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2016.07.28_TC_Minutes_Workshop TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH MINUTES OF TOWN COMMISSION MEETING WORKSHOP MEETING Tuesday, 28, 2016 1:30 PM Mayor Bernard Featherman called the Workshop Meeting to order in the Town Commission Chambers at 1:30 PM. CALL TO ORDER: Roll Call: Members present: Mayor Bernard Featherman; Vice Mayor William Weitz, Ph.D; Commissioner Carl Feldman; Commissioner Louis P. Stern; and Commissioner Rhoda Zelniker. Also present: Town Attorney Glen Torcivia; Town Manager Beverly Brown; Town Clerk Valerie Oakes; Finance Director Cale Curtis; Library Director Lois Albertson and members of the public. Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was given, followed by a minute of silence. Civility Pledge: The Civility Pledge was recited by the Town Clerk. 1. ADDITIONS,DELETIONS OR ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA: Mayor Featherman called for any additions or deletions to the agenda. Item 3A — Commissioner Feldman added discussion on the Building Department job description. Hearing no further additions,the agenda was accepted as amended. 2. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REQUESTS: None were received. 3. NEW BUSINESS: A) Discussion on the Building Department Job Description Commissioner Feldman — At the last meeting we were given the job description for the Office Manager/Code Enforcement Officer in the Building Department. It was my understanding that the part-time employee was moved to full-time to help with the code Town Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes Tuesday,July 28,2016 Page 2 of 8 enforcement issues. Town Manager Brown—The Office Manager, Carol Holland, would do the preliminary code enforcement inspections, and the Building Official would do the final. The part-time Administrative Assistant was moved to a full-time position. The Office Manager was always full-time. Carol Holland is also a part-time Code Enforcement Officer when Orlando of SafeBuilt is not here. She does code enforcement approximately 10 hours a week. Comm. Feldman — I understand we are paying a fee for Orlando to do code enforcement. I feel we should have our own Code Enforcement Officer. Town Manse Brown— We will discuss this under the budget process. We pay SafeBuilt $48 per hour for code enforcement services. Comm. Feldman — If we pay this amount to SafeBuilt, we certainly can have our own Code Enforcement Officer. We should create a job description for this position. Commissioner Stern— We need to put names to the faces. Sue was the part-time employee who became full-time to help Carol in the Building Department. I also was under the impression that we were not having to pay for Orlando's services. If we are paying $48/hr., we can hire a very capable person. Vice Mayor Weitz—I have been told that Mike Desorcy is not a Code Enforcement Officer. He is a Building Official/Inspector. I now find out that our Building Department Office Manager is our part-time Code Enforcement Officer. We have been getting complaints for years, and now I understand why. I was under the impression we had a full-time Code Enforcement Officer. There are certain skill sets that are required to do that job, and we don't have it. I also was under the opinion that we were being supplied a part-time code enforcement person by SafeBuilt free of charge. Commissioner Zelniker — I was also under the impression that this town had a full-time Code Enforcement Officer. The Finance Director's analysis of what we paid showed two different figures; one for code enforcement and one for Building Inspector, Mike Desorcy. Finance Director Curtis — (referred to the analysis sheet) The top portion is what we pay to SafeBuilt, and the bottom portion is the estimated annual cost if we were to hire our own Building Official and Code Enforcement Officer. Neither one of those costs have anything to do with the contract for SafeBuilt. That is our estimates for salaries, benefits and equipment needed. This is a comparison what we pay versus what we may pay. Last year our income was about $800,000 and we paid out $400,000. Comm. Zelniker— We should not be talking about the codes at our Commission meetings but people are coming to us with complaints because they feel they are not getting anywhere. This is the safety and wellbeing of our residents. We had a former Building Inspector, Bob Dawson, who was all over Town and would shut down a job if need be. We need a full-time code enforcement inspector. Commissioner Stern — A point of correction. You have mentioned Bob Dawson. He was the Building Official not the Code Enforcement Officer. Dick Olbrek was the Code Enforcement Officer. I also agree we need a full-time Code Enforcement Officer, but we need to change our rules and regulations as