Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Workshop_07/10/2007MINUTES OF THE VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA VILLAGE MANAGER'S CONFERENCE ROOM VILLAGE COUNCIL WORKSHOP TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2007 2:00 P.M. I. Call to Order and Roll Call The Village of Tequesta Village Council held a Village Council Workshop meeting at the Tequesta Village Hall, 345 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, Florida, on Tuesday, July 10, 2007. The meeting was called to order at 2:15 p.m. by Mayor Humpage. A roll call was taken by Village Clerk Lori McWilliams. The following elected officials were present: Mayor Jim Humpage, Vice Mayor Pat Watkins, Council Member Tom Paterno, and Council Member Calvin Turnquest. Council Member Dan Amero was absent. Also in attendance were Village Manager Michael R. Couzzo, Jr., Village Clerk Lori McWilliams, and Department Heads. 2. Approval of the Agenda MOTION: Vice Mayor Watkins moved approval of the agenda as submitted. Council Member Calvin Turnquest seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 4-0 vote. 3. Discussion of Personnel Policies a. Summary Sheet b. 2004 Policy Manual Human Resources Director Merlene Reid advised a list of 23 personnel policies had been provided for guidance from the Council, and indicted she had questions regarding future procedure. Ms. Reid explained there were different categories of policies-those that had financial impact such as travel expense, those governed by State or Federal laws, and internal policies that did not have financial impact such as donation of sick time when someone was ill-and asked if all categories should come before Council in the future. Mayor Humpage expressed his opinion that on those governed by the State or Federal Government the Council should be advised how their changes would change Village policy. Vice Mayor Watkins agreed, and indicated her position was only those policies with financial impact should be brought to Council, but as a courtesy they should be advised of other changes. Council Member Paterno commented the Charter mandated Council to make policy so they could not deviate from the Charter, even if it was just a yes, because the Charter said they Village Council Workshop Meeting July 10, 2007 Page 2 must do this. Vice Mayor Watkins asked that Village Attorney Hawkins provide an interpretation of "policy" in the event of a non-cost item such as donation of sick days. Village Manager Couzzo commented another example would be the new re-employment policy. Council Member Paterno commented Internet usage at work was an example where the Village Manager might want a policy because that was lost work hours, but Council might want an even more stringent policy. Mayor Humpage felt cell phone usage was a department head issue; that Council should not micromanage. Ms. Reid reported she had checked with other municipalities and they did not bring policies to Council; only Jupiter brought the policies with significant financial impacts before Council. Council Member Turnquest expressed his opinion that regulation of changes should be left to department heads except financial impact or charter impact should be brought to Council; other ordinary changes should be left to department heads to manage unless it hampered Council from doing its job. Ms. Reid advised a handbook which contained a summary of the major policies was being developed, with additional minor issues that did not require a policy, such as not posting anything on the bulletin board unless it was approved by the Human Resource Department; and asked if the handbook needed Council approval. Council discussion indicated approval should be by the Village Manager, but Council should have a copy. Council Member Turnquest requested that changes be included in the monthly report to Council as an FYI. Ms. Reid explained that employees would sign off when they received a handbook, and if there were any discrepancies they would go to the manual. Council Member Paterno pointed out contradictions in item 7.10 regarding signing off. Ms. Reid explained that there would be a page for employees to acknowledge they had read the handbook; if additional information was needed they would refer to the personnel manual. Every supervisor, every department, every employee would have a handbook, and the policies would be posted online also. c. Policies Recommended for change Ms. Reid provided reports of the policies between 2004 and 2006. Village Manager Couzzo asked for any questions on the additions; there were none, therefore these policies were included in the policies to be adopted. Policy Sections were distributed. Policy 7.10 Accident Investigation Reporting -Policy accepted with no changes. Policy 4.1 Compensation. No one had problems, but Council Member Paterno asked not to