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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1984-07-05 - City Commission Joint Special Meeting Minutes (2)CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA JOINT WORKSHOP MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND CHARTER BOARD July 5, 1984 Tape CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Philip B. Kravitz called the meeting to order at 1 10:00 A.M.on Thursday, July 5, 1984, in the Council Chambers at City Hall. Mayor Kravitz read the Notice of the Workshop Meeting scheduled for discussion of the September 4, 1984 referendum regarding Council Expenses. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Philip B. Kravitz Vice Mayor Sydney M. Stein C/M Jack Stelzer C/M John J. Dunne ABSENT AND EXCUSED: PRESENT: CHARTER BOARD: C/M Raymond J. Munitz Chairman Moni Avidon Mr. James V. Godin Ms. Melanie K. Reynolds Mr. Ben Lieber ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Vice Chairman Alice Norian ALSO PRESENT: City Attorney, Jon Henning Acting City Manager, Steve Wood Secretary, Patricia Marcurio Mayor Kravitz advised that as a member of Council for the past three years, he understood that the Finance Department as well as the City Manager were never given any direction or guidelines for the payment of Council expenses. He added that he received his direction for filing Expense Sheets from the previous Mayor and Council and for three years he has been submitting monthly Expense Sheets to Finance. He stated that he has since learned that Finance only checked these for accuracy and presented them to the City Manager for approval, at which point the checks were issued and given to the Mayor for review and return to the City Manager, if questionable. The Mayor added that the claims were then given to the Liaison for Finance, wic-h waim- self for those three years, and he would review them for discrepancies and changes and discuss them with the City Manager. He stated that he did not believe there were any problems with that procedure until one of the Councilmen recently questioned the accuracy of the Expense Sheets. The Mayor stated that the City Manager and the City Attorney dis- cussed this with him (as the current Mayor) and the Finance Director; and they all felt that it would be simpler, more expedient and less costly if Council were allotted a flat sum for expenses. He advised that the bulk of their expenses is for mileage and rather than have Council Members compute that mileage every month, a yearly allowance of $3,000.00 for the Mayor and $2,000.00 for Council Members could be allotted, with 1/12th of that amount being paid each month. He stated that it was pointed out that processing these Expense Sheets was more costly to the City than providing the allow- ance when comparing a budget of $10 Million a year against the total expense allowance of $11,000.00 for the entire Council. Mayor Kravitz stated that Council meetings have resulted in a vote to present the subject to the people on Referendum, which has been scheduled for September 4th. The Mayor stated that the best way to resolve this is to let the people decide, providing that the people understand that this is not to give Council an increase in salary but to relieve them of the burden of filling out forms and going through a review process for each trip that they make for the City. -1- 7/5/84 /cmt L...1 Mayor Kravitz stated that at the present time many Department Heads receive expense allowances, more than Council, with no process for review and substantiating the expense. He continued that the majority of other Cities provide their Council with such an allowance, without the need for review. The Mayor said that if the people cannot trust their elected officials, or if they feel that Council would abuse their positions by taking an increase in salary, then they should not have been elected. The Mayor stated that in the event that the allowance is defeated by Referendum aid reverts back to the previous procedure, he suggests that specific guidelines for the review and approval process should be estab- lished to avoid future problems. Mr. Moni Avidon, Chairman of the Charter Board, stated that this is a meeting of the two governing bodies of the City, one of which is legis- lative and the other for study and investigation according to the Charter. Chairman Avidon asked that each member of the Charter Board present their ideas which, in some cases, will be contrary to the feelings expressed by the Mayor. r, en Lie er stated that there is no question of the integrity or the intentions of the City Council. He continued that the Boardl,s reactions are more in line with the feelings of the people. He stated that he does not have any personal objection to the Council receiving more money as they certainly are not fully compensated, and added that what they receive now is nothing more than a stipend. Mr. Lieber mentioned that the present discussion concerns the payment of $200.00 a month as an expense allowance and the fact that Department Heads receive that and more is not relevant. He continued that if the Depart- ment Heads receive such an allowance, it is because travel is part of their jobs; and that is not true of the City Council. He added that several points must be considered and assured Council that