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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCRC 04/30/2008 City of Ocoee Minutes of the Charter Review Commission Meeting Held April 30, 2008 Call to Order Chairperson Grafton called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m. in the Commission Chairperson Grafton Chambers of City Hall, located at 150 N. Lakeshore Drive. gave Recording Clerk Moseley the invocation and led the pledge of allegiance to the flag. called roll and declared a quorum to be present. Roll Call Present: Members Jean Grafton, Rosemary Morganto, Michael Barnes, and Rob McKey. Also present were City Clerk Eikenberry, City Attorney Rosenthal, and Recording Clerk Moseley. Absent: Member Danny Howell was excused. Approval of Charter Review Commission Minutes for April 9, 2009. Member BarnesVice-Chair McKey , seconded by , moved to approve the minutes of April 9, 2009. Motion carried unanimously. Discussion/Action Regarding the City Charter and Other Local Charters Chairperson Grafton asked if members had time to review the local sample charters and all had. She said the Florida League of Cities suggested that they can do as good a job, or Member Barnes better, with 9 pages as they can with 40-50 pages. mentioned the preamble they had in the City of Winter Garden charter and he recommended they do the same to describe what their goal is in the beginning and to use as a guide. Chairperson Grafton asked if they wanted to deal with these ideas now or make a list of City Attorney Rosenthal things they would like to discuss further in the future. suggested they make a list of things they would like to research and discuss in more detail Vice-Chair McKey in the future. asked that they go over the staff comments that the City Clerk had compiled and go from there. Staff Comment #1 – from Charles Smith, Director of Utilities “C-8-AA: Add Reclaim to the paragraph.” City Attorney Rosenthal explained that c-8 relates to the specific grant of powers to the City, and c-8-AA deals with sewer and water. He explained that there is potable water and reclaimed water and thought Mr. Smith was asking to add reclaim to that section. He suggested adding that to the clean-up of the charter and only needed to change the sentence wording. Without objection, the board added that suggestion to their list. Charter Review Commission Meeting April 30, 2008 “C-25-b: Remove paragraph.” City Attorney Rosenthal explained this section deals with administrative departments and provides that all the City departments are under the supervision of the City Manager, subject to his direction, and with the consent of the City Commission the City Manager may head any department, except the Police Department and the City Clerk’s Office. Member Barnes said that removing that paragraph would only take away the restriction of the City Manager heading the Police Department and City Clerk’s Office. City Attorney Rosenthal said there were two different thoughts there: (1) that all departments report to the City Manager and are subject to his supervision and appointment, and (2) whether he can head the departments. Vice-Chair McKey questioned the term “officers” used in the charters and if that was the City Attorney Rosenthal same as a department directors. said the term may change as the years go by, but it is still understood to be the same. Discussion ensued regarding Mr. City Clerk Eikenberry Smith’s reason for requesting the removal of the paragraph. said she would ask for clarification and bring responses back to the board. “C-27: Who has done the oath?” Chairperson GraftonCity Clerk Eikenberry also wondered who does the oath. said the City Clerk does the oath for elected officials, but has not administered an oath for City Attorney Rosenthal new department directors. said, in the past, the directors have signed an oath that was filed with the City Clerk. He said the charter says “officials”, but Vice-Chair Mckey not specifically “elected officials”, so it can be misunderstood. City Attorney Rosenthal suggested a list of definitions in the charter would suffice. stated a list of definitions could make it worse, because presently “officials” is subject to the interpretation of the City Manager and the elected officials during that era. Chairperson Grafton asked the City Clerk to check the personnel files to see if there are oaths on file for department directors. Staff Comment #2 – Jim Carnicella, Director of Human Resources “C-18: Require the City to replace any auditing firm that has provided such service for more than five (or so) consecutive years.” City Attorney Rosenthal explained that the charter requires a RFQ goes out for the audit selection process every 3 years. The question has come up as to whether they should hire City Clerk Eikenberry the prior year’s audit or hire a new one. said that one Commissioner heard from a conference that the same auditor should not be hired, so she City Attorney Rosenthal said she would check into that. clarified the point that an auditor might establish a relationship with the staff if they are with them too long. Member Barnes thought they City Commission should be left with handling that decision and they are not staff, so it does not seem necessary to be stated in the charter. Chairperson Grafton said the Florida League of Cities also suggested that the more restrictions you put on, the more problems you cause for your local government. The consensus of the board was to have a member from the Finance Department to be present at a meeting to answer their questions. 