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Minutes 02-13-97 MINUTES OF TH E SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON TH [JRSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1997, AT 2:00 P.M. PRESENT Gerald "Jerry" Taylor, Mayor Shirley Jaskiewicz, Vice Mayor Matthew Bradley, Commissioner Henderson Tillman Commissioner Jamie Titcomb. Commissioner Mike Pawelczyk, Asst. City Attorney Sue Kruse, City Clerk CALLTO ORDER Mayor Taylor called the meeting to order at 2:10 p.m., for the purpose of interviewing the three City Manager candidates. · DENNIS PHELAN Opening Remarks Mr. Phelan had no opening remarks. Question: If hired, explain where you feel you would need to hit the ground running? Please provide a time line. would begin by askLqg the department heads to prepare summary information on how they woutd evaluate where they have been, and where they would like to go. He would also like to meet with as many community groups and employees as possible to accept input. He did not feel he was familiar enough with Boynton Beach to address specific areas, but believes specific issues would surface after a short period of time. Mr. Phelan would also talk with the Commissioners about where attention needs to be focussed, and develop a plan. Mr. Phelan advised that it has taken him at least one budget to feel fairly familiar with the operation. With regard to media problems, a three to six month time frame should be sufficient because that is an issue that can be worked on rapidly. Question: Provide your views on privatization, The concept of privatization is a good one because it forces us to compete with private enterprise. There are some concerns relative [o the long-term of pdvatizing a service. Pdvatized bus~ness may out cost what the government can provide in which case you must build safeguards into any proposals for privatization. Privatization allows the community to evaluate its position financially and streamline itself. In his opinion, many times the vulnerable employees are the ones who are subject to pdvatization. He feels privatization can benefit all, but he has concerns about taking away employment opportunities MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 13, 1997 lot of time meeting with employees and talking with them, keeping them well informed and asking for their input. I believe the intangibles are more important than financial rewards. Question: Give examples of your positions in the past where you have done something to economize how government operates. In the last two positions, I reduced the number of employees through attrition. In Newport, the reduction was 22 employees. The same was accomplished in Bardngton. We are currently self- funding health and dental which built up a medical reserve fund of over $1.5 million. We reduced co-pay of health and dental insurance for new employees, while preserving benefits for existing employees. He cut back on the numPer of employees when he pdvatized refuse collection. In addition, he now contracts with a planner to do the city's planning services as opposed to an In- house individual. Recreation is handled in a similar manner by reducing to a part-time person who handles some of the programs on a seasonal basis. He worked to fund several outstanding bonds which resulted in a considerable savings over the life of the ~)onds. Question: One of our priorities is redevelopment and revitalization of neighborhoods. Tell us about your experience in this area. I have a great amount of experience in this area. I started off in Maconia doing community block grant programs Where specific neighborhoods ~vere targeted and provided with matching funds and other incentives for individuals to fix up properties, The same thing was done in Guns Falls. Residential revitalization was done using community development and other State-funded assistance. In Newport. we did housing redevelopment through grants including community development. We did bus~ness retention, and were successful in attracting restaurants to the dverfront and new businesses to other areas of the community. Currently, we are doing business retention in Barrington now, and are in the process of forming a business task force. Question: Tell us about your approach to working with organized labor. I have been the chief negotiator in Barrington I was also the chief negotiator in Newport. I did some labor negotiations in Guns Falls. in Barrington, I have also done arbitration appearances before the State Labor Relations Board. Question: In the area of economic development, what kind of methodology do you use to facilitate important economic development projects and progressing on secondary projects that do not seem as important? A lot of attracting business is the team work that you show. It is a matter of packaging the community and marketing what the community has. The community lenders must participate in the program and nave the developer feel there ~s an open relationship with the administration and elected officials. Developers must have confidence 'n what they are doing. I run a tickler file To recheck all things to make sure they are monitored. I will require regular reports from department heads and make sure the program is progressing. MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 13, 1997 Question: What do you mean by "marketing the community"? would inventory the community's assets to see what makes it attractive and why people want to live here. I would also look at the bad features such as why bus~ness leaders are not moving into the community. You must play off the good and decide what you want to attract in the way of business. You tailor your package around those ideas Question: What would you see as ways to market our community so that people get involved? Sometimes people feel apathy because of the way things are done. or because they have no say in the way things are done. People