he does not intend to malign Council Members; his only concern is for the people of Tamarac and the way the City is governed. Mr. Lieber stated that expense accounts, if rendered, are a form of accounta- bility and every elected official should be accountable to the electorate. He added that requiring officials to file expense accounts is not an undue burden. He expressed his belief that there is not that much travel involved and processing costs are well -spent because it makes elected officials accountable. He questioned that such auditing costs would outweigh the $11,000.00 allowances for the Council, and reminded Council that accounts must still be kept because they will be required to file such with the Government for their taxes. Mr. Lieber suggested that providing a flat sum would also be a form of reward to those officials who are indolent in their positions as well as an expense allowance for those who actually do spend that amount or more in their positions. He continued that he believes an Ordinance should be established to provide for accountability by Council rather than presenting the subject of an expense allowance to the people, and offered his assistance in developing that plan. He added that as governing officials, they should be responsible to the electorate. -2- 7/5/84 /cmt Vice Mayor Stein stated that his response was to the inaccuracies mentioned by Mr. Lieber with regard to the Department Heads using their cars; and added that those whose jobs require travel, use a City car. He pointed out that the City Attorney gets an expense allowance and the Vice Mayor feels that he does more travelling than the City Attorney. The Vice Mayor advised that Government officials from Federal level down to County level receive flat stipends. He continued that the State representatives receive $1,000.00 a month; the County officials get flat stipends; and of 17 Cities polled, 14 get flat stipends. The Vice Mayor expressed his concern that discussion of this subject is belittling and it is beneath the Charter Board to put this upon the Council. He stated that Council should not be challenged on their mileage accounts and reiterated the Mayor's statements that it is more costly to audit such accounts yearly than to provide a flat allowance. The Vice Mayor stated that he believes in this Referendum which asks the people of Tamarac to show their vote of confidence by treating their Council the same as 14 other Cities, the County and the State treat their officials. He added that this Council should have the same dignity. C/M Stelzer stated that he would prefer to sum up his comments after hearing all presentations; but with regard to his mileage, he estimates this by the amount of time it takes at his rate of 25 miles an hour within the City but checks actual mileage for trips outside the City. C/M Dunne stated that he thought he knew what was involved when he ran for City Office, which was to attend two meetings a month. He added that he is here every day of the week because there is City business to attend to every day of the week. He said that he believes that Council should be reimbursed for that travel because the $3,000.00 he receives as Councilman will not pay for the gasoline and travel required. Mayor Kravitz stated that they should not be concerned with personal accountability to the Internal Revenue Service, only to the City. The Mayor pointed out that it was suggested that Council go on a flat sum because of the cost involved and asked that Mr. Wood provide input in this matter. Finance Director. Steve Wood stated that the amount of time required to process these accounts is more than one clerical person. He explained that each individual form must be reviewed to determine the purpose of the trip, the destination, and if it is within the applicable Ordinance or Resolution. He continued that the form is then sent to Staff to authorize the request for a check; to the City Manager for review and approval; to the Liaison for Finance for review; and to the Mayor for approval and signature. Mr. Wood concluded that compared to a $40 or $50.00 expense item, the processing cost is not a worthwhile effort. Ms. Melanie Reynolds asked Council what type of expenses they felt were reimbursable. The Vice Mayor stated that the proposed Charter Amendment provides for a flat stipend and does not address the type of expenses to be reimbursed. Chairman Avidon agreed that there has never been an explanation of what expenses are reimbursable and asked Council what those expenses are. Mr. Lieber suggested that the decision must first be made whether or not there will be a flat expense sum or if expenses would be audited; and then the details of that audit could be established by Ordinance. C/M Stelzer advised that the concept of expenses were thoroughly dis- cussed by Council as well as whether or not they should be paid by a flat sum or continue to file expense accounts, along with the advantages and disadvantages of both subjects. He continued that the decision was to place the Referendum on the ballot and this Workshop Meeting was scheduled, at the request of the Charter Board, to discuss the Referendum and the possibility that the Charter Board would place an opposing Referendum on the ballot. -3- 7/5/84 /cmt C/M Stelzer continued that in previous years, under the