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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1733 - MINUTES - City Commission MINUTES DANIA BEACH CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING JUNE 7, 2001 7:00 P.M. 1. Call to order Mayor Flury called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call: Present: Mayor: Pat Flury Vice-Mayor: Robert Chunn Commissioners: John Bertino Charles McElyea Bob Mikes City Attorney: Tom Ansbro Acting City Manager: Jason Nunemaker Acting City Clerk: Charlene Johnson 3. Discussion of city manager position with Dr. George L. Hanbury, II, ICMA. Dr. George Hanbury, Range Rider with ICMA (International City Managers Association), explained that Ranger Riders are a group of volunteers, primarily former city managers, who are no longer gainfully employed as city managers or are retired with other jobs. Dr. Hanbury advised that he is retired and currently enjoys his position as Executive Vice-President of Nova Southeastern University. As a volunteer Ranger Rider, he works with the ICMA and FCCMA (Florida City County Managers Association) in assisting local governments, through good business practices, to find honest professional administrators who will be able to meet the goals of the governing body. Dr. Hanbury presented the City Commission with a handout identified as "Suggestions for a Successful Recruitment, Evaluation, and Selection Process to hire a New City Manager" Commissioner Bertino explained to the City Commission that the City utilized an ICMA Ranger Rider in 1995 when they needed to replace previous City Manager Bob Flatley and a state wide advertising search was conducted. He explained that the process include Administration and the ICMA Ranger Rider reviewing the resumes so that a narrowed down list of applicants could be scheduled for interview by the City Commission. Commissioner Bertino mentioned the need for the City Commission to determine whether to use a points or voting method of MINUTES 1 JUNE 7, 2001 WORKSHOP MEETING selecting the City Manager candidate and mentioned that negotiations would • then be pursued with the candidate. Dr. Hanbury advised that he would assist the City Commission on the procedure to use for selecting the best candidate when the time comes. Mayor Flury advised that the role of a city manager is similar from city to city within certain parameters and recommended that the candidate possess executive, budgeting, people, and financial skills. Commissioner Mikes pointed out the need for an individual who could handle the cross section of diversity in both land use and population as well as deal with the types of issues imposed on a city located between two major metropolitan areas. Commissioner Mikes stressed the need for the City to take a step up in professionalism when selecting an administrator and pointed that the person would need to be rounded out so as to deal with budget constraints and low staffing compared to what other cities offer. The candidate must possess good communication and interpersonal skills and provide a "hands-on" approach to serving the public as well as have some experience in litigation, land use and redevelopment. Commissioner Bertino agreed with Commissioner Mikes that Dania Beach deals with large city problems because of its proximity to Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale even though it is a very small city. He recommended hiring a younger person with some experience or hiring an experienced person finishing up their career who would be willing to work for less money than what other cities would be paying for a city manager position. Commissioner Mikes was of the opinion that the city manager position is the most valuable position in the City and that underpaying the position would be the worst type of cost-savings. He recommended paying a comparable salary to attract a professional person with the right kind of abilities for the job and recommended that the person also be able to deal better with people so as to reduce litigation costs. He also agreed that a person in the pre-retirement mode with the skills and experience needed for the job could be a candidate. Mayor Flury agreed with the comments presented on the characteristics needed for the position, however, she pointed out the importance of the person having the appropriate support from team members. The City Commission does not want someone to try to be an attorney or a land use executive and they must be able to get the, team to work together. Mayor Flury suggested searching the southeastern U.S. instead of seeking city managers from the west because of the difference in cities. Mayor Flury thought someone with management skills from a large business could be a candidate and that the person must know how to motivate people to work as managers are only as good as the staff surrounding them. MINUTES 2 JUNE 7, 2001 WORKSHOP MEETING Mayor Flury pointed out the need for the City Commission to have monthly • reports on expenditures and revenues in order to have a better understanding of where the City stands financially so as to make policy decisions. She expressed her dissatisfaction with the lack of previous management over the past few years. Dr. Hanbury advised that John Stunson was just placed at Oakland Park as city manager and that he would provide the City Commission with information on Mr. Stunson's employment package for comparison purposes. Commissioner Mikes thought a salary range between $95,000.00 to $120,000.00 would not be excessive if the person has the characteristics of someone who knows