always hire the most experienced person, since that would throw the budget off. Village Council Workshop Meeting July 10, 2007 Page 3 Policy 4.2 Compensatory Time and Overtime. Policy was accepted; however, it was noted that comp time could not be used to make up one's 40 hour work week. Ms. Reid explained FLS, Fair Labor Standards Act, was referenced when that governed; paid workers were non-exempt; overtime received money and comp time received time; there was nothing to stop an organization from giving both exempt and non-exempt workers overtime. Exempt employees no longer received overtime, and this policy was for non-union employees. Village Manager Couzzo explained these were not absolute since there could be contract issues; an example of which was that exempt employees were compensated overtime during a state of emergency, which was in the hurricane plan, but those hours were reimbursed by FEMA. It was clarified in that case one 24-hour shift would be equivalent to 4-112 days off. Council Member Paterno expressed in his opinion this had been previously passed without concern to finances, and should also be included in the personnel manual so everyone would realize it existed. It was agreed to add that policy to the personnel manual. Ms. Cyrese Colbert suggested there not be the option of using comp time and to require employees be paid for the time instead. Council Member Paterno expressed his opinion that employees who worked a weekend during the hurricane who were compensated time and a half should not then be able to take sick time and vacation time for the rest of the week. Ms. Colbert pointed out that was in a different work week; Village Manager Couzzo confirmed pay periods started Sunday at 12 midnight. Mayor Humpage commented that Council Member Paterno's concern was this had happened in the past and the policy needed to be tightened so it would not occur again. The Village Manager commented this would be referenced with an emergency management section. Ms. Colbert asked what happened to someone who could not come in during a hurricane, to which the Village Manager responded that non-essential personnel are compensated during an emergency, if they could not come in and the Village was open they had to take personal time. Council Member Paterno expressed his opinion that compensated time needed to be addressed a little more-if Mr. Couzzo stayed for one night in case something happened, he got a week off, in essence. Council Member Paterno referenced the County's policy and discussion ensued. Village Manager Couzzo recommended a simple way to amend the policy would be to state only situations when the Federal Government has declared an emergency and the Village would be reimbursed. Council Member Paterno indicated that had been found fraudulent, and the only way to do it was to spend the money then be reimbursed. Village Manager Couzzo indicated his last two positions did not pay any emergency pay. Mayor Humpage suggested compensation without comp time-time and a half, period. Council Member Paterno indicated he was worried whether that would meet the Fair Labor Act; the Village Manager indicated that would be looked into. It was agreed to incorporate that section of the hurricane plan into this policy. Village Manager Couzzo advised he would make sure the policy of compensation without comp time was applied across the board. Village Council Workshop Meeting July 10, 2007 Page 4 Policy 3.12 -Discipline. Consensus of Council agreed to remove the wording under Section II. Disciplinary Procedures, "The copy may be removed from the employee's file at the discretion of the Manager after one year..." Policy 3.8 - E-mail and Internet Use. The Village Manager reported protective measures had been taken recently to limit web access to certain sites and expressed his opinion that random checks of individual computers did not need to be placed in the policy. The Mayor suggested it be added to the summary sheet that the Village reserved the right to check equipment at any time. It was indicated that draft e-mail was public record, and the language would reflect that. Policy 1.2 - Em~loyee ID and Access Card. There were no issues. Policy 5.7 -Family or Medical Leave. Ms. Reid advised Workers Comp and FMLA started at the same time. Council Member Paterno questioned the legalities of two employees in the same family taking FMLA at the same time not exceeding the 12 work weeks, to which Ms. Reid responded it was FMLA law. Council Member Paterno asked about intermittent law, which Ms. Reid explained, using seizures as an example. Council Member Paterno asked about Christian Science practitioners being listed as doctors; Mayor Humpage stated Christian Science did not believe in doctors and therefore must be specifically listed. Policy 3.3 -Grievance Procedures. Ms. Reid wanted to make sure a