HomeMy Public PortalAbout05-May 10, 2016 Special Commission Meeting Minutes CITY OF OPA-LOCKA
"The Great City"
CLERK'S ACTION SUMMARY MINUTES
SPECIAL COMMISSION MEETING
TUESDAY,May 10, 2016
5:00 P.M.
Sherbondy Village Community Center
215 Perviz Avenue
Opa-locka, FL 33054
1. CALL TO ORDER:
Mayor Myra L. Taylor called the meeting to order at 5:00p.m. on Tuesday, May 10, 2016
in the Auditorium at Sherbondy Village, 215 President Barack Obama (Perviz) Avenue,
Opa-locka, Florida.
2. ROLL CALL:
The following members of the City Commission were present: Mayor Myra L. Taylor,
Vice Mayor Timothy Holmes, Commissioner Joseph L. Kelley, Commissioner Terence
K. Pinder, and Commissioner Luis B. Santiago. Also in attendance were: City Manager
David Chiverton, City Attorney Vincent T. Brown, and City Clerk Joanna Flores.
3. INVOCATION:
The Invocation was delivered by Mayor Myra L. Taylor.
4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.
5. CITIZENS' INPUT:
Agenda Items Only
Mark Cooper, 6801 SW 75 Terrace, Miami, FL 33143, said that he thinks the person
moving all of this information is Jim Defede. He said that he has been in Miami all of his
life and has seen Jim Defede attack politician Arthur Teele when he worked for The
Miami Herald. He said that Defede alleged that Teele was having a sexual relationship
with an inmate at Metro West. Arthur Teele could not defend himself as Jim Defede was
secretly recording him at The Miami Herald building; Teele went to the 1st floor of The
Miami Herald building and committed suicide. The Herald then fired Jim Defede and he
went underground for a while before resurfacing. Jim Defede stands on a soap box now
and calls for action, but he remembers him as being a discredited journalist. He said that
he was prosecuted himself in 2007 and he read about himself in the paper so he knows
what it is like for the commission and he is not a politician. People that are in public life
have it hard but remember that Jim Defede has a history and what he said wasn't always
true.
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There being no further persons to speak, Mayor Taylor closed citizens' input.
Mayor Taylor said that before the dais goes to the resolution, the manager would like to
make a statement.
City Manager Chiverton informed the mayor & commission that before them is the
financial recovery plan. He said that he along with staff have been diligently working on
what is presented before them today. He said that he has been looking at the financial
situation of the City and the critical nature by which it exists. He said that before the
mayor & commission is a plan that he believes will help bring a balance to the books. It
is still a working document, but it will help him implement and move forward with
bringing the City to a sense of balance and solvency.
6. RESOLUTION:
a). A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OPA-
LOCKA, FLORIDA, APPROVING THE CITY OF OPA-LOCKA'S FINANCIAL
RECOVERY PLAN; PROVIDING FOR INCORPORATION OF RECITALS;
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Sponsored by Mayor & City Commission
The above resolution was read by title by Attorney Brown.
It was moved by Commissioner Santiago, second by Vice Mayor Holmes for discussion.
Commissioner Kelley said that he met with City Manager Chiverton and asked for
information on certain items within the recovery plan and he has not received it yet.
City Manager Chiverton said that the information on the revenue side were two (2) items.
There are the property appraisers and the wages frozen along with the eight percent (8%)
increase. That would be contingent on how the City moves forward. The City is doing a
whole new financial revenue stream and it is not complete as of today. He said that there
are some things that will have to be added based on what he, along with staff, learned
today as it relates to the cash flow. He said that it does not change the balance sheet; but
it does change the numbers by which that revenue stream will flow.
Commissioner Kelley said that the numbers for the millage rate went from 8.9 to 9.4; he
wants to know what that number means. He also asked what the projected revenue would
be if the increase went to 9.1. He said that the current numbers is a significant increase on
the property taxes.
City Manager Chiverton said that the 9.1 mileage rate increase was six hundred and forty
two thousand dollars ($642,000.00).
Commissioner Kelley said that he also asked about the infrastructure projects on page
seven (7). He said that he received an e-mail regarding the state revolving loan and it
involves numbers 1, 2, and 6. He asked the manager if that was cleared up.
City Manager Chiverton said that he responded to the e-mail today that was sent by the
Auditor General Ms. Miguel regarding the infrastructure that's needed. He also reached
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out to DEP; from her office there is no hold, but when he spoke to the contract officer, he
said that he was going to forward an e-mail to the City requesting information. He said
that it was his understanding that zone 1, 2, and 6 was not approved as a result of The
Auditor General's Office, but The Auditor General's Office said that they do not have a
hold on anything.
Commissioner Kelley asked what would be the savings if they converted to a four (4) day
work week without reducing it to thirty two (32) hours. He said that the waste hauling
also has an impact on the budget. He said that one of the items is on the agenda for
tomorrow's meeting and asked City Attorney Brown if he could speak on it.
City Attorney Brown said that he does not see any reason why Commissioner Kelley
could not speak on the item if it is included in this agenda.