how to operate a professional organization and has the ability to make changes in administration to better utilize staff. The person must be willing to work at least 50 hours a week on the job. Commissioner Bertino stressed his desire for hiring someone younger with less experience with a minimum B.A. degree and mentioned that an extensive background check should be conducted. He thought someone in the $120,000 salary range would not want to work for a city with a small staff situation like Dania Beach. Commissioner McElyea disagreed with running a training school and recommended hiring someone with experience who can cultivate existing • employees and be able to handle the job walking in. Dr. Hanbury mentioned that when an outside state search is conducted, the City Commission should expect a longer turn around time with the process. He pointed out that Oakland Park hired a city manager quickly because they kept the search within Florida. Dr. Hanbury reminded the City Commission that a candidate from another state would expect moving expenses to be paid and a higher and there may be family considerations. Dr. Hanbury mentioned that professional city managers expect to work 60 — 70 hours a week and to be on call 7 days a week 24 hours a day. Discussion followed on whether or not the City would be willing to pay travel expenses to people during the interview process. Dr. Hanbury advised that he would provide suggestions on the testing process and mentioned that Nova University may have the ability to conduct video conferences or a private firm could provide compressed video interviews. Dr. Hanbury stressed the importance of hiring a professional administrator who understands how to work with a legislative body, which sets the policy for the City. This individual must understand from the start that City Commissioners are placed before the voters to be elected and they expect the city manager to carry out their policy and directives. On the other hand, Dr. Hanbury clarified that elected officials must allow the city manager to carry out those directives without MINUTES 3 JUNE 7, 2001 WORKSHOP MEETING being micro-managed and there must be a team work between the City • Commission and City Manager. Commissioner Bertino mentioned that the City was unique as the City Commission hired and fired department heads up until November 1998 when a referendum vote of the electors passed to allow the city manager to hire and fire department heads. Commissioner Bertino pointed out that city managers must also adhere to urgings by commissioners to remove a department head who may be treating -the public abrasively as the city manager can be fired if he does adhere to the majority opinion of the City Commission. Commissioner Mikes stated that Dania Beach had a reputation for this type of micro-management in the past, however, he was hopeful that the new city commission was willing to support an independent professional. Commissioner Mikes mentioned that it could work both ways when city managers step into policy areas and sometimes it is not clear where the administrative area ends and policy begins. Contract: Commissioner Mikes supported the idea of a contract for a true professional with an experience level displaying the type of performance necessary for the job. Commissioner Bertino agreed that a contract is most likely needed in order to operate professionally. Dr. Hanbury recommended a contract and suggested that the termination issues be dealt with during the interview process. City Attorney Ansbro advised that a city manager contract, in accordance with the Charter, allows for a two year term from election to election, however, he thought that the Charter section could be amended by ordinance. Mayor Flury recommended that the city manager be required to live within the City and thought that provisions could be provided to allow ample time for the person to change residences. Commissioner Mikes agreed that a city manager should have to deal with the problems existing in the City, however, he pointed out that the average turn over time for a city manager is five years and he thought the city commission should not restrict a person who is not a long-term employee. Dr. Hanbury expected the advertising process to take at least 30 days and the evaluation to select candidates for interviewing to take another 30 days. Dr. Hanbury thought that the City Commission should be able to select a city manager within 3 months and that a city manager could be hired 30 days after the offer is presented. Dr. Hanbury explained that he needs a staff person who is not reporting to the acting city manager to administer some of the position search activities such as • correspondence to the applicants and scheduling matters. MINUTES 4 JUNE 7, 2001 WORKSHOP MEETING Acting City Manager Nunemaker had recommended Charlene Johnson, Acting City Clerk, to be the contact person based on her advertising experience. It was mentioned that a third party may be needed to assist Charlene with some of the mechanics of the project. The City Commission agreed that Charlene Johnson should be the contact person. Dr. Hanbury received input from the City Commission on the city manager advertisement and it was generally agreed that Dr. Hanbury would communicate with Mayor Flury on particulars such as the deadline for applications and issues relating to advertising. 4. Adjournment. This meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. 147z,— PAT FLURY MAYOR-COMMISSIONER CHARLENE JOHNSON ACTING CITY ttERK APPROVED: JULY 24, 2001 MINUTES 5 JUNE 7, 2001 WORKSHOP MEETING