Charter, Council was permitted to place amendments on the ballot without being questioned, or the need for approval by any other body. He added that the Charter Board could place amendments on the ballot upon submission and approval by Council. He stated that at the last election, the Charter Board removed the need for Council approval for their actions; and now the Board wants to review amendments proposed by Council. He expressed his belief that the purpose of this meeting was to decide if Council would be permitted to place its amendment on the ballot or if the Charter Board would put a counter -amendment on the ballot. Chairman Avidon clarified to C/M Stelzer that the Board is not criticizing Council for placing the amendment on the ballot. He added that the Board feels that the amendment is wrong and is trying to avoid embarrassment by placing it on the ballot. He stated that the Charter Board members are elected officials and are responsible to the people of the City. He added that the Board feels that there is resentment in the City towards this particular plan, so the combined Workshop was requested. C/M Stelzer pointed out that in prior years if the Charter Board objected to an amendment going on the ballot, they campaigned against it. He continued that this is the first time the Charter Board has ever had anything to say with what the Council placed on the ballot. Vice Mayor Stein stated that the duties and responsibilities of the Charter Board, as listed in the Charter, do not include the right to ask for review of an amendment proposed by Council. He added that the Board is to review the Charter and Amendments with regard to legality and changes, not to review Council's proposals to Amendments. The Vice Mayor agreed with C/M Stelzer and advised the Charter Board that if they feel that Council is going to be embarrassed by this Referendum, the Charter Board can campaign against it rather than propose a counter -amendment. He stated that if the Amendment is defeated, the previous procedures would still be followed and Mr. Lieber's proposal for an Ordinance would be in order. The Vice Mayor agreed that this meeting was not scheduled to discuss expense vouchers and accountability; it was to discuss whether or not the proposed amendment should appear on the ballot. Ms. Reynolds suggested that the Charter of the other Cities mentioned may not provide for the same requirements as the Charter of this City, and therefore their Council members would not have to adhere to such provisions. She advised that there is a State statute that provides the guidelines for certain expenses and added that the Court will not tolerate the evasion of State statutes. She suggested that Council consider those guidelines which state reimbursement of expenses for a public purpose; and her concern is what those public purposes cover. Chairman Avidon asked the Vice Mayor if he feels that the Ordinance covering Tape public officers in municipalities which calls for no commutation expenses 2 is valid or not. The Vice Mayor stated that the IRS disallows this but rules that the City can reimburse for commutation or anything else. C/M Stelzer reiterated the purpose of this meeting as published in paragraph 2 of the Notice of the Workshop Meeting and objected to the discussion. Mr. James Godin agreed that both the salary and expense of Council is a pittance; however he feels that the Charter Board was elected to point out what the Charter provisions are in these matters. He stated that it was his feeling that a joint meeting to correct the differences in this matter would eliminate the need for going to a Referendum. He added that if Council insists on continuing with the Referendum, the Board wants their feelings on record. He quoted a letter from a resident of the City and added that the State law specifically states that commuting mileage is _ disallowed. -4- 7/5/84 /cmt The Vice Mayor disagreed and pointed out that the law allows municipali- ties to change that requirement. Mr. Godin explained that the Board cannot stop Council from placing this amendment on Referendum but he believes that it could be avoided, by establishing an Ordinance as previously discussed. C/M Stelzer stated that a decision must be made as to the Ordinance that is now on the books. He continued that if the Referendum is passed and Council receives the extra monies then there should be no complaints; if it is defeated, then there should be a meeting in October to estab- lish guidelines. He added that this is a waste of time and suggested that Council continue filing their expense reports until September and let the people decide. Mr. Godin agreed that if a plan cannot be reached between the Council and the Charter Board, there is no choice but to place the matter on Referendum. Mr. Lieber agreed that the Charter Board does not have the right to review Council actions and added that he would like to avoid campaigning against Council on this Referendum. He stated that this joint workshop was requested in an attempt to avoid that action or placing a counter - amendment on the ballot. Mr. Lieber reiterated his earlier statements that auditing expense accounts is not too costly and that there must be a system of accountability. C/M Dunne suggested that the Charter Board is considering this travel allowance as an