HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-07-11 - City Commission Joint Special Meeting MinutesCITY Off' TAMARAC
JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND CHARTER BOARD
SPECIAL MEETING
WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 1990
CALL TO ORDER,: Mayor Abramowitz called this Joint meeting of the City
Council and Charter Board to order on Wednesday, July 11, 1990 at
9:00 A.M. in lonferenoe Room #I `''Cl Hall.
PRZAZNT: Mayor Norman Abramowitz
Vice Mayor Bruce Hoffman
Councilman Dr. Larry Bender
Councilman Henry Schumann
Councilman Henry Rohr
ALSO PRESENT: John P. Kelly, City Manager (ENTERED 9:05 A.M.)
Carol A. Evans, City Clerk
Pauline Walaszek, Secretary
CHARTER _BOARD: Zeke Feldman, Vice Chairman
Dr. Alfred Wald
Muriel Davis
ABSENT AND EXCUSED:
Stan Bernard, Chairman
Judy Kitograd
ALSO PRESENT: Alan Gabriel, Charter Board Attorney
----------------------------------------------------------
The purpose of this Joint meeting of the City Council and
Charter Board was to reconcile any differences prior to the
scheduled Public Hearing on the proposed Charter amendments
at 7:30 P.M., July 11, 1990.
Mayor Abramowitz said he received a letter from Stan Bernard,
Chairman of the Charter Board, and he read the letter into
the record.
"Subject: Proposed Charter amendments 90.1 and 90.3.
Dear Mayor Abramowitz,
Pursuant with Resolution R-89-209, adopted August
9, 1989, the Charter Board does hereby formally
notify you that they disagreed with the City
Council's proposed amendments and they would like
to hold a joint meeting with the City Council
within 45 days. The purpose of this joint meeting
would be to adopt proposed amendments to the
Charter Sections 90.1 and 90.3 in a form acceptable
to both the City Council and the Charter Board."
Mayor Abramowitz said he responded by sending a letter to
Chairman Bernard which stated the following:
PAGE 1
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
7/11/90 - pw
"In accordance with your request and pursuant t
Resolution R-89-209, please be advised that the37e
will be a joint meeting of the City Council and
Charter Board in Conference Room 1 at City Hall at
9:00 A.M., Wednesday July 11, 1990. The timing of'.
the meeting is critical, so as to attempt to re on e
our differences prior to the scheduled public hearLtLa
'
on the proposed amendments at 7:30 P.M. on July 11
1990."
At 9:05 A.M., City Manager Kelly ZNTERRD the meeting.
Zeke Feldman, Vice Chairman of the Charter Board, sa d
Charter Board would like to know how the City Counci
proposed to reconcile the differences.
Mayor Abramowitz asked the Charter Board to inform tide �J�y
Council about their objections.
Vice Chairman Feldman said the Charter Board was c
because they did not agree to the language to be p
the September 4, 1990 ballot regarding the Charter
amendments.
V/M Hoffman asked if the Charter Board disagreed witt a� of
the amendments or specific amendments.
Muriel Davis, member of the Charter Board, said the Cha
Board agreed to all of the amendments; however, they we
concerned with the language regarding the amendment for
terms of office. She said the language at the end of t
amendment was what the Charter Board disagreed to.
Mayor Abramowitz said Chairman Bernard indicated tha t
Charter Board did not vote on anything and Mrs. Davif s
there was a vote taken; however, the wording was differ
Vice Chairman Feldman asked when the Charter Board v teft on
this matter and Mrs. Davis said the amendments were of on
at the Joint Workshop meeting between the Charter Bo rd' d
City Council held on May 24, 1990. She said three m mbeks of
the Charter Board agreed to 3 three year terms.
Mayor Abramowitz said Dr. Alfred Wald did not agree to
three year terms and Vice Chairman Feldman abstained fr
voting. He said law in Florida stated that a member of
official body could not abstain from voting.
Alan Gabriel, Attorney for the Charter Board, said t is
true; however, if a person abstained from voting, it wa
considered as a "no" vote.
Mayor Abramowitz said Attorney Gabriel and City Atto nel of
had different opinions regarding this matter. He sa d s
did not make a difference because three members of t e
Charter Board voted to propose 3 three year terms fo t
September 4, 1990 ballot.
City Manager Kelly said the joint meeting between th C
Council and Charter Board was a workshop meeting and th
were no votes taken at that meeting.
Mayor Abramowitz said there was a consensus by the
Board and City Council regarding the amendments.
