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Minutes 03-28-52MINUTES OF A SPECIAL ~ETINC- OF TP~E COUNCIL OF BOYNTON BEAOHi, FLORIDA; AT THE CITY H.~JLL, BoYNTON BEACH, ON MA~RCH 28, 1952. Councillors present: M~. Howard good ~r. Alva Shook Mr. Stanley Weaver Mr. Arthur Fredrich. ~. McNames, City Auditor, was also present. Mr. Hood, in .the absence of Mayor t~mriatoa on ac¢oumt cc itt~eS~ ,c~lied the meeting to Order ~$ 7.~0.P.M., and explained ~E~t it was for the' express ~urDose Of discussimg the City aud!it~ ~ rep~y to a request from M~.Fredrich an extract from the miaute~ Of the previous meeting of March 17, covering the motion to table the lstter of Thomas Cook & Co. of March ~] s~ggesting a C.P.A. to audit the City accounts, ~as rea~. The letter of Thomas Cook & Co. referred to was again rea~. ~Mr. Fre~rich explained to Mr. McNames that a few days alter the.Council meeting ~hehe':h~obeen a meeting with Mr. Jackso~ a~ which the auditor's report was discussed. He said that the full mmou~t of the Water Department profit was ~ot shoe and that, in spite of his long experience in such matters, he could not find out from the report the status of profit and loss. He said the Commissioners represent~?~ 2he people of the City and that the people should kmow what goes on. He wa~ited to know how the vari- ous items are broke~ down. He said Mr. McNames seems to have been most satisfactory and what the Council would like to know ar~ the Orders he received when he first took over the books. Mr; MeN~zes said that o~ January 28, 1959, he ~as approahh- ed by a gentleman whose ~ame he did not know, by Mr. Thomas M. Cook and Mr. Pur~nton,i who asked him if he would do the Cit~ auditing a~d '~nat his charge would be. Befor? he could reply., Mr. pu~i~tonand the other gentleman excusd,i them- . se~ves and. left ihim alone with E~. Cook,~ who said he would l~ke to knc~whatMr. ~cNames jcould dc, but Mr.McNames 8ould gi~e no answer ~0t ha~ing seen the books.. No mention was Eade ora C.P.A. ~ra sh~rt Con~ersatio~,~ir~b~.:.saYimgi~o much:m~eyWaS ~eing sp~,.~[r,. MCNamSs.said~? would acce~t $100 a ~0~h, b~t M~. COok suggested $7~. This was the only time he had seen Mr°Cook. O~e Januar~ ~1, 19~9, McNamas said he attended a meeting at Ci2~ HaZl whi~hi according tb the minutesf ~yor Pur~nton said ~d b~en e~t!ed ~or~t~? purpose ofappoin~i~g a lo~al man as ~Cit~ AUditor; replacmng Himes & Himes of West Palm -2- Beach. The minutes of that meeting were read. ~@. NcNames went on to say that this was the first time in four years he.had.been asked for a statement. He said it was thr~o~ outside influence thab his fee Was m~de $75 whe~ he had asked for $100. ~ He di~ not appear before the C0'~meil very oftenbec~uSe he had no idea that anything was wrong, a~d he ~oes not even now kmow that anything is wrong. He suggested that ~ro Gook, in his letter, is proposing that the City t~x-~ayers employ a CPA of his selection, in whomsupreme uthority W~llbe lavestedo The letter Hakes no reference to ?~.y~isko~esty. He said B0ynton Bea!0hhad been very t? hi~, that t~ey had left him. alone and he"hadieft them alone;~ that he h~d practiced in eight' Stab~S, t~t he had ~ot asked for She job at $900 a year, ~2d1~ th0nght~t if he could Be of ~ssista~ce ~o the City taxpa~e~sit WOul~ accommodate t-hem and help hie financially~ He said he had never ~alked to the Council about a certain position in the City Hall and would be a ~avi~gm~aiac to ~int a~ &aything wr0~g With the books: He sa~d' t~e City should be proud of the reputation of the Czty Hall Office. Referring ~o the request of Mr. Fredriah for a fiscal breakdowm ~he said that of course he could do it: but not for $900. He said he would lile to recommend to the Council that if a desk and 0hair would be provided in ~the City Hall until the bond question can be paid off2 t~e Council ceuld be pre- sented with a full statement consisting of abou~ 19 sheets of paper giving a recapitulation of the activities each month. He thought that to have a finance wizard challenging the honesty of the Council and their lack of k~owled~e .