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Minutes 06-02-12 MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012, AT 9:30 A.M. IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, 100 EAST BOYNTON BEACH BOULEVARD, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Woodrow L. Hay, Mayor James Cherof, City Attorney William Orlove, Commissioner Janet Prainito, City Clerk Steven Holzman, Commissioner Marlene Ross, Commissioner ABSENT: Mack McCray, Vice Mayor 1. OPENINGS A. Call to order - Mayor Woodrow L. Hay B. Invocation C. Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag led by Commissioner Marlene Ross Mayor Hay called the meeting to order at 9:31 a.m. and gave the invocation. Commissioner Ross led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. D. Brand Promise Statement Mayor Hay repeated the brand promise statement and stressed its importance to the City and its future. E. Agenda Approval: 1. Additions, Deletions, Corrections None 2. Adoption Motion Commissioner Orlove moved to approve the agenda. Commissioner Ross seconded the motion. 1 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Boynton Beach, FL June 2, 2012 Vote The motion passed unanimously. 2. OTHER A. Public Interview of City Manager Candidate 1. Introduction of Candidate (Mr. Michael Miller) Julie Oldbury, Director of Human Resources, introduced Michael Miller, the City Manager candidate. 2. Presentation from Candidate Mr. Miller thanked the Commission and City for giving him the opportunity to appear. He had toured the City since arriving and felt there was potential for the City. His experience included working with cities attached to larger metropolitan areas and understood the process of working together for the betterment of the whole area, yet retaining independence for each community. The request had been made to present a 90 -day plan if awarded the job of City Manager of Boynton Beach. Mr. Miller referred to his plan as a transition plan to allow the new City Manager to assimilate into the community. The goal of his plan was to provide City officials, staff and the public with the course of action to be followed by the new City Manager to provide a smooth change over in management. The continuity of services had to be maintained without disruption. The plan included a series of meetings. The first meeting would be with the Mayor, Commission and City Manager to determine the priorities for the City, including goals and objectives for the upcoming fiscal year. A discussion on the goals for the City Manager would also be entertained. Any other issues from individual members of the Commission should also be considered. It would be an open public meeting that should occur during the first week. The next meeting would be with the Interim or Assistant City Manager to discuss priority issues being handled involving department issues and /or personnel or legal issues. Legal issues should be provided through the City Attorney. There would need to be information provided on the current budget and the status on the preparation of the upcoming budget cycle. Meeting with the Administrative Assistant to ascertain the procedure and process for creating and maintaining the calendar would be essential. The operational structure of the City Manager's office would need to be analyzed historically for the future. Prioritize 2 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Boynton Beach, FL June 2, 2012 the scheduling would be another area for discussion, as well as the open -door policy for staff. The first day would include a meeting with the City Attorney to reveal the current and pending legal issues. A general discussion on the interaction between the City Manager and the City Attorney to establish how the offices would work together should be undertaken. The current relationship between the City Attorney and City staff to determine the working relationship that exists should be considered. During the first week there would also be meetings with department directors as a group to talk about Mr. Miller's expectations and his open -door policy. A tour of the facilities would be needed with a schedule established. The first day would include a meeting with the Finance Officer to determine the status of the current budget and the process for the upcoming budget talks. The general financial condition of the City including revenues, expenses and purchasing procedures would need to be examined, along with debt services and investments. Purchasing procedures can be problematic for any City and the procedure would need to be reviewed and updated regularly. Meeting with the City Clerk during the first week would be important to discuss agenda preparation, meeting notices, minutes, public record requests and other issues. The rules and procedures need to be followed to protect the corporation. Any other issues would need to be evaluated. It would be critical to talk with the Police Chief and gather information on the possible change to the Sheriff's office by contract. The position of the police, staff, City Manager, Commission and the public would be valuable to know as soon as possible. Staff and personnel needs of the Police Department are another important topic. Mr. Miller noted that staffing levels may not be tied strictly to population. Of course, the budget and its impact on the department would be important information. Meeting with the Fire Chief to discuss staffing and personnel issues including the priorities and budget concerns would be held during the first week. Mr. Miller had toured and was very impressed with Fire Station #5 and the Emergency Operation Center. The proposed timelines would be general and depend on staff's schedules because the day -to -day business of the City would be ongoing, in addition to the orientation of a new City Manager. Talking