06-13-1990 CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE
REGULAR MEETING
WEDNESDAY„ JUNE 13, 1990
3:00 P.M.
CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM
Councilwoman Gigi Bennington called to order the regular meeting
of the Charter Review Committee at 3:00 p.m., Wednesday, June 13,
1990, in the City Hall Conference Room.
Members present were Councilwoman Gigi Bennington, Jacl:: Hayman,
and Dominica:: Fazzone. City Attorney Jose Alvarez, City Manager
EL ly Johnson and Mary Mai - tin were excused. Also present was Lisa
Kruckmeyer„ Secretary.
Mr. Fazzone moved the minutes of February 15, 1990 be approved.
Jack Hayman seconded.
Jack: Hayman stated he would like to address some of the changes
that came out of that meeting. We attempted to identify areas of
concern by citizens and try to write up some consensus on what
would be in the best interest of the City. The first issue was
Section 3.09b. It was decided that under Rules and Journals it
would state The Council shall determine it's own rules and order
of business except that the agenda shall include "citizens
comments" at the beginning and directly prior to adjournment.
There is are ordinance in effect to try this for a six month
period. Mr. Hayman went on to state that Section 4.05 addresses
the personnel system and its important to remember that up to
this juncture the personnel system in the proposed versions only
allowed for one board. He read the changes to Section 4.05. Mr.
Hayman stated Section 4.05 was a positive thing that came out at
the June 5, 1990 meeting. He went on to read the changes to
Section 13 -71 of the Code of Ordinances.
Mr. Fazzone stated that under the City Manager form of
government, the department heads are generally appointed by the
City Manager. Mr. Hayman stated that if you look: at the role of
the Screening Committee, they will interview applicants for City
boards. I might also ask a Screening Committee for thoughts and
ideas about the whole process to go into the operating procedures
manual which is the functional manual of the City. He then stated
that he would like to solicit comment from the audience regarding
changes to the proposed Charter.
Mr. Ken Millard, of 238 N. Riverside Drive, stated that he tried
to relate the Code of Conduct with the reference City Attorney
AIvarez made to Section 3.08b. Mr. Hayman explained that his
understanding was that Mr. Alvarez would take what was written
and reword all of that into what is generally the accepted
terminology in Charters in the legal world today.
Mr. Harry Jones, of :3035 Tamarind Drive, stated that he listened
to the dissertation on the Selection Board. He also stated, as
.111P NOW
chairman of the Merit Hoard, he would l i k e to see that at that
time they could ask for the services of the Selection Committee
to help them in getting properly qualified people. Councilwoman
Bennington stated that would be addressed under the Policies and
Procedures that set up how the board is governed. Mr. Jones
stated it should be made so that they could request the services.
Councilwoman Bennington stated that would be under the bylaws or
ordinances to set up how the meetings are run. Mr. Fa2zone
stated that he thinks it is a very good point. It would be a
good thing to have it go back to a Screening Committee for their
disposition.
Mr. Tom Sheridan, of 1911 Willow Oak Drive, stated that we must
not lose sight of the fact that the Screening Committee has no
authority other than recommendations. The whole point of the
thing was that they were permitted to screen and interview
prospective department head which would be an assistant to the
City Manager. He also stated that there was funding requested to
do background research which he thinks is essential to the whole
thing. Councilwoman Bennington stated that she would assume that
funding would come out of whatever department the board was
associated with. Mr. Sheridan then stated that it should be
available to the group to serve on the committee. Mr. Hayman
stated that if we attempt to mandate that the City Manager in a
City Manager form of government relies on or is bound by a
recommendation to the Screening Committee, then you are out of
k i l t e r with what the state model is for c i t y management in a city
manager form of government.
Mr. Sheridan commented that if we have a screening committee that
is solely screening, interviewing and recommending applicants for
boards or for a department head job, you have a person there who
has no other interest other than that. Mr. Fazsone stated that
you have to have qualified people on a screening committee which
will understand what should be gotten out of a person. Mr.
Sheridan stated that if you have a job description of the job
that is available, it will lay out what the qualifications are.
Mr. Hayman then stated that in a screening board there are common
qualifications for membership that are shared by everybody
irrespective of the position you are deciding on. There is also
another category of people which he calls select expertise which
at that juncture have to take over the inquiry into the technical
qualifications and expertise of an individual. In the Policy and
Procedures Manual, there should be a definition for the
qualifications for board membership.
Mr. George Ewing, of 2923 Royal Palm Drive, stated that the City
Manager making the selection is only one man and it is logical
that five people can mai=ze a better selection than one person.
Councilwoman Bennington stated that the committee has to remember
that we have a City Manager form of government and in that the
City Manager is allotted a lot of freedom and one of those is
the hiring of department heads. He can do it any way he sees
fit. The basic intention of this Committee is to make the
recommendation to the Council on the Screening Committee and by
ordinances loci: it up but still give some flexibility and not
tai:e away the people's choice of wanting the City Manager form of
government. Mr. Ewing stated that Council should have more
control over department heads than the City Manager. Mr.
