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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1991-08-21 Budget Workshop'e n I u COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 21, 1991 - BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING A Budget Workshop Meeting of the Bal Harbour Village Council was held on Wednesday, August 21, 1991, in the Council Chamber at Bal Harbour Village Hall. The meeting was called to order at 4:00 p.m. by Mayor Stern. The roll was called and those present were: Mayor Estelle Stern Assistant Mayor Andrew R. Hirschl Councilman Matthew B. Blank Councilman James E. Boggess Councilman Sol M. Taplin Also present: Carole S. Morris, Village Manager Jeanette Horton, Village Clerk Richard J. Weiss, Village Attorney The purpose of the workshop meeting was to review the proposed budget document for fiscal Year 1991-92. Mayor Stern advised the Council that she requested the Village Manager to provide a breakdown of proposed salaries and salaries for the past two years, as provided previously to the Budget Committee. Mrs. Morris also provided Council with the ten-month actual statement, as well as summaries of consultant fees. Mrs. Morris requested that prior to reviewing these documents, that some direction be given relative to requesting proposals for employees' health insurance. Florida Municipal Trust, our indemnity insurance carrier, has advised that rates will increase by 58%. Health Options, the HMO offered to employees and the plan under which the majority of our employees are now covered, will increase 9% and 20% has been budgeted. After some discussion, Council directed the Village Manager to obtain rates from Florida Municipal Health Trust continuing the coverage as presently offered, changing to $300 deductible/$1,000 stop loss or $500 deductible/$10,000 stop loss. Discussion then commenced relative to the employee pay plan. Councilman Boggess requested an explanation as to the difference between merit increase and longevity. Mrs. Morris Stated that longevity is based on number of years of employment and is given at five, ten and fifteen years of employment. Employees are only eligible for merit increases once a year every year for the first Budget Workshop Meeting - August 21, 1991 1 five years of employment in a job classification. In some cases, there are only three merit steps. At Council's direction during last year's budget hearings, a salary study was performed by Wayne Rosenthal, former personnel specialist with Dade County, recommended by Village Attorney Richard Weiss. Comparative pay scales and sample lob descriptions were provided. Councilman Blank expressed some concern that the communities compared to Bal Harbour were not equivalent to Bal Harbour and a proper comparison could not be made. Councilman Taplin stated that he felt a job was a job, no matter what community it was performed in. Mrs. Morris explained that the lob descriptions included in the comparison study were general and were not fully accurate to match those in Bal Harbour Village. She felt that the job description provided by Mr. Rosenthal for the position of Purchasing Agent was too out of line in comparison to Bal Harbour's Purchasing Agent and said description was revised to more closely match the duties and responsibilities of the Purchasing Agent in Bal Harbour. Mayor Stern expressed concern that the Village Clerk was not provided the appropriate clerical support that she needed and the Village Clerk concurred therewith. Mayor Stern stated that she felt the Administrative Assistant should not only assist the Village Manager and the Mayor, but also the Village Clerk. At the Village Manager's suggestion, Mayor Stern and Councilman Blank agreed that a performance review of the Village Manager should be conducted. They both rated her at the top of the scale for job knowledge and performance. However, they felt that her skills at handling personnel needed improvement. At this time, Councilman Taplin reminded Council that this meeting was to review the proposed budget document and it was inappropriate to discuss any other business at this time. Discussion then returned to the employees pay plan and an explanation of the five -step plan was provided to Council by the Village Manager. The proposed salary schedule for the upcoming fiscal year provides for a 3.5% cost of living increase. Concern as to the method of computing merit increases and cost of living increases and the compounding thereof was once again expressed. Councilman Boggess reiterated his request of last year this be reviewed and was somewhat upset that it was not completed before this meeting. Councilman Boggess once again complemented the employees of Bal Harbour Village but stated his displeasure with the provision of merit increases. After further discussion, Council decided to freeze all employees' base salaries and discontinue the current merit increase system. A new system for performance merit Budget Workshop Meeting - August 21, 1991 2 14 increases should be established. After it was suggested by Mayor Stern that Council review each and every merit increase, Councilman Boggess reminded Council that Bal Harbour Village has a strong Village Manager form of government and that the Village Manager runs the day-to-day business of the Village. Assistant Mayor Hirschl agreed therewith. Attorney Weiss suggested that a system be devised and implemented that would provide a scale for the provision of merit increases, i.e. based on the quality of the performance review. Merit increases should be given only for outstanding performance and not just satisfactory work. Criteria to base the performance increases should be provided to Department Heads to utilize in their review process. The provision of a merit "bonus" check at a certain percentage of the annual salary was discussed, which would not affect the base salary of the employee, but would be subject to taxes and withholding. Each employee would be eligible for, but not necessarily merit a bonus. Same would be determined on the anniversary of employment during a performance review. It was Council's decision that longevity increases at five, ten and fifteen years should remain as provided. At this point, discussion turned to the position of part-time employee Jack Mason, who retired from Bal Harbour and is now employed by Bal Harbour on a part-time, two days a week basis at the same hourly rate as when he retired. The possibility of the employment of outside landscape firms was discussed and a review requested. It was decided by Council that the decision as to whether or not the Police Department should be included in the payroll plan changes should be deferred until the next Budget Workshop meeting. Discussion once again returned to the freezing of employees salaries. It was decided that salaries should be frozen effective August 21, 1991. Council felt that increases given to employees during the 1990-91 fiscal year should not be taken away, inasmuch as those had been included in the adopted budget for that fiscal year. However, the base for computing proposed salaries for the upcoming year should be October 1, 1990. The Village Manager should advise Council as to the number of employees who would be entitled to longevity increases between August 21, 1991 and October 1, 1991. No names should be provided, numbers only. Councilman Blank requested that effective immediately, Council be provided the exact amount of all fees charged to residences and Budget Workshop Meeting - August 21, 1991 3 businesses for zoning violations. A motion was offered by Councilman Boggess and seconded by Dr. Hirschl that the next Budget Workshop meeting be scheduled for August 26th at 4 p.m. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). There being no further discussion, a motion was offered by Councilman Boggess and seconded by Councilman Taplin that the meeting adiourn. The motion carried unanimously (5-0) and the meeting adjourned at 6 p.m. ATTEST: JEANETTE HORTON VIl ALA ,E CLERK /tms Budget Workshop Meeting - August 21, 1991 4