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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCRC 05/14/2008 City of Ocoee Minutes of the Charter Review Commission Meeting Held May 14,2008 Call to Order Chairperson Grafton called the meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of City Hall, located at 150 N. Lakeshore Drive. Chairperson Grafton gave the invocation and led the pledge of allegiance to the flag. Recording Clerk Moseley called roll and declared a quorum to be present. Roll Call Present: Members Jean Grafton, Rosemary Morganto, Danny Howell, and Rob McKey. Also present were City Clerk Eikenberry, City Attorney Rosenthal, and Recording Clerk Moseley. Absent: Member Michael Barnes was excused. Approval of Charter Review Commission Minutes for April 30, 2009. Vice-Chair McKey commented that the minutes stated that, "Vice-Chair McKey thought it would be advantageous to consider whatever was more cost savvy to the City". However, he clarified that the words he used were "cost saving to the City". He said it meant the same thing, so he did not feel it was necessary to change the minutes. Vice-Chair McKev. seconded bv Member Howell. moved to avvrove the minutes of Avril 30. 2009. Motion carried unanimouslv. Q&A with Finance Staff City Clerk Eikenberry said the Finance staff was asked to attend to answer some questions about the current City Charter that related to the Finance Department. She said that one staff member commented on the section regarding the auditing firms being limited to five years, and also Member Barnes mentioned some sections regarding money amounts and whether they should be updated. Wanda Horton, Finance Director, said the State Statutes do not impart a term limit on the services for auditing. She provided a copy of the GFOA recommended practices, which state that governmental entities should enter into multiyear agreements of at least five years in duration when obtaining the services of independent auditors. She pointed out sections on that handout that stated: "Multiyear agreements allow for greater continuity and help to minimize the potential for disruption in connection with the independent audit. Such agreements can also help to reduce audit costs by allowing auditors to recover certain "start-up" costs over several years, rather than over a single year. " Charter Review Commission Meeting May 14, 2008 She further explained that, at the GFOA conference, they learned that fewer and fewer firms are involved in the governmental auditing. Therefore, when they last went out for bid for audit services, the current firm was included in the quotes. Finance Director Horton said it was a state requirement that they should be going out for audit services at the end of their contracts, and she agrees with that. She said our contract is three years and she feels that is sufficient. City Clerk Eikenberry said that a commissioner heard at a conference that it was good to change after a shorter period of time than five years. She said she contacted the National League of Cities to find that information and they will be providing her with it soon. Chair Grafton stated the other question was referring to the City Charter page C-7, Section C-8-1 &2, read as follows: (1) When any proposal for the acquisition of real property, either by purchase or lease, shall receive a majority vote of the members of the City Commission and the cost of such proposed acquisition exceeds one million dollars ($1,000,000.), inclusive of state and federal grants, such action shall not be effective unless it has been acted upon by the City Commission after a public hearing preceded by at least seven (7) days' notice of the hearing and the proposed action by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Ocoee. (2) When any proposal for the disposition of real property owned by the city, either by sale or by lease for a term exceeding five (5) years, shall receive a majority vote of the members of the City Commission and the fair market value of the real property concerned exceeds one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.), such action shall not be effective unless it has been acted upon by the City Commission after a public hearing and the proposed action by publication in the manner set forth above. Vice-Chair McKey asked if the board should look at changing those dollar amounts to make it easier for the City to proceed with their business. Finance Director Horton said the current amounts listed in the City Charter seemed fine and she did not feel it has had any negative impact on City business since she has been employed. City Attorney Rosenthal asked about Section C-37 regarding the adoption of the budget: "The public shall be given advance notice of all meetings of the City Commission at which the proposed budget is to be considered. Such notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Ocoee at least seven (7) days but no more than thirty (30) days before any such meeting. The budget shall be finally adopted at 2 Charter Review Commission Meeting May 14, 2008 a public meeting of the City Commission in accordance with the laws of Florida." City Attorney Rosenthal said that seemed to be strictly regulated by the State already and thought this section added some challenges in the past. Finance Director Horton asked if it was necessary to have this section in the City Charter, since the TRIM requirements by the State are much more in depth and they are required to follow that already. City Attorney Rosenthal said if she is satisfied with the notices required by State Legislature, then they do not need the section in the charter. Finance Director Horton's opinion was that this section was in the charter before the TRIM Act was created and they could do away with that section. She explained that each property owner is mailed an individual TRIM notice and it is published in the newspaper in full detail. City Attorney Rosenthal said the TRIM Act requires extensive advertising and now they are just duplicating it. Vice-Chair McKey stated, as long as it works for the people who use it, the Finance and the City Clerk's office, they should leave the paragraph as it is. Member Morganto thought it should be deleted in order to make the charter smaller and more concise. An informal vote of 3-1 was to leave the varaJa'avh as it is. Member Howell asked if the City Commission's pension fell under the City