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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Workshop_03/28/2007MINUTES VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA WORKSHIP VILLAGE MANAGER'S CONFERENCE ROOM WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2007 1:30 P.M. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Mayor Jim Humpage at 1:30 p.m. A roll call was taken by Village Clerk Lori McWilliams. Present were: Mayor Jim Humpage, Vice Mayor Pat Watkins, Council Member Paterno, Council Member Turnquest and Council Member Amero. Also in attendance were: Village Manager Michael R. Couzzo, Jr., Village Attorney Hawkins and Village Clerk Lori McWilliams. II. Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Humpage led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. III. Approval of Agenda MOTION: Vice-Mayor Watkins moved to approve the agenda as presented; seconded by Council Member Amero. Motion unanimously carried S-0. IV. Discussion on the role of Council Mayor Humpage thanked Council for attending and explained the purpose of the meeting was to provide information to Council on the Sunshine, Charter, and Roberts Rules of Order. 1. Policy formation Mr. Hawkins, Village Attorney, explained the objective was to ensure a fundamental and baseline understanding of key operational issues that Council Members as public officials need to appreciate, understand, recognize and adhere to. He would like to help develop a sense of sensitivity to issues to help alleviate unintentional problems and ensure that the Constitution of the Village of Tequesta, the Charter, was followed. He noted this was the document that governed all decisions. He explained Council's primary role was to make policy and was not to manage particular departments. He stated Council was to manage by managing the Manager and making policy, and pointed out Council was the legislative branch of the Village and enacted policy through Ordinances and Resolutions. He reiterated Council's role was to manage the Manager and not staff, and the principal levers were compensation, ability to fire, and hold him accountable for performance. He stated the Manager form of government was selected by the residents to ensure that Council managed a professional rather than elected officials; thereby if the Manager failed he would be held accountable Village Council Workshop Minutes March 28, 2007 Page 2 of 12 by the Council. 2. What does Charter provide on the role? Mayor Humpage noted the memo was emailed to the Clerk on Friday and she was not in the office and therefore Council did not receive the document until yesterday. Council Member Amero pointed out the memo was dated 3/16 and asked if it had been rewritten prior to distribution, and asked when Council should have received the information. Mr. Couzzo stated there was a re-write. Council Member Amero stated he was disappointed that he had not received the memo immediately after it was dated. Mr. Couzzo stated he had a call from Mr. Paterno yesterday asking if there was any additional backup to the agenda and in conversation with Mr. Hawkins mentioned this document had been written and unfortunately the document was only emailed to the Clerk, who was out on Friday and on Monday with Jury Duty. He suggested to Mr. Hawkins that this type of information should be forwarded to his office in addition to the Clerk in order to disseminate. Ms. McWilliams noted she had taken the necessary steps to have her email and voice mail monitored while she is away. Council Member Amero stated he had not seen a contract for the Attorney and asked who was responsible for his employment and Mr. Hawkins commented technically he was hired by the Manager. Council Member Amero asked who then would be responsible for directing the attorney to write this memo, Council or Village Manager. Mr. Couzzo stated he and the attorney discussed the memo and Mr. Hawkins directed Ms. Halversen to do the research and put this memo together. Council Member Amero asked if this was something that was done each year when a new Council Member was elected and Mr. Couzzo explained this had been historically done at a Council meeting and he and the Mayor felt a workshop setting would be a better format and allow additional interaction. Mayor Humpage stated when the election was set and it was apparent there would be five Council Members, he said to the Manager that since there had been previous issues and questions between members of Council and staff on Sunshine and the Charter and therefore asked Mr. Couzzo to organize this workshop so that everyone would be all on the same page. Council Member Amero asked if in the future Council would be polled on the matter or if the Mayor goes directly to the Village Manager or could a Council Member go directly to the Manager and request this type of meeting. Mayor Humpage stated two Council Members, the Manager or the Mayor could call a Special Meeting. Vice-Mayor Watkins mentioned it seemed the logical thing to do would be to address the rules and regulations. Council Member Amero stated that as much as it was like what he was used to it was different and he was trying to find the nuances. Mr. Couzzo mentioned the agenda was now distributed approximately two weeks prior to the meeting and