need to know their participation is important. We need to put together projects in which the community can participate. Question: Have you had an opportunity to look at our budget, and is it a format you would use? I have had a very limited opportunity to review your budget. Many times, people are overwhelmed by the thickness of municipal budgets. It is important to prepare a summary in simplified terms of where the money is proposed to be spent and saved so that it is more understandable. Question: Have you had exposure to the media? I have had a great deal of exposure particu ar y in Newport. We had four t.v. stations, eight or ten radio stations, and two newspapers. I developed good rapport with the media and have been aisle to maintain that rapport. Question: What factors would influence your decision to accept this position if you were offered it, and when could you start? The top priority would be the comfort I would want to establish with the City Commission and the feeling of security you would have with me. As far as timing, I would need a minimum of two months since that is part of my contract. In addition, I have a number of items coming up that would like to see through before leaving my position. Question: Do you feel it is possible to do a paper reduction while still maintaining the archives? We use computer and other systems to keep track of records. Departments are being put on-line to save some paperwork and time. However, I believe the computer age has generated more paperwork. Question: Do you think there are areas in departments that need to be stream lined? 4 MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 13, 1997 I am sure there is redundancy in departments. There are some old throw Backs that continue to happen that can De removed. Question: Describe your views on the police department's role in the community. I believe we need a community policing operation that the people can see, feel and touch. Police must be more involved in the neighborhoods and need to start talking to the people. Question: Please describe two of your most predominant skills you will bring to the job and a skill you hope to im prove. I would like to work more on my computer skills. I bring professionalism to the lob, and that is something I insist upon from employees. /also bring honesty to the people I work for and with I bring writing and communication skills. Question: What opportunities for improvement are available for local government? I think comparison to privatization could introduce new thinking. I have done a lot with self-funding and self-insurance. We funded a benefits coordinator position from our medical fund. This is a one-year position We will see if itsaves money. If it does not. we will eliminate it. We are halfway through, and we are self-funding our medical and dental. Question: Do you have a local school board, and do you have any control? We have a local school board and the school administration is located in Town Hall. We have an opportunity to work together, but is an independent operation. Question: Describe one of the most rigorous challenges you have experienced. The incident that comes to mind is when I was working in Newport. A young police officer was shot and killed, and it was a very trying time for the community. I learned a lot about myself and the community. I was influenced in my operation by that period of time. Question: What is the most rewarding situation in your professional career? I can think of some minor achievements such as attracting development projects to the community, attracting industry, and getting funding to do certain improvements. Question: The City has several key staff positions open at this time. It will be up to the new City Manager to staffthose positions. How long do you feel they can remain open, and what would be your plan to satisfy your department heads? I would advertise as widespread as possible to attract candidates allowing six weeks to two months 5 MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 13, 1997 competitive and the employees should be part of the bid process. You always try to get a contract with a firm to keep your employees on board for at least one year. If you can corn aete at a better price, keep it in-house. The employees should be trained in order to do a good F~FP. He would support privatization with those caveats. Question: What aspects of this job would be professionally challenging to you, and how do you see this position fitting into your career goal? The interest, isto put together an organization in different climates. I have been in larger cities in different parts of the country. The chalJenges in Boynton Beach involve the fact that you are going through the same thing every other city is going'through. You are trying to provide your services Community policing is a good example. Those are the challenges. Question: How doyou perceive the role of City Manager to the community, how visible would you be, and what is your experience with diverse groups? The City Manager's role is visible. We are marketing our product and ourselves. People must understand that I am an individual acting as their city manager. I am comfortable with myself as a person and what I can accomplish. I am comfortable in big and smad settings. Question: Have you worked with any diverse groups? I have worked with the Industrial Areas Foundation. It was an organization of organizations. It was probably one of the best, strongest organized groups ever structured. It is built around power. I have worked well with that organization. Then you go to the other end, and I have worked with them equally. You must get the message out that you are providing services equally. Question: Is your management approach top down or team oriented within the organization? You want to put in place a work team that has the objective, but then it is their product and they have the obstacles