Charter section of their compensation expenses; he had a problem with them voting themselves a pension. City Attorney Rosenthal said the pension was not mentioned in the City Charter and they adopted an ordinance for it that did not conflict with the charter. He said to look at section C-16, as follows: "The City Commission may determine the annual salary of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tern and the Commissioners by ordinance, but no ordinance increasing such salary shall become effective until the date of commencement of the terms of members of the City Commission elected at the next regular city election, provided that such election follows the adoption of such ordinance by at least six (6) months. Members of the City Commission shall receive their actual and necessary expense incurred in the performance of their duties of office." City Attorney Rosenthal said a pension is not salary. Member Howell said it has to fall somewhere under their compensation if it is a pension. City Attorney Rosenthal said title of the section says compensation, but the language refers to annual salary; it relates to the procedure which the City Commission follows to adopt a salary. City Clerk Eikenberry had answers to some of their questions from the last meeting regarding swearing in ceremonies and oaths taken by directors. She said that a loyalty oath is signed by every Department Director and held in their personnel file in Human Resources. City Attorney Rosenthal said it should just be called an oath, not a loyalty 3 Charter Review Commission Meeting May 14, 2008 oath. Chair Grafton declared the oath is in the State Statute and it should be kept in the city somewhere, whether it is in the charter or not. City Clerk Eikenberry received a response from the HR Director regarding the questions about the Personnel Board in Section C-30-c ofthe City Charter, which reads as follows: "Powers and duties. The Personnel Board shall be responsible for reviewing personnel policies for the city which are submitted to them by the City Manager and recommending such policies to the City Commission for adoption or amendment. The City Manager shall adhere to all personnel policies. The Personnel Board shall also have such other powers and duties as may be established by ordinance by the City Commission. [Amended 1-5-1999 by Ord. No. 99-07]" City Clerk Eikenberry said the HR Director was recommending the Personnel Board be eliminated. He had informed her that the Personnel Rules & Regulations (PRR' s) are now reviewed by the Employee Committee and thinks they should substitute the Personnel Board. He said the process is detailed more thoroughly by the City Commission. City Clerk Eikenberry said the Personnel Board did meet the last time they made amendments to the PRR's. Vice-Chair McKey did not see any reason to change that section of the charter and Member Howell thought it should be left alone. Vice-Chair Mckey didn't think the Employee Committee would be more empowered than the Personnel Board. City Clerk Eikenberry said the Employee Committee is made up of employees, whereas, the Personnel Board is a better make up of people. Vice-Chair McKey read the required make up of the Personnel Board, which "shall consist of one (1) city employee, one (1) City Commissioner, one (1) person who holds a management position with the city and one (1) citizen of Ocoee who is not employed by and does not hold office with the city." Member Howell said, even though employees are able to come to the Personnel Board and speak their minds, it boils down to the City Manager and City Commission who makes the vote on anything. Vice-Chair Mckey thought that it should be left alone and what is in the charter should be the official process for the Personnel Board. Consensus of the board was to leave Section C-30 as it is in the City Charter. City Clerk Eikenberry announced that she had asked Mr. Smith to elaborate on his question, but she hasn't received his response yet regarding the City Manager running departments (page C-26 of the charter). She will bring back his response to the next meeting. She added that Bill Cowles, Supervisor of Elections, would be attending the May 28, 2008, Charter Review Board meeting to answer any questions they may have for him. City Clerk Eikenberry informed the board of the deadlines implemented by the Supervisor of Elections (SOE). She said the candidate information for referendum would 4 Charter Review Commission Meeting May 14, 2008 need to be given to SOE by the end of qualifying, which is the week of January 16-23, 2009. City Attorney Rosenthal said the schedule for notifying SOE would have to be backed up to allow for the time line of City Commission. The board would have to present their report to City Commission, and then commission would give some direction to implement the report, which would need two public meetings to adopt before it went to SOE. He said City Commission is allowed 60 days to respond. Chair Grafton said to do anything at all, they'd have to be through before September so City Commission would have time to consider and enforce. She said they would need to plan advertising their public meeting fairly soon. City Clerk Eikenberry said that Bill Cowles will be present at the next meeting, so they should schedule the public hearing at a later date. She added that the public was eligible to have input at any meeting they have. Martha Lopez-Anderson, 2438 Alclobe Circle, said she sent letters to all HOA presidents regarding the charter review meetings to invite citizens in their community. She was disappointed that there were not more citizens present. She encourages this board considering having a public forum and go through the charter page by page with flip-charts so citizens can understand. She said they need to do their homework and learn the charter, but need to allow public input and she will have a lot of comments to bring back to them for their consideration. Rosemary Wilsen, 1019 Shady Maple Circle, said she would like the citizens to be able to comment at the meetings and would like them to go page by page, rather than skip around in the charter. Vice-Chair McKey explained that they jumped around because they asked staff for comments first and were reviewing the sections referenced by the staff. Terry Ballard, Hammocks HOA President, said she was glad they are working on the City Charter and, since it is only