to what a Code Enforcement Officer can and cannot do. We need to make sure that the violators know we mean business. Town Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes Tuesday,July 28,2016 Page 3 of 8 Commissioner Feldman — Town Manager Brown did a good job in providing us with the duties of the Code Enforcement Officer. We have this information and now we have to institute the proceedings. Residents should not be contacting the Commissioners or the Town Manager. The code enforcement inspector should be taking the calls and reacting accordingly. Mayor Featherman — I also thought we were getting a code enforcement inspector free of charge. We need to have someone full-time who can address the issues. Vice Mayor Weitz — Did Carol Holland receive additional pay for becoming a part-time code enforcement inspector? Town Manager Brown — No, we sent her to school. Vice Mayor Weitz — Why don't we have two full-time people now when we had them in prior years? It is not the person but the concept. We went from a full-time knowledgeable person to a ten percent Office Manager/Code Enforcement Officer. This is a problem. Town Manager Brown — Back in 2008 we had a full-time Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer. When the economy went bad, we went to one full-time person. We eliminated the full-time Code Enforcement Officer. In 2012, when the economy improved, Mike Desorcy was having trouble doing inspections and code enforcement. That is when they brought the part-time person in the Building Department to a full-time position and had Carol Holland go to school so she could do the preliminary investigation for Mike Desorcy; this way he could spend more time doing inspections. The contract with SafeBuilt included many services, and there was no indication that the part-time code enforcement inspector was free of charge. Comm. ZeIniker — I believe the gentleman from SafeBuilt stated that he would give us a code enforcement inspector gratis because they were concerned about the Town renewing the contract. Bottom line is these residents come to us because they are getting nowhere. Commissioner Stern — It was a matter of economy. At that time, it looked much better to the Commission who voted on it to not have the major exposure when building had gone down in 2007/2008. The Commission said we could save $100,000, and that is why the two full-time became one full-time. Times have changed, the economy has changed, and we have to change. Vice Mayor Weitz — Could you explain the additional fees in the contract? Town Manager Brown—We pay fifty percent(50%) for building fees. We have a five-day building official, Mike Desorcy, and now we have a code enforcement inspector coming in three days a week. If Mike Desorcy does code enforcement, we pay him an hourly rate. If we require him to come to a meeting, we also pay an hourly rate. We do not pay him to come to a Commission meeting, but if he comes to a Planning Board, Board of Adjustment or Code Enforcement meeting, we pay the company an hourly rate. Discussion ensued regarding the SafeBuilt contract and whether or not there should be an in-house Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer. The Town Attorney will Town Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes Tuesday,July 28, 2016 Pan 4 of 8 review the contract and the cancellation clause before the next meeting when the contract is on the agenda for approval. Consensus was to have the hiring of a Code Enforcement Officer placed on the August 2nd agenda. B) Review of the Personnel Rules & Regulations Comm. Feldman — We were just given a revised Personnel Rules & Regulations manual dated May 3, 2016. The manual we had to review was dated December 2013. Were there any changes made to this since that time? Town Manager Brown—The last time we made a change was eliminating the education incentive and changing the bereavement leave. Vice Mayor Weitz—On Page 7, Section 5: Veteran's Preference. Do we have a percentage of how many veterans work in the Town? Town Manager Brown—No one has ever asked to use that veteran's preference. Vice Mayor Weitz — It occurs to me that we are not advertising in the right places to attract them. There are places to list jobs so veterans become aware of them. Discussions ensued on the following: Page 20—Article VI: Insurance: Town Manager Brown—The Commission asked when the stipend was approved. I checked the previous minutes and found it was approved in 1999/2000. Vice Mayor Weitz—This goes back to 2000, and even though I don't agree that the stipend is a part of the health benefits, it was listed under health insurance. That requires a yearly review by the Commission. As I pointed out, two-thirds of the employees who are getting this money do not meet the criteria to receive this stipend. My position on that program of paying