1
1
PAGE 2
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
7/11/90 - pw
Dr. Alfred Wald, member of the Charter Board, said everyone
agreed collectively at the joint workshop meeting; however,
there was no formal vote taken. He said everyone agreed to 3
three year terms for the City Council and Charter Board to
serve.
Dr. Wald said in the agreement there was nothing said
regarding the terms as stipulated in the Ordinance. He said
it was agreed that 9 years in office was a sufficient amount
of time. He said the Charter Board minutes would reflect the
discussion they had regarding the terms of office.
Dr. Wald asked who requested City Attorney Ruf to place this
language in the Resolutions and Chairman Bernard informed the
Board that Mayor Abramowitz stated that a copy of the
Ordinance would be sent to him before the City Council
presented it to the public.
Dr. Wald said Chairman Bernard did not receive a copy of the
Ordinance and was not informed about the final form of the
language in the amendments until the City Council presented
it to the residents at their June 20, 1990 City Council
meeting. He said he did not attend that meeting because he
was out of town and Chairman Bernard expressed his concerns
about the last paragraph in the Ordinance. He said the
Charter Board agreed to 3 three year terms in office for the
Charter Board and City Council. �
Dr. Wald said the Charter Board did not agree that an
individual presently in office could be elected to serve
another 9 years. He said if this occurred, he would actually
be in office 13 years and he did not get the impression that
the terms of office would start immediately upon adoption of
the Ordinance.
V/M Hoffman said Dr. Wald was in office for 2 two year terms
and it was agreed that anyone could run for 3 three year
terms. He asked if Dr. Wald served a three year term and Dr.
Wald replied, no.
V/M Hoffman asked how Dr. Wald could serve five years when he
could run for three years for the coming year providing the
amendment was approved. He asked how Dr. Wald would be able
to serve 9 years.
Dr. Wald said the amendments were being proposed to change
the present regulations. He said the City Council could not
change the law to please themselves. He said this would not
be appropriate and the residents would vote the amendment
down.
Dr. Wald said the City Council and Charter Board should not
make an extension to their existing positions and the amount
of time in office should be no more than 9 years. He said if
he ran for office he would only be in office for 7 years and
Mayor Abramowitz suggested the voters make this determination
and not the City Council or Charter Board. He said it was
not right for anyone to make a decision regarding who would
be serving for office except for the voters.
Dr. Wald said the original premise was being expressed at
this time; therefore, the existing Charter should not be
changed.
PAGE 3
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
7/11/90 - pw
Mayor Abramowitz said he was referring to the minutes and or.
Wald seemed to be stating, "this was what the Charter Board
said but it was not what they meant." He said not one
reference was made regarding the matter the Charter Board was
presently discussing. He said the City Attorney was givOn
direction to draft Ordinances pertaining to the amendments
proposed by the Charter Board and City Council for the
September 4, 1990.
Mayor Abramowitz said there was never mention made about
Chairman Bernard receiving the Ordinance. He said Chairman
Bernard received a copy of the Ordinances at the same time he
received the Ordinances. He said the Charter Board should
indicate that this was said; however, it was not meant t4iz
way.
Mayor Abramowitz said the language for the ballot had to be
sent to the Supervisor of Elections Office. He said. he
reviewed the minutes several times and they indicated that
the City Council did not want 3 three terms. He said when
they began their workshop meetings to review the Independent
Charter Review he stated that they did not feel anyone,
except the voters, had the right to determine who should,be
in office.
Mayor Abramowitz said Vice Chairman Feldman indicated thOt
the Charter Board did not cast a formal vote and Vice
Chairman Feldman said there has not been a formal vote
concerning the amendments. He said there were no votes
allowed in a workshop meeting.
Mayor Abramowitz said the Charter Board and the City Council
expressed their desire to get the amendments on the Sept�n er
4, 1990.
Vice Chairman Feldman asked if the Charter Board and City
Council could change their minds and Mayor Abramowitz said
anyone was entitled to change their mind.
Mayor Abramowitz said the proposal for the 3 three year terms
was brought up by the Charter Board and the expression of
interest indicated that a majority of the votes were tor'3
three year terms. He said the minutes indicated what action
was taken and he quoted from the Ordinance, "The election
shall be for a term of 2 years or until their successorslare
elected and qualified." He said the voters would make the
determination of who should serve in office.
Mayor Abramowitz said he quoted the language of the existing
Charter and he stated he did not agree with 3 three year,
terms. He said the proposal for 3 three year terms was made
by Judy Kitograd, member of the Charter Board, because she
felt the voters would not approve unlimited terms.
