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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-04-97 WS MINUTES OF THE OCOEE CITY COMMISSION LUNCHEON/WORK SESSION FOR DISCUSSION/SELECTION FOR THE POSITION OF CITY MANAGER HELD JANUARY 4, 1997 Mayor Vandergrift called the Workshop discussion/selection for the position of City Manager to order at 1 :45 p.m. in the Commission Chambers conference room. The roll was called and a quorum declared present. PRESENT: Mayor Vandergrift, Commissioners Anderson, Glass and Gleason and Johnson. Also present were Personnel Director Psaledakis, City Manager Secretary Gosnell, and City Clerk Grafton. ABSENT: None. City Engineer Jim Shira, Building Official Don Flippen, Planning Director Russ Wagner and Police Chief Robert Mark took the candidates to lunch at Sam Sneads. The candidates are: Jeffrey Broughton, Dragisitch, Jack Howley and Hutka. Discussion/Selection for the Position of City Manager Commissioner Gleason noted that several candidates thought it unusual that there was not a group interview. The candidates felt that a group interview allowed the commissioners to hear the answers as a whole. Mr. Gleason then asked if there was a possibility to discuss the candidates to see if the field could be narrowed to two candidates and then bring them back with their spouses. There would then be time to refine the questions and get the public involved by having a public meeting or workshop. Personnel Director Psaledakis said in a group interview it is possible to watch body language, and an answer might trigger a response that a commissioner might want to add to the question. Commissioner Glass liked the one-on-one interviews and felt there was more openness in answering the questions. He said when the process was discussed, he envisioned going this route one-on-one, getting feedback and narrowing it to a field of two. Discussion followed regarding further interviews, time frames and possible changes in the government. Personnel Director Psaledakis advised that she had asked Attorney Reynolds Allen to fax an outline of things that need to be considered regarding an employment contract. She said there were issues from both Personnel and Finance that needed to be qualified on the next city manager contract. She distributed the material from Attorney Allen to the Commission. Mayor Vandergrift stated he learned from the candidates that it is not so much the term of the contract but the security of the contract. Discussion followed regarding length of contract. Consensus was for a one year contract at the beginning of employment. The question was raised concerning moving expenses. Personnel Director Psaledakis said it was not uncommon to pay moving expenses to an amount decided by the Commission. She said the language in the contract was going to be the most critical concern, and she thought it was CITY OF OCOEE LUNCHEON/WORK SESSION FOR DISCUSSION/SELECTION FOR THE POSITION OF CITY MANAGER JANUARY 4, 1997 important for the Commission to know the problems encountered with the existing contract. Some of those problems were (1) the picking and choosing of which benefits should apply, (2) who should authorize leave, and (3) who should authorize buying back personal leave time. She asked if the City Manager should be allowed to buy back hours, and if so, who would authorize this. All employees must take 80 hours of personal leave time. Once an employee exceeds 360 hours accrued time, the City must reimburse him or her the hours over 360. She asked if the City Manager should have to take the 80 hours of personal leave. Normally in contracts, the City Manager abides by the same benefit package and the conditions as all general employees. The pension might be different for the City Manager. Discussion followed. There was a consensus that the new City Manager adhere to the same policy as the other employees regarding leave time and that he should report to someone when scheduled to be out ofthe office, e.g. a half day. The next item for discussion was salary. Mayor Vandergrift talked about not getting beyond the salary range of the community. Commissioner Gleason stated the salary should be based on the job compared to other areas. He said he viewed the City as a company with over 200 employees that generates $20 million a year. Therefore, based on the comparison of the salary of the City Manager with that of a CEO of a private company doing the same amount of revenue with the same amount of employees, a salary range of $75,000 to $85,000 would not be unreasonable. Commissioner Glass stated he felt the range of $75,000 to $85,000 was an appropriate place to begin, starting low and leaving room to negotiate. Consensus was reached that the new City Manager contract would not include the provision as the present contract did that the City Manager would be paid 10% more than the highest paid employee. Personnel Director Psaledakis stated normally once a meeting has been held with the labor attorney and he has outlined the working conditions and contractual language required by the Commission, he will negotiate with the individual on their behalf. Consensus was reached that when the field was narrowed to one candidate, Attorney Allen would handle negotiations. A meeting was set for Thursday. Januarv 9. at 7 p.m. with Tuesday. Januarv 14. set as an alternate date to discuss candidates and contract contents and narrow the field to the two top candidates. There was a consensus to research the amount to move the new city manager, including packing, transporting and unpacking the household items and pay for the move. 2 CITY OF OCOEE LUNCHEON/WORK SESSION FOR DISCUSSION/SELECTION FOR THE POSITION OF CITY MANAGER JANUARY 4, 1997 There was discussion regarding calling the towns of the two top candidates to talk to the constituents and having the wives of the candidates come with them when they are invited back for more interviews. Personnel Director Psaledakis talked about a per diem for the new City Manager when he moves, and Commissioner Gleason mentioned $.31 a mile. There was discussion of the social gathering on January 3. Commissioner Gleason stated he asked each of the candidates his opinion of the process. The response was that it was unusual, but they enjoyed the opportunity to see people in a casual setting and learned more about the staff by observing them than by asking questions. City Manager Secretary Gosnell reported that of the 70 invitations she sent for the social function scheduled for the evening of January 4, she received 20 responses, five of which were no due to previous engagements. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 3:10 p.m. APPROVED Attest: City of Ocoee l -,-, ;) ,~~-q~ 3