Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986-05-16 - City Commission Special Meeting Minutes (2)0 CJ MAIL REPLY TO: P.O. BOX 25010 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33320 5811 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321 TELEPHONE (305) 722-5900 May 12, 1986 NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CITY COUNCIL TAMARAC, FLORIDA Please be advised that the City Council of Tamarac will hold a Public Hearing on Friday, May 16, 1986, at 10:00 AM in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 5811 NW 88th Avenue, Florida. 1. Proposed Amendments to the FY 1985 86 - Discussion and possible action on: 1) General Fund Budget Temp. Ord. #1259. First Reading 2) Utility West Budget Temp. Ord. #1260. First Reading 3) Utility East Budget Temp. Ord. #1261. First Reading 4) Special Funds Tgmp, Ord. #1262. First Reading 5) Revenue Sharing - Temp, rd. #1264. First Reading. FINAL ACTIO APPROVED 1), 2) and 5) on first reading as submitted. APPROVED 3) on first reading as amended in the title, Line 3, adding "an amount of" and Line 4, after the amount, add the word "to". APPROVED 4) on first reading as amended to show the totals in the title and, in Section 1, above the amount in Column 1, "Previous Budget" and in Column 2, "New Budget". 2. Possible Action ._regarding City Clerk - Discussion and possible action. FINAL ACTION: Agendized by Consent. Council DENIED the City Manager's request for suspension of the City Clerk for one week without pay; however, they recognized the reprimand and unbecoming conduct of the City Clerk as evidenced by her public apology and cancellation of her seminar to Boston, which was previously approved by Council. Mayor Hart stated he would make a personal investigation with the City Manager's approval and file a written report. The public is invited to attend. Irsuant to Section 286.0105, Florida Statutes Zq2det� tt a person decides to appeal any decision made by the city Marilyrf Be r t h of f , CM Oouncil with respect to any matter considered at such meeting or City Clerk hearing, he will need a record of the proceedings and for such purpose, he may need to ensure that a verbatim record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to A PMAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING May 16, 1986 Tape 1 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Hart called the meeting to order on Friday, May 16, 1986, at 10:00 A.M. in the Council Chambers. 71 ROLL CALL: PRESENT: ALSO PRESENT: Mayor Bernard Hart Vice Mayor Sydney M. Stein Councilwoman Helen Massaro Councilman Jack Stelzer Councilman Arthur H. Gottesman Larry Perretti, City Manager Richard Rednor, Acting City Attorney Patricia Marcurio, Secretary Pauline Walaszek, Secretary 2. P ss'ble Acti n Begarding City Clerk - Discussion and possible action. SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: Agendized by Consent. Council DENIED the City Manager's request for suspension of the City Clerk for one week; however, they recognized the reprimand and unbecoming conduct of the City Clerk as evidenced by her public apology and cancellation of her seminar to Boston, which was previously approved by Council. P City Manager Perretti said he sent a letter to Council regarding his intentions to suspend the City Clerk for one week without pay as a disciplinary action. V/M Stein said this situation has determined that there is a conflict between the Charter and the Personnel Manual and this should be reviewed further. V/M Stein noted that this matter was given to the newspapers before Council had a chance to review this. He read into the record a letter which all members of Council received from Marilyn Bertholf, City Clerk: "I would like to take this opportunity to extend my personal apology to you for the unprofessional, unbecoming way I behaved on May 14, 1986. Because of the difficult experience at the Council meeting, I was carried away and said certain things which should not have been said. I hope you will see fit to accept this apology." He noted that this was initialled by Mrs. Bertholf. V/M Stein said considering this public apology, he MOVED to DENY the City Manager's recommendation of a week's suspension without pay. He said he does not condone this conduct; however, he feels that this would be too severe a punishment. He said Mrs. Bertholf is also accepting punishment in the fact that she has withdrawn her application to go to the seminar in Boston, which precipitated this discussion. SECONDED by C/M Stelzer. Mr. Rednor noted that this item should be Agendized by Consent before any further discussion on this item and V/M Stein so MOVED, SECONDED by C/W Massaro. "sue ALL VOTED AYE C/W Massaro said this is not the first occurrence of this type from the City Clerk. She said the personnel in the department are not allowed to speak or help one another and this is public knowledge. She said this is not the way a department should be run. She said to just allow the City Clerk to withdraw from a seminar is not the way to show the City Manager that he is being supported by the Council. She said the City Clerk wrote a letter of apology but did not sign it and she felt that was an insult. 