suggested holding a workshop prior to the meeting to discuss agenda related issues to help expedite Council meetings and provide a greater level of comfort with the information presented. Village Council Workshop Minutes March 28, 2007 Page 3 of 12 Mr. Hawkins addressed Council Member Amero's previous question regarding the memo and noted there was a limited re-write from the initial draft; he did not know why Ms. Halversen did not change the date; and believed it was finalized closer to March 23, 2007. Council Member Paterno suggested memos could be addressed to the manager and copied to Council to avoid getting memos late, and there were other things that were late that he might have been able to contribute ideas on, because of his experience. Council Member Paterno noted he had found out only the previous day there was a problem with his check, which he had not received in five months, and his input might have been able to help if he had known. Vice Mayor Watkins expressed her opinion that getting the memo late had been a rare experience, and the Village Clerk advised she had now put procedures into place so that her email was monitored when she was out, so this should not happen again. Mr. Paterno commented he should not have to call to find out if issues had been resolved, and when he was doing his taxes, finding out he had not received a check in five months that might be considered salary had affected his income, and was a problem for him. Village Manager explained that the problem was the charter used the word salary, which had evolved over the years so that now the IRS required withholding to be taken out, which had not been the case previously. This had been discovered during the preparation of 1099 forms, and the Village was still seeking a definitive answer as to whether withholding must be taken out of Council Members' salary, and Attorney Hawkins and the auditors were looking into the matter. Discussion ensued regarding the timing of the checks. Mayor Humpage suggested the Council be copied on any email that was relative to a Council Member or a Council item. Attorney Hawkins advised his tax people were working on this matter, and he expected to have an answer by Friday. V. 2. Role of the Manager under the Charter Attorney Hawkins reviewed the charter language relating to the Village Manager: the Village Manager reports to Council, he is hired and fired by the Village Council; Council disciplines the Manager under his contract, and determines his compensation. VI. 4. Roberts Rules of Order Attorney Hawkins explained the Village Council follows Robert's Rules of Order, and advised that each member of the Council should familiarize themselves with those rules. Motions typically should be seconded; then discussion follows; however, motions that are tabled do not need a second. The Attorney commented that members must be courteous. Mayor Humpage commented there were two areas of the agenda where Council typically speaks, and asked what should be discussed under Council Comments on the agenda versus Any Other Matters. The Mayor advised he had worked with Commissioner Marcus regarding aright-of--way issue on the northwest side of the bridge, trying to get her to fund streetlights and sidewalks, and he believed she was going to do it. He would like to advise the rest of the Council and citizens regarding this matter, and believed that Village Council Workshop Minutes March 28, 2007 Page 4 of 12 Council Comments was the place to do it. If he had something he wanted on a future agenda, he thought it would be appropriate under Any Other Matters to ask to place that item on the next agenda. Vice Mayor Watkins commented she had the same impression, to try to put under Council Comments what you really wanted the public to hear since most of them were gone by the time Any Other Matters was discussed, and she considered Any Other Matters as the place for housekeeping items for Council. Attorney Hawkins advised that Any Other Matters was not the time for taking action, it was the time for benchmarking items for future discussion, and once that request was made it was on the agenda, and consensus should be required under Any Other Matters. Mayor Humpage commented it was the same as calling meetings-two Council Members could call a special meeting; two could put something on the agenda. Council Member Paterno expressed his opinion there should be a place on the agenda to discuss something a member wanted to bring up at the meeting which they did not want to wait for another month. Mayor Humpage expressed his opinion that when an agenda was set it should not be deviated from. Village Manager Couzzo advised that was policy set by the Council; one could state they would like to discuss something on the next agenda as a courtesy in order to have information on the item; but technically they could add something if it were time sensitive or staff needed something approved. The Council makes the policy, and if something were important enough to add it during a meeting, the law would be on their side. An ordinance (a law of the Village) could not be added because it would have to be advertised and one would have to follow all the rules involved in writing anordinance-public hearings at two public meetings, etc. A resolution was a resolve