Mrs. Davis said she felt that the proposed wording would be
voted down if the existing language was presented to the
voters. She said if the amendments were denied by the voters
`it could be disastrous for the operations of the City. She
said the City needed a better government by having contiguity
and she felt that there should be 3 three year terms. Slhe
said although the succession was not discussed at the
workshop meeting, the theme was that 9 year terms would be a
sufficient amount of time for the office holders. She "id
the matter was not addressed indicating that the exiszin�g
Charter Board and City Councilmembers could run again.
Mayor Abramowitz said this was never mentioned during th*
joint or special meetings and Mrs. Davis said the matter was
not discussed; however, it was interpreted wrong.
1
i
1
PAGE 4
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
7/11/90 - pw
Mayor Abramowitz said the minutes did not state anything
about the existing incumbants running for office.
Mrs. Davis agreed and said if the proposed language was
presented to the voters it would be defeating the purpose of
the amendments.
Mayor Abramowitz said he understood Mrs. Davis and he
appreciated her concerns; however, the voters should be the
ones to make this decision.
C/M Rohr said he was listening to everyone's comments and he
felt there seemed to be an anticipation that anyone elected
for the first or second time would be reelected for the third
time regardless of terms of office. He said when a person
was elected for office it did not mean that that person would
be reelected. He said the final decision of who should be in
office would be the voters. He said the voters would make a
decision as to whether the amendments were appropriate.
C/M Rohr said the City Council and Charter Board should not
anticipate what the voters would do. He said the State had a
Governor who was elected to serve 4 years and it was not
certain if this Governor would be reelected. He said the
anticipation of the worse scenario was not appropriate. He
said he felt the proposed amendments were good for the City
and it would be better than having an election every year,
etc. He said the City Council and Charter Board were to
improve the existing problems and make it better for the City
in the future.
Vice Chairman Feldman said the letter submitted to the
Charter Board by the City Council indicated that there should
be a reconciliation; therefore, they should meet again. He
said the only concern of the Charter Board was the language
in the Ordinance for the amendment of the terms of office.
Vice Chairman Feldman said a lot of time could be saved if a
final decision was made and he suggested the City Council
eliminate or change the language in the Ordinances concerning
the terms of office. He said if the language indicating that
the Charter Board approved of the Ordinances, the Charter
Board would feel more comfortable in the amendments.
Mayor Abramowitz said legally the Ordinances could not be
changed.
Dr. Wald read a portion -of the Minutes of the May 24, 1990
Charter Board meeting:
"Judy Kitograd said she has been debating the issue
of succession. She said sometimes people did not have
free choice when elected officials were in office for
a long time. She said she was comfortable with 3 three
year terms as a compromise to unlimited terms. She said
a Councilmember could then be in office for 9 years or
sit out 1 year and run again.
Chairman Bernard said if a Councilmember served for 9 years,
they would have to wait in order to run again. He said
he was also debating this matter; however, he favored
3 three year terms.
Judy Kitograd said unlimited terms allowed people to
develop a strong power base for those who were not
selected or out of office.
PAGE 5
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
7/11/90 - pw
Chairman Bernard said elected officials would be able
to run after their present terms were over. He told
Vice Chairman Feldman that he had one more year
after the March, 1991 election and he would be able
to run again for one term for three years. He
said as of March, 1991, anyone elected for the first
time would be able to serve 3 three year terms."
Mayor Abramowitz asked if these things were said at a Chit er
Board workshop and Dr. Wald replied, yes.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if anyone indicated these things Arhan
the joint workshops were held between the City Council ald
Charter Board. He said the City Council walked into he',
joint workshop meeting and was proposing unlimited to ms,•
however, after further discussion, the City Council f lt' at
3 three year terms would be more appropriate.
Mayor Abramowitz said there was nothing indicated to he: 'ty
Council during the joint meetings that the Charter Bo rd 'd
not agree with the succession beginning at the time o t
adoption of the amendments.
Dr. Wald said this was discussed at the Charter Board me' 'ng
held on May 24, 1990, which was before the joint work ho
with the City Council.
C/M Rohr said this may have occurred; however, the Ch rt
Board never expressed their concerns to the City Coun it
Dr. Wald said the joint workshop meeting held on that ldal as
only the first workshop regarding the amendments.
Mayor Abramowitz said he called Chairman Bernard beca se t1ley
agreed to hold two joint workshop meetings. He saidIhebe
contacted Chairman Bernard regarding a second worksho
meeting, Chairman Bernard said another workshop was nt
necessary because the City Council and Charter Board gr
on all the items.
