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CCMtg03-23-09SMMin LONGV~OOD CIT~~ COl~IlVIISSION Longwood City Coral~nissiorn Chambers 175 West Warren Avenue Longwood, Florida SPECIAL M:EETIl~G MINUTES March 23~, 2009 7000 P..M. Present: .Mayor Brian. D. Sackett Deputy Mayor John C. Maingot Commissioner Joe Durso Commissioner Mike Holt Commissioner H.G. "I3utch" Bundy Donovan A. Roper, Acting Ciiy Attorney Tom Jackson, Acting City Ad~a~inistrator Sarah M. Mirus, City Clerk David Dowda, Interim Police Chief I Dawn Jackson, Personnel Manager Ryan Spinella, Executive Assistant 1. CALL TO ORDER. Mayor Sackett called the meeting, to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. SELECTION OF THE TOP 3 CANDIDATES FOR THE POSITION OF CITY ADMINISTRATOR. Mr. Jackson handed out a rating sheet t~~ each o:E'the Commissioners that contains their initial scores from the ten questions asked of each candidate during the interview process. He said that each Di;~trict was indicated on this and there is a space to the right colLUnn where they can rate their top three candidates. He stated they should place anumber one next to their name, a number two if they wish them to be a second consideration, and a number three for their third choice. He said once this has been done, Ms. Jackson will collect these and announce the top three choices. He clarified the .raw scores totaled indicate how the Commission rated the. candidates based upon the answers to the ten questions. He said if they wish to take that into consideration along with the 30 minutes they spent with each candidate, to also consider that. NIr. Jackson explained that a candidate chosen as their first choice would receive a point value of three. If they all agree on the same candidate, the maximum score would be fifteen.. He said any candidate could receive a point value of one to three. CC 03-23~~09/187 Ms. Jackson added the .scores of the candidates and reported the following: Kevin Grace 11 ~ Katrina Powell 9 Charles Saddler 6 Ron McLemore 3 Pat Miller 1 Donald Crawford 0 Ms. Jackson reported the top three candidates were Mr. Grace, Ms. Powell, and Mr. Saddler. Mr. Roper advised that Section 4.04 (a) of the City Charter limits the pool of eligible candidates for the City Administrator position to the list that was provided by the Range Riders. He said it was his understanding that Ms. Powell was added on after that list was compiled. According to the City Charter, she would be ineligible for consideration. Commissioner Bundy inquired why they were told they could add on to the list. He said that question was asked multiple times. Mr. Roper said it was not asked of the City Attorney's Office. He stated that came up when they had the Work Session and was .she added on at the last minute. Mayor Sackett inquired if they need to do this procedure again without Ms. Powell's name on the list. Mr. Jackson said either that, or if she is ineligible, to remove her name from the mm~ing and the fourth place would then become the third place. He asked the City Attorney if it would be fair in this manner. Mr. Roper said they could do it that way or have a revote without Ms. Powell being on the list. Mayor .Sackett said he would rather see it that way. He stated, technically, they should have told them Ms. Powell was not eligible for consideration prior to that. He declared he would rather return to the vote again. Ms. Jackson redistributed the forms for the Commission to select their top three candidates. Ms. Jackson tallied the scores and announced the following: Kevin Grace 14 Charles Saddler 6 Ron McLemore 4 Pat Miller 2 Donald Crawford 1 ~ CC 03-23-09/188 ~ Mayor Sackett said the selection of the top three candidates would be Mr. Grace, ~ Mr. Saddler, and Mr. McLemore. 3. IF WARRANTED, ACT UPON TIIE SELECTION FOR THE POSITION OF CITY .ADMINISTRATOR. IF A FINAL DECISION IS NOT MADE, ADDITIONAL MEETINGS WILL BE SCHEDULED. Commissioner Holt moved to approve Kevin Grace as the City Administrator and offer him the contract of which they may or may not get to tonight. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Maingot and carried by a unanimous voice vote. 4. .CONSIDER, DELIBERATE AND CLARIFY NEGOTIATING POINTS IN THE CONTRACT FOR THE CIT7t ADMINISTRATOR POSITION. Mayor Sackett said the position was advertised with a salary range of $90,000 to $130,000. He inquired if there were any other :items or conditions advertised. Ms. Jackson said just benefits that all ether employees receive. Mr. Jackson said Ms. Minis provided lum with. all of the contracts of the City Administrators in Seminole County and he prepared an outline if the Commission would like to go down a check: list. i Deputy Mayor Maingot said they provided some definite guidelines to. the City Attorney for the preparation. Mr. Roper advised he has a working draft, but there were several blanks to be filled in. He said the terms of the severance package, terms of the rate of pay, and items like that needed to be det:ermined.. Mayor Sackett inquired if there was a copy of the draft for them to work from. Mr. Roper