of the Council to do something, so if Council wanted to add something because it was expedient they could do so, although they did not usually do that because they gave each other the courtesy of waiting until the next month. Vice Mayor Watkins commented when there had been an emergency regarding the bridge, Council had taken action, and she didn't want to find out now they shouldn't have taken action on something serious like that. Attorney Hawkins reminded Council that at the beginning of meetings there was an opportunity to approve the agenda as submitted or with changes, and an item could be added then. They could not talk about action items under Any Other Matters. The public was entitled to know what the Council was talking about, and if it was not on the agenda and hadn't been announced as an agenda item, Council was subjecting themselves to possible criticism. If Council was taking action on items that arose at the eleventh hour, he cautioned against that, but an emergency item could be added to the agenda. Village Manager Couzzo advised that if such an item arose at the end of a meeting, a special meeting could be announced for the next day. It was prudent to notice the public and give them the opportunity to attend. Council Member Paterno asked where a Council Member would bring up an item such as that he had received three calls involving the police, so that the other members would know about it. Mayor Humpage responded updates could be given under Council Comments, and items that Council wanted on a future agenda could be under Any Other Matters. Vice Mayor Watkins expressed her opinion that the comments under Council Comments should be announcements of what members wanted the public to hear. Attorney Hawkins advised that items under Any Other Matters were not meant for taking action, Village Council Workshop Minutes March 28, 2007 Page 5 of 12 but to address for future agendas. IV. 3. Relation to Manager and Staff Attorney Hawkins cautioned Council to deal primarily with the Manager when communicating with staff, as outlined in section 2.11 of the charter. The Attorney advised there were cases where staff had been intimidated by a Council Member; there were cases in Florida where recall petitions had been brought by citizens where they thought a Council Member had crossed the line. Council Member Paterno commented Attorney Hawkins' memo also stated any Council Member could speak to any member of staff so long as they were not directing the staff member, which had held up in court. Attorney Hawkins responded Council Members could ask a staff member a question but the problem was that a question was not always a question to a staff member-a staff member could feel they had been directed to do something. Vice Mayor Watkins expressed her opinion in order to answer the question sometimes staff had to do research, and she felt that was directing staff. She felt questions that would require work should be addressed to the Manager-the Council Member might not even be asking the right staff person about what they wanted to know-plus maybe all of the other Council Members should know about the matter. Attorney Hawkins noted staff could feel intimidated--if they were asked to do something the Manager did not authorize that placed them in an awkward situation. If a Council Member asked staff to do something and they did it, that member was not being fair to the other Council Members because they were acquiring information that the other members did not know and they were acquiring it outside the role of the Manager. Also, the information asked for may not have been asked for in a way that yielded useful information-he knew of cases where information was provided that was misleading, because things the Manager would have suggested to be considered had not been considered. Attorney Hawkins noted he was simply pointing out the Village form of government called for it to be run by a professional and the job of the Council was to run the manager, and not to manage, and that was an area where litigation popped up. Mayor Humpage commented he had no problem with Council speaking to staff, but related that last year the budget had been run at a percentage and that information had been provided to Council. One Council Member asked Finance Director Forsythe to run it at a different percentage, 6%, because they felt that would produce a more accurate number. Ms. Forsythe had been intimidated by the Council Member and she ran the numbers, which took time and effort and took her away from her other duties, and one Council Member got the second run and the others did not. Mayor Humpage expressed his opinion that should have come from consensus of the whole Council and not one person telling staff what to do. If a member thought the budget should be run at a different percentage they should tell the Manager and ask him for it to be run, so that the information would go to all the Council Members. Council Member Amero agreed in that situation, but commented when he read the backup memo he did not understand the paranoia; it seemed so adversarial, that it was Village Council Workshop Minutes March 28, 2007 Page 6 of 12 Council against Manager and Manager against Council. Mr. Amero advised he had been a member of the Town of Jupiter Council