to the Human Resource Director would be another priority to learn about staffing, personnel and administrative manuals for staff development and training. All policies would probably need to be updated after a complete review. Community Development would have some of the highest impact on the community and would involve several meetings. Mr. Miller wanted further information on the GREEN 3 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Boynton Beach, FL June 2, 2012 building program, rules and regulations. Mr. Miller had been involved in LEEDS construction standards over the last few years. They are important, but do add cost to structures. There is long -term savings. CDBG grant funding would need to be reviewed, with special interest on the last audit and the status of the improvements. The building permit division issues should be ascertained along with planning and zoning concerns. Meeting with Public Works to assess the enterprise funds and operation would be vital to the revenue stream and budget. The profits should be spent to keep the utilities functioning and build new systems for expansion. Forestry, grounds and maintenance should be discussed with any facility issues, solid waste and street maintenance included. Budgets and budget preparation would need to be addressed. The capital utilities program and both current and new budget topics would be reviewed with the Utility Director. Many of the issues need to be discussed with each and every department head over and above the day -to -day business. Administrative services, commercial and leisure services should be considered also. The ITS department needs to be updated and maintained because technology is critical to success in the future. The Grants team is important in times of tough revenues. Risk Management is essential to keep the property and employees safe and premiums low. The Library and Parks and Recreation provide vital services to the City and the citizens and must be supported and maintained for the benefit of all. The quality of public school systems is a concern for any business seeking to relocate to an area and the availability of parks and recreation is another factor to keep employees happy that have to relocate. Mr. Miller noted the golf course would need to be discussed. It is an enterprise fund and the revenue stream and expenses should be evaluated for efficiencies. The second, third and fourth weeks, Mr. Miller would devote to department tours and meet as many employees as possible. Scheduled meetings with employees by groups would be very important and listening to their strengths, weaknesses and suggestions. Introductory meetings should be scheduled with the employee union representatives to develop a rapport before any negotiating sessions. Community leadership meetings would be helpful to occur within the first three months of his employment. It would prevent redundancy. Mr. Miller felt it would be helpful to meet with the advisory boards at their regular meeting dates. They are the citizen advisory outlet. Meeting with community service clubs would be beneficial to establish a rapport with the business leaders in and around the City of Boynton Beach. Mr. Miller's open -door policy without an appointment included the Mayor, Commission and all department directors and should be given preference. He would meet with employees if it was not an issue of employment or a personnel problem that would 4 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Boynton Beach, FL June 2, 2012 mandate the existing policy be utilized. The citizens would have an open -door if their issues did not require research on the part of the City Manager to better address the problem. He wanted intimate contact with the community. In summary, the first 90 days would be to hold meetings with the Commission, staff and public and considered listening sessions. It would assist in developing a long range strategic initiative or plan including developing performance measures to enhance the overall operation of all departments. He had been involved in performance measurements and best practices with the ICMA for the past 15 years. Mr. Miller described himself as a strategic planner. He opined, without a strategic plan, the City was simply putting out fires with no insight into the future years. A strategic plan would provide the citizens of Boynton Beach with the best and most efficient service available within the budget constraints. Mayor Hay noted Vice Mayor McCray could not attend the meeting and offered his apology for the absence. 3. Interview Questions and Answers Mayor Hay gave an overview of the process to be followed. The first question by Mayor Hay was what Mr. Miller perceived as the City's strengths and weaknesses. Mr. Miller replied the strength was always the community itself, its people and faith in the government to operate the community. The weakness is the lack of planning. It was not ideal to run a City without a specific plan on the direction of the City. The past, present and future revenues should be known and projections for capital improvements. Many governmental bodies have plans developed without attaching revenue streams or a plan to analyze the projects. With a strategic plan, the revenues can be attached to the plan specifics. The revenues are down because the tax base is down and retail sales are down. Planning gives you the opportunity to save for specific projects in all economies. A strategic plan is the action plan for the City short -term and long -term. Mr. Miller emphasized the elected Commission had to set the tone and direction to be followed. Once established, the administrative staff and City Manager, can put the process together and plan the strategy to accomplish the goal. It involved performance measures to make the departments more efficient. He