said he did not make copies. He stated he believed Mr. Jackson was pointing out all of the same issues. on his list that are going to be in any employment contract. So, when the, Commission. agrees to the terms and provisions, they simply need to place those into this working draft. Mayor Sackett. said he would like for Mr. Roper to lead the discussion as to where they are with annual salary. Commissioner Holt moved to s~±spend the Hiles. Seconded by Commissioner Bundy and carried by a unanimous voice vote. ~ Mr. Roper said they needed to discuss and agree upon the annual salary. CC 03-23-(19/189 Mayor Sackett said at the March 16~' Meeting, he believed they were at a range of $110,000 to $11.5,000 with a potential for $120,000. He reiterated the advertised ~J range was $90,000 to $130,000. Deputy Mayor Maingot said he has done some additional research and feels if they are going to get. the kind of caliber they are looking for, they need to be close to the $130,000 area. Mayor Sackett said he was more comfortable with the $120,0.00 maximum. Deputy Mayor Maingot said if they go to the lower end,, they might find themselves having to bring on board their second choice. Commissioner Bundy said even if they do go to $130,0.00, by the. time they throw in the car allowance,, it would still be $18,000 a year less than they were paying the previous Administrator. He stated the $110,000 to $115,000 was unrealistic to start with. He said they were negotiating right now with the disadvantage that Mr. Grace was going to know exactly what they were willing to do, versus what he is willing to take. Mayor Sackett said all three candidates were in positions where probably $110,000 to $115,000 would have been low. Commissioner Bundy said he wanted to put his feelings on record, that if Mr. ~ . Grace does not accept this contract, they do not automatically go to number two or number three. He stated it would be his preference that if the number one choice out of this list does not take it, they start the whole process over again. He said.Mr. Grace brings unique qualifications to the job that the other ones do not. Deputy Mayor Maingot moved to offer a salary of $130,000. Seconded by Commissioner Bundy. Mr. Roper said to clarify, Commissioner Bundy seconded the motion, but with the. caveat that it is limited to one candidate. Commissioner Bundy responded in the affirmative. Commissioner Holt said the first thing that comes to his mind was that they were arguing the point that it goes up to $130,000. He stated he can appreciate the argument or the dialogue, but it was advertised from $90,000 to $131,000 so they knew what they were getting involved in. He said he didn't understand unless they were saying the contract going to Mr. Kevin Grace was for $130,000. He inquired if the second part was an amendment to the motion because the second cannot add to the motion made. Mr. Roper said it was simply for clarification of the motion. ~ CC 03-23-09/1.90 Commissioner Holt requested the Clerk to read the motion back so he understands ~ exactly what he is voting on. Ms. Mires said the motion was for the salary to be $130,000. Commissioner Bundy moved to amend the motion that the $130,000 contract be extended to Mr. Grace. Seconded by Commissioner Durso and carried by a three/two roll call ~~ote with Mayor Sackett and Deputy Mayor Maingot voting nay. Main motion carried, as amended, by a three/two roll call vote with Mayor Sackett and. Commissioner Holi: voting nay. Mayor Sackett said the next item would be automobile allowance. He stated the outline lists $400 a month in Seminole County and inquired if this was the norm. Mr. Jackson said some of the contracts he reviewed started in 1985 and their car allowances were $100 to $1.50, but then had been amended. He stated the $400 was at the upper realm of what he saw,in the contracts. Some of them offered a car allowance or the benefit of a City vehicle. F[e said if they chose one or the other, then they could expound on it. Mayor Sackett inquired what was in M:r. Drago's contract. 1VIr. Roper advised it had both. The first section offered $420 a month, but they also offered a City vehicle in lieu of that. Mr. Jackson advised the car allowance. was amended and he was at $'560 a month at the end. Mayor Sackett said he recalled at the last meeting they said there was a City vehicle available 95% of the time. Mr. Jackson advised in the City Hall pool there were three vehicles, a Ford van and t~vo Ford Escapes. Deputy Mayor Maingot said that was ~~That they needed to stay with. Mayor Sackett inquired if it were a night meeting, would. it be the use of a City vehicle as well, or if he were traveling prom his home to a meeting. Mr. Jackson said in that circumstance, he may choose to use mileage. He suggested in cases where he would need to drive his own personal vehicle to allow him mileage claims. Deputy Mayor Maingot said that was a very applicable option. Mayor Sackett inquired about insurance coverage. CC 03-23-09/191 Mr. Jackson said should he be involved in a traffic accident driving his own