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HomeMy WebLinkAbout31257 - MINUTES - City Commission F7 i MINUTES DANIA CITY COMMISSION ' SPECIAL MEETING OCTOBER 17, 1988 ROLL CALL: Present — Mayor: Charles MCElyea Vice Mayor: Jean Cook Commissioners: John Bertino Howard Hirsch City Attorney: Frank Adler City Manager: Robert Flatley Deputy City Clerk: Marie Jabalee Absent — Commissioner: Anthony Stevens A motion was made by Vice Mayor Cook , seconded by Commissioner Bertino to excuse Commissioner Stevens from this meeting due to illness . The motion carried. 1. PUBLIC BEARING regarding the amended Comprehensive Plan. Leigh Kerr, Planning Consultant working with Berry and Calvin spoke on the text of the master plan and its relation to state law. Growth Management Director, Laurence Leeds , addressed three areas of local concern regarding changes and alternatives to the map: 1 ) the downtown development district (central business district) ; 2 ) the Federal Highway/Sheridan Street commercial frontage ; and 3 ) southeast Dania east of Fifth Avenue. i Mayor MCElyea opened the public hearing. Joel Gustafson commented on the five—acre Ligotti parcel with regard to density and asked that it be left at sixteen units per acre. Hugo Renda and Vincent Carroll disagreed with Mr. Gustafson's comments and recommended one unit per acre density in the area east of Fifth Avenue. Bill Wosenitz addressed zoning concerns with respect to property tax assessments. { Bob Mikes, representing Dania Civic Association, commented on the need for more community input on all aspects of this plan from recreational elements to capital funding . Hearing comments by Irving Warman on the southwest section, the Mayor closed the public hearing. i During Commission discussion of the proposed plan, Mr. Leeds received input from the Commission on particular areas to examine more closely. City Manager Flatley was directed to run more advertising of the next public hearing on the comprehensive plan that will be held on Tuesday, October 25, 1988. 2. Discussion and possible action regarding insurance plan. Personnel Director, Michael Smith, having distributed the supporting lI documentation at the October llth meeting, asked the Commission to i accept his recommendation to go from a self—insured program to a ttttk ffully insured indemnity program. He said the change was necessitated by the high cost of remaining with the self—insurance plan and the reduction in the number of employees . Commissioner Bertino asked about the League of Cities ' plan and Mr. Smith described past experience with their health program as unsatisfactory. Mr. Smith said Washington National offered the best program of the twelve indemnity carriers compared. Commissioner Hirsch asked why Blue Cross and Blue Shield were not checked out. David Adams, of Medical Insurance Administrators, responded that Blue Cross and Blue Shield push HMO's, and since the City of Dania was not interested in HMO's in the past, M. I .A. did not look at them. Special Commission Meeting 1 October 17, 1988 F7 i i Mr. Smith reported that the chosen carrier, Washington National , will f not cover 100% PPO at this time, but, obligated by the Fire Department 's contract, the city will continue to self-insure the i remaining 20% for the firefighters. Commissioner Bertino expressed his belief that the city is morally obligated to do the same for the remaining 74 general employees and asked how much more that would cost. Mr. Adams estimated, including dependent coverage, another $60,000. Vice Mayor Cook asked City Manager Flatley's opinion. Mr. y Flatley, pointing out that it is common practice to treat general employees different than the higher risk police and fire, reported that the city could not afford the additional insurance cost and recommended that the Commission accept Mike Smith 's plan and reject the suggestion of picking up the remaining 20% for general employees. i David Adams assured the Commission that he will continue trying to negotiate with Washington National to honor the PPO as part of the program and hopefully would be able to offer some kind of return by January. Commissioner Bertino said he would rather make the $60,000 payment now and offer the employees $60,000 less in overall raises next year. Vice Mayor Cook said she would also like to see all the employees enjoy full coverage, but if the city doesn ' t have the money, it can't be done. During discussion of rising medical costs, Mr. Adams pointed out that the section 125 cafeteria plan was offered for the employees ' benefit. Pat Patterson, Dania Firefighter, pointed out that two years ago, when negotiations went into arbitration, the decision was based on ; the great insurance benefits being enjoyed by the employees. He commented that even with the PPO program extra medical costs were high and agreed with Commissioner Bertino that a catastrophic illness could wipe a person out. Vice Mayor Cook acknowledging that the Fire Department's contract must be honored, expressed concern about the financial situation. Asked by Commissioner Bertino if there weren' t some $60, 000 worth of budgeted items that the city could do without, City Manager Flatley said no, nothing short of the $68, 000 wage contingency sitting there for general employees some time during the year. i The Commissioners agreed with Commissioner Hirsch 's suggestion that i the employees should at least be given the opportunity to purchase } the PPO coverage from the city. Mr. Adams said a one on one meeting will be held with each employee during open enrollment throughout the month of November and verified Commissioner Hirsch 's understanding t that the employees would be notified, spoken to and given the option. A motion was made by Commissioner Hirsch to accept the plan effective October 15, 1988, as discussed, and that all employees be informed and given the opportunity to buy their fair share. With the j understanding that the city might look into returning to a self-insured program after a year, Vice Mayor Cook seconded the motion. The motion passed on the following roll call vote: Commissioner Bertino-no Vice Mayor Cook-yes i { Commissioner Hirsch-yes Mayor McElyea-yes This Special Commission Meeting was then adjourned. I r 1 � AYOR-COMMISSIO j ITY CLERK-AUDITOR Special Commission Meeting 2 October 17 , 1988 I1 t 1 i AGENDA DANIA CITY COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING i OCTOBER 17, 1988 7:30 P.M. j i 1. PUBLIC HEARING regarding the amended Comprehensive Plan. 2. Discussion and possible action regarding insurance plan . t i i ) } t 1 I I i I I f A � 1 ,5 i