1981.09.25_TC_Minutes_Special~ _ ~ ,
TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH, FLORIDA
Minutes of Meeting of Town Commission
• Special Meeting
September 25, 1981 2:00 P. M.
Mayor Horton called the Special Meeting to order at 2:00 P. M. Those
present were: Mayor Louis Y. Horton, Vice Mayor Harold C. Storm and
Commissioner John J. Basso. Commissioners Mary Louise G. Blosser and
Edward J. Sullivan were absent. The three Commissioners present
constituted a quorum.
Also in attendance were: Elaine W. Roberts, Town Manager, Police Chief
Kenneth Jones and Jane E. Barker, Town Clerk.
Mayor Horton stated that the purpose of this Special Meeting was t o
further discuss the proposed budget for the Fiscal Year 1981-82. He
said that there had been a Special Meeting this morning of the Financial
Advisory Board and the Police Committee and read for the record Mrs.
Roberts memo to the Town Commission concerning this meeting.
In a letter dated August 24, 1981, the police had requested a 12%-cost
of living increase, but had agreed to an 8% cost of living increase in
a letter sent three weeks ago. At the Public Hearing held on Tuesday,
• September 22, 1981, Townspeople turned out en masse and were quite
vocal in their thoughts regarding the police department, stating that
the police should receive revised starting salaries. This came about
as the result of the police department's ..renewed request for more than
the 8% cost of living increase.
There were three points in Mrs. Roberts memo which were discussed in
detail. The first item concerned starting salaries for the policemen.
The police department had requested that they be paid starting salaries
comparable with other municipalities of the same size and population in
the area. Comparisons were made with Gulfstream, Ocean Ridge and
Hillsboro Beach.
The second item concerned a Convertible Sick Leave Plan in which an
employee could convert his or her sick days on a 1 to 4 basis to extra
vacation time or cash.
Item No. 3 requested that the Town adopt a 4 year salary schedule
instead of the present 5 year plan and that 3 weeks vacation be
granted after 4 years instead of the present 5 years.
After discussion, the consensus was that Item 2 and 3 created no
• problem as far as the Town Commission was concerned and they again
proceeded to Item No. 1 - starting salaries for the police officers.
More discussion ensued.
•
C
Minutes Highland Beach
Town Commission
Special Meeting
September 25, 1981
Page 2 of 2
As a result of this, Mayor Horton stated that he felt that the
police could be given the wage demands made August 24th on a
temporary basis until the Commission had a chance to examine
their new request. He also stated that he did not care for the
pressure which was being brought to the Commission.
Commissioner Basso stated that requests such as this should have
a deadline of July 1st each budget year and not be given to the
Commission at the last minute as a "surprise". He was in favor,
however, of granting their requests and spoke very highly of the
police department in general.
Mayor Horton then asked Mrs. Roberts to get final figures on the
revised salaries to the Commission in-order that they could study
them before the Public Hearing scheduled for September 29, 1981.
Mayor Horton then asked Chief Jones regarding the two new policemen
under consideration and was informed of their status, adding that
there is no activity as far as police jobs are concerned at the
present time.
Meeting ADJOURNED at 3:30 P. M.
APPROVED- ~. ./
•Loui ~ Horton, Mayor
C., ~orm, Vice Mayor
J.~Ba~so, Commissioner
•
ATTEST: r,,
G'AS'-~~
Clerk
DATED- Off- ~ ~/ ~~
(Absent)
Mar~T 7~ouise G. 8losser, Comm.
(Ab„~ent)
Ewa d J. ~~u~1l~ivan, Commissioner