increase in salary and asked why Council does not forget the request for the travel allowance and go for a salary increase. Mr. Lieber stated that the Board does not oppose an increase in salary, but feels that there should be some type of accountability. -Vice-Mayor Stein asked C/M Dunne for clarification that he would prefer and endorse the elimination of the allowance for expenses that some Cities have, in favor of a flat amount to include all expenses as a salary. He added that there are 4 Cities that do that and asked if he would endorse that. C/M Dunne agreed and asked the City Attorney if that were possible. City Attorney Jon Henning replied that a salary increase could be accom- plished by Charter Amendment to be placed on Referendum, the same as this expense allowance amendment. He suggested that the salary could be changed and leave the travel language the same; or change the salary and address the travel language by eliminating it. C/M Dunne stated that he would leave it to the City Attorney to assure that it is legal. Bernie Hart, resident, objected to Mr..Lieber's comments regarding Council's expenses and accountability of those expenses, as well as the statement that the Charter Board had no objections to the Council getting more money. He cautioned that statements such as these result in the talk that is spreading throughout the City that Council is asking for a raise. Mr. Hart suggested that complaints or charges that the submission of expenses of any Council member is improper could cause investigations that will cost the City much more in excess of the auditing costs of those expenses. Mr. Hart also objected to Mr. Lieber's comments suggesting that any member of Council does not do their job and would be rewarded with an expense allowance. Mr. Hart expressed his belief that every Council member is doing his job and added that the people of this City elected Council and the Charter Board because they believed them to be accountable. Mr. Hart suggested that the Referendum should be placed on the ballot to let the voice of the people be heard, without the threat or confusion of a counter -referendum. -5- 7/5/84 /cmt A Mr. Lieber stated that the purpose of this meeting was to work out a solution. He added that the Charter Board is not trying to overrule the City Council or to review their work; they are merely trying to establish some type of fiscal responsibility. Mayor Kravitz asked Mr. Lieber if he had a counter -proposal for Council and Mr. Lieber confirmed that he did. He proposed that an Ordinance be established providing the guidelines for the preparation of expense accounts; defining the reimbursable expenses; and outlining the auditing process, which he suggested as the Finance Director, with periodic reviews by the Charter Board every three or six months. Vice Mayor Stein stated that Council recently passed an Ordinance which delineates exactly what expenses are to be reimbursed and added that under the previous system the Finance Director reviews those vouchers. He continued that the only addition in Mr. Lieber's suggestion, other than what Council is already doing, is that expenses are subject to review by the Charter Board every six months. The Vice Mayor stated that he opposes this; however any citizen or Board can request those documents for review at any time. The Vice Mayor concluded that all of these things are already in place and Council is not happy with that system because it is menial, and they proposed an Amendment to the Charter for a flat fee. He stated that at that point, the decision was to place the matter before the people for the final solution. Mr. Godin agreed to let the Referendum stand on its own merits and future action would be considered if necessary after that. Mr. Lieber agreed. Chairman Avidon stated that the Charter Board requested this meeting to express their thoughts on this matter and to discuss a workable solution. He added that it was not the intent of the Charter Board to cull Council's voting of legislation; however he did not feel that the Board should be treated as interlopers in the Council's business. He continued that the purpose was merely to bring certain matters to the attention of Council and added that he was sorry the meeting turned out this way. He suggested that the meeting be adjourned. C/M Stelzer stated that under the Charter in previous years, the Charter Board was in discussion with Council on any amendment. He added that this year that was changed and asked ._.Hhairman Avidon if such a Workshop would have been held for Council's thoughts for an amendment proposed by the Charter Board. C/M Stelzer advised that he feels respcnsible for all of this because he initiated the question of propriety in filing the expense reports. He added that the way the Charter is written is ridiculous and the accounta- bility process is disgusting. He agreed that it is a waste of time to make these reports and stated that his charge was that the accountability was not done properly. He continued that he agreed with the flat fee originally and he still believes that the people should decide whether or not Council should get that allowance. C/M Stelzer advised that IRS rules stated that if you receive expenses and account to those who pay those expenses, then you do not have to account to the IRS. He