~o choose a CPA is an insult, and that any bondholder not desiring to accept the City's audit should be compelled to pay the ex- penses of a CPA themselves. Mr. Claughton on being told that the trustees for the bondholders was the Chase National Bank, said it was then up to that bank to call for the audit, and that Tommy Cook should not be allowed to run the town since, as long as he is getting his in,erect ca the bond~, that is all thet should be necessary. A letter was read from John P.Cochrane, Palm Beach, dated March 2~, in redly to o~e Clerk. c.?.~, o~ from the City In a previous letter ~ Cochrane had offeFed to ma. ke anEual audits for the City for the past three .fzseal years,- November 1,'194.8, to October ~l, 1951 - for a lump sum fee not to exc&ed $1,800~ ~ir. Shook said that i~.~cNames sat in every Council meet- ing to beEim wi~h a~d never since, and yet he said he had ~o~ reCei'ved exact instructions. /~ ~gNames said the taxpayers are interested only ia whether the City is managed correctly, and that they are not overtaxed. ~e said a~ audit does not represent or ~.ve any bearing on any discussion h~ had had with the Co~ncil; that the ques- tion is,- if tn? d~ssatlsfact~on of t~e ~ondhol~ers ~s ficient to consitute a demand for a ~A audit, they should assume that obligation. He added that there seems to be a reason for a~l of th~s, and that Mr.Co0k, as:an omtsida~, can~o~ Co~e in and dictet? as 19rig as hi~ interest is met~ He said that the Council 'in making thei~ decision for a city auditor goes to the complete extent for Which they are liable; any ~urt~er auditing is .the ~SpoasibilZty of se~e0na else, and if the CoUncil ~ecide to ha.va a CPA, he could not go any further; that no man has the right to i~sult five men by even h~ntzag that thor? ~s somethlngwroKg aRd s~ggest~ a highly paid service ~nich is ~ot aalled~f0r. H~s'&~Himes, a good CPA firm, set up the City bgoks ~ad were s~tisf~d. He recommended ~ha~th~ditor be gzven a ddsk i~ the ci~ty Hall to represenb t~e'~ity taxpayers. ~. Fredrich said that at the time Mt. Jackson was here he.made some romar[ as to the water accgunt shoving something which should not have been there, that is - legal and pro- fessional services. ~Mr. MaEames asked Mrs. ~?illiams whether these referred to engineering fees in connection with the water department, and she replied 'yes' There was a discussion as to what were professional services. Mr. Fredrich said Mr.~ackson seemed to think there was a bi~r profit in the water deparzment than ~as show..n, and that the profit on the department should run in the direct&on of $i4,000. D~. Shook said the reason the Cotuucil got Thomas Cook & Co. down here was because they were not sure where they were sitting and they got Cook's approval on Mr. McNames. He added that when the Council got the bonds for putting the water in an Engineer was hired to figure on what he thought shoul~ be done in the next ten years, and that this was ~ost evidently what the figures were based o~. ~. ~Names said if more deta?~ls were required showing gain or loss that would be no Big difference, that would not be a question of shallenging whether the City is maintained properly,- it is a matter of an outsider coming in and showi~g the Council what should be done~ 5~. Shook said that if the City is to have a CP~ it will be up to the Council alone to hire one. Mr. Claughton asked for inDorma, tioR regarding the pipe situation of the water department, mad ~uggested setting up a water board to operate ~nder it~ o-~a zncome but Uader the supervision of the Council. In Feply to another question by Mr. Claughtgn, the City Clerk Said t~at $1200.00 a ~onth is set up for interest and princ,iple on the Water bonds. With refe~.ence to theBends, ~r. Griffi%h said he did not think the bond issue ¢0 ~l'd:havebee~ '~Rdled i~.any obher '- Way, as BoYnt0nlat the time W~s something of a