to achieve. This gives flexibility and accountability. It is their product and ownership. My role is working with the Commissioners and identifying the policies and procedures and transfers to the organization. This is done by the whole organization. Organizations must be more horizontal I am a strong believer in establishing a top flight management team and putting in place training, accountability and trust ~)rocedures that the employees accom olish. Question: How do you deal with the challenge of new staff, location, and developing leadership and respect you need to do the job? There ~s an adage that staff can outlive city managers and city commissioners. That is true. You want to dovetail in what has gone wrong and leave it so that the next person can build on it. You must spend time with individuals. It is presumptive to make changes until you get into it. My ability in the organization never changes, What changes is being attuned to the needs and addressing MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING BOYNTON BEACH. FLORIDA FEBRUARY 13, 1997 1 do not do the negotiations myself. I do not think that is the role of the City Manager. My role with the unions is an affable role. We respect each other and understand each other. It is an issue of trust. When you walk away~ you know you have the organization to run. Question: From your perspective, you would rather not deal .with unions who would see you as negative? No. but in this position, you are m diverse activities. You need to focus on someone who is in that business I have used a team approach where the Human Resources Director and Assistant City Attorney used their skills in that area. Question: In the area of economic development, what about facilitating important projects while progressing on secondary projects that are important to the residents? I think these issues are corr patible, if you want your people to be upset, have Public Works and Utilities shut down The main thing we do in municipal government is infrastructure. You must be proficient in privatizing these services. Money takes us to stability. The top issues are Police. safety, and clean water. Doctors. hospitals and public infrastructure will draw industry into the area. Question: How can Iow employee morale be addressed? The easiest answer is g~ve everybody raises but we do not live that way. They must have a sense of responsibility and self-worth. We spend a lot of time at the work station. You must have a sense of accomplishment to have a good self-concept. You will [hen see morale ~ncrease in the organization. The other thing I do is to see that we provide individual training. I maintain contact. On Friday momings, I have a round-table. We talk just to provide information. This gives me a chance to have personal contact One of the most gratifying things is to have an employee come up to me outside of work and start talking about business. Question: List the two most prominent skills you bring to this job, and one skill you would like to improve upon. understand this operation of City government very well. I have the experience and record to show the accomplishments, in the interview process, my effort will be to impress you with what I can do. I have a good understanding of municipal government. As far as a skill to improve upon, I must be more involved with employees than I used to be. Question: Are you computer literate? No. I work with a main frame operation. I have installed a new hardware and software system Which is an expanded system. I am learning Windows '95 in the evening right now. Question: We are always lOoking for ways to be innovative. What organization 9 MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 13, 1997 change have you initiated and what opportunities for innovations do you think would be available? I have implemented many innovations. I have done budget revisions to improve the process. I have restructured departments and merged departments so that I would have one engineering division I will rearrange departments according to needs. Some of the biggest risks I took involved the $135 million downtown project that never really achieved what was anticipated. Question: What is your personal motivation in seeing the task completed? I like closure. We never directly achieve closure because we are always adapting. Question: Do you feel paperwork reduction is possible while maintaining records and where would you streamline for efficiency? My focus when we upgraded the computer system was to move to a paperless operation. Our purchasing process is now through computer transfers so thai your sign-offs are done electronically. You can move your work much faster. We must see that change, but I do not think we will ever get to a paperless government. Question: Do you think the City can over-archive itself with duplication? You are going to move to that being a digital process with back-up copies. In the Cape. we have a system where citizens can call in and tie into our system to get into our records. Codes and Charter from their homes. You are saving yourself a tremendous amount of time and energy in going to that system. Question: Describe your views on Civil Service. I think employees have a right to be provided due process but there must be latitude in an organization. Fair labor standards acknowledge that many of the positions should not be in Civil Service. If you provide due process, your Civil Service can become superfluous. Question: What procedure would you use to make sure each Commissioner gets an equal amount of time? One of the ways I do that is the same way I meet with my directors. We have ongoing discussions. I have PMI meetings to go over the operation in depth. I would like to maintain that same type of approach with [he Commissioners. I would meet on a monthly basis at an established lime and any other time. It is important to communicate. Question: What do you