2 Charter Review Commission Meeting April 30, 2008 “Article IV, C-21: May want to amend language requiring City Manager to reside within the City.” City Attorney Rosenthal explained that, right now, the City Manager may be allowed to reside outside of Ocoee, subject to the approval of the City Commission, and it is written Member Barnes into their employment contract. said restricting possible candidates Chairperson Grafton does not seem fair. said another issue is that a City Manager can Member be employed for a year or 5 years, so why make them move into Ocoee. BarnesCity suggests leaving it up to the City Commission to make that decision. Attorney Rosenthal said it says now that the City Commission can permit them to live outside of the city, so it is ultimately still in their hands. The consensus of the board was that the section is fine being left alone. “C-22: Delete A thru E, and consider a more simple process of one super majority vote, without any preliminary resolution/process, etc…” City Attorney Rosenthal explained this section was intended to provide the City Manager with due process rights that extended beyond the employment contract, giving the City Manager greater certainty and protection in the charter, with respect to the job. Member Barnes asked if the City Manager would go through the due process without City Attorney Rosenthal this section. said, without this section, they could terminate him with or without cause, usually addressed in a severance package. He said, typically, having this section prevents the City Commission from showing up at a meeting and telling the City Manager that he is terminated. He stated that Ocoee provides greater protection to the City Manager, under this provision, than most other cities. The consensus of the board was to add this item to the list for further discussion. “What is Ordinance #99-07 which amended the Personnel Board section? He may have some comment regarding the personnel board duties, etc.” City Attorney Rosenthal gave the background of the provision that it restricted the City Manager and City Commission from having full control of the policies and put those into City Clerk Eikenberry the hands of other, independent bodies. Discussion ensued. said she is a member of the board and they have met to send recommended changes to the Member Barnes City Commission, who then would adopt them if they felt necessary. City asked the City Clerk what she thought of the board and if she felt it was working. Clerk Eikenberry said it was helpful to have another set of eyes looking at things because citizens had views on things that she did not. The consensus of the board was to ask Jim Carnicella to attend a meeting to answer questions regarding this subject. Staff Comment #3 – Beth Eikenberry, City Clerk “C-45: Election dates and terms of office. Language needs to be added to include the possible change of the election date by duly adopted ordinance in the event that the Orange County Supervisor of Elections (OCSE) needs to align the dates in conjunction with state or federal elections.” City Clerk Eikenberry explained the problem that occurred this past year for other cities, whereas they had to adopt a resolution to change their election dates to run with the presidential primary; Luckily, Ocoee was not affected because they did not have an City Attorney Rosenthal election. said the State Legislature allowed municipalities to 3 Charter Review Commission Meeting April 30, 2008 Member Barnes deviate from their charter for that purpose this year. said he had heard comments from Commissioners regarding separating the Mayoral election from the City Clerk Commissioner elections so there would be an election every year. Eikenberry said there is a lot of time and money that goes into the election and it is cheaper to piggy back on the county election. She added that Ocoee would have done that this year if they had an election because the State Legislature passed a law allowing them to do that. “Section A, 1, 2, and 3: Request the Charter Review Commission consider recommending a change to four-year terms for the purpose of holding a municipal election every two years, with every other election falling on the year of the presidential primary elections and thus drastically cutting time and money spent on election costs. There are other considerations as far as term length that the Charter Review Commission may also want to consider, this is from the prospective of holding elections.” City Clerk Eikenberry suggested changing to four year terms for the purpose of holding a municipal election every two years, with every other election falling on the year of the presidential primary elections and thus drastically cutting time and money spent on election costs. There are other considerations as far as term length that the Charter Commission may also want to consider, this is from the prospective of holding elections. City Attorney Rosenthal said they could state that election dates are established by ordinance and it will be left to the City Commission to come up with the dates for years Vice-Chair McKey not presidential. thought it would be advantageous to consider Chairperson Grafton whatever was more cost savvy to the City. asked if they were City Clerk Eikenberry allowed to piggy back on primaries. said the presidential preference primary is in January and they could do that. “C-50 Certification of Results; canvass of returns; notification of successful candidates: New state laws allow voters with provisional ballots three days to verify their voter status, which does not allow for an actual certification of the election until after that time frame has expired. Language in this section needs to reflect the new law. Because the process continues to change with technology, it may be better to state something more open to change such as “Election returns shall be canvassed in the manner as provided by state election laws, city ordinance and the City Charter.” City Attorney Rosenthal