2014.09.23_TC_Minutes_Special TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH
MINUTES OF TOWN COMMISSION MEETING
2014/2015 BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING
Tuesday September 23 2014 5:01 PM
Mayor Bernard Featherman called the 2014/2015 Budget Public Hearing to order in the Library's
Goldstein Community Room at 5:01 PM.
CALL TO ORDER:
Roll Call: Members present: Mayor Bernard Featherman; Vice Mayor Ron Brown; Commissioner
Dennis J. Sheridan; Commissioner Louis P. Stern; and Commissioner Carl Feldman. Also present:
Town Attorney Brian Shutt; Town Manager Kathleen Weiser; Town Clerk Beverly Brown; Finance
Director Cale Curtis; Public Works Director Edward Soper; Police Chief Craig Hartmann; Library
Director Maria Suarez; Building Dept. Office Manager /Code Enforcement Officer Carol Holland;
Assistant to the Manager Zoie Burgess; and members of the public.
Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was given, followed by a minute of silence.
1. ADDITIONS, DELETIONS OR ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA:
Mayor Featherman asked for any additions or deletions.
Receiving no additions or deletions, the agenda was accepted as presented.
2. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REQUESTS:
Dr. Bill Weitz, 1135 Boca Cove Lane read a letter written regarding the 2014 -2015 Budget Year
which was given to the Commissioners and Town Manager. A summary of his recommendations
regarding the pay schedules and how we deal with employee's pay are as follows: 1) Re- introduce the
Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) to be implemented yearly. 2) Reestablish the Longevity Pay for
employees who have been long -time employees of the Town. It was removed by the current Town
Manager, without Commission approval, and town employees were highly dissatisfied with this
action. 3) The Commission should eliminate the current Merit Pay System which is rated at a
maximum level to allow for yearly 5 percent raises in salary. This is due to the lack of a COLA pay
increase. In order to reward deserving employees, the Commission could allow for supervisors to
nominate outstanding employees on a yearly basis for special incentive awards such as a bonus for
outstanding performance. 4) Eliminate the present automatic pay for education, but maintain the
concept of paying for employees to obtain additional education and training in job - related areas. The
Town Commission Workshop Minutes
September 23 2014 Paize 2 o 6
Commission could adopt a policy of providing a one year pay addition for those obtaining an
advanced degree, only if it was related directly to their scope of employment. There should not be any
additional pay for educational degrees that an employee would require as criteria for their hire. Also,
all course or degree provisions should be approved prior to its initiation and only recognize programs
from accredited providers, colleges and universities. 5) The actions included in this recommendation
would be fair to all town staff and it would clarify town policy for some of the arbitrary and ineffective
components currently in place.
Commissioner Feldman — I think this is something we should look into and could consider.
3. PRESENTATION OF CHANGES TO BUDGET
A) Summary of Budget Updates
Finance Director Curtis
Finance Director Curtis — The agenda packets included a Summary of the Updates of the Proposed
Budget. The only change from the September 9 meeting is the removal of the $75,000 for the
Landscape Ordinance. Everything presented at the last meeting remains the same.
Board Discussion:
Commissioner Feldman — Regarding the item in the budget, Insurance & Bonds, does the sale of the
property affect the insurance part of it? Fin. Dir. Curtis — This is not a factor. The small liability for
the vacant property will come off. They will get notification that it is no longer on our schedule and
will be reflected throughout the year. Comm. Feldman — I still have issues with the $20,000 for the
replacing of the town benches. There is a company that sells a rubberized spray or paint on. I only
found two benches that really needed a lot of work. We should look into this because it will save the
town a great deal of money. Another issue is the $10,000 for the antenna for the Public Works Dept.
How many phones do we pay for? Fin. Dir. Curtis — There are stipends for 7 employees and there
are a number of on -call employees who receive a Sprint phone, such as the police officers and the
public works employees. The phones do not work in the Public Works Dept. There is also a problem
in the Library and Town Hall. Comm. Feldman — Since we have an antenna already here, we should
contact a carrier such as Sprint, have them come in, and perhaps they could solve the problem for us.