see as one of your major strengths, and something to improve on? I think I understand organizations and can work well with lhem. I have a list of accomplishments tO MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 13, 1997 and I have grown and learned. I provide productivity. I have tried to stay abreast in my field. enjoy communicating with colleagues, I have peen impressed with things that are go~n~ on in the private sector. ~ Question: How about areas needing improvement? I am not sure. I mentioned that in my career I had to learn to have more contact with employees. I have learned new skills. I do not know if I will ever be computer literate. I must stay current in the managemenffield and technology. It is important that any City Manager do that. That is the challenge of the job because can make an impact on the community. Closing Remarks Mr. Sallee thanked the Commissioners for the opportunity to have met with them. · Kerry Willis Opening Remarks Ms. Willis thanked everyone for their time and consideration She felt the Commission had put a great deal of thought into this process which has been very professional, She felt she would be a good candidate for this job because she was City Manager for Lake Worth which shares many of the same economic conditions as Boynton Beach. Ms. Willis feels she possesses the background necessary to handle the job. Question: Tell me about what your priorities might be initially, and how you would plan to hit the ground running. Include time limits for implementatic)n of your talents. I would spend time with each Commissioner and assess your priority objectives. I have reviewed your finances and the visioning pro~;ess. I would implement an action plan throuah the bud el process to be held up against the annual prioritizing. I wou d then move to key de ~rtment he~;s and visit operations in the field to determine major projects and time lines. I would ~it with staff and set up action plans for every department. I would bring a report to the next Commission meeting and possibly recommend a workshop meeting so that we can make certain we are all on the same time schedule. Question: Describe your views on privatization. It depends on the operation and how vital it is for the City. I looked at pdvatizing Public Works in Lake Worth. We went through an analysis and I met with Waste Management and BFI. Our employees were given the same information and invited to put together that same information. When we took the information back to the Commission, a conclusion was drawn that the private service would oe a Iow-ball bid. They promised to take the employees and pay for the equipment. However. we found that our Sanitation crew played a vital role in our Emergency Plan It was lJ MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 13, 1997 carefuNy studied, but it was found to be too vital a service to give up and then have to Buy back in the future, Question: You are familiar with Boynton. What would be professionally challenging and how would it fit professionally? Boynton is large[' and you have a tremendous amount of growth capacity. There are a lot of similar social issues as Lake Worth. Some'ot~the growth is not reflected on the tax rolls. You have a jump on the economic development issue. You have been proactive for a long time. You have Quantum Park and a lot of smaller businesses. The challenge with staff would be to meet with everyone and determine where we are and what is the motivation. Everyone must understand the mission statement. Civil Service rules always present a problem where higher level employees are covered That could present a challenge in personnel matters. In Lake Worth, we tried an in- house labor attorney to cut down on costs. Your finances are m better shape than Lake Worth's were when I took over, and if you are very careful, you can keep reserves to a reasonable level. From everything I have read you are in ~ery good shape and this Corem ssion s to be commended for taking all tH~ actions you have taken, Lake W0~th struggled for years before we adopted a comprehensive policy. The hardest part is sitting down in a workshop environment to prioritize expenditures for the capital projects and have everyone come to a reasonable consensus. Question: How do you perceive the role of City Manager to the community, and what is your exper ence in working with =minor ty groups and diverse groups? Howvisible would you be? The role of City Manager with respect to community is primarily supporting the Commission. articulating policy directed from the Commission and incorporating that into day-to-day programs, answering questions, troubleshooting, handling, complaints, and directing requests to the Commission. As far as the role of City Manager in a community such as Lake Worth, I always felt it was very political. I did not run for office and I felt more productive and effective in a support role. I have worked with diverse groups. I spent a good deal of time in the role of listener and mediator. Question: Describe your management approach. Is it top down or team oriented in implementing policy in the organization? I would meet with Commissioners individually and assess and formulate goals and objectives and determine staff responsiveness. I would assess the needs and desires of the community by holding town meetings. I support the City Hall in the Mall project to get more ~nput. I would ~nventory your resources to apply to goals and objectives. With staff, I will start with quarterly goals. Question: Are you a mother leader or are you team oriented? I believe in shadng the responsibilities and accountability with management staff. You cannot accomplish anything without the he~p and support of a team. ]2 MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 13, 1997 Question: How would you deal with moving into a new location, with a new staff and still command respect and leadership to accomplish the job.'