people for not electing to take our insurance is that it is inappropriate, and I would like to see it removed totally from the budget. Commissioner Feldman — The person not using the insurance received a stipend amount of money and not the full amount. I think we should use that money in a more equal way to the people that need it and it should come out the same. Commissioner Zelniker — I have never heard of this and I am opposed to this stipend. The Commission is supposed to review the Personnel Rules and Regulations each year, and I don't understand why this was never discussed after 2000. Town Manager Brown — This has been adjusted over the years, and the last time we changed this was at the end of 2013. Finance Director Curtis — I will try to provide you with a little more background on the reason why this was put in place in the year 2000. Insurance costs were a lot lower back then. The Town has always provided health insurance. It has always subsidized employee Town Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes Tuesday,July 28, 2016 Page 5 of 8 insurance and dependent coverage to some level throughout the years, back then up until now. Along with that subsidization of employees and dependents health insurance coverage, it would create somewhat of a benefit gap between different classes of employees. As an example, the cost to insure me is about $20,000 per year and the cost to insure a single employee is about $10,000 per year. That Commission chose to close that benefit gap and provide a deferred compensation allowance. Another benefit to that was it also gave employees an incentive to not bring dependents on or to not take the coverage if they had coverage provided elsewhere, which in turn saves the Town money. I don't think it was the Commission's intent back then to exclude those employees that don't have dependents. It was the intent to close the benefit gap and not to deter people from getting the insurance. Vice Mayor Weitz — I understand the intent but it is not a good one. Insurance costs were low back then. Take a look at what they are now. This Town has lost over a half million dollars over the years on a provision that is not health benefits. It is simply a pay supplement. I want this eliminated. Town Attorney Torcivia— Keep in mind that when you make any changes in benefits, you will have to negotiate with the police union. Fin. Dir. Curtis — There are four police union members that are included in the list of employees that receive that benefit. I will have to discuss this with the Town Attorney as to how we will need to negotiate that with their contract. Town Attorney Torcivia— The police contract is good until September 30, 2017. We will start negotiating early spring of 2017. Vice Mayor Weitz—I would like to be a part of the negotiating team, and they need to be prepared to negotiate. The issues we are implementing now will be discussed at that time. Town Attorney Torcivia— I have to warn you that you would be putting yourself in a very bad spot. If you don't come to an agreement and you reach an impasse, you ultimately become the judge and jury. You have a hearing where you actually decide whether you want to impose certain terms. You can't sit at the negotiating table as a Commissioner and then sit as a judge on the same issue. Town Attorney Torcivia explained how collective bargaining works. Commissioner Stern—At the moment, the Town comes out ahead. I was wondering if there was a way we could not hurt our employees and start with new hires on the change. Consensus was to place this item on the August 2nd agenda for further discussion. Commissioner Zelniker — Is the dental and vision included in the Personnel Rules and Regulations Manual? Fin. Dir. Curtis — Dental and vision is not specifically mentioned under the health insurance. The Town has paid for employee only dental and vision coverage, which dates back to 2005. Vice Mayor Weitz—The dental and vision are not part of the basic health plan that we approved but a separate contract and under a different provider. Fin. Dir. Curtis — We are here today to either add it in or eliminate it when the contract comes up in October. The alternative to that is we can still have a dental and vision plan but leave the full cost up to the employee. Vice Mayor Weitz— If we should decide to offer this, we should be presented with three alternative vision and dental plans to see the benefits and the cost so we can make a decision. Fin. Dir. Curtis — I am in the process of getting quotes for dental. Our renewal is in October. I have one already. The reason it Town Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes Tuesday,July 28,2016 Paae 6 of 8 hasn't come before the Commission is because the cost to the Town comes under the Town Manager's spending authority. Vice Mayor Weitz — The Town Manager's