1 5/16/86 /pm C/M Gottesman said he was asked by people in the City Clerk's office several times during the past year how this department is run in the fashion it is. He said he knows of 3 secretaries that resigned from that department because they could not work under the existing conditions in the department. He said he feels a reprimand should not be overlooked and the letter of apology does not cover the many problems there. V/M Stein said the City Clerk has been with the City more than 10 years and he questioned why she has not been dismissed before this if C/W Massaro knew of this type of behavior. He asked why this has been tolerated and he suggested an investigation be held concerning this. He said a suspension would not solve the problem in any event. C/W Massaro said Mrs. Bertholf has not been City Clerk for over 10 years and there have been other things going on during this time. She said the employees have been going to her and asking if something could be done about the City Clerk. She said she has been corrected several times and she promises each time to stop but the situation has gotten worse. She said a firm investigation should be made into this department. She said she has spoken to the City Manager many times and asked him to take action on this. C/M Stelzer questioned why people have confided in C/M Gottesman concerning this when he has been involved in the City for 14 years and has never had anyone complain about the City Clerk's office. He said there were rumors that the previous administration had a list of employees to be dismissed and he said everyone on that list except the City Clerk and one other person are no longer in the employ of the City. Mayor Hart said he does not believe in witch hunts and he has always found Mrs. Bertholf to be cooperative. He said he has never seen anyone in the City Clerk's office upset and no one has ever approached him with a complaint. City Manager Perretti said that the professional way of dealing with any person, especially a department head, is to speak with them privately. He said that Mrs. Bertholf has been counseled in a professional manner in his office on many occasions about the same things stated in the letter. He said the only reason that nothing has been done in the past is because the department heads who associate with Mrs. Bertholf on a daily basis have seen that she has been getting away with things. He said he has been keeping a low profile on the matter based on the fact that he has counseled Mrs. Bertholf hoping for a change because he feels she has the ability to be a good City Clerk; however, her behavioral pattern is damaging her ability. Mr. Perretti said that by not reprimanding a department head because of the consistent behavior pattern, is really hurting the grievance procedure in the City. He said that if one of Mrs. Bertholf's employees acted in the same manner, he is sure that she would be in the personnel department asking for the dismissal of that employee rather than reprimanding that employee. Mr. Perretti said that many department heads have spoken to him and the department heads are willing to come forward to verify Mrs. Bertholf's behavior. Mr. Perretti asked Council that before they make a decision to please be aware of the on going behavior from Mrs. Bertholf. Mayor Hart said that Mr. Perretti is already reprimanding Mrs. Bertholf in addition to the suspension stated in Mr. Perretti's letter to her. Mayor Hart said that the only thing that is being done regarding the letter is removing the suspension. He said that Council is not changing the fact that Mrs. Bertholf is being reprimanded. V/M Stein reinstated his motion to deny the City Manager's request for a suspension of the City Clerk of one week without pay. N 44 2 5/16/86 /pm Mayor Hart said that he will make a personal investigation with the City Manager's approval. He then will file a written report with the Council. Mrs. Blumfield asked if it was not the City Manager's responsibility to inform the new Council of the behavioral problem with the Mrs. Bertholf. Mr. Perretti said that no, he does not have to inform the Council when he is counseling. Mr. Perretti said that the problem with bringing the previous complaints forward was because when the complaints were brought to him, no one would come forward because of the fear of losing their jobs. Mr. Perretti said that without someone coming forward, he had no witnesses only hearsay. He said that at this particular time, he does have witnesses who are willing to describe Mrs. Bertholf's behavior. Mr. Feldman said he feels that Council is not maintaining dis- cipline. He said that when he ran for office, he filed papers and Mrs. Bertholf interfered. He feels that Council is slapping Mrs. Bertholf on the wrist and telling her to keep on doing what she is doing. He said he feels Mrs. Bertholf must be reprimanded. C/M Gottesman said that more than three people who have worked in the City Clerk department have come to him many times just to express their views. VOTE: C/M Gottesman Aye C/M Stelzer Aye C/W Massaro Nay V/M Stein Aye Mayor Hart Aye Mayor Hart said that in the future, no employee or City officer or City official is to give information to the press on something that has not been approved or discussed by the Council. 1. Proposed Amendments to the FY 1985/86 - Discussion and possible action on: 1) General Fund Budget Temp,. Ord. #1259. First Reading 2) utility West Budget Temp. -Ord. #1260. First Reading 3) Utility East Budget Temp. Ord. #1261. First Reading 4) Special Funds Tgmp. Ord 41262. First Reading 5) Revenue Sharing Temp. Ord. #1264. First Reading SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: APPROVED 1), 2) and 5) on first reading as submitted. APPROVED 3) and 4), on first reading as amended 1) Mr. Rednor read Temp. Ord. #1259 by title. C/M Stelzer MOVED for approval of first reading, SECONDED by V/M Stein. Ib C/M Stelzer said that at a workshop meeting for the general Fund Budget, the City Manager revised the estimates of the income and it was determined that more money would be available for the year than originally anticipated. The contingency fund was increased and additional funds were applied to various department budgets. Mayor Hart opened discussion to the public. 