? I do not believe in chopping heads. I sense that with the Civil Service rules and levels of insulation, there could be some internal resistance to change. I would suggest you contract arrangements I~or members of your management team that are hired from now on. This starts with the Commission's team oriented approach. I set an example and the management team would carry that through. It is motivating to see =staff becoming more customer service oriented. I believe in showing by example. If that does not happen, there may be personnel issues to deal with. Question: You mentioned challenges in that area. Do you feel you are successful in winning people over who are reluctant to be won over?. I have excellent success with that. The management team in Lake Worth is stilJ pretty much intact. Management is excited to be asked to provide opinions on the operation. It is quite motivating. Question: How would you address Iow morale? believe getting out in the field and walking around with the crews, visiting the sites they are working on. Certificates of appreciation, incentive programs and recognition are important. I like to put a monthly report in a newsletter that highhgnts the achievements of each of the departments. I support programs such as Employee Of the Month, and Department of the Month. It does not take much for some positive motivation. Question: You mentioned a chance to go over the budget. Are you familiar with the format and would you like to comment on any issues that stand out? I was impressed with the size of your budget. What I would suggest with all the reports you have is that they be boiled down You can include graphs and charts and summaries that are more meaningful to the average human being. It is very simple to do this. Your agenda packet could be simplified in the same manner to make it easier to read. Question: You know we are in search of economic development and revitalization. Have you had exper ence in working with similar type projects? I have had experience with many of the projects that you highlight in Visions starting with grant programs or home improvements, the CRA, volunteer organizations, groups that want to start paint up/fix up and neighborhood associations that are ~)eing formed for which you have grant money. In Lake Worth. the CRA lost money because of the year it was incorporated. We never achieveC any appreciation and consistently lost money. We reformulated the CRA to take ~n areas that were appreciating and finally received some funds. MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 13, 1997 Question: Did you do any specific development or is all space consumed already? It is approximately 95% bu'lt out, We were concentrating on redevelopment and revitalization. There is a lot more funding available now. I am familiar with the concepts, although the dollars were not funded when I was in Lake Worth. Question: Describe your organized labor approach. I do not believe in using ploys. That is probably one of the strongest traits I am known for. I do not have time to play games am straightforward and fair within the limits of the budget. Whether or not you are union you would have the same benefits. It should not depend on which union you belong to. It should depend on equity and fairness. I was involved in negotiations as part of the City Attorney's Office for 2~ years. Question: Describe your strengths and accomplishments or do you need improvements? I bring my background as an attorney which helps tremendously in dealing with contracts and labor, planning and zoning, and land use decisions I believe it is almost necessary to have a background in law to be in this position. That is a strength I have drawn on in public service. I have a commitment to ge things done. I am very team oriented and supportive of Commission and staff. I will hang in 100% to accomplish my goals. I am happy to share credit with staff when we accomplish goals In Lake Worth, we accomplished 95% of what we set out to do. Question: What abo[tt improvement? I can improve in areas of computer technology; It is difficult to keep up. You have Internet and a Web site page. Question: Do you think paperwork reduction is possible while maintaining records? Bureaucracy has taken over. The most important thing to stress is being goal oriented and being flexible, and trying innovative approaches. Within a s~x-month time period, we came up with a report that encompassed the information I needed and the Commission needed. Reformatting the budget would be tremendous because you will be able to read it without spending a week. Graphs help tremendously. You will oe able to tell if we are spending money in our priority areas or is this money going to emergencies? You can see a lot when you look at it graphically. I like to incorporate the goals and objectives at the beginning of the budget. It helps in the planning process Question: Describe the elements necessary for an effective Police Department. I believe you need to have Police Officers well rounded, trained in many areas and well respected ]4 MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 13, 1997 on the streets. They need to know their neighbors, ride their bikes, visit the schools, have community functions and utilize the substation concept. Those are all components of community policing that worked so well in Lake Worth. it begins a dialogue with the community and helps facilitate communication and openness. This will reduce paperwork and still allow people to find out information. Community policing does wonders. Question: What procedures have.you used to communicate with Commissioners on an equal basis? The best way to do it is by memo and ~appo ntment. Cop~es go to all Commissioners at the same time. Having a fixed appointment at fi)~ed times works well, but I have always been flexible. You can call me or stop by. You will get:the information as quickly as you need it. and it goes to everyone at the same time. There is no fool-proof way to do this. I have attempted to be fair and equitable, and t was still accused of not accomplishing that. Memos and appointments are the most fair and equitable method and limiting your time with each Commissioner if possible even though some people need more time. I t.ry very hard to be fair and equitable. Question: Did you make al3y changes in your position in Lake Worth that improved the elf ciency of departments? We are *,*,~,- *~ k____,~ customer°re consumer,service?friendly. · Do you have any suggestions with regard to I made a number of structural changes!in Lake,Worth. I eliminated middle management I did it through attrition but I fourtd that mi~d b management was eSs a facilitator than ' ' · many cases they used th~ pos tion to ~ st tt~e m~ss~,-.