said they have a Canvassing Board, which consists of the Mayor and two Commissioners, based on the current charter requirements. There have been problems with that in the past when it has been a Mayoral election, and there have been ethics questions regarding having the Mayor on the board. He stated the charter says the election has to be certified the day after the election, but a new state laws allow voters with provisional ballots three days to verify if their voters status, which does not allow for an actual certification of the election until after that time frame has expired. City Attorney Rosenthal recommends the language in this section be changed to reflect the new law. Because the process continues to change with technology, it may be better to state something more open to change such as "Election returns shall be canvassed in 4 Charter Review Commission Meeting April 30, 2008 the manner as provided by state election laws, city ordinance and city charter." Chairperson Grafton said it makes more sense to do it like the City of Winter Garden, whereas the Canvassing Board is made up of their City Clerk and two citizens, chosen by Member Barnes Commission. thought maybe they could specify who would make up a City Attorney Rosenthal good Canvassing Board. said he and the City Clerk are more of the administrative people there to support the Canvassing Board and she should not be Chairperson GraftonCity a member. suggested three citizens and no elected officials. Clerk Eikenberry said the Canvassing Board could still meet the day after an election to know what those numbers are and just not certify the election until a later date. Chairperson Grafton stated they would need to rewrite the entire paragraph and define the board membership and reference the state election laws prevail. City Attorney Rosenthal pointed out that when they have matched their election with the presidential primary in the past, they had to adopt an ordinance to delegate that to the County Canvassing Board because our absentee ballots are with the presidential primaries. In those years, the Canvassing Board would not be making the decision. Member Barnes had comments on Section C-8, b, 1 and 2, and Section C-8-g, whereas it talked about real dollar figures in borrowing money and wasn't sure if those were correct values or if they needed to be updated. He asked if they could have the Finance staff answer those when they come in to see if that section should be updated, in relation City Attorney Rosenthal to the dollar amounts and the need for Public Hearings. said that is for restrictions on what the City Commission can do without a public hearing. The consensus of the board was to ask the Finance staff about this section when they attend the meeting. Chairperson Grafton mentioned a grammatical correction for Section C-9, whereas the Mayor pro tem was capitalized in the Charter and should not be. She added that the swearing in is discussed in that paragraph, but the oath is not spelled out anywhere or a Vice-Chair McKey reference to the state statute, like it is in other local charters. suggested adding a reference to the state statute, rather than writing out the oath. Chairperson Grafton also commented on Section C-12-b, which states, “…no member of the City Commission shall in any way deal with or dictate the appointment or removal of any city officers or employees who are subject to the supervision or control of the City Manager…” She said there was no prior mention of the creation of a city staff and wondered if there was a way to reword something so it would make more sense. Another City option was to relocate that section to Article 4, C-1, so it would be clearer. Attorney Rosenthal thought everything in C-12 was new in 1988 so there were issues causing the Charter Review Commission to limit the powers of City Commission in respect to those. They probably put it in that section because it was in reference to the Chairperson Grafton powers of the City Commission. said the City of Winter Garden’s Charter seemed to flow so smoothly and was so simple to read, that she thought Member Barnes simplifying ours would be the best thing. reiterated having a preamble in the beginning to start readers out on a good path. 5 Charter Review Commission Meeting April 30, 2008 Chairperson Grafton commented on Section C-12-c, regarding influencing votes or political aid. She said that seemed redundant because it was all part of the ethics laws. City Attorney Rosenthal said it was written in 1988 and the ethics laws may not have been the same back then. He said they may have to spend a fair amount of time explaining to City Commission why they want to remove certain things. Another thing they should consider is how they package their issues, what is minuscule and what is important. Chairperson Grafton commented on Section C-22 relating to the termination of the City Manager requiring a Public Hearing. She said it did not spell out the number of days City Clerk Eikenberry required to give notice. said the standard for Public Hearings is City Attorney Rosenthal to advertise ten days prior to the meeting. said the charter does not specify how many days before the meeting it has to be advertised because counsel Chairperson Grafton would give legal advice to that when the time came. said it would be left alone. Chairperson Grafton said the original charter had paragraphs about recall and this one City Attorney RosenthalVice- does not. said it was governed by the state statute. Chair MckeyCity asked if they should have a reference to that statute in the charter. Attorney Rosenthal said he would check into that. Chairperson Grafton commented on Section C-28-b regarding the City Clerk designating a Deputy City Clerk in her temporary absence. She said there