3 5/16/86 /pm Mrs. Melanie Reynolds said that generally more information is given to the public concerning the budget. She said that there was no public hearing on the Federal Revenue Funds as far as she knows. Mayor Hart closed discussion to the public with no response. C/M Stelzer said that this was a six (6) month review made by the City Manager not a Formal Budget Hearing. C/W Massaro said that she did not understand why Council would have to act upon the item if it is just an adjustment and not an annual budget. V/M Stein said that the reason Council needs to act upon the item is because the amount stated in the budget is being exceeded. The reason for the Hearing today is to extend the sums of expenditures the City will be entitled to spend. C/W Massaro asked if Council is acting on what is anticipated to be received and not on what the City actually has. C/M Stelzer said that the City actually got back more than what was anticipated. Frank Etheredge said that what he did was analyze what the City received in the first six (6) months and prepared pro- jections based on the analysis and reviewed what had been spent in the first six (6) months and then cut back wherever possible. C/M Stelzer said that in all the Budgets the City has ever had the City ends up with a lot more money coming in. C/W Massaro asked if there would be another public hearing on the budget. C/M Stelzer answered that there will be a second hearing. Y2E = ALL VOTED AYE 2) Mr. Rednor read Temp. Ord #1260 by title. V/M Stein so MOVED for approval on first reading, SECONDED by C/M Stelzer. Mayor Hart opened and closed discussion to public with no response. C/M Stelzer said that the City found that expenses were going down. He said that the estimated expenses were cut because the City did not spend the money that was anticipated. There were items in the expense portion of the budget that never came to pass so therefore it was possible to cut the budget in that manner. Y_QTE: ALL YOTED AYE 3) Mr. Rednor read Temps Ord._#1261 by title. V/M Stein suggested on Line 3, adding "an amount of" and Line 4, after the amount, add the word "to". V/M Stein so MOVED with amendments for approval on first reading, SECONDED by C/M Gottesman. 4 5/16/86 /pm c/ 17, lb Mayor Hart opened and closed discussion to public with no response. C/W Massaro asked if the lift stations that needed to be rebuilt were included in this Ordinance. Frank Etheredge responded that the lift stations were still in the Ordinance. C/M Stelzer said that there was money transferred into the reserve fund. That is where the difference is. Frank Etheredge said that the transfer to the reserve fund is the transfer necessary to cover all the projects. VOTE• ALL VOTED AYE 4) Mr. Rednor read TemR. Qrd.1262 by title. V/M Stein suggested that the totals in the title be shown and, in Section 1, above amount in Column 1, add "Previous Budget" and in Column 2, add "New Budget". V/M Stein MOVED approval with amendments on first reading, SECONDED by C/M Stelzer. Mayor Hart opened and closed discussion to the public with no response. C/W Massaro asked where is the money being spent for side- walks. Frank Etheredge said that he was advised that the sidewalk project should be closed out. He said that originally the City was taking the interest of the fund and transferring it to the general fund and now the City decided to close the fund out. Frank Etheredge said that nothing has ever been spent in that fund. C/W Massaro said why that cannot be done. She said that there is money put in there for certain things and those things have not been done and there is a possibility of being required by someone to do these things. She said that money cannot be eliminated. V/M Stein said that this is not like the Utility Budgets; this Ordinance is for special funds. He said that at any time money can be transferred back to the sidewalk fund. He said that it really does not make a difference where the money is put because it cannot be spent until it is approved. C/W Massaro said that if the City decides that a sidewalk must be constructed then the City knows that there is money in there for that purpose and it is not being pulled out of the general fund. C/M Stelzer asked Mr. Etheredge if there was any money taken out of the Sidewalk fund last year. Mr. Etheredge said that there was no money taken out of the fund last year and nothing charged to it this year. V/M Stein said that the accountants are objecting to the amount of separate funds which are not being utilized. VOTE. ALL VQTE AYE 5) Mr. Rednor read Temp. Qxd= 1264 by title. V/M Stein MOVED approval on first reading, SECONDED by C/M Gottesman. i J 5/16/86 /pm Mayor Hart opened and closed discussion to public with no response. Mr. Etheredge said that originally in the fiscal year budget the City budgeted money for street lights. The money in the general fund was enough to cover what the projected street light expenditures would be for the year. Therefore, it was not necessary for this money to be spent in the Federal Revenue Fund. The City is facing cutbacks in July and September allocations from the Federal Government. VOTE: L TE AYE Mayor Hart adjourned the me ing at 10:00 MAYOR ATTEST: /112 �.ITY CLERK This Public document was promulgated at a cost of $Q or $_;.8a 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. CITY OF TAMARAC 1aPFTOVED AT MEETING OF Ca City Clerk 61 41 6 5/16/86 r /pm