reiterated the strengths were the community itself, access to the Gulf, a harbor, 17 advisory boards and employees with longevity. Commissioner Orlove questioned the reference to the lack of a strategic plan in view of the capital improvement budget and projects and the Downtown Master Plan. The plans may change as the makeup of the Commission changes. How would Mr. Miller 5 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Boynton Beach, FL June 2, 2012 react to changes to the strategic plan? Mr. Miller responded strategic planning was meant to be flexible. The revenues and expenses can change, but the need for a project remains in the plan. The plan may indicate there is no revenue for the project, but the plan remains the same. Updated comments should be added to the strategic plan to benchmark the milestones of the particular project. Capital Improvement Plans are required by law. It is a financial issue. It does not show the municipality how to achieve the goal. The strategic plan would involve step -by -step ways to achieve the goals. Mr. Miller had reviewed the Downtown Master Plan, but did not see any funding applied to the various phases of the Plan or the steps necessary to initiate the Plan. Strategic plans change constantly to address the needs of the community and reflect the attitudes of the Commission. There should be periodic reviews and the frequency at least yearly with budget considerations. Commissioner Ross thanked Mr. Miller for his interest in the City. It has been a frustrating process that was somewhat awkward. She mentioned he did have a very positive attitude. His presentation had focused on some critical points for the City of Boynton Beach. She asked for an example how Mr. Miller had been able to "dig for the money" in terms of state, federal, private or corporate dollars. Mr. Miller responded on many occasions it involved speaking with state or federal legislators to grasp a share of the available funding. He was not bashful and would beg if necessary, to get the money needed for a project. Creatively looking at grants was one approach and the use of TIF (tax increment funds) monies for incentives was another approach. Mr. Miller had also negotiated with developers to include in their development plans structures for use by the municipalities since the additional development required more city services. He had developed land located in a flood plane into an office /business park where nothing existed before with financing through TIF. He had built golf courses and found monies through a law that allowed sales tax monies to be used to build new sewer systems. The community agreed to the project with a sunset on the sales tax provision and extended the sewer systems to outlying properties. Mr. Miller had written large and small grants and floated a large bond issue to rebuild a water and sewer system with public approval. The public, given the full information and facts, generally will agree to fix problems as they arise. He was confident he could raise funding in the State of Florida, even if it meant visiting the Governor of the State. Commissioner Ross inquired about Mr. Miller's experience with crisis and emergency scenarios. Mr. Miller had survived many floods along the Mississippi River and ice storms breaking power lines. He had dealt with fires and tornadoes in a management role. He had never experienced a hurricane to compare. He had dealt with major outages of electric and gas supplies to large areas and the reconnection process that took several weeks. 6 1 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Boynton Beach, FL June 2, 2012 Most of the cities where Mr. Miller had worked were similar and near larger metropolitan areas such as Miami and Ft. Lauderdale known as inner and outer ring cities. The impact of what Miami does impacts all the municipalities in the area. He liked working in cities near bigger cities, that can share services and information. It helps to share ideas, information, services and resources to reduce cost for the City. Mr. Miller commented the population of other cities where he had worked was similar to Boynton Beach. The demographics varied. River towns were different with descendents of those who had lived there for a very long time remaining. The ethnicity varied with the early settlers and to the current day. One community was in transition of changing that presented complex issues to stabilize. He stressed the employees should reflect the community. The demographics would not be an issue and should only be viewed as statistical data. Mr. Miller enjoyed diversity because he had learned so much. Commissioner Holzman thanked Mr. Miller for being able to discuss issues with him at a prior meeting. Commissioner Holzman opined the City would be honored to have him as City Manager with his experience to lead the City through the issues that arise. He hoped negotiations could be entered into very soon to hire Mr. Miller. Mayor Hay asked what Mr. Miller considered to be the top three goals for the City? Mr. Miller responded the first would be strategic planning, the second, financial stability and the third, to retain a productive and good work force. They are important goals to establish stability and future direction for the City. Commissioner Orlove recalled Mr. Miller had envisioned having workshops with staff and the Commission and asked how that would be accomplished. Mr. Miller explained there should be no surprises for either the City Manager or the Commission. There should be consensus on the goals, but conflicting issues should be anticipated. The workshops would resolve the priority of issues for the Commission and the support that would be needed to make a majority decision. The business of the City should be taken care of in an efficient manner at the meetings. Once