vehicle, but on City business, those limits were sufficient enough that it would ~ buffer the City from any type of personal or collision liability. Mr. Roper advised if he was on the clock, regardless of whether he is in his own vehicle or not, he would be covered under the Public Risk Management coverage document. The limits of available recovery would be $100,000 per claim, $200,000 per accident/incident. He stated in Mr. Drago's contract, they only allowed reimbursement of mileage for out ofSeminole County travel. Commissioner Holt moved that a City owned vehicle will be provided for use for City business, trips outside of Seminole County at a-cents per mile rate equal to that provided by the IRS business .guidelines if use of personal vehicle and the insurance coverage should be as under Public Risk Management of Florida. Seconded by Commissioner Bundy and carried by a unanimous roll call vote. Mayor Sackett said the next item on the list was a cell phone.. Mr. Jackson said the City could provide a cell phone and the other option would be to provide a monthly fee and the Administrator would use his own personal phone. Commissioner Holt moved that the City shall provide a cellular phone for the use of City business and it shall remain City property in the event the City Administrator leaves the employment within the City. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Maingot and carried by a unanimous roll call vote. Mr. Jackson said there was a lot of variation in the contracts for severance pay. He said in listening to the Commission last week, their position was a 90 day severance. He stated one of the things he would consider, that he noticed in all of the contracts, was provided they left in positive standing. He said there were provisions in all of the contracts that if they were dismissed for an event that would constittrte a felony, if prosecuted, they would not be entitled to their severance. Commissioner Bundy inquired what the normal probationary period was. Mr. Roper advised it was 90 days. Mr. Jacksonsaid according to the Personnel Policy it was six months for employees. Commissioner Bundy said he did not want it to go too far outside the norm of a regular City employee. He stated that basically no leave time accnies until the probationary period is completed. CC 03-23-09/192 Ms. Jackson advised the time does accrue. They can use sick leave as soon as they are on the books, but they camiot use v~acation.aeave during the probationary period. Mayor Sackett suggested they use the wording within that section that it be consistent with the human resource procedure. Mr. Jackson advised that Oviedo, Casselberry, and, Sanford contracts reflect six months of severance pay. Mr. Roper said thus far on the severance package, all they have addressed is the fact that~there is a six month probation,~ry period during which sickleave and vacation pay can be accrued, but you cannot use vacation time until the conclusion of the probationary period. The severance pay will not be eligible until such time as the probationary period h~cs ended satisfactorily. Mayor Sackett. said now they need to determine the length of the severance package. Mr. Jackson reviewed the severance package for the various cities in Seminole County. He advised the original request at 90 days and three months was behind the curve of the other cities. Deputy Mayor Maingot said he had no problem staying with the three.months. He stated they were offering a good packa;~e and three months was more than adequate. Commissioner Bundy affirmed the major expense of the previous Administrator was the accumulated leave and sick time they had to buy. Mayor Sackett said he could see this itc,m being the deal breaker. He stated they may have to do the six rnontha without all the accruing. Commissioner Bundy suggested a sliding scale and having it evolve after a couple of years to additional time with a cave~~t that if they find permanent employment elsewhere, the severance package ends. Mayor Sackett suggested doing the severance package of 30 days if discharged prior to completion of one year, 90 days if discharged after one year, and then build it to six months beyond three or :five years. Mr. Roper said it could be subject to bc; amended after two years. ' Mayor Sackett requested Mr. Roper to review what they have to this point on the severance. Mr. Roper said he has from the first day up until one year there would be 30 days severance; after one year there would l=ie 90 days severance and after two years CC 03-23••09/193 that would be subject to renegotiation. He stated this would be all of his benefits and the severance package would be contingent upon Mr. Grace not procuring ~ employment. If he does procure other gainful .employment, then the severance pay would cease, as would the severance packet benefits. Commissioner Bundy moved to approve the severance package as read by Mr. Roper. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Maingot. Mr. Roper said. they would add in the for cause. language. Commissioner Holt inquired if the severance had nothing to do with the vacation. Mr. Roper responded in the affirmative. He said under Mr. Drago's contract,. the City Commission in 1998 entered into bi-weekly installments in an amount equal to six months. Commissioner Bundy said he did not want cause limited to a felony. Motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote.. Mr. Jackson said the vacation and holiday benefits were consistent with City Policy for all employees. Some contracts provided for four weeks of acenial after completion of their first year, which was comparable to the last contract. He stated with this contract, they were providing the vacation, holiday and sick accrual consistent with the same rate as a City employee. He advised that sick time for an employee was not. capped, and you can accrue as much as you can, but the buyback is limited. Commissioner Bundy moved that vacation, holiday, and sick time benefits will be consistent with the City. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Maingot and carried by a unanimous roll call vote. Mr. Jackson reviewed the retirement policy for employees. He advised there were several executive retirement opporttmities he would have. He said the Commission would need to determine what percentage of contribution they would make and allow him to proviele input on what type of benefit rider he wants that contribution rolled into. Commissioner Holt said he would like to start at 4%. Mr. Jackson advised that most of the norm was at 10%. Commissioner Bundy ..inquired what the percentage of contribution was for City employees. Mr. Jackson reviewed retirement plans and the percentages the City pays for ~ employees. He advised the former Administrator had a health plan unique to him CC 03-23-09/194 and if the City Administrator had the Name type of coverage as employees, he would have a vested interest in the quality of that plan. Mayor Sackett said the City Administrator should be on the City's health plan coverage. Commissioner Bundy :moved that the Administrator be on the same health plan as the City employees. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Maingot and carried by a unanimous roll call vote. Mayor Sackett said the next item was ~~esidency relocation expenses. Deputy Mayor Maingot said that was not applicable. Mr. Jackson said some of the contract; had this provision,, but he believes Mr. Grace lives in Seminole County. He advised the City does not have a residency requirement of our employees. Mr. Roper said they could.delete that from the contract. Mayor Sackett said the next item. was professional associations and development. Mr. Jackson advised many of t:he contracts provide for professional associations and development training. He advised the budgeted amount this year for books, publications, subscriptions, and memberships for the City Administrator's position as well as for Mr. Spinella was $3,500. The amotult budgeted for employee development was $7,500. Hr, suggested any type of travel for a seminar or symposium be presented to the Corrunission for .their approval as every Department Head presents to the City ,administrator for approval. .Commissioner Bundy said that was not an unreasonable amount. He stated he had no problem with the City Administrator bringing travel expenses before the Commission for approval He suggested it read as follows; "The City agrees to pay for a reasonable travel per diem fo.c event. training or seminars related to official duties with prior approval of th:e City Commission." Commissioner Bundy moved to add this as an addendum at the end of that section. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Maingot and carried by a unanimous roll call vote. Mayor Sackett said they would now re~hirn to retirement benefits. Ms. Jackson said the contribution for t].Ze Florida League of Cities General ' Employees was 10%. Commissioner Bundy moved to contribute 10% to the plan Mr. Grace designates with no .additional cost to the City. Seconded by Commissioner Holt and carried by a unanimous roll call vote. CC 03-23~-09/195 Mayor Sackett said they would move on to secondary employment. Mr. Jackson advised that some of the contracts had this included and some did not. He said that all of the City employees have a requirement that if they wish to engage in secondary employment, it is by policy upon review and approval by the City Administrator. He stated if being consistent with policy, rather than restrict it, he suggested the City Commission understands and knows what the City Adminis"trator's secondary employment is and would approve it. Deputy Mayor Maingot suggested a slight change in the wording by adding that the secondary employment must be with the knowledge and "prior consent" of the City Commission. 