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HomeMy WebLinkAbout54279 - MINUTES - CRA MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING CITY OF DANIA BEACH COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2008 — 6:00 P.M. 1. Call to Order Chairman Anton called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Present: Chairman: Bob Anton Vice-Chairman: Albert Jones Commissioners: John Bertino Anne Castro Patricia Flury City Manager: Ivan Pato City Attorney: Thomas Ansbro City Clerk: Louise Stilson Item #3 was heard before Item #2 2. Ranking and Selection of Community Redevelopment Director Applicants Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Vice- Mayor Overall Candidate Bertino Castro Flury Mayor Anton Ranking Jones Jeremy 2 2 1 1 1 1 Earle Michael 3 4 5 Caputo Angela 5 5 4 Bauldree Paul J. 1 1 2 2 2 2 Herman V. Bernard 4 3 3 Jones 3. Discussion Item - Community Redevelopment Director Position — City Employee or Independent Contractor Commissioner Bertino commented we need to determine if the person will be a City employee or a contract employee. He thought we should make the determination before proceeding with a selection because if it is a City employee, the City Manager would have to make the selection, according to the Charter. Commissioner Castro had no problem asking the City Manager to allow the Board to make the decision. City Attorney Ansbro advised that the Charter gives the City Manager the power to appoint all employees. However, he could assign this authority to the Commission, according to our Labor Counsel. If, at a later date, the Commission decides they do not want the person, then the City Manager would need to do the firing. City Attorney Ansbro thought it would not work this way, under the City Charter. Commissioner Castro thought the Charter section referring to the CRA Board was unclear and suggested we revisit the subject once the issue of hiring a Community Redevelopment Director is settled. She further indicated that if the CRA Board has the power to hire this employee, we should opt for a contract employee with City benefits, like the City of Boynton Beach did. City Attorney Ansbro pointed out that the recommended and preferred choice would be for this person to be hired as an independent contractor. Chairman Anton would prefer to have a contractual employee who would report to the CPA Board. He further noted that if we decide to provide a benefit package, we need to decide what it will contain. Mary McDonald, Human Resources/Risk Management Director, confirmed for Chairman Anton that an additional 40-45 percent would need to be added to the salary to cover the cost of the benefit package. Chairman Anton noted we budgeted $100,000 for this position and we should be under budget. He further commented that we do not have a problem with office space because there are offices available on the second floor. Chairman Anton concluded that if additional staff is needed we could start by using in-house assistance. Director McDonald explained the difference between a contract employee and an independent contractor. A contract employee is the same as a regular employee who is entitled to benefits, with the exception that they have a contract. Whereas, an independent contractor is an employee who receives a certain amount of money and is accountable to the CRA Board. Minutes of Special Meeting Z City of Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Tuesday, February 12, 2008—6:00 p.m. Commissioner Castro noted that the City of Boynton Beach hired a contractor as their CRA Director and an Interlocal Agreement was executed between the CRA and the City to provide benefits for him. She indicated that in order to be competitive, we have to provide insurance for the individual. Vice-Chairman Jones commented that if the independent contractor does not work out, we can sever the agreement whenever we want. He is leaning to hire an independent contractor, with no benefits, who would be assigned tasks and report back to the CRA Board. Commissioner Bertino stated that if we hire an independent contractor, with no insurance, we might have to offer more money. He further commented that we currently do not have a Community Development Director, however, once that position is filled the City Planner could assume some of the duties of the CRA Director position and we would not have to add anyone else to payroll. Commissioner Flury opposed consolidating these positions, and questioned the salary range for the CRA Director position. Director McDonald advised that the salary range for a full-time employee would be $69,000- $86,000, excluding benefits. Commissioner Flury thought that hiring an employee with a contract would be too complicated. She would rather hire an independent contractor who would report to the CRA Board with the Chairman being the contact person. She suggested we increase the salary and include forty percent for benefits. and let the person know this is all inclusive. Commissioner Flury remarked it is important to be able to fire the person if they do not work out, as opposed to going through the civil service process. Director McDonald noted that an independent contractor would need to carry Workers Compensation insurance. She further advised that the City could pay the policy and include that in the benefit package that would be offered to the individual. Commissioner Castro opposed a forty percent increase for the benefit package. She reaffirmed that Boynton Beach hired a person and they receive benefits under an Interlocal Agreement between the CRA Board and the City. Commissioner Castro suggested obtaining the information from Boynton Beach and moving forward. City Attorney Ansbro pointed out that every City has a different Charter and he does not know what their Charter states in this regard. Vice-Chairman Jones thought it was a good idea to explore Commissioner Castro's suggestion with Boynton Beach because this would allow us to stay within the budgeted amount. He thought that if we hired an independent contractor we would need to make sure someone is in charge of the daily monitoring of this person's work. Minutes of Special Meeting 3 City of Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Tuesday, February 12,2008—6:00 p.m. Chairman Anton favored the idea of a contract employee with benefits because we do not know if it will work, and it will be difficult to bring someone on board without benefits. He thought that the supervision of the employee could be delegated to the City Manager with the individual reporting directly to the CRA Board. Commissioner Flury would prefer an employee with a contract. She pointed out that we need to make a selection and notify them accordingly, and have them come in and meet with Director McDonald to discuss the employment details. Commissioner Castro read a section of the City of Boynton Beach Charter regarding the supervision of certain employees by the City Manager. She thought it was very similar to ours, however in this case the Dania Beach Charter was irrelevant because they will be contracting with the CRA Board and piggybacking the health benefits through an Interlocal Agreement. City Attorney Ansbro pointed out that our current health insurance company advised they will not accept this individual unless he is a City employee. Director McDonald noted that if the CRA Board operates under the same Federal ID number as the City, this individual could be added to our health insurance. Commissioner Flury noted she would like the salary for this position to start at $80,000 with the Mayor as the lead person for other items. It was the consensus of the Board to move forward with hiring the selected candidate as a contractual employee, for one year, serving at the pleasure of the CRA Board, through an Interlocal Agreement, under the supervision of the City Manager. The salary range would be $80,000-$85,000, including City benefits. Director McDonald reminded the Board that the salary being discussed, including benefits would exceed the budgeted amount of$100,000. Commissioner Bertino noted this person might have to travel and have business meetings with developers. He questioned if the City would be providing an expense account and automobile. Commissioner Flury noted that this position would receive the same monthly allowance/expense account to which Department Heads are entitled. Commissioner Castro indicated this is not a marketing position and hoped we would not be expending too much money when trying to attract developers. City Manager Pato asked if this person would develop a budget like other Department Heads. Commissioner Flury thought we had to give the individual time to settle in and get to know the job before we ask him to develop a budget. Minutes of Special Meeting 4 City of Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Tuesday, February 12, 2008—6:00 p.m. Commissioner Castro confirmed with Director McDonald that the references provided by the candidates had been checked. 4. Adjournment Chairman Anton adjourned the meeting at 6: 43 p.m. ATTEST: COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY LOUISE STILSON, CMC OB A TON CITY CLERK CHAIRMAN —CRA Approved: March 6, 2008 Minutes of Special Meeting 5 City of Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Tuesday, February 12,2008—6:00 p.m.