Vice Chairman Feldman said Chairman Bernard and he di cu d
the conversations between Mayor Abramowitz and Chairm n
Bernard. He said Chairman Bernard informed him that he
proposed language in the Ordinance was not appropriat
because this was not the agreement the City Council a d
Charter Board had.
V/M Hoffman asked if this was a violation of the Sunshine aw
and he said he would like the record to reflect that the'
Chairman and Vice Chairman held a private meeting which a
violation of the Sunshine Law.
Vice Chairman Feldman asked if Mayor Abramowitz was C ai
the meeting for the City Council or for both the Char er
Board and City Council.
Mayor Abramowitz asked that the meeting continue and is
Chairman Feldman said he wanted the record to reflect thit he
could not get an answer; therefore, he could at a later late.
V/M Hoffman said he never heard of a law approving tht pl
and the Charter Board was now asking the City Council to
back in time and pass something now but make it retro ct
He said he felt this was wrong and he would oppose it
PAGE 6
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
7/11/90 - pw
C/M Schumann said the purpose of placing the amendments on
the ballot was to affect a change. He said if the change was
approved by the voters anything previous to the approval no
longer existed. He said the amount of the previous years was
not an issue because it would not be considered if the
amendment was approved by the voters. He said no one had the
guarantee of any reelection at any time.
V/M Hoffman said if the amendments were approved they could
become effective in 1999; however, the day designated for the
effective date was the day it would become the law. He asked
Attorney Gabriel if this was correct and Attorney Gabriel
replied, yes, unless there was an effective date indicated.
Attorney Gabriel said there could be language placed into the
proposed amendment that would impact the existing
encumbrances.
Mayor Abramowitz said everyone seemed to be concerned with 9
years in office and Dr. Wald said it was stated 119 years
maximum." Mayor Abramowitz asked where "maximum" was
indicated. He said the Charter Board was indicating that
this was what they said but it was not meant this way.
Mayor Abramowitz said Vice Mayor Hoffman and Dr. Wald have
served 4 year terms and, based on the existing language, they
could not run for office again; however, the Charter Board
could run for a three year term. He said the Charter Board
had to see the equation that allowed them to run for 9 years.
Attorney Gabriel said the amendment had to be clear as to how
it would affect the elected officials; however, there has
been language implemented in the Ordinance which addressed
the elected officials.
Mayor Abramowitz said if the matter would have been discussed
during the joint workshop meetings, he would not have
approved 3 three year terms because he felt the voters should
make the final decision of who was elected to serve the City.
He said there has been concern regarding the voters denying
the amendments; however, if they did not like the amendments,
they should vote it down.
Mayor Abramowitz said the City Attorney informed the City
Council that the language for the amendments should not be
ambiguous; therefore, the language should be very clear so
the voters could understand it.
Dr. Wald said he agreed with the City Council; however, the
Charter Board was objecting to the language in the Ordinances
being implemented. He said Chairman Bernard indicated that
the Board was not given the proposed amendment before it was
presented to the public.
Dr. Wald said Chairman Bernard was supposed to have received
the proposed amendment before it became official; however,
this did not occur. He said Mayor Abramowitz indicated that
he did not receive the amendment until the May 24, 1990 City
Council meeting which, at that time, Chairman Bernard
received the documents as well.
Dr. Wald said if this occurred, Chairman Bernard would have
informed the City Council of his objections and an agreement
could have been made which may have prevented the need for
this meeting.
V/M Hoffman asked when Dr. Wald was informed about Chairman
Bernard's concerns and Attorney Gabriel said this matter was
discussed at the Charter Board meeting last week.
PAGE 7
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
7/11/90 -- pw
V/M Hoffman asked if this was indicated in the Minutes and
Attorney Gabriel replied, yes.
Mayor Abramowitz said legally, he dealt with Chairman Bernard
which has been done carefully. He said he and Chairman
Bernard were informed that they would receive the amendments
as soon as they were available. He said he informed staff to
submit the required documents to Chairman Bernard at the same
time he received them and this was done.
Vice Chairman Feldman said at 9:15 A.M., Mayor Abramowitz
said he did not have the amendments; however, they were
presented to the pubic at the City Council meeting.
Mayor Abramowitz said he stated that the amendments were
presented to him and Chairman Bernard at the same time, Which
was done at the City Council meeting.
Vice Chairman Feldman said Chairman Bernard never received a
copy of the amendments and Mayor Abramowitz disagreed.