a month workshops may be appropriate even though the issues could be discussed individually with the Commission. Mr. Miller proposed he would issue weekly packets of information to the Commission to share as much information as possible. Commissioner Orlove inquired if the previous discussions with two members of the Commission had revealed any issues not discussed at this time. Mr. Miller felt the discussions were similar in content. In the future, he would share any information with all the Commission members regardless of the source of the inquiry. The interaction of the Commission and the City Manager is a delicate balance that should not include surprises. Full disclosure eliminates suspicion. Commissioner Orlove asked for Mr. Miller's professional, long -term goals. Mr. Miller replied he had achieved most all of his professional goals. He was proud of his six years of military service, served in special forces and became a helicopter pilot. He Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Boynton Beach, FL June 2, 2012 spent 15 years in law enforcement as a detective, manager, and supervisor. Mr. Miller had owned a sports goods store and a computer business while being a police officer. He had returned to government because he understood and progressed through various levels of municipalities and learned from the bottom up how they survive and provide services to the citizens. He was ready to share the knowledge he had acquired across his life span to enrich a community which was his long -term goal at this time. Commissioner Orlove disclosed he had spoken with the candidate on the phone for over an hour. He appreciated Mr. Miller coming to the City of Boynton Beach. Commissioner Ross thanked Mr. Miller and was glad the process was moving. She felt it took longer than it should have to overcome the obstacles. She recalled the Mayor had indicated the City was on the brink of a crisis and he was not impressed with the candidates. Commissioner Ross commended Mr. Miller for participating in the interview process. There were two other candidates that withdrew from the process recently. She felt confident that Mr. Miller was an excellent choice for the position and the City. Commissioner Ross disclosed she previously spoke with Mr. Miller personally for two hours and on the phone for approximately one hour. Mayor Hay had spoke with Mr. Miller by phone previously and commended Mr. Miller on his presentation and answers to the questions. 3. PUBLIC AUDIENCE INDIVIDUAL SPEAKERS WILL BE LIMITED TO 3 MINUTE PRESENTATIONS (at the discretion of the Chair, this 3 minute allowance may need to be adjusted depending on the level of business coming before the City Commission) Nancy Hogan, 37 Hibiscus Way, Ocean Ridge, explained she was a property owner in the CRA district and very active with the Chamber of Commerce. She was also a real estate broker with an office in Boynton Beach. She remarked she was disappointed with Commissioner Holzman because she was unable to hear any discussion on his support of the candidate. Ms. Hogan was disappointed Mr. Miller did not mention in his presentation any interaction with the business community or the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Miller responded the Chamber of Commerce would be included in service organizations that he had discussed. The Chamber of Commerce does develop leadership for communities and had worked with them throughout his career. Ms. Hogan was further disappointed that Mr. Miller did not understand the unique attributes of the City of Boynton Beach and did not know more about the background of the community. Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Boynton Beach, FL June 2, 2012 Ms. Hogan stressed the business community had to be promoted and she wanted to know Mr. Miller's plan to bring business into the City of Boynton Beach. There were many resources to assist with the endeavor that Mr. Miller would need to contact. Ms. Hogan appreciated the open -door policy, but questioned how the day -to -day problems would be handled. Mr. Miller emphasized dealing with the day -to -day business was one of his strengths. Strategic planning assists in minimizing the day -to -day issues. Mr. Miller anticipated the first week would include many requests for support on projects or problems that had previously been rejected. Sharing time each day for the public could be accomplished. He had worked with many large economic development processes and could recruit businesses to communities. A recruitment plan to attract businesses has to be created in addition to partnering with other business development organizations. Economic development has been his priority. City Managers should live for the communities they serve with vocations and avocations to serve. It is important to make a community better. James Brake, 710 SW 27 Terrace, wanted further information relating to Mr. Miller's 15 years in law enforcement and professionalism and oversight. He asked about the various policing structures he had worked with in the various cities. Mr. Miller had experience with a county sheriffs office in Ohio and had served as a patrol deputy, detective, supervisor, head of the civil section and worked in finance. He worked on contracts with other facilities and groups including dispatching for other agencies and law enforcement services for surrounding communities. He was a homicide investigator, undercover narcotics officer and worked in vice, burglary, homicide, heinous crimes and rapes. He understood the law enforcement process. He found police departments have a general structure. In some cities the police departments had professional oversight. One had a civil service board and others had a people's advocate. In many instances Mr. Miller had the oversight for the police departments. Mark Karageorge, 