HomeMy Public PortalAbout2004-06-23 Special MeetingCOUNCIL MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING
JUNE 43. 4004
A Special Meeting of the Bal Harbour Village Council was held on Wednesday, June 23,
2004, in the Council Chambers, at Bal Harbour Village Hall The meeting was called to
order at 8 30 a m by Mayor Tantleff Those present were
Also present
Mayor Daniel S Tantleff
Assistant Mayor Seymour "Sy" Roth
Councilman Howard J Berlin
Alfred J Treppeda, Village Manager
Jeanette Horton, Village Clerk
Andrea Greenblatt, Acting Deputy Clerk
David Wolpin, Village Attorney
Absent Councilman Peg E Gorson
Councilman Joel S Jacobi
As a quorum was determined to be present, the meeting commenced
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Ellisa Horvath
1. VILLAGE CLERK SEARCH PROCESS:
Mayor Tantleff opened up discussion of the Village Clerk position Assistant Mayor Roth
stated that he has not seen the ad that was placed in the Herald for the last two days Mr.
Treppeda stated that there were no responses from the ad in the Herald The only response
has been from the blaster email that was sent out through Dade, Broward and Palm Beach
counties by the Clerks Association Assistant Mayor Roth asked Mrs Horton to explain the
exact duties of a Village Clerk and the training involved in becoming a clerk Mrs Horton
explained duties and instructional steps to achieving that goal
Councilman Berlin stated that he unfortunately was unable to be at the last meeting when this
subject was first discussed Councilman Berlin asked for this special meeting so that he
could share his thoughts with the Council while the process is ongoing He wanted to
commend the Council for the interest in thinking through what would be an appropriate
process to fill this position It occurred to Councilman Berlin that having though it through that
the Council wouldn't have to go through this process, given who the City already has in its
employ He stated that since the jobs of Village Clerk and Finance Director are going to be
performed by two people, the burden on the person doing the Clerks job will be less.
Councilman Berlin stated that Ellisa Horvath has been in the Villages employ for almost
fourteen years It is Council Berlins understanding that she has been to many seminars on
how to be a City Clerk Councilman Berlin stated that he and everyone he knows has never
had a problem working with Ellisa, she has always been very responsive, and has a good
reputation within the City He asked Mr Treppeda if he is comfortable with her competence in
this area Mr Treppeda said that he is very comfortable with her competence Councilman
Berlin stated that one of the values of having Ellisa continue in this capacity is that, she has
been with the City for thirteen plus years, and she fits very well into the culture She gets
along with all the other employees, the Manager, and understands the role of the Village
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Clerk Councilman Berlin said that he's sure that there are people out there with more
experience than Ellisa, but he doesn't see why the Council should Zook outside of our own
family when there is someone who has all the qualifications for this position Councilman
Berlin means no disrespect to the process that was discussed last time, but feels why take up
the time with that now He would like to see Ellisa designated Acting Clerk right now for a
period of sixth months so that the Council could see her in action in that role and if they find
that at the end of that period that she has served well and she meets the criteria that are
appropriate for this position we can turn it into a permanent role and negotiate a contract If
at that time we are not satisfied, we can look for resumes, but he doesn't see why we need to
do that now
A motion was offered by Councilman Berlin and seconded by Mayor Tantleff to appoint
Ellisa Horvath as Acting City Clerk for a trial period of six months and discontinue the
search for someone to fill the retiring Clerks position. The motion carried unanimously
3-0, with the vote as follows: Mayor Tantleff aye; Assistant Mayor Roth aye;
Councilman Berlin aye; Councilman Gorson absent; Councilman Jacobi absent.
Assistant Mayor Roth commended Mrs Horton on her delegating a great deal of the finance
matters to the Accounting Dept personnel He feels that the financial aspect is not a full time
job Mr. Wolpin, Village Attorney, stated that government finance is a specialized field and
there are unique things to follow such as the State Trim Law that regulates taxes that the
private sector doesn't have to deal with Many private CPAs that are totally unqualified to
handle these things Mrs Horton stated that the Village needs someone who knows
government accounting who can go state and federal reports that are required The standard
record keeping can be handled by the accounting personnel Mr Treppeda stated that he will
be hiring someone on a part time basis
2. OTHER BUSINESS: None
3. ADJOURN: There being no further business to come before the Council, a
motion was offered by Assistant Mayor Roth and seconded by Mayor Tantleff to adjourn. The
motion carried unanimously (3-0), with Councilman Gorson absent, Councilman Jacobi absent
and the meetine adjourned at 8:45 a.m.
Mayor Daniel . Tantleff
Attest T _ , /
//I/ jP7* iL /
,;`Jeanette Horton, MMC
Village Clerk
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