must have been a misunderstanding between a Deputy City Clerk and an Acting City Clerk and it should be clarified. She said the Deputy City Clerk is already a full-time position within the City and that position is already in charge when the City Clerk is absent. If the City Clerk and the Deputy City Clerk were temporarily absent, then the City Clerk would City Clerk Eikenberry delegate a person as Acting City Clerk. said she would look City Attorney Rosenthal over the section and bring suggestions to the next meeting. believed that section was present to make sure that a City Clerk is always on staff due to the charter requirement of three mandatory positions: City Manager, City Clerk, and City Attorney. He said that having that position in the charter gives it a little more insulation than other positions within the city. Chairperson Grafton commented on Section C-46 and asked about adding two districts Vice-Chair McKey to Ocoee once it reaches a certain population. said they should look City Attorney Rosenthal at that when they create the next Districting Commission. suggested they look at the number of electors is each district, since that is much smaller than the population. The consensus of the board was to add this subject to the list of things to look at closer in the future. Chairperson Grafton stated their homework was to read the charters for Apopka, Winter Garden, and Orange County. 6 Charter Review Commission Meeting April 30, 2008 Vice-Chair McKey asked about having all department directors are approved by the City Chairperson Grafton Commission. referred him to Section C-14 of the charter that prohibits the City Commission from having any authority over who is hired in the city. Member BarnesCity Attorney Rosenthal said they could look at changing that. said there were 2 levels, approving the hiring or terminating of. He believes that all department directors hired after a certain date are at-will employees; before that they were given the option of having procedural due process protections or become at-will. The City Manager could terminate at-will employees but not the protected directors. Vice-Chair McKey asked what the disadvantage would be for having City Commission Chairperson Grafton approve the hiring of directors. said that leans toward the Mayor- form of government and that is another subject they can discuss at the next meeting. She Member said they hire a City Manager to be able to do those tasks of hiring directors. Barnes said the directors hire their staff, and that would prohibit the City Manager from Chairperson Grafton being involved with that part of it. suggested they read the other charters and review the Mayor-form of government at the next meeting. City Attorney Rosenthal asked the City Clerk to put together a real list format of the many things they want to bring back and ask those staff members to attend. Set Next Meeting Date Chairperson Grafton The next meeting was scheduled for May 14, 2008. asked that they add to the agenda the item to discuss the other forms of government. Comments Chairperson Grafton thanked Rosemary Wilsen for sitting in the audience and listening Rosemary Wilsen to them. said they should advertise their meetings at the City City Clerk Eikenberry Commission meetings so more citizens are aware. said it was also advertised on the website, OGTV, and the Mayor’s gazette. Chairperson Grafton announced that they would be having a public hearing after they get all their ducks in a row. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m. ___________________________ ___________________________ Holly Moseley, Recording Clerk Jean Grafton, Chairperson 7 Charter Review Commission Meeting April 30, 2008 Vice-Chair McKey asked about having all department directors are approved by the City Commission. Chairperson Grafton referred him to Section C-14 of the charter that prohibits the City Commission from having any authority over who is hired in the city. Member Barnes said they could look at changing that. City Attorney Rosenthal said there were 2 levels, approving the hiring or terminating of. He believes that all department directors hired after a certain date are at-will employees; before that they were given the option of having procedural due process protections or become at-will. The City Manager could terminate at-will employees but not the protected directors. Vice-Chair McKey asked what the disadvantage would be for having City Commission approve the hiring of directors. Chairperson Grafton said that leans toward the Mayor- form of government and that is another subject they can discuss at the next meeting. She said they hire a City Manager to be able to do those tasks of hiring directors. Member Barnes said the directors hire their staff, and that would prohibit the City Manager from being involved with that part of it. Chairperson Grafton suggested they read the other charters and review the Mayor-form of government at the next meeting. City Attorney Rosenthal asked the City Clerk to put together a real list format of the many things they want to bring back and ask those staff members to attend. Set Next Meeting Date The next meeting was scheduled for May 14,2008. Chairperson Grafton asked that they add to the agenda the item to discuss the other forms of government. Comments Chairperson Grafton thanked Rosemary Wilsen for sitting in the audience and listening to them. Rosemary Wilsen said they should advertise their meetings at the City Commission meetings so more citizens are aware. City Clerk Eikenberry said it was also advertised on the website, OGTV, and the Mayor's gazette. Chairperson Grafton announced that they would be having a public hearing after they get all their ducks in a row. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m. erk 7