suggested that the Referendum be placed before the people for a decision and if it is defeated, the procedures would be reviewed at that time and each Council member would be responsible for his own accountability. C/M Dunne stated that considering the time required for public transporta- tion, he intends to request reimbursement for his travel expense. He added that he also intends to file for that on his IRS form and he does not believe that it will be disallowed. Mr. Godin stated that the IRS specifically disallows this. Mayor Kravitz suggested that this is strictly a City business subject and asked that discussion not include the IRS. -6- 7/5/84 /cmt Vice Mayor Stein stated that Mr. Harts statements should be considered by the Charter Board. The Vice Mayor explained that if Council had wanted an increase in salary, they would have asked for $200-$300.00 a month, not $166.00. He said that Council purposely left the amount the way it was previously, but without the filing of the nonsensical vouchers required of them. The Vice Mayor suggested that an allowance could be paid to Council by the City Manager, with no accountability required, as some City officials are paid. He continued that Council is willing to let the people decide but the absurdity is that others do not have to do anything except get an allowance from the City Manager. The Vice Mayor stated that Council has supported the Charter Board and referred to the recent authoriza- tion for an attorney. He agreed that the Charter Board has a right to their opinion but they do not have the right to threaten Council with a counter - amendment. The Vice Mayor suggested that the Charter Board should consider themselves as an adjunct together with the City Council as part of the Government, rather than in opposition to the Council. Mayor Kravitz reiterated that the IRS has no part in this discussion and added that Council is entitled to receive payment for commuting to and from work if the City so decides. He continued that it is an accountable item with the IRS and suggested that it should not be considered in this meeting. Mayor Kravitz stated that he was aware of the travel allowances given by tlre_City Manager and it is his personal opinion that she had the right to do that without Council interference; however, a list is now available of who 1s receiving compensation for mileage. May -Kravitz advised that he was in favor of this meeting and did not believe that it was the intention of the Charter Board to dictate to Council. He suggested that both bodies are working for the same purpose, which is to do what is best for the people of the City. He expressed his hopes for that same aim in the future for both bodies. He stated that Council appreciates the input and will take it into consideration. City Attorney Jon Henning stated that the amount of this allowance is included in the budget and is planned on being used. He suggested that all could agree that $11,000.00 or more has been spent during this past year in auditing these funds. He stated that Staff and Council are in need of guide- lines for enforcement of this allowance to avoid the auditing costs. Mr. Henning continued that Tamarac is unique in this situation because of the strict provisions in the Charter which requires reimbursement of such expenses and explained that submission of vouchers are required for that reimbursement. He continued that in order to permit the lump sum allowance, the Charter must be changed. He stated that the allowance amounts to $166.66 per month for Council members and $250.00 per month for the Mayor, which is the maximum amount covered by the Charter, divided by 12. Tape 3 The City Attorney continued that the Referendum would decide if such an allowance is to be allotted, how much it should be, and what it should cover. He stated that he would work with the Council, the Charter Board, and Staff to assure the legality of the proposal and added that legislation is needed to enact whatever policy is decided. C/M Stelzer stated that July 18th is the last date that the Referendum can be submitted to the City Clerk and asked if the amendment had been written. City Attorney Henning confirmed that it had passed through the Second Reading and there is now a motion to reconsider that. He added that the new Second Reading will be on the next Agenda. -7- 7/5/84 /cmt Finance Director Steve Wood advised that elected officials are accountable to the people that elect them and it is difficult for the Finance Department Staff to question the integrity of submission for reimbursement of expenses of such officials. He added that Finance cannot effectively do this and he does not believe that it is necessary for such questioning. Mayor Kravitz asked the Finance Director if he feels that it would be better if Council had a flat sum rather than continuing with the current procedures and if it would save the City money. Mr. Wood stated that the issuance of a flat sum would improve the financial procedures and he would prefer that method. He added that it would be a much more efficient method of distributing the expense amounts. Mayor Kravitz adjourned the meetin_at _11--t40_A,M. ASSISTANT CITY CLERK This public document was promulgated at a cost of $ /.21./A or $ 3,$J 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. Iff:31 7/5/84 /cmt A