Mayor Abramowitz said the information was given to Chairman
Bernard at the same time he received it and, during the first
reading of the Ordinances, there were no objections. He,said
Chairman Bernard did not object to the Ordinances until the
Tamarac Democratic Club meeting. He said at this meeting
there were several people who were opposed to the amendments.
He said Chairman Bernard informed him that the person with
the objections was wrong in stating a person could run fox 13
years. He said he informed Chairman Bernard that this wog
correct and Chairman Bernard informed him that this was #at
what he meant.
Mayor Abramowitz said there was nothing recorded indicatirg
that Chairman Bernard objected to the amendments proposed.
He said he was not upset with the Charter Board indicati#g
that they did not mean what was said.
i
Mayor Abramowitz asked Dr. Wald what right he had to make a
determination of how long anyone remained in office. He:said
the legislative government did not mandate the length of
terms. He said if he was good in office and the voters
wanted to keep him in office for 35 years, no one else s�culd
be able to make that determination except the voters. HO
said the two most powerful people were defeated in the post
elections. He asked why a politician should mandate howia
City should be handled when the City belonged to the vot�xs.
Mayor Abramowitz said if the voters did not like the
amendments, they should deny them. He said it was their,
choice and he did not agree with this in the beginning;
however, working together assisted everyone to become mode
knowledgeable about specific matters.
Mayor Abramowitz said he felt that the statement made by'Judy
Kitograd made a lot of sense and this statement assisted him
to believe that 3 three year terms were appropriate.
Mrs. Davis said it seemed that the City did not want to
delete the words at the end of the amendment and Mayor
Abramowitz said the City Council could not delete the
language at the end of the proposed amendments. i
Mrs. Davis said she thought the language could be changed and
Attorney Gabriel said there has been a first reading of the
Ordinance; however, the amendment could be made at the �Iity
Council meeting being held this evening.
PAGE 8
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
7/11/90 - pw
V/M Hoffman said major amendments could not be made and Mrs.
Davis said if nothing could be done about the amendments, the
City Council and Charter Board should come to some type of
decision.
Mayor Abramowitz said the City Attorney indicated that the
Ordinance could not be changed; therefore, Attorney Gabriel's
opinion was not significant.
City Manager Kelly said there was an.opinion from the
Attorney General's Office which stated that any substantive
changes would require readvertising and beginning the process
over.
Attorney Gabriel said the advertisement referred to 9 year
terms and Mayor Abramowitz said the advertisement was
explained in the Ordinance. He said the proposed Ordinance
addressed the amendment in simplistic language.
C/M Rohr said his remarks would offend several people;
however, he felt it should be put on the table. He said
Tamarac was the only City that had a Charter Board with
power. He said the surrounding Cities managed without a
powerful Charter Board; however, they had advisory Charter
Boards that were appointed by the City Councils and they
worked in harmony.
ZAR"
C/M Rohr said the City Council should not be embarrassed by
the actions or lack of actions of the Charter Board. He said
a determination was made and the City Council met with the
Charter Board thinking there was an agreement and a decision
was made; however, the Charter. Board states that they did not
mean this. He said the members of the Charter Board and City
Council were adults. He said he did not want the City
Council to be embarrassed by the Charter Board's actions.
Mrs. Davis said no one wanted to be embarrassed at the City
Council meeting tonight and she suggested that the Charter
Board and City Council come to a determination at this
meeting.
Dr. Wald read a letter written by Chairman Bernard which was
created before he went on vacation regarding the sequence of
events as follows:
"Mr. Mayor:
You will surely recall that you approached me
me with the suggestion that we use the City Attorney
to draw up the proposed amendments because this way
we would save the City the money it would cost by
having the Charter Board Attorney drafting the
amendments.
You also told me that we would both receive copies
prior to them being distributed to the City Council and
Charter Board members so the verbiage could be reviewed
and corrected, if necessary. Had this been done, I
would have told you immediately that we would not
support the amendments as written."
Mayor Abramowitz said the Ordinances were to be prepared by
the people that would be passing them. He asked if the
Charter Board could pass an Ordinance and Dr. Wald said he
answered this before by stating that the Charter Board could
put amendments on the ballot by drafting their own Ordinance.
PAGE 9
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
7/11/90 -- pw
Mayor Abramowitz said this could not be done and Dr. Wald
asked why this matter has been discussed in the past. Or.
Wald said the Charter Board dropped the lawsuit they have
with the City Council in order to get the matter resolved.
He said the Charter Board could still put amendments on the
ballot as per the Charter until the law was changed.