Sheridan stated that you have to go back to the fact that the
only authority the Screening Committee will have, is
recommendations and the power to appoint.
Councilwoman Bennington stated that the Screening Committee
basically would be a political appointment. It has been done in
the past where the Committee did a good job of screening
applicants and Council completely ignored their recommendations
and went with someone they wanted. There is no guarantee that it
is going to go the way we propose it to go. tir. Sheridan stated
that by putting it in the Charter, one thing it does is that this
Committee can not be destroyed by the whim of one individual.
Mr. Hayman stated that we should say in the Charter that perhaps
the City of Edgewater shall have a Policy and Procedures manual
describing the duties and responsibilities of the objectives,
goals and roles of the City. Councilwoman Bennington stated that
a Section 4.06 should be created stating that there shall be a
policy and procedures manual and then go with the description
that Mr. Hayman gave. Mr. Hayman stated the consensus should be
that the City of Edgewater shall have definable goals and
objectives, roles, responsibilities, and operating procedures to
be followed by each employee and to be used in the management
practices by the perspective department heads.
Councilwoman Bennington stated that one of the complaints she
receives the most is somebody could go in to City Hall one
minutes and be told the procedures a certain way and somebody
else could go in and ask the same question and get a different
answer.
Mr. Millard brought to the Committee`: attention that Section
3.09c states a majority of the council shall constitute a
quorum; he feels that it should state the whole council. Mr.
Hayman moved that the Committee accept the recommendation from
Mr. Hillard and recommend to the Council that they change the
wording to require that we have a majority of the whole council.
Mr. Faaaone seconded the motion.
Councilwoman Bennington stated that if another Section is going
to be put in the Charter on the Policy and Procedures Manual, she
would need a motion to include Section 4.06. Mr. Fazaone moved
that they make it into a motion. Councilwoman Bennington
seconded the motion.
Mr. Fasaone asked Mr. Jones if that wordage would be consistent
with the Merit Board. Mr. Jones stated that Mr. Johnson
commented that he was going to establish a committee to prepare a
personnel manual and he was going to want representatives from
al] levels of management and would want one member of the Merit
law
Board on there. Mr. Fazzone asked if he was in favor of it and
Fir. Jones stated yes, as a matter of fact we are way behind time
b not ha'vinq this..
Mr. Sheridan stated that the Committee should make certain to
include the safety duties of the supervisor. Safety is one of
the most essential things you have in an operation.
Mr. Millard stated that Section 5.03(5) should include 25
signatures along with $25 because that would cut down the kidding
around. Mr. Fazzone made a motion to add 25 signatures along
with $25. Mr. Hayman seconded the motion.
Mr. Sheridan asked if it would be possible to include in the
Charter that a mandatory reply is required when a citizen gets
before the Council or a department head and asks a question
pertaining to the welfare of the city. Councilwoman Bennington
stated that she would think>•, if someone appeared before the
Council and they didn't get the answers that the council
directed the City Manager to get for this person, she would like
to know that they didn't get them. She was going on the
assumption that the information was supplied especially if it is
directed by the Council to get that information. Mr. Fazzone
commented that it would be hard to get something in the Charter
stating that the Council has to give an answer. Mr. Sheridan
explained that if we have elected officials who are not obligated
to tell the public what they are doing, we are in for a bad time.
Any individual, regardless of whether he is an appointed or
elected official, is accountable for his actions. What is going
to happen is the people are going to lose confidence in their
elected officials. Mr. Hayman stated that when the Charter is
presented to the Councii, there is going to be a need for the
Committee to make some commentary about their recommendation
regarding the Policy and Procedures manual in the City Charter.
Mr. Millard .asked who would write the manual. Mr. Hayman stated
that he would like to see the manual done through the joint
efforts of a collective committee or board appointed by the
Council.
Councilwoman Bennington stated that after this is presented, the
Committee needs to schedule a -sit down workshop with Council to
answer the questions as to why different changes were made.
Mr. Fazzone stated that he thinks the four year staggered term
should be taken out. He made a motion to take the four year
staggered term out. Mr. Hayman seconded the motion.
Mr. Fazzone also stated that the Committee should delete from
their proposal any reference to the March elections. He made a
motion to delete any reference to the March elections. Mr.
Hayman seconded the motion.
Mr. Fazzone went on to talk about the debate on all sides as far
as two year terms or staggered terms. He stated that the
law
citizens of Edgewater should have the right to determine for
themselves whether they want to increase the term of office from
two to three years or have staggered terms for the officials. He
stated that the two options that should be talked about are
whether the term of office be changed from two to three year and
should there be staggered elections. Mr. Hayman stated that he
would hate to see the Charter jeopardized because of something as
simple as staggered terms.