1~1r. Roper said the City Administrator was on ca1124 hours and needs to be available on a moments notice. He stated a City Administrator having secondary employment flies right. in the face of that.. Commissioner Bundy said it could include something like having the opportunity to do a speaking engagement in some area and he was being reimbursed. Deputy Mayor Maingot moved to include in the secondary employment that secondary employment must be with the knowledge and prior consent of the City Commission. Seconded by Commissioner Bundy. Mr. Roper advised that his draft contract has the caveat included that the. City Administrator shall be on ca1124 hours a day and. agrees to make himself available as needed. Motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote. Mayor Sackett said next was performance evaluations. Mr. Jackson said this was simply an annual performance. evaluation. He stated that.he did include after six months of initial employmentthat a review be given to the new Administrator with a written stunmary of the findings. He advised there were no provisions included, as with the previous contract; with specific averages or specific costs and the merit would be at the discretion of the City Commission. He reiterated that these were just points for the Commission to consider and elaborate on. Mayor Sackett inquired if there was a difference in a merit increase and a performance increase. Mr. Roper said notthat he knew o£ He stated a cost of living allowance would be different. Deputy Mayor Maingot said he would not like to see the. averages of surrounding `J cities and the recommended salary- increase based on the averages. He stated if CC 03-23-0/196 ~ they f nd their City Administrator is ~~erforming satisfactorily and getting ahead of the curve, and then he can put forward a reeo:mmendation. He reiterated they did ' not~need to tie themselves to what thy; averages were of.the other cities. Commissioner Durso declared at some point this Commission was going to have to take a direction with regard to their approach to salaries. He said they just argued over $3,500 for the C:itS~ Clerk:,!and they just increased the offer to Mr. Grace by $20,000 because they want to be competitive with other cities. He stated at one point or another they need to figure out what they are talking about. He said they either-need to try and stay competitive with other cities that are competing for these people, or play these games. He declared it was not conducive to any kind of stability when it comes to a pay plan. He stated you cannot say that we don't want to follow the averages, but we want to remain competitive with other cities. Deputy Mayor Maingot said they never stated anything about $130;000 as being the average and they did not compare what they are offering him as the average. He stated the other cities were paying more than that and they said the $130,000 level would be the level at which he v~~ould be interested in taking the job. Commissioner Holt left the meeting at 8:22 p.m. and returned at 8:23 p.m. Mayor Sackett said they needzd to go to performance evaluations. He stated he believed the wording was almost verbatim, except for the legal ease. Commissioner Durso said he was good with this, as long as it was based on performance, and not just the time you have been here. Mr. Roper said without any type of averages from other cities. Commissioner Bundy moved ghat there be annual performance evaluations with no specific reference to any type of averages from other cities. Revise where it states "In the initial year of employment a performance. evaluation shall be at the end of a six month period. A written summary of findings shall be provided to tl~.e City Administrator." He added; "At this time, we will develop the goals for the upcoming year in conjunction with the City Commission." Seconded by Commissioner Durso. Mr. Jackson said of all of the items in ~~:his contract, other than the salary, this was probably the most critical. He suggested they pay close attention to how it is worded. He stated there was nothing ir.~ there that referred to goals, objectives, and reviews. He said it was extremely critical for the Commission to lay out how that perforrance evaluation will be judged,. on what. his .accomplishments are, or direction. Mayor Sackett said his wife recently received an evaluation and it was all based on performance. CC 03-23~~09/197 Deputy .Mayor Maingot said performance was the way to go. ~1 Commissioner Bundy said in the past they received a list of accomplishments and . there were no goals preset. He stated the Commission needed to establish some criteria and goals. Commissioner Dl~rso inquired if it would be reasonable to ask that the City Administrator design some broad deliverables with the approval of the Commission to be reviewed each year. Mr. Roper suggested, for the purposes of the contract, they state for criteria to be identified by the Commission. He said to have the Administrator establish the goals and the Commission approve them. He stated this needed to be on their annual evaluation date. Mr. Jackson suggested keeping an ongoing toll of what has been accomplished by the City Administrator. Deputy Mayor Maingot said they were thinking in terms of important matters or major accomplishments they want to have accomplished within the City. NIr. Jackson suggested setting quarterly goals. Mayor Sackett said they