Mayor Abramowitz said he informed Chairman Bernard that the
first copy of the proposed amendments would be submitted to
him and the second copy would be submitted to Chairman
Bernard. He said he did not get the first copy from the City
Attorney until the morning of the City Council meeting.1 He
said Chairman Bernard received the drafts at the same t*me
and he did not receive any objections from the audience
during that City Council meeting.
Mayor Abramowitz said there was a first reading held on these
proposed Ordinances and no one objected to them. He said it
seemed that Chairman Bernard did not read the Ordinances or
read them and did not understand them. He said he would not
fault Chairman Bernard for this; however, Chairman Bernard
received the amendments at the same time he did.
Mayor Abramowitz said Chairman Bernard did not object to the
amendments until he was informed that the City Council 4nd
Charter Board members may be able to serve 13 years.
Mayor Abramowitz said the City Manager was given instructions
by him to give instructions to the City Attorney to make the
language in the amendments to be very clear to be understood
by the voters.
Dr. Wald said he understood what Mayor Abramowitz was suing
and that it was accurate; however, Chairman Bernard was�told
that he would be given copies prior to the City Council and
Charter Board members.
Dr. Wald said the City Council meeting was held on Junei27,
1990, and this was the first time that Mayor Abramowitz
received a draft of the amendments. Mayor Abramowitz said
this was the first time he saw the amendments in final form.
Dr. Wald said he was informed about this matter and he
understood that Chairman Bernard could not remain at tho
meeting because of a prior engagement. He said the first
time Chairman Bernard was made aware of the amendments was
that evening at the Democratic Club meeting.
Dr. Wald said according to Mayor Abramowitz there was nt) Nay
the amendments could be changed and Mayor Abramowitz said the
City Council was given legal advice which indicated that
there could not be any major changes of the Ordinances.!
C/M Rohr said he felt the only problem someone may havens
that they could not foresee in the future that the existing
City Council may run again. He said if the matter was
analyzed appropriately there would be evidence that the
existing City Council and Charter Board members may not'be
reelected by the voters to serve again.
C/M Rohr said there may be concerns about why there were
Charter Board members who did not want certain Councilmembers
to serve again.
V/M Hoffman said he felt he saw a better argument fox tl�e
abolition of the Charter Board because of what was occurr-ing
right now. He said the existing Charter Board was dcingr
everything possible to discredit themselves. 11
4
PAGE 10
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
7/11/90 - pw
Mrs. Davis asked how the amendments would be presented and
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the Charter Board and City
Councilmembers had anything further to state for the record.
Mayor Abramowitz said he would like the record to reflect
that no one wanted to state anything further for the record.
Mayor Abramowitz said he felt that an amendment could not be
made at this time.
Attorney Gabriel said the City Council was basing their
opinions on an opinion given by the Attorney General which
indicated that amendments could be made if not substantial.
He said what was being proposed by the Charter Board was not
a substantial item but required a slight revision indicating
limitations on what the City Council was basing their
opinions on.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if Attorney Gabriel felt this was a
slight amendment and Attorney Gabriel said this would be a
minor change to the existing language.
Mayor Abramowitz said the interpretation of a major change
was different and C/M Bender said the changes should not be
considered as major or minor but as substantive changes.
Attorney Gabriel said the advertisement indicated the terms
of office and nothing would be changed in this and Mayor
Abramowitz said the contents would be changed. Mayor
Abramowitz said the change being proposed was for the
contents of the Ordinance.
V/M Hoffman said the main issue pertained to the previous
agreement between the City Council and Charter Board. He
said everyone should consider if there should be an amendment
to the proposed Charter amendments for the terms of office.
He said he did not want to make this amendment.
Mayor Abramowitz said he was glad this meeting was called
because everyone was informed about several things such as
not being able to make substantial changes for an Ordinance.
Mayor Abramowitz said everyone had the right to voice their
opinions, objections and support of any issue or item. He
said the public hearing would be held at the City Council
meeting tonight and, after the public hearing, the City
Council would vote on the amendments. He said he did not know
how the other City Councilmembers would vote; however, he
knew how he would vote. He said he tried very hard to work
with everyone in the City and he felt that these issues were
an embarrassment but not because everyone did not approve of
his opinions.
Mayor Abramowitz said he received several telephone calls
concerning who had the right to mandate the terms of office
for the elected officials; however, an agreement was made
between the City Council and Charter Board. He said he was
not pleased with the agreement, and he did vote and he did do
what was he said he would do.
Mayor Abramowitz said Mrs. Davis asked how this matter would
be resolved and he felt the issues could be discussed during
the public hearings at the City Council meeting tonight. He
said he heard from three people; however, he wanted to hear
the other residents and how they felt about the amendments.