240A Main Boulevard, commended the candidate for his tenure with law enforcement, military service and public service, but raised concern with his longest management related tenure being only five years. He inquired about the anticipated timeframe to hold the City Manager position and any major projects he would be undertaking. Mr. Miller responded the average job expectancy of a City Manager in the United States is only two years. Most of it depends on the citizens, the community and the political entity. Mr. Miller would stay until asked to leave for whatever reason. The goal would be to stay for the remainder of his life and complete all projects. Some of his changes were due to other cities recruiting him to relocate. A change in leadership of a city often brings changes to the City Manager position. His expectation would be to at least have 9 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Boynton Beach, FL June 2, 2012 projects and issues to a point that they could easily be moved forward by any succecessor. Beverly Agee, 832 SW 33 Place, enjoyed the thorough presentation. She asked why only two Commissioners had met with Mr. Miller the previous day. Commissioner Holzman replied the entire Commission had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Miller, but only Commissioners Holzman and Ross had done so. Commissioner Orlove advised he had spoken with all the candidates over the telephone for more than one hour each and felt the face -to -face contact in an open session would be more appropriate. Ms. Agee was concerned that the public have the opportunity to be aware of what was going on in government. John McGovern, 2620 Spiceberry Lane, agreed that five years in many positions is a long time and appreciated Mr. Miller's response. He was disappointed more candidates were not available so a more thorough search could be conducted. Mr. McGovern urged the Commission to be open to possibilities rather than personalities. He mentioned that education in Palm Beach County was no longer controlled by local government. There are serious issues in education and the quality of the community is greatly impacted by the available education system. The various jurisdiction lines for the county commissioners have changed to include three districts within both Boynton Beach and Delray Beach. Mr. McGovern recalled a significant amount of money had been spent to develop plans, but they were not strategic because the dollars were not connected to the rhetoric. He thought it was brilliant that Mr. Miller saw the significance of strategic planning to discuss the reality of the monies. No one else coming forward, Mayor Hay closed public audience. 4. CLOSING COMMENTS Commissioner Holzman reiterated it was an opportunity for the City to move forward with the experience in a diverse citizenry to understand the City and bring something to the City that is lacking. The City would be lucky to have Mr. Miller as the City Manager. Motion Commissioner Holzman moved to have the City enter into negotiations with Mr. Miller for the job of City Manager. Commissioner Ross seconded the motion. Commissioner Orlove asked if the motion was in order. Attorney Cherof replied the motion was in order. Vote 10 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Boynton Beach, FL June 2, 2012 The motion failed 2 -2 (Mayor Hay and Commissioner Orlove dissenting). Commissioner Orlove thanked Mr. Miller for coming to Boynton Beach. He was surprised with the motion made. (Commissioner Holzman left the dais.) Commissioner Orlove was amazed that Commissioner Holzman had left the meeting. He emphasized there was a process to be followed. Two individuals had withdrawn from the search and a decision should be made how to proceed. More due diligence should be undertaken. Vice Mayor McCray's absence should also be factored into the process. Commissioner Ross was surprised only two Commissioners took the time and opportunity to speak with Mr. Miller face -to -face. She was also surprised that a member of the Commission had filed an ethics complaint against the entire Commission. The Mayor had declared the City was on the brink of a crisis, yet ignored the process in place and opportunity to interview stellar candidates. The seven months it had taken for the process was unacceptable. Commissioner Ross reminded everyone it is the responsibility of the Interim City Manager to oversee the process through as expeditiously as possible. Commissioner Ross had carried out her responsibility on behalf of the citizens of the City who are concerned about the future of Boynton Beach. Commissioner Orlove countered the Commission controls the process and not the Interim City Manager. The process had been developed during public meetings and the Commission had drawn out the process for several months. He had made his decision after speaking with the candidates and the Commission had undertaken due diligence to move the process forward. Mayor Hay felt the Commission had fulfilled their responsibility. He agreed the questioning should be done in a public arena as well. He disclosed he had spoken at length with Mr. Miller on the telephone. He commended Mr. Miller for his presentation and participation as a professional. Staff would be contacting Mr. Miller in the future since any hiring requires a strong majority of 4 -1 votes. 5. ADJOURNMENT There being no other comments, Mayor Hay properly adjourned the meting at 11:24 a.m. (Continued on next page) 11 Meeting Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Boynton Beach, FL June 2, 2012 CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH Woodrow L. Ha -,,�5► _doe , Vic- ayor Willia9ii -011 , e, Com issione Ste - • • n, 4'' / / -. ATTEST: Marlene Ross, Commissioner t ry Ja et M. Prainito, MMC ity Clerk J ■dith A. Pyle, C P' 'aeputy City Cler 12