for nine years and they had never had a discussion regarding interference, and the wording in their charter was identical. He could always ask a department head a question but not direct them to do work. Council Member Amero stated the Council was to be a team to give the citizens a fair shake; the Council all had to get along, and he would like to get an answer from the person he wanted to ask, such as a department head or the attorney. He was not going to ask for something that required work, but Council should trust each other, he did not know what others were going to ask, but the Manager was busy, and Council should feel welcome when they came into Village Hall and he should be able to feel free to ask questions and he was not going to direct anyone to do work. Mayor Humpage commented in the situation with the Finance Director if Council Member Amero asked Ms. Forsythe if she felt the budget should be run at a different percentage and she agreed, then he could go to the Manager and make the request, and all other members would be provided with the result. Mayor Humpage cautioned that calling the attorney cost money so any matters to be discussed with Mr. Hawkins needed to be consensus or go through the Manager. Council Member Amero agreed, commented he did not believe Council Members should be coming in and micromanaging, and that was not what he was talking about. He wanted citizens to be able to talk to him and not be intimidated; the Council was their voice. Village Manager Couzzo advised it had never been a problem; if a Council Member had a question that could be answered by a department head or the attorney, he told them to call that staff member. Attorney Hawkins had simply presented aworst-case scenario. Council Member Amero commented he did not want censored information, and he wanted Council to work together. Village Manager Couzzo commented staff may have felt intimidated in the past, but he felt that was not the case now, but each staff member had different perspectives and he could take everything into consideration to present what he thought was correct. Vice Mayor Watkins commented she wanted everyone to be comfortable and be able to work together going forward. Village Manager Couzzo noted there would always be employees that might feel intimidated and it was his obligation to hire and fire. He did not feel intimidated, but this was a lean operation with most people doing two jobs, it was highly stressful, and some dealt with it better than others. Mayor Humpage commented now there were five members and everyone should help steer the ship. He had the advantage of history and knowing all the people, but he was very cautious to always state "we" and not state something that was just his opinion. Each member was valuable, and he wanted Council to work together and be happy and. he wanted staff to be happy, and encouraged Mr. Amero to go in and see staff. Village Manager Couzzo commented he also encouraged him to visit staff. Council Member Amero stated he was glad to hear that. Mayor Humpage only asked that Council not micromanage. The Village Manager indicated everyone was doing more than one job and it could be stressful. Village Council Workshop Minutes March 28, 2007 Page 7 of 12 Attorney Hawkins commented this had been a good discussion, and pointed out Council had leverage in that they could suggest that a department be created or divided, which could be proposed to the Manager. They might suggest to the Manager a department needed more help, or ask for a proposal on how Council could get better or current information, and make a policy. Village Manager Couzzo discussed the budget, noting a past situation where Council Members had requested additional employees which added a substantial amount to the budget; however, they had the ability to do that. Council Member Amero asked if Council set the policies in the personnel manual. Mr. Couzzo advised Human Resources set the personnel policies and Council approved them, and they would soon be asked to approve some changes, which was done approximately every two years. Council Member Paterno commented the Village Attorney was hired by the Manager so reported to the Manager, and there was nothing in the charter that spelled out the attorney was to be hired by the Manager, so technically Council could hire the attorney and he would be working for Council rather than the Manager. Village Manager Couzzo advised that in many municipalities the charter officers were the manager, the attorney, and the clerk, but here that was not the case; here the attorney was a contracted consultant and did not work on a full-time basis; the clerk had been a charter officer but that was changed when the charter was amended in 2001. It was clarified that a change could be made that Council hire the attorney which could be done by changing the charter. Council Member Amero commented the Village had changed since 2001 and a charter review should be done-at that time a decision could be made whether the attorney should be a separate department working under Council rather than under the Village Manager, which would provide a balance of power, always a good thing. Council Member Paterno advised it was his interpretation of the charter that Council could legislate that the attorney work