PAGE 11
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
7/11/90 - pw
Dr. Wald said he understood that an open public forum or
public hearing would have a very strong purpose, which was to
try and give the City Council and Mayor input as to how the
people felt. Mayor Abramowitz agreed.
Dr. Wald asked why public hearings were held for the
residents to give the City Council input on specific issues
if the Ordinances and Resolutions could not be changed. He
said the opinion by the City Attorney was being implemented
by the City Council. He said he felt it was a waste of time
to hold the public hearings when the City Council could not
make changes to the proposed Ordinances or Resolutions.
Mayor Abramowitz said he did not state this. He said he;
indicated that substantive changes could not be made. Hle
said the law indicated this and Dr. Wald asked why the
residents should attend the meeting this evening if ther6
could be no changes to the amendments.
Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council may decide not to put
the amendments on the ballot at the City Council meeting
tonight. He said he objected to someone putting words in his
mouth; however, he indicated that there could not be
substantive changes to the Ordinances. He read a port.io*i of
the Attorney General's opinion as follows:
"That no substantial or material changes or
amendments can be made during the process.
Mayor Abramowitz said Attorney Gabriel felt that this wall a
minor change and the City Attorney indicated that the
amendment being proposed by the Charter Board at this tune
was not a minor change. He said the City Council could vote
against the issue of changes or vote for changes which wlould
be a violation of the law.
Mayor Abramowitz said the City had to be very careful with
their actions because there were several people who created
lawsuits against the City and City Council on issues tha4t
were not substantial. He said after the City spends the
money for the lawsuits, the people creating them dropped the
lawsuits. He said this may not be important to the Cha#er
Board; however, he wanted to follow the opinions of their
Attorney. He said the Charter Board's Attorney felt
differently and he did not object to this. He said he did
not state that changes could not be made; however, he dial
state that no substantive or material changes of the
Ordinance could be made.
Mrs. Davis asked if City Attorney Ruf would be present ait the
City Council meeting tonight and Mayor Abramowitz replieidr
yes.
C/M Rohr said Dr. Wald asked why the residents should ad Tess
this matter at the public hearings if changes could not e
made. He said the procedure followed by the City Council was
a procedure followed by all legislative bodies. He said he
did not see the overwhelming majority of voters in the City
attending the meetings except on issues that concerned their
area.
C/M Rohr said there were approximately 15 people in the City
trying to determine for the entire City what was good foir
them. He said the people in City seemed to be very satisfied
with the operations. He said this was why there were no
residents attending the meetings because there was nothing
wrong with the operations of the City. o
PAGE 12
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
7/11/90 - pw
Mrs. Davis said it was mentioned that this item would be
presented to the residents as a joint agreement between the
City Council and Charter Board.
Mayor Abramowitz said he did not state this and Mrs. Davis
asked if Mayor Abramowitz would inform the public that the
Charter Board and City Council agreed to the amendments.
Mayor Abramowitz said this was the language indicated in the
amendments. He said if the Charter Board did not agree with
this they could inform the public at the City Council meeting
that they did not agree with the amendments.
Mayor Abramowitz said a Charter Board member asked how the
amendments would be presented to the public at a joint
workshop meeting between the City Council and Charter Board.
He said he indicated that the presentation of the amendments
would be done jointly by the City Council and Charter Board.
Vice Chairman Feldman said the residents may come to the City
Council meeting tonight and oppose the language.
Dr. Wald said unfortunately, the City Attorney was given the
authority and information to draft the amendments. He said
he would like to read how the Charter Board's Attorney would
have drafted the amendments.
Mayor Abramowitz said this was not necessary because this was
not the opinion the City Council would base their actions on.
At 10:10 A.M., C/M Rohr WITHDREW from the meeting.
Dr. Wald said he did not object to Mayor Abramowitz stopping
him from speaking; however, Attorney Gabriel clarified the
Charter Board's position very simply.
Dr. Wald said the City Council asked what the Charter Board
and residents were afraid of. He asked what the City Council
was afraid of by changing the proposed Ordinances.
Mayor Abramowitz said there was fear because the City
Council, Charter Board, City Manager and Attorneys had no
right to decide what amendments should be enacted or how many
years an elected body should serve. He said he was not
afraid to ask the voters to decide on specific issues.
Mayor Abramowitz said the City of Plantation was operating
very well and the Mayor of that City has been in office for
18 years.