have. never had this before.. Therefore, they can create ~ something that is a workable system after six months. Commissioner Bundy said .he would modify his motion to revise, where it states "In the initial year of employment a performance evaluation shall be at the end of a six month period. A written summary of findings shall be provided to the City Administrator." He added; "At this time, we will develop the goals for the upcoming year in conjunction with the City Commission." Commissioner Holt aid he would like to add "from the City Commission" following the summary of findings shall be provided to the City Administrator." Motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote. Commissioner Durso inquired if the indemnification was a technical part of this. Mayor Sackett said. he was .sure it was. Commissioner Durso moved to include the indemnification and bonding sections as written.' Seconded by Deputy Mayor Maingot and carried by a unanimous roll call vote. ; Mayor Sackett said next was the reduction of .benefits. CC 03-23-09/198 ~ Mr. Jackson said he noticed this in a couple of the other contracts. He stated as we ~ all become very budget conscious, over the next few years, as a protection to the City Administrator that he not be the only person to have an income reduction. His would only come if the whole City had to face. the reality of a cutback in salaries. Corrunissioner Durso said in an attempt to keep the current contract in line with what. they have been trying to do, making the City Administrator's contract more in line with the average City employee, it seems like this applies in the same way. Commissioner Durso moved to accept the reduction of benefit section as written. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Mangot and carried by a unanimous roll call vote. Commissioner Bundy said the Chartf;r says the contract shall be for an indefinite period. He stated in the past some of the problems they have had was that it was almost like an automatic renewal. He said he wants it so that the contract will be extended by an affirmative vote by tr,.e Commission. He inquired if this could be done. Mr. Roper advised that was problematic under the current City Charter language. Mayor Sackett inquired if they could write it into the performance evaluation that ' if you don't achieve a certain number, Mr. Roper said he would not recommend that and stated. the problem was with the language in the City Charter.:He read Section 4.04 from the City Charter. Mr. Jackson suggested they clarify, while the City Attorney is present, if Mr. Grace chooses not to accept these provisions, that he has the ability to renegotiate and return his counter offer to the Con.unission. If Mr. Grace chooses to counter and the Commission says no, :is it acce;ptable to go to the second candidate on the list. If it is the will of the Commission not to entertain number two or three on the list, then the direction is for anew list to be formed. Mayor Sackett said his understanding 'was that point four said these were negotiating points in the contract for the City Administrator on record to be hired., which is Mr. Grace. Commissioner Bundy said the stateme~lt he made was that if he does not accept it, or they do not come to terms; that they start over. Commissioner Durso said the whole purpose of the negotiation was, that he can I. counter if he desires, but they are talking with Mr. Grace and Mr. Grace alone. He stated if he says no, or the Conumissior~. says~no, they may have to go back to square one. CC 03-23-09/199 Mr. Jackson said if Mr. Grace and the City cannot come to terms at all, that this contract which they have formed tonight is not automatically offered to number two on the list, or does the City have to go to number two and number three on the list. 1VIr. Roper said the process can be restarted. He advised that the last two sentences of Section 4.04 (a) of the City Charter state: "If no satisfactory candidate is selected by the City Commission, then the Committee shall select new candidates for the Commission's review. In the event no appointment has been made within ninety days, a new Committee will be formed." He said the "Committee" was Range Riders. Commissioner Holt inquired when was this going to be offered to Mr. Grace. He said they never formed a Committee, they just picked. the Range Riders and he inquired if rivo people could consist as a Committee. He stated the process they used was very convoluted. Mr. Roper said in this particular situation the Range Riders was the Committee. Commissioner Bundy said they needed to have the Attorney take everything they have come up with, put it in form and send it to the Commission to review. Mr. Roper said he would follow the same procedure as they did with Mr. Drago's ~ Separation Agreement. ~.-i Commissioner Durso said that, presumably, there should not be much feedback because everything has been voted on. 5. ADJOURN. Mayor Sackett adjourned the meetin ~ at 8:41 p.m. c C~~~ Brian D. Sackett, ~yor ATTEST: .Sarah M. l!~!Iirus, CMC, MBA City Clerk CC 03-23-09/200