Commissioner Kelley said that if the City is going to ask for assistance (over sight board
on page 24) it needs to be specific. He said that if assistance will be coming from the
state, then he prefers a committee instead of a board. He also asked that there are no new
hires and that a staff person in-house should do it. Also on page 25 referencing the wages
being frozen for three (3) years, he thinks that it should be two (2) years; and the wage
increase should be at eight percent (8%). He said that if the City is aggressive in
collecting monies that are owed then employees' wages should not be frozen for that
long. He said that he has a problem with the fact that the 32 hour work week is not across
the board and only applies to certain departments.
Commissioner Pinder asked if what Commissioner Kelley was talking about was a
continuation of the document or are they voting on the recovery plan tonight. He said that
he hopes that the vote is unanimous tonight for the recovery plan, but is not sure if it will
affect Vice Mayor Holmes resolution for tomorrow because it is inside of the recovery
plan. He asked the attorney for clarity.
City Attorney Brown said that page 15 of the recovery plan details what the manager
"intends" to do. He said that if the language is changed from "intend" to "require" then it
is set in stone. He said that once the document is approved and sent to Tallahassee, then
they might say, "We accept your recovery plan, but we need you to make these
modifications". The modifications will be sent to the manager and he will present it to the
commission for consideration and approval. This is the first (1St) step to get the recovery
plan to the state to get buy in and feedback from the state as to what they find to be a
sound recovery plan. If the 32 hour work week resolution passes tomorrow, then it will
be a solidified portion of the recovery plan.
Commissioner Santiago said that he agrees with Vice Mayor Holmes when he mentioned
all of the back and forth with questions. He said that a special meeting was called when
Ms. Miguel contacted the City and that should be enough; either they are going to do it or
they are not. He asked why they are having this special meeting when the regular
commission meeting is tomorrow and they could have had one meeting. He said that he is
ready to vote.
Commissioner Pinder said that he has to address Commissioner Santiago's comments. He
said that reason that so many questions are asked is because the residents may not
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understand what is going on and need clarity. He said that if the questions were asked
years ago then the City would not be millions of dollars in deficit. It comes from not
asking questions, it comes from not getting answers, it comes from not being transparent.
He said that Vice Mayor Holmes has more years of experience than anyone else on the
dais. The younger people and the inexperienced politicians like himself that sit on the
dais have to ask questions because they do not know. He apologized to the mayor for
asking questions and being transparent, but sometimes he does not know all of the
answers and want the people in the City to learn as he learns so they can get through the
process.
Commissioner Santiago said that it is good to learn from the past because it makes people
understand that it did not come from the current dais.
Mayor Taylor asked City Manager Chiverton if the document reflects where the City is
and where it needs to go.
City Manager Chiverton said yes the document reflects the current situation and how the
City will be able to correct the problems through implementing the document. It is a final
document for approval, but it is a working document. As the attorney said, once it gets to
Tallahassee, they may request additional documents or ask the City to make changes.
Mayor Taylor asked the manager if they can have a CPA review the document pro bono
to help with the numbers.
City Manager Chiverton said that there are other ways to seek that type of professional
assistance through the state.
There being no further discussion, the motion on the resolution passed by a 4-1 vote.
Commissioner Kelley No
Commissioner Pinder Yes
Commissioner Santiago Yes
Vice Mayor Holmes Yes
Mayor Taylor Yes
a). A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OPA-
LOCKA, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO TRANSMIT
THE CITY'S FINANCIAL RECOVERY PLAN TO THE OFFICE OF THE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA; PROVIDING FOR
INCORPORATION OF RECITALS; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Sponsored by the Mayor/City Commission
The above resolution was read by title by Attorney Brown.
It was moved by Commissioner Santiago, second by Vice Mayor Holmes to pass the
resolution.
There being no discussion, the motion on the resolution passed by a 5-0 vote.
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Commissioner Pinder Yes
Commissioner Santiago Yes
Vice Mayor Holmes Yes
Commissioner Kelley Yes
Mayor Taylor Yes
Vice Mayor Holmes said that it is sad to hear that when someone on the dais comes up
with a resolution to better the City, no one wants to do anything about it. He said that he
wants to make the City better. The dais needs people that want to make the City better
and not make it personal. He thanked his colleagues for supporting the 32 hour work
week resolution. He said that a mind is a terrible thing to waste and sometimes some of
things he sees and hears around here makes him think people act like they do not have a
mind.
Commissioner Kelley told City Attorney Brown that he notices that he does the same
thing often and he has been quiet about it until now. He said that after the last vote has
been cast then the meeting is over and needs to be adjourned. He said that there needs to
be no other talking,just adjourn the meeting, but the attorney has allowed it on numerous
occasions. He said that he met with the manager and asked for certain things and he never
received the information. No one on the dais wants to see the City fail. He said it is unfair
that certain departments will be cut while others will still receive the same pay. He said
he would have supported the 32 hour work week if it was across the board. The dais
should have waited before voting on the item.
7. ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business to come before the Commission, it was moved by
Commissioner Kelley, seconded by Commissioner Santiago to adjourn the meeting at
5:27p.m.
4
I ( M f OR
ATTEST:
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ICITY CLERK
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