risk. Mr. S~9ok said he w~s in favor of waiting to see what ~. Cook Will do, in the' meantime asking him to come d0wa to talk to Mr. McNames about it. Mr. Fred~ioh thought the Council should be better pre- pared tO-a~.r questions. The Water'DePart~ent was picked because there~has been more discussio~ about i't, and the Police Department might ecualiy be takeR. Mr. Shook thought the figures covering the Police De- par~me~t ~re clear enough. Mr. Johnson tno.ught each departme~tshoula be clearly drawn Up as t'O a~diting showing whether they ~ade or lost money. Mr. Griffith said there is no law by which Cook cae insist on a CPA audit. ~r. Fredrich recommended that monthly auditsbe made up, saying that the City is coming to the point when they are necessary~ agFeed ~'~c~ames/with the recommendation ~nd said it.would take six months to set the thing up, and if a scheme com- parable to that set forth in the Cechran letter is desired, he, as a resident of the towm, would be h~ppy to put it into effect, but not for $900 a year. Mr. Shook suggested not doing anything right away as he did net want the Cit~ to do anything that woukd give Cook the power to insist on a CPA audit, res~lting in the City paying for it twice. He referred to the Cook letter which stated they had had no copy of an ~udit since November, 1949, but added that as far as the City is concerned the audit is up to date, and it is now up to Cook to pay for what he wants done. ~ Griffith said the State ComptrOller would have noth- ing ~o do with such a matter as ne has not the power to insist on a CPA audit. He said ~ro~cNames could be told to break down the figures in all cases and it would mean longer audit, which he could'not do for $75 a month. ~r. Shook said he thought the five Councillors alone are responsible. kLr. Fredrich made a motion, seconded by Mt. Shook, that the matter be tabled. Motion passed unanimously. -5- After a discussion ~on the local Basket Ball Team's expenses when representing Boynton Beach away ~rom the City, ~r. Shook made a motion that the same plane be followed as last year, ny that the City pay a donation of ~50 towards the expenSes or,he tea~. Mr. Fredrich Secoaded the motion, which ~s passed unanimously~ Mr. Chartss Boos spoke of the proposed z.~d and ferti- lizer plant in Boynton, describing it in detail, ~and expressed the hope that no.inc~ems~ wout9 be .m?de in the taxes on the five aeres on whzch the plant zs built. He pointed on9 what a great advantage such a Pi~nt.w°~td ~be to Boynt0n~ saying that it was hoped ~o complete~ib within afe~ Years, and that the cost has been so greatly increased that the c0m~amy have asked that the first year's ta~es be ~ived. ~tr. Johnson said ~he plant would'em~ptoymany people and ~muld not compete with auy present business. ~. Fred~mch asked ~. Boos if there was any aroma attached to ths refining of the fertilis~r' at the pI~mt~ ~. Boos replied - No, there was none. ~. Fredrich moved~ and ~. Shook seconded that the taxes of the company for the first year be waived, providing that the Council has the power to make such a resolution~ ~otion passed unanimously. '~Ar. Griffith said he preferred not to say without x~rther investigation whether the City has the right to abate ~axes, mnd~suggested the resolution be worded in such a way that another business would not demand the same benefit~ that it would be discriminatory between businesse~ and that there should be proper limitations pu~ on it. 'Mr. Shook said the whole thing was to encourage outside business to come here, Nr. Griffith was asked to look further into the matter. ~r. Claughton suggested making a donation ~o the company instead of rebating the taxes. ~r.