I am glad we removed the $75,000 from the budget because the State owns the right -of -way and they
do own the trees. They should be notified that they have to maintain these trees. Could you give us
the amount of monies we have spent so far for the renovations and what additional monies will be
needed moving forward? Fin. Dir. Curtis — We have a contract with BSA and, with the change
orders, it is $896,000. The ancillary charges on top of that were $120,000. To date we have spent
$743,000. I anticipate it being under budget in both the construction contract and the ancillary
charges.
Commissioner Stern — I am completely happy with the budget. I think we should look into finding if
there is a better service that would eliminate the repeater system since it doesn't seem to be working
here or maybe in the Town Hall. I have seen the benches and still feel they are in bad shape. I would
like a report from Public Works Dir. Ed Soper as to whether there is a possibility that they could be
saved.
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September 23 2014 Page 3 of 6
Commissioner Sheridan — I am totally satisfied with the budget. I am not sure if contacting
Sprint/Nextel is a good idea because they are in the process of closing down 300 sites here in Florida;
one of which was mine.
Vice Mayor Brown — The Town Manager and the Staff have done a great job on the budget. I feel the
repeater system is necessary so our employees can be contacted. That is the best thing we can do for
our residents. I also feel the benches need to be replaced. It is a safety feature for our residents.
Mayor Featherman — I will review the comments made by Dr. Weitz regarding salary increases. I
believe the benches could be repaired and avoid spending the money on replacing them. Thank you
for doing a good job on preparing the budget.
4. PRESENTATION OF BUDGET RESOLUTIONS:
A) RESOLUTION NO. 14 -005 R
A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND
BEACH, FLORIDA, ADOPTING A FINAL MILLAGE RATE OF 3.95 MILS FOR
THE TOWN'S GENERAL OPERATING FUNDS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2014 AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30,2015; PROVIDING
THAT THE FINAL MILLAGE RATE OF 3.95 MILS IS 5.5 PERCENT GREATER
THAN THE COMPUTED ROLLED -BACK RATE OF 3.7442 MILS; PROVIDING
FOR SEVERABILITY, CONFLICTS AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
B) RESOLUTION NO. 14 -006 R
A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND
BEACH, FLORIDA, ADOPTING A FINAL BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2014 AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2015;
DETERMING AND FIXING THE AMOUNTS NECESSARY TO CARRY ON THE
GOVERNMENT OF THE TOWN FOR THE ENSUING YEAR; PROVIDING FOR
SEVERABILITY, CONFLICTS AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Town Clerk Brown read Resolution No. 14 -005 R and Resolution No. 14 -006 R into the
record.
5. PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING 2014/2015 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET:
Mayor Featherman opened the Public Hearing. Receiving no comments from the Public, Mayor
Featherman closed the Public Hearing.
6. COMMISSION QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
There were no further questions or discussion from the Commission.
i
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September 23 2014 Page 4 of 6
7. ADOPTION OF MILLAGE RATE ON SECOND READING:
A) RESOLUTION NO. 14 -005 R
A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND
BEACH, FLORIDA, ADOPTING A FINAL MILLAGE RATE OF 3.95 MILS FOR
THE TOWN'S GENERAL OPERATING FUNDS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2014 AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30,2015; PROVIDING
THAT THE FINAL MILLAGE RATE OF 3.95 MILS IS 5.5 PERCENT GREATER
THAN THE COMPUTED ROLLED -BACK RATE OF 3.7442 MILS; PROVIDING
FOR SEVERABILITY, CONFLICTS AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
MOTION: Commissioner Feldman moved to adopt Resolution No. 14 -005 on Second Reading.
Motion was seconded by Commissioner Sheridan
ROLL CALL:
Commissioner Feldman - Yes
Commissioner Sheridan - Yes
Commissioner Stern - Yes
Vice Mayor Brown - Yes
Mayor Featherman - Yes
Motion d with a 5 -0 vote.