for the Council. Attorney Hawkins advised a charter amendment would be more appropriate and asked who would tell him what to do. Council Member Amero explained in most charters the Village Attorney would work for the whole Council, compared to now he worked under the Manager at a contracted hourly rate. Council Member Paterno commented he sometimes thought it would be best if the attorney gave the Council the advice outside the Manager as a separate opinion, rather than through the Manager with him giving the Attorney direction to work in a certain direction. Vice Mayor Watkins commented he was giving legal opinions for the Village, and she did not see where it mattered. Attorney Hawkins recalled he had asked the Council for guidance, which had been at the request of the Manager or the Mayor; and expressed concern that all five Council Members could tell him what to do. Council Member Paterno responded he was not looking for that; he was just looking to make the Attorney as independent as possible. Council Member Amero commented the Village charter was unusual regarding the balanced of power since it was written with the Village Manager and the Village Clerk, and then the attorney was not stated next; most towns separated the attorney because they wanted a balance of powers. You did not Village Council Workshop Minutes March 28, 2007 Page 8 of 12 have that when the Manager hired the Attorney. Village Manager Couzzo commented he had worked with Mr. Hawkins for four years and had never directed him; he was an independent to advise the Council; and disagreed that Mr. Hawkins worked for him-he worked for the Village. Council Member Paterno stated he liked the way Council Member Amero had stated it regarding the balance of power, with the Attorney reporting to the Council. Mayor Humpage asked if he was saying the Attorney would be biased in giving Council information because he was influenced by the Manager. Council Member Paterno responded he was saying he thought it would be best to separate that person to provide checks and balances. Mayor Humpage noted in order to change that, the charter would have to be changed by the residents. Council Member Paterno expressed his opinion that Council could set a policy or a resolution that the attorney worked for the Council. Attorney Hawkins advised the Council could not make a resolution or policy that ran afoul of the charter. Mayor Humpage commented it had always been done this way and the attorney had never provided any information that was "cooked"; and if that happened he would take both the Attorney and the Manager to task, and asked if the change were made would there have to be three in favor of everything they asked the attorney to do. Council Member Paterno envisioned it would be like an independent auditor. Village Manager Couzzo advised if Council thought there was a problem with information received from the attorney and that it was not independent and unbiased, or if Council was uncomfortable with any information provided by staff or any consultant, to let him know so that he could act. Mayor Humpage commented there was nothing wrong with a member of Council stating they did not agree with particular advice, and that they would like to bring in another firm to see what they had to say about it. Council Member Paterno stated he was not having a problem with the lawyers, but the Manager could hire and fire them, and he felt that should be separated to be independent-this was a workshop to bring up ideas, and that was one of his ideas. Village Manager Couzzo stressed that his role and that of Mr. Hawkins were to make sure the laws were adhered to, and if Mr. Hawkins saw something was wrong and did not speak out, he was guilty by complicity, which jeopardized his status as an attorney. Attorney Hawkins requested if a Council Member felt there was an issue that had not been properly addressed to state so at a public Council meeting, because innuendo and talking behind doors breeds discontent, and if anyone felt the Manager was shaping what the Attorney was doing in a way that was inappropriate they should call it. Council Member Paterno indicated this was just a concept. Village Manager Couzzo stated he was using experts appropriate to the subject matter and currently used five different law firms to get the best advice as soon as possible at the best cost. Council Member Paterno stated his intent was not against Attorney Hawkins. The Manager advised if a member wanted to speak to the attorney, to let him know, and they could do so, but he had to go through the attorney's bill and identify each item in order to post to the appropriate accounts. Vice Mayor Watkins expressed her opinion that Attorney Hawkins was working for the good of the Village. VI. The Sunshine Law 1. Overview Village Council Workshop Minutes March 28, 2007 Page 9 of 12 Attorney Hawkins reviewed the Sunshine Law, the principle that all discussions regarding Village business by elected officials needed to be done at a public meeting, to create trust between the officials and the residents. In practical terms, that meant a Council Member could not call another Council Member on the phone and talk about an issue that would come before Council. A Council Member could not go to a friend or a resident or anyone and