~ Boos referred to streets on Ooee~ Avenue ~Wnich he would like opened ~p~ and there was a long disc~ssion as to payment for street improvements being paid for by assessment on the o¥~ers of lots on the streets, which it was said would amount to about ~3 per lot, Mr. ~riffith explained how Detray was handling the opening up of streets by assessing property owners, and said that in Lake Worth the assessments had to be paid off in two ye ars. -6- Shook s~ggested five years for Boynton was asked to look up the ordinance. The mat~er of t.he City ~rader was discussed mud Mr. Shook s~ggested getting a good operator for it. Mr. gohnson said he would try to get such a man. M~. Claughton spoke of the possibility of arranging for Food ~azr.and a~Howard Jo~son mn the.~ty, but protested agains~ p~.yi~ginC~e tax, insurance, city t~xes in conceit{on witl them. }~. Griffith thought a fixed assessment wonld be better. ~r. Johnson asked how the Howard wouid help Boynton, and that it ¥ould of the better class restaurants, Jo~mson. re.sts,~rant ce~ainIy hurt some Mr. Hood said the Counsel would be quite v~Iling to do everything they could but tha~ it was at first strictly a legal matter. ~ ~r. Griffith said if there is s possible way of giving re±ief on t~he tax problem in this m~tter, he personally thinks that if it is within ~the power of the Council they will co- operate, but they cannot mortgage themselves f~refive years ss they might not be here; at ~he same time h ~eels there is $ way of doing it. ~r. Fredrich referred to a letter from ~r. advertising Boom, ton and said something must be the town mo~ng. Rose regarding done to keep ~. Claughton suggested the City ~se the space .adjacent to the theatre for a parki~_g area and that it could also lease the property vo others. Mr. Griffith said the Counsel could taka a lease of the a ' i nd mn return for the ~mount of t~xes for five years. ~. Weaver made a motion that the City lease the parking area adjacent to the theatre for a term of five years for an amount not to exceed.~ the mmound, of the ~mty of Boy. ton Beach ~axes to be pazm by the Food Fair, this lease to become ef~ fective upon completion'of the Food Fair. Mr. Fredrich seconded the mo~ion, which was passed. Mr, Shook not voting. r:ulaugkton ~aid iff the same arrangement could be made in connection with the Howard Jolmson restauran~~ he could guaran- tee that the HalYard Johnson would build here. -7- Mr. ~ohnson said such a ma~er needs more time for con- sideration and that the people in town should have a chance to pass on it, as it might set up a precedent; also that it is so important that it should be takea up aS the next meeting of the Council~ Mr. Ciaughton stressad the necessity for a prompt decision. ~r. Griffith said the Council is limited as to what it can do and any decision made must be enforceable. If a tax- free arrangement is nmde any townspeople could bring a suit against allowing such tax rebate. After prolonged discussion it was decided that the matter needed more time for consideration. A pla~ of Grayson Heights was examined, and Mr. Shook moved that the plat be accepted with the change of 25 feet building set-back. Mr. ~feaver seconded the motion, which was passed Unanimously. here bezng no f~rther busimess, ~Mr. Hood adjourned the meeting. WAIVER OF NOTICE A~TiD CONSENT TO TM HOLDING OF A SPECIAL !-'LEETZqG 0F Ti~ CiTer CODT[CIL OF T~ CI~Z OF B0~VSiTON BEACH~ FLORIDA~ TO BE ELD ON TB_~ 28T~ DAY OF ~ARCH HOD~ OF 7:30 P.M. OF SUCH DAY° The tu~ersigmed~ F.L.P~inton as Mayor~ A,E. Shook as Co'~ncilman,: and C.H.Hood as Co~cilman~ mud A.0.Fredrich as Co~smciimma~ s_nd C.Stanley Weaver as Co~cillman~ being all the me~oers of the City Co,smell of the City of Boston Beach~ Florida do separately ~d se~eraily waive ~ny ~d all notices requlre~ By 'bh~ ~d_ip~ce o~ ~d/or the City ~arter of, the City of BoStOn B_ac~, ~lorzda~ a~d/~r th~ laws of.the Stat~ of wtorida, of a ~eciaz Meeting of vhe Czty Co~czlmen of the City of Boston Beach, Florida, to be held on the 28th day of March !9~2~ a~ the ho~s~ of 7.3' 0 0:clock P.H. of such day~ and do consent to the holding of such raeeting at such for ~he purpose of trmnsacting business of the City of Beach, Florida. Dated this 28th. day of Ma~ch t9~2. Attest: Mayor -C.Stsa~ley Weaver, ooYaaci~aam