- v_.. _~ ....... .ar~.lnh,!bltor. In ~ ---u~. /uu ,~uy not nave mat sl~uauon here. In many organizations, over time, we create positions that overlap duties, that do not have a full job to do, and that can be encompassed. I had 17 departments and made seven divisions out of them. I had one person to report to me weekly and one person to be accountable to me. That cut down on payroll and overhead, and inc~ease~l the efficiency of the organization. Other changes were rerouting the trolleys and garbage routes We did a number of things to try to facilitate the will ngness to help peole. We ~m le citizens action hot ne We tracked const~er c ..... ,. ,^,~. ...... P _ p mented a ,_ .... . . ~ .,~ ..,~,,~,=,,,,o. ,~v,,~. we received a ca I a report wnu d ue generated [nat went to the Corniness oner of that d strict, and within three day~, the'-r~s~)~se would come back about the disposition. ~We had town meetings:. We put up a marquee in front of City Hall. Question: What has been the most rigorous challenge you faced in your professional caree~r1~ One of the most challenging was the issue of bring ng the City of Lake Worth back into the black. That was probably the most s gniflcant sbocess It was ve ..... ~ .... I ' ,~ p~,,,u~. ~ne people WhOSe projects and programs were cut thought it was the ~orst thin,g, and others thought it w~s great. It created a struggle with the larger departments w~qere cut to balance the budget, it created a lot of hard feelings. However, we accomplished a lot and we solved many problems. We had an early MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 13, 1997 retirement plan which afforded us an opportunity to streamline. The process led [o good and positive things. It turned out to be the most rewarding because all programs were reevaluated and everyone was inc uded in the new action plan. It was a long, well thought-out process. We used itto allocate the dollars and resources to where they should De as opposed to where they wound up. We made changes that brought a lot of grant money to the City, and many projects will be implemented. Question: What is the reserve now?. We built up the reserve to $1.5 million within the three years that I was manager, and we adopted a resolution that required a minimum of a 5% fund balance. There needed to be checks and balances They are maintaining lhe 5%. Question: There are several staff positions open including department heads. How long do you feel they can remain open and what would be your plan to secure your team quickly? I would have to sit down with a few key staff peop e and go over the last two months' agendas and identify the critical projects and figure out what needs to be done ~mmediately based on what is on the plate. It would take a few hours of staff time to determine the level of expertise needed. You donot want to let projects go without adequate supervision because too much money can go down the drain. Until I get a chance to determine [he competence of staff, it may not be an immediate priority. Question: Have you worked with a particular position that is assigned to budget management and accountability? Each and every management pemonnel is responsible aha accountable for their part of the budget. They must keep a check on it. used a technique where we would sit down two times a week. Mistakes can ~)e made but they can be minimized. I do not believe m micro-managing, but until the :competence level of staff iS determined, that might be necessary. Question: If you were offered the job, are there one or two factors that would influence your decision to accept, and when would you be available? Would you want to have: the ability to make organizational changes? It would be important for me to meet with the Acting City Manager to determine if he is going to be a team player as well as some of the key staff. As far as structural changes, that should be kicked around between the management team over discussions. I can see a lot of opportunity for that down the road That would be part of reviewing the budget line by line. I would like to know that Dale Sugerman was going to be supportive and happy with that. Question: If not, what would the alternatives be? I would like to talk to key staff and get their thoughts. MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 13, 1997 I would be available at your convenience. Question: Do you believe in multi-year planning and what is the effect on the budget? Absolutely. We start with short-term goals and give calendar deadlines, but it is important to go into 1, 3, and 5 year planning and incorporate that into the budget. It helps to take a read on where we are every year. Closing Remarks Ms. Willis had no closing remarks. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Taylor announced that a decisionl will be made at Tuesday night's City Commission meeting. There being no further business to come before the City Commission. the meeting properly adjourned at 5:10 p.m. ATTEST: City ¢~lerk ' - - Secretary (Three Tapes) CITY OF BOYNTO~ B~ Mayor eMayy CeCmmissioner - .. Commissioner ~r~nissioner 17