spending authority does not include spending within the context of policy procedure spending and budget. If this Commission did not authorize vision and dental, she can't spend it. Consensus was to place this item on the August 2nd agenda for discussion. Mayor Featherman — I would like to see time clocks put in for each department. Comm. Feldman— The employees now have time sheets which are signed by the department heads and given to finance. Perhaps there could be a sign out and sign in sheet for someone who has to leave the building. Comm. Zelniker — There are computers that have time sheets. They could be completed and sent to finance as well. Fin. Dir. Curtis — I have a proposal from our existing payroll processing company. It works based on a computer. You go to your desktop, punch in and out. We do have a solution in place. It is approximately $4,000 to $5,000 a year to implement and certainly streamlines the payroll processing. Discussion ensued regarding computerizing the time sheets and building department permits to determine when a permit is expired. Consensus was to have Fin. Dir. Curtis look into the various types of computer systems for both. Page 44—Article XVI: Working Hours: Vice Mayor Weitz — Administrative Offices are open for business from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There is nothing that states working hours have to be limited to that. I would like to see a greater utilization of flex time. It should be the Town Manager's responsibility and right to ask employees to flex time. We do not need to be paying comp time or overtime. Town Manager Brown — With all these recommendations, I will have to meet with the personnel policy attorney in Glen's office before I come back with these changes. I want to add something in here about tardiness. We had to terminate someone because they could not get here at 8:30 in the morning, and it caused a problem with those employees who were on time. There are some communities in the County that have a policy that you get time off if you are late more than three times in a row. Page 51 —Article XX: Holidays: Commissioner Zelniker — What are the three personal days? Town Manager Brown — One day is for your birthday and the other two are to make doctor's appointments, etc. Vice Mayor Weitz — This area needs to be reviewed because we are following a very old and difficult concept on how we measure holidays. The way to eliminate all these categories is to have PTO (personal time off). Give the employees so many days, and they can use them anyway they want. I want to put this under new business for discussion. Commissioner Zelniker— If someone doesn't take their vacation leave how does that work? Town Manager Brown— You can accumulate up to 200 hours of vacation time. When you Town Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes Tuesday,July 28,2016 Page 7 of 8 leave you have to accumulate under 200 hours before the end of the fiscal year, and if you go over, you lose them. Comm. Zelniker—I believe you should take vacation to refresh. It is important for your wellbeing. I don't feel money should be given if you don't take those days. Commissioner Zelniker — Town Clerk Oakes was talking about an employee gym membership. Town Clerk Oakes — We are not offering the employees a stipend to attend the gym. I recently found out that our health insurance provides a low-cost program that offers the insured to join a membership that allows access to multiple gyms. We were looking for a way to be proactive, get healthy and possibly do together as a team. Vice Mayor Weitz — The concept of vacation is to give employees an opportunity to get away from their job and get some rest. It should not be a savings plan because there are serious financial implications. There needs to be some discussion regarding a reasonable amount of time you can get paid for. Town Manager Brown — You only get paid for these days when you retire or leave the Town. Consensus was to place this item on the agenda for discussion. Mayor Featherman— Town Manager Brown gave us information on the incentive program. Comm. Feldman — We have the first draft. Vice Mayor Weitz is serving on the committee and will bring back all the information to us. 4. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Commission, Mayor Featherman called for a motion to adjourn the Workshop Meeting at 3:41 PM. MOTION: Commissioner Feldman moved to adjourn the workshop meeting at 3:41 PM. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Stern, which passed unanimously. APPROVED: Bernard Featherman, Mayor W' li ei , Vice all.. Carl Fel mm s oner Town Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes Tuesday,July 28, 2016 Page 8 of 8 9 q,Xk 4 L� P. Sterner ommissioner R-Kh� oda Zelniker, C issioner ATT S- 9 1Z alc2L)I(P Valerie Oakes, CMC, Town Clerk Date