C/M Bender said he did not approve of 3 three year terms. He
said he wanted to make sure what has been occurring;
therefore, he read the Minutes of the joint meeting between
the Charter Board and City Council, which was not a verbatim
transcript. He said he took the time to listen to two tapes
of the joint meeting and, during that meeting, no one stated
that they objected to the amendments. He said the Charter
Board was now stating an objection to the amendments;
however, they should have stated this during the joint
meetings.
C/M Bender said he did not like the amendment of 3 three year
terms; however, he voted for this amendment because the
Charter Board indicated they approved of this amendment. He
said he did not know that the Charter Board objected to the
terms of office because it was not discussed at the joint
workshop meeting and he knew this because he personally took
approximately two hours to listen to the tapes of that
meeting.
PAGE 13
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
7/11/90 - pw
At 10:15 A.M., C/M Schumann WITHDREW from the meeting.
V/M Hoffman said the original Charter provision was
eliminated when the present language regarding the terms of
office was enacted. He said the original verbiage of the
Charter stated that an elected official could run until
succeeded, replaced or reappointed. He said he would like to
eliminate all reference to limitation of terms.
Attorney Gabriel said this type of change would be
substantial. He said this was the first time the City
Council heard about the Charter Board objections; however, he
informed them that modifications could be made to the
existing proposed amendment to the Charter which deleted
three or four words from the existing proposal. He said this
handled what the Charter Board was trying to accomplish ,by
limiting the terms for the existing officers. He said he
would review V/M Hoffman's suggestion.
V/M Hoffman read the original Charter provision as follows:
"The election shall be for a term of two years or '
until their successors are elected and qualified.111
V/M Hoffman asked if it would be possible to change the
provision to indicate:
"The election shall be for a term of three years or
until their successors are elected and qualified."!
Attorney Gabriel said he was concerned with an impact of�
having no limitations for the terms of office. k
V/M Hoffman asked if the voters should be given the
opportunity to make this decision and Attorney Gabriel said
this was a policy decision, upon which he had his own views.
He said his views may not be the same as the City Counci4 or
Charter Board.
Attorney Gabriel said he was being asked whether or not the
previous language of the Charter could be implemented
indicating no limitations to the terms of office.
Mayor Abramowitz said he felt that this suggestion and tie
suggestion by the Charter Board were substantive changesj.
Attorney Gabriel disagreed and he said the proposed
amendments specified 3 three year terms.
Mayor Abramowitz asked who made the determination that t�e
amendments should not impact the existing elected bodiesiof
the City.
Attorney Gabriel said this was a policy decision and he Gould
not make this decision.
V/M Hoffman asked if his suggested change would be more ,
substantive than the changes requested by the Charter Board.
Attorney Gabriel said the change would be different than what
was advertised; therefore, it would be a substantial chahim .
He said he did not agree that the changes being re.questeO by
the Charter Board were substantial because the proposed
amendment indicated, 113 three year terms".
Mayor Abramowitz said this was not correct because the low
indicated that there could only be a specific amount of
verbiage in the heading.
PAGE 14
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
7/11/90 - pw
1
Attorney Gabriel said the proposed amendments indicated that
the 3 three year terms shall apply to everyone.
Mayor Abramowitz said if this language could be placed in the
heading for the ballot, it would have been done. He said the
City Attorney was directed to make sure that there was no
ambiguous language in the proposed Ordinance.
Attorney Gabriel said this was the correct procedure and
Mayor Abramowitz said this was why the procedure was done.
At 10:17 A.M., the City Clerk and City Manager WITHDREW from
the meeting.
Mayor Abramowitz said these procedures were followed because
he knew there would be a small vocal group who objected to
the amendments. He said he learned a lot about public
reactions since he became Mayor.
Mayor Abramowitz said by following the opinion of the City
Attorney and Attorney General, the City Council could not
legally make the changes being proposed by the Charter Board,
which were substantial; therefore, it could present a
problem.
With no further business, Mayor
meeting at 10:20 A.M.
de 4 4 t t /-, Z;;,
CAROL A. EVANS
CITY CLERK
ramowitz ADJOURNED the
A
NORMAN ABRAMOWITZ
MAYOR �-
"This public document was promulgated at a cost of $111.79 or
$7.99 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."
Pursuant to Chauter-286.0105. Florida. Statutes. If a
person decides to appeal any decision made by the City Council
with respect to any matter considered at such meeting or hearing.
he may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is
made which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which
the appeal is based.
CITY OF TAMARAC
APPROVED AT MEETING OF 90
PAGE 15
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
7/11/90 - pw