenditures by the Board of the budget that was approved by Council. 2 4/1 /85 /pm R C/M Munitz said there have been accusations made by the Charter Board that his actions in trying to establish a Charter Review Committee was for revenqe purposes. He said that statement caused much dissension between the two bodies. He said he first proposed a Charter Review Committee in 1978 in the creation of a new Charter. He said there were changes recommended concerning salaries and expenditures of elected officials. He said on 11/3/81, Oscar Tucker recommended at the Presidents Council meeting, a complete revision of the City Charter including elimination of malfeasance investigations and action on the budget. He said on 12/15/81, Mr. Tucker reported on his discussions with regard to a Charter Review Committee with then -Mayor Walter Falck and a meeting was set with Council to set procedures for this Committee. He said this misunderstanding between the Charter Board has caused much dissension. Mr. Feldman said a great deal has been accomplished this morning and he recommended more of these Workshop Meetings in the future. Mr. Haber thanked Mayor Kravitz and the Council for the opportunity of this Workshop. V/M Massaro said it is important for the Charter Board to render any complaints to Council in order to save the attorney fees and make Council aware of a problem. Mr. Hoffman said he believes the Charter Board wants the respect of the Council. C/M Munitz said respect must be earned. Mr. Henning said the Charter Board really needs procedures. He said by passing Resolutions, there is a record of Charter Board actions and the Resolution which established procedures for the Charter Board should be updated if necessary. He encouraged the Charter Board to have a level of review before an investigation is undertaken. He suggested the Charter Board accept written requests for investigations and, possibly, even notarized requests because the accusations do change and this would prevent that. Mr. Henning emphasized the need for both bodies to consider the good of the City. Mayor Kravitz said in the future if either the Charter Board or Council requests a Workshop Meeting, he will be happy to call one. Mayor Kravitz adjourned the meeting at 11:05 A.M. ASSISTANT CITY CLERK This public document was promulgated at a cost of $ '7-W or $ /•Llo 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. 4/1/85 /pm