done every 10 years, said it was important to give everyone the opportunity to have input. Member Howell had some comments regarding the City of Winter Garden's Charter Section 35(2) and (3) relating to the Chief of Police, which reads as follows: (2) The chief of police will be hired and removed by the city manager with confirmation by a majority vote of the total city commission. The chief of police shall have exclusive control of the stationing and transfer of all officers and employees constituting the police force, subject to the approval of the city manager, or under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the ordinances of the city. (3) The chief of police shall perform such other duties appropriate to the office as may be imposed upon the chief by law, the ordinances of the city, and by directions of the city manager, consistent with this charter. Vice-Chair McKey thought that all these positions should be confirmed by the City Commission. City Attorney Rosenthal said the positions are approved by the City 5 Charter Review Commission Meeting May 14, 2008 Commission; however, the people hired to fill the positions are approved by the City Manager. Member Howell said many times positions are created now without going through the budget process and nobody is being held accountable; that is why the city is so top-heavy right now. He said, under the charter, if the City Manager wants to hire an Assistant City Manager he hires whoever he wants; however, under another city charter the City Manager picks who he wants and then it is approved by the City Commission. His main concern is the police chief. Vice-Chair McKey asked for clarification. City Attorney Rosenthal said there is an ability to move positions around and do re- organizations; however, to establish a new department, then it should go before commission. He further explained the City Charter Section C-25 relating to Administrative Departments-General provisions. He said if they felt wanted to propose revisions to that section relating to the police chief, they could. Vice-Chair McKey said there were numerous departmental positions being added to the city's hierarchy and he is does not know that those were approved at budget time and wondered how that is being done. City Commissioner Anderson stated that he brought an idea to commission in the past to add some language to the City Manager's contract, rather than being in the charter, that would bring the City Commission into some of his decision-making things. He said his ideas did not go far, but he thinks they are on the right track to look at that. He added that it is a balancing act and each new administrator brings in people they are comfortable with and who they think can do the job, which is very common. City Attorney Rosenthal encouraged the board to look at it as the charter either grants powers or limits powers; they can have one person who wants a grant and one who wants a limit on the same subject. He said they can choose to not address an issue at all, so it would be in the general home rule powers, leaving it in the hands of the City Commission. Vice-Chair McKey asked if it was the City Attorney's duty to administer the charter and the answer was no that was left to the Mayor and the City Commission. Member Howell said another issue was that the City Commission is not supposed to get involved with the day-to-day business but it happens a lot. He said it will never be corrected if employees do not bring the issue forward; however, employees are afraid to bring the issue forward due to the fear of termination. City Attorney Rosenthal said if there is a proposed action brought to his attention and it is contrary to charter, he will come forward and tell them no. But if they ignore him, there is nothing he can do. Member Howell said the City Attorney will tell Commission what is right and what is wrong, but it's up to them to follow that or not. Chair Grafton said if they want the City Manager's decisions to be under the approval of the City Commission, then they need to look at other forms of government. Member Howell asked they just look at adding the text regarding the police chief to our charter. Vice-Chair McKey asked about past directors that many thought were doing a good job, but were fired by the City Manager. He would like to see the directors have a right to a 6 Charter Review Commission Meeting May 14, 2008 hearing before commission. City Attorney Rosenthal said commission does establish those rules of procedure in the PRR's, which include provisions relating to the hiring/firing of department heads. He explained the last change to the PRR's said that all new department directors would be at-will employees (without due process protection) could be fired/terminated but could get certain benefits package. Discussion ensued. City Attorney Rosenthal said it goes back to whether they want a simple charter or a long charter. He said if they want to change the form of government, they need to give them more notice on their time line because much more work would be needed. Vice-Chair McKey said, looking at the county charter, county mayor can appoint someone. City Attorney Rosenthal said the county has strong mayor form of government. Vice-Chair McKey was more concerned with assistant directors, department directors, and the creation of such positions. Set Next Meeting Date The next meeting was scheduled for May 28, 2008. Chairperson Grafton asked that they add to the agenda a discussion with Bill Cowles with SOE, and discuss/compare other city charters to ours page by page. Comments Terry Ballard, Hammocks HOA President, commented about their discussion about charter size and she thought it was more important to get it right then it is to worry about the length. Discussion ensued regarding scheduling a formal public hearing on June 11,2008, for any citizen input. However, all meetings are open to the public for their reaction. It was decided that the public hearing would be scheduled for June 11, 2008. Future meetings would be June 25, July 9, July 30, August 13, and August 27. City Clerk Eikenberry asked if they would like to establish dates into September, as to when the board should be completed. City Attorney Rosenthal suggested waiting to see what happens with the budget hearing dates first, so they know when the room is available. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:33 p.m. 7