ask that they get another Council Member's opinion. Comments on a proposed ordinance or a request for thoughts on an item could not be expressed or requested in an email or fax. Council Members could meet on the street, ask how the other was and if they would be at a meeting, one member could send an email asking everyone to look at an article he planned to bring up for discussion, but no one could write back and give an opinion. The problem with the law was there was a presumption that elected officials were violating the law when they spoke outside the sunshine. They were all held to the standard of knowing the law. 2. Legal Update Regarding Meetings, Emails, Etc. and Procedure for Making Council-Wide Communications Attorney Hawkins advised that emails should not be sent that a Council Member one day might find embarrassing-all email was public record. Village Clerk McWilliams advised the Palm Beach Post requested the Council's and the Manager's email and written mail every single week. Council Member Paterno noted there seemed to be less email since the Post was monitoring it, and he wanted to keep getting it. Attorney Hawkins clarified if members wanted to send articles, they could do so, but not express an opinion, and if they sent to one they should send to all, or send to the Manager or Clerk or Attorney and ask that it be disseminated. Attorney Hawkins advised the problem was having discourse arising from the communication or sending a message you want someone to pick up on. When sending a communication to be disseminated, just state, Mike, please disseminate this article, and he will disseminate to all. The Village Manager advised if anything looked like it might be sending a message it would be reviewed by him, the Clerk, and/or the Attorney before disseminating. Village Manager Couzzo commented it was not only something that was going to come before the Council that could not be discussed, it was also something that might have the potential to be discussed. Mr. Couzzo advised that his idea of the Sunshine Law was that the business of the people of this state and this community was expected to be done in the presence of the people. There were many cases that started with the best of intentions, then the State's attorney came in and went after it as a public corruption issue. A lot of it was perception issues; if someone wanted to cause trouble they could contact the State's attorney and claim Council Members had been talking about something. Attorney Hawkins gave an examples where Council Members at a cocktail party could not share views, and at a committee meeting, even though stating that their views were as a resident and not as a Council Member. Those could potentially be a problem. Village Manager Couzzo gave an example where an innocent remark was made from one member to another at a Council meeting, and perceived by a member of the audience to be discussing Council business. Village Council Workshop Minutes March 28, 2007 Page 10 of 12 Vice Mayor Watkins asked if a Council person could converse with a Planning and Zoning Board member. Attorney Hawkins responded they could and it was not a Sunshine law violation; they could also speak to the Manager and the Finance Director, for example, but could not meet with the Manager, the Finance Director, and the Mayor, and say, Mayor, what do you think? Council Member Paterno asked if a Council Member could speak at another Village board meeting. Attorney Hawkins advised they could express their views; but if another Council Member was present he preferred that those views not be expressed, and never say how you thought the Council would react to his. Attorney Hawkins advised everyone should be aware there is an electronic record of everything said and everything sent in email. Village Clerk McWilliams commented personal email and personal home computers that had Village information were also public record. Village Manager Couzzo commented if anyone had any questions to call him, call the clerk, the attorney, or the State's attorney for help. VII. Ethics Commission 1. Financial Disclosure Attorney Hawkins reminded everyone that financial disclosure was required each year. 2. Overview of "Gifts Law" and required disclosures Attorney Hawkins advised he would prefer Council Members not to accept gifts, but if they did to make sure they reported them. Conversations with lobbyists should be disclosed, but with the Village's lobbyist it was not necessary. Mr. Couzzo advised tickets to events should be disclosed under the gifts law; any questions regarding gifts should be directed to the Manager. Any gifts over $100 must be reported. If tickets were not worth $100 but lunch was served, that meant it was over $100. The issuer of the tickets should be contacted for the value. The Village Clerk announced that each Council Member would receive a book in which the gift disclosure law was covered. Mayor Humpage requested discussion on inquiries and investigation, noting that the charter said in the circumstances of either inquiries or investigations, those had to go through the Manager. As to what inquiries or investigations were, the charter was ambiguous. If a member of the Council said they wanted an inquiry or investigation done, it had to be a consensus of the Council that