Mr. Sheridan asked how the Committee would go about educating the
public. He thinks the public should understand thoroughly what
they are going to the poll to vote for. Councilwoman Bennington
stated that Mr. Millard was very adapt at the last Charter that
we had in educating the public. People are oniy going to listen
to what they want to listen to no matter what you do to try to
explain it to them. She said that this is the first time that
she is aware of that this term of office has been addressed
without a conflict being the issue that pushed it. Councilwoman
Bennington asked Mr. Millard if he would be willing to give a
little bit of his expertise in getting the word out.
Mr. James Inman, of 2948 Travelers Palm Drive, stated that the
Committee is overlooking the primary election. Councilwoman
Bennington stated that is addressed in the Charter the way it is
right now. Mr. Sheridan stated that the last Charter review that
was submitted to the public was unclear to some citizens. If the
people don't understand it, they aren't going to vote on it. Mr.
Eazzone stated that as a Charter Committee, they have tried to
address input from citizens. Without the citizens, comments you
couIdn't come up with a document that is a workable document that
the people will i ive by in the future.
Mr. Millard stated that one of the signs of greatness is the
ability to change your mind when you learn something new. He
went on to tell the committee that there is no threat, there is
merely the earnest desire that the citizens can agree on a
Charter that can be promoted and sold and put through.
lir. Ewing stated that the thing that bothers him the most is the
no one is sure how the Council is going to take this. They may
fool around with it and say they don't like something. If
someone is elected and they are doing a good job, they are going
to be reelected.
Councilwoman Bennington stated that could be taken out and just
say that we are going to make a recommendation and give it to
Council as it is, the Council could say we want to give the
people an option. it works both ways. We have heard people say
that they have listened to input and what we are going to
recommend to Council is basically an accumulation of a lot of
people and a lot of studying the different Charters. I would
hope that the people that inputted to the basic document would
help push that section of it and the people that don't want
staggered terms or do want two year terms would push that
section, but don't go out and push that the whole Charter is bad
because they are asking us to change one section of it.
Mr. Norman Billups, of 186() Pine Tree Drive, stated that the City
has a good Charter right now. Why take the chance in having the
whole thing wrecked? Mr. Fa?zone stated the Charter that we have
today, is obsolete and they must be brought up to date
eventually.
Mr. Jones stated that when options are talked about they need to
be explained. How, why, who, when and where are questions that
all need to be answered in every option in order for people to
really understand it. Councilmember Bennington stated that Mr.
Hayman would be more than happy to go back on the radio if the
Council decides they want to use that as a means of education.
Mr. Faazone suggested also the use of the newspapers.
Mr. Sheridan suggested getting the newspapers to provide columns
where people can write in and ash: direct questions concerning the
Charter. Then the newspaper could send the reporter to get the
answer and the answer be published.
Mr. Hayman stated that he wanted to call a question on Mr.
Faz zone`s motion regarding the election terms of office.
Councilmember Bennington stated that the question is then that
there are going to be two options in addition to the basic
amended Charter. Should the term of office changed from two to
three years and should there be staggered terms of office?
Councilmember Bennington stated all in favor of options as
presented. Everyone was in favor. Options will be submitted to
Council.
Mrs. Genevieve Inman, of 2948 Travelers Palm, asked what the main
reason was why it is being put on now? Mr. Faazone explained
that there have been people that have asked that the term of
office be lengthened from two to three years. Mrs. Inman stated
that if people would come to Council meetings, people would know
what was going on and they would now how to vote.
Mr. Faaaone moved to approve minutes of ,dune 5, 1990. Mr. Hayman
seconded.
Councilwoman Bennington stated there is an item that hasn't been
addressed; the effective date of the Charter if it is accepted.
We need an effective date. Mr. Faz a ne stated that in Section
3.03 Elections and Terms, everyone of those options talks about
elections in November and March. Everything in Section 3.03 is
obsolete. The first general election under this new Charter will
be in 1992 because the election in 1990 roust be under the old
Charter for two years. There was some discussion on where this
should be. It was decided that it will be in Section 3.03, the
two year term and then there will be an option for the two year
staggered term and three year staggered term. It will also have
to be in the Transition Period. Mr. Fa went on to explain
that the provisions of the Charter outside the elections will be
in effect at the election of 1990 when it is voted on in
November. Councilmember Bennington asked when the transition
schedule was going to go into effect so basically it will just be
correcting the terminology that is in the proposed Charter.
There was some discussion on when the next meeting will be It
was decided that it would be June 20, 1990 at 3:00 p.m in the
City Hall Conference Room.
It was also decided that the Committee will ask for a workshop
with the Council to present the proposed Charter at the net
Council meeting scheduled for July 2, 1990.
Mr. Millard congratulated Jack Hayman on the persuasive and
convincing performance that he put on the radio and contrary to
his opinion of himself, he was a very good salesman.
Mr. Billups congratulated the Committee on an excellent proposed
Charter.
Mr. Hayman moved to adjourn. Mr. Faz7one seconded the motion.
Meeting adjourned at 4:45 p.m.
Minutes submitted by:
Lisa Kruckmeyer