8. ADOPTION OF 2014 -2015 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET ON SECOND READING:
A) RESOLUTION NO. 14 -006 R
A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND
BEACH, FLORIDA, ADOPTING A FINAL BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2014 AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2015;
DETERMING AND FIXING THE AMOUNTS NECESSARY TO CARRY ON THE
GOVERNMENT OF THE TOWN FOR THE ENSUING YEAR; PROVIDING FOR
SEVERABILITY, CONFLICTS AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
MOTION: Vice Mayor Brown moved to adopt Resolution No. 14 -006 R on Second Reading.
Motion was seconded by Commissioner Feldman
ROLL CALL:
Vice Mayor Brown - Yes
Commissioner Feldman - Yes
Commissioner Stern - Yes
Commissioner Sheridan - Yes
Mayor Featherman - Yes
Motion passed with a 5 -0 vote.
I
Town Commission Workshop Minutes
September 23, 2014 Page 5 of 6
9. REPORTS —TOWN COMMISSION:
A) Commissioner Carl Feldman — In the Town Clerk's section of the report given by Town
Manager Weiser, it mentions the Supervisor of Elections regarding referendum questions to be
submitted for the March 10, 2015 election that must be submitted by February 6, 2015. Are there any
questions being considered for a referendum? Town Clerk Brown — During last month's Financial
Advisory Board Meeting, there was a discussion as to whether we wanted to do the piping in the
south end of town, and whether we wanted to go forward with the Streetscape Plan. The Financial
Advisory Board questioned whether we wanted to combine the two projects and go out to
referendum. In order to get a question on the referendum ballot, you need two readings of an
ordinance. If that is the intent of the Commission, you need to start moving on it since it will take
about three months for the process to go through. Town Manager Weiser — The Clerk has been
looking into this in case it is something you would want to do. I don't think we would be ready to put
anything on the March ballot. Comm. Feldman referred to the contract between the Law Office of
Glen Torcivia and the Town of Highland Beach stating that Glen Torcivia is to attend all meetings of
the Commission. He asked why Mr. Torcivia was not present today and has not been at several
previous meetings. Town Attorney Shutt stated Mr. Torcivia had a conflict this afternoon. He also
had a family emergency and other previous conflicts, but will be attending future meetings.
B) Commissioner Louis P. Stern — No report
C) Commissioner Dennis J. Sheridan — No report
D) Vice Mayor Brown — No report
E) Mayor Featherman — No report
10. REPORTS — TOWN ATTORNEY GLEN TORCIVIA:
No Report.
11. REPORTS — TOWN MANAGER KATHLEEN DAILEY WEISER:
The Municipal Budget cannot be put together without the assistance from our Department Heads and
their staff. I am proud of the efforts of all our employees to continue to offer the highest quality of
services while maintaining, and in some cases reducing their budget and line items. The document
presented to you is a team effort and it is lead by the exceptional abilities of our Finance Director
Cale Curtis. On behalf of Staff, we are glad that you are satisfied with our budget.
With the mid -month report, you received a copy of the RFP for Waste Services. Since we have not
received any comments as of today, I will assume you are ready to go. We anticipate putting that out
on Monday.
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September 23 2014 Paae 6 of 6
12. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REOUESTS RELATED TO AGENDA ITEMS
DISCUSSED
There were no public comments or requests.
13. ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business to come before the Commission, Mayor Featherman adjourned the
Budget Public Hearing at 5:37 PM upon a MOTION by Commissioner Stern and seconded by
Vice Mayor Brown.
APPROVED:
Bernar Featherm ,Mayor
Ron Brown, Vice Mayor
Dennis J. Sheridan, Co issioner
o ' S ern, ommissioner
Carl Feldman, Commissioner
ATTEST:
A I' La.
Be erly M. Brown, MMC
Town Clerk
Date