it had to be done. Village Manager Couzzo expressed his opinion it needed to be specific. Council Member Paterno commented the Attorney General had issued an opinion on this, which he had already forwarded to the Police Chief in regard to police matters, and any person had the right to request any documents from the Village Clerk. Mayor Humpage advised the latest rules by the Attorney General had been in the Palm Beach Post. Village Manager Couzzo Village Council Workshop Minutes March 28, 2007 Page 11 of 12 noted not everyone was entitled to every document since some documents were exempt. Council Members were not entitled to police investigations, certain internal investigations, certain personnel documents, health information-there were all kinds of laws that precluded staff from giving that to Council; if staff provided it then they were subject to legal action by the person whose documents they gave out. Mayor Humpage agreed, but stated he was not talking about public record, he was talking about when someone was fired or quit and then they contacted Council Members. He and Council Member Paterno had gotten caught up in that situation, the attorney had to be contacted, and many dollars were being spent. The Mayor requested that if this happened, then it must be consensus of Council to investigate. In explaining the difference between an inquiry and an investigation, Village Manager Couzzo advised that an investigation should have a charge associated with it-one had to say what was being alleged; violation of civil rights was a different story. Village Manager Couzzo used an example of someone who believed his management style was intimidating; if the Council agreed they could fire him or ask him to resign. Mayor Humpage stated he wanted it to be a consensus so everyone was in the loop. VIII. Scheduling of an Executive Session regarding CWA and PBA Contracts Mayor Humpage announced both contracts should have been decided in October and there were budget issues, and asked for an executive session as soon as possible. Attorney Hawkins explained the executive session label was used to describe the type of limited meeting that could occur outside the Sunshine, which was very, very narrow. Basically, there were two instances where an executive session could take place, and the public had to be informed it was being done and why it was being done. Village Clerk McWilliams clarified Attorney Client Session was for litigation. Village Attorney Hawkins advised there were two instances; one was where there was pending litigation such as Hattie Siegel suing the Village and the Council wanted to discuss response strategy and what type of legal expenditures would be confronted. This could be done outside the Sunshine. Also collective bargaining could be discussed outside the Sunshine. Regarding pending litigation, there was a stenographer who recorded the discussion and after the litigation was over that transcript was public record. So it was a temporary closed door session, but eventually everything became public record. Council Member Paterno asked if Council Member Turnquest would be allowed to vote on matters concerning the Dalack litigation. The response was yes, he would be allowed to vote. Village Manager Couzzo advised Council Member Turnquest and Council Member Amero to call him and he would bring them up to date on that litigation. Mayor Humpage requested a closed door session regarding the CWA and PBA contracts between now and the April 12 Council meeting, and expressed his opinion the employees involved had a right to a vote of the Council, whether up or down. The Village Clerk was asked to poll members with available dates. Council Member Paterno asked for an update on the FRS pension situation. Village Village Council Workshop Minutes March 28, 2007 Page 12 of 12 Manager Couzzo reported it had been finalized except for the action the pension boards needed to take, which was a housekeeping issue, and he would put out correspondence regarding this and advise whether the Council had any options. Mayor Humpage noted he would be attending court on April 14 and would ride with the Chief of Police. If another member wanted to attend, Mr. Couzzo suggested that person ride with him. The Village Manager invited the Council to attend the Ethics and Sunshine Law in September with the Governor and State's Attorney, which would show how vigilant they were to prosecute. Village Clerk McWilliams advised on Apri126 Palm Beach County Municipal Clerks Association was being held at Tequesta, and she was looking for someone to make a presentation regarding the Sunshine Law. Mayor Humpage thanked everyone for a good meeting, and encouraged workshops before Council meetings and another workshop in six months. Council Member Paterno requested dates be set and adhered to. Mayor Humpage commented if he was out of town the Council could proceed without him. Mr. Joe Baker requested an item be placed on the next Council agenda regarding Cool Cities. IX. Adjournment MOTION: Upon motion by Council Member Amero, seconded by Council Member Paterno and carried by unanimous S-0 vote, the meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p. m. Respectfully submitted, ,<~r O r TFQ /i,~~ ~~4w ' ~~F1? 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