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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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