grievance policy was in writing and a remedy was sought. Council had no issues. Policy 2.3 -Hours of Work. Ms. Reid noted an exempt person's salary could not be docked for being late every day, but they could be disciplined. Policy 5.8 -Leave of Absence. Ms. Reid explained parameters were needed for who was eligible for medical leave. Policy 2.4 -Nepotism. Council Member Paterno asked to go further and not hire any relatives. It was agreed to let management handle transfers. Policy 4.11 -Pay Advances. Ms. Reid explained this policy was being removed. Policy 5.9 -Personal Days. This policy was being placed back into the handbook, which had been dropped after 1997. Council Member Paterno distributed a handout of the 1997 language, which had been changed. Consensus of Council agreed to add language that personal time had to be used in four hour increments. Policy 1.3 -Personal Information & Personnel Records. No issues. Village Council Workshop Meeting July 10, 2007 Page 5 Policy 3.6 -Personal Phone Calls and Use of Cellular Phones. The words "are encouraged" were to be dropped and the language inserted "will refrain" from using the phone while driving. Policy 2.9 - Re-Employ New policy on re-hiring -Consensus of Council agreed to change 60 days to 90 days in both categories. Policy 7.9 -Safety and Accident Prevention. No issues. Policy 5.1 -Sick Leave. Council Member Paterno felt time was a benefit to be used if needed; Mayor Humpage agreed. Consensus of Council was to require a doctor's note for three days or more. A short break was taken at 4:15 p.m.; the meeting reconvened at 4:22 p.m. Policy 6.2 -Training Programs. Discussion ensued on seminars and training and having to pay back the cost of the conference if the employee left the Village within a month. For higher education it was agreed to prorate for six months, and to require indenture to the Village for a period of time. 6.1 -Travel Expenses. Discussion took place regarding Village required trips. It was agreed mileage could be paid up front and car pooling was encouraged. Council Member Paterno felt if an employee was going to a conference and a Village vehicle was available the employee should take that vehicle. Mayor Humpage disagreed in the case he would like to take his wife; Council Member Paterno stated that was their choice and should not be reimbursed for mileage. Discussion ensued. Consensus of Council was to change the meal per diem to IRS rate rather than listing the amount. 2.1 -Employment Definitions. A definition for regular position was to be added. Council Member Paterno questioned why "at will" was in the policy since all employees in Florida were considered at will. Village Manager Couzzo advised there was no probationary period for that. Council Member Paterno suggested using the definition for exempt and everyone else as non-exempt. Ms. Reid responded she would check the wording and take it directly from the book. 5.2 -Vacations. Council Member Paterno asked if employees were required to take a certain amount of vacation each year, Ms. Reid responded yes for union employees and senior level staff was encouraged to vacation as well. She stated Union contracts required taking at least two weeks per year. The Village Manager suggested incorporating that for other employees, and that managers should manage their employees' vacations timely. Ms. Reid stated to be eligible for buyout in one year, one must have taken two weeks vacation. Village Council Workshop Meeting July 10, 2007 Page 6 5.3 - Village Holidays. For Christmas holiday, this policy stated that Village Hall would be closed. Hurricane Pay Policy. Consensus of Council (Mayor Humpage, Vice Mayor Watkins, Council Member Turnquest) agreed to leave the policy as is. Following a discussion, Village Manager advised the policy would stay the same except for no comp time, and that would be placed into the manual. General employees would be paid time and a half for hours worked. Vice Mayor Watkins stated nothing convinced her to alter what had been done. Council Member Paterno brought up the previous change regarding overtime which stated if someone worked a weekend they could not take sick days that week. It was noted this would be stated as an exception in that section of the hurricane plan. Village Manager Couzzo advised this had to be stated as declared state of emergency. d. Non-cost Benefit Policies Human Resources Director Reid reported the head of Palm Beach County Human Rights Council suggested the Village look at non-cost benefits for domestic partner bereavement and FLMA, and recommended it be done to avoid discrimination issues. Council Member Paterno voiced opposition because the next thing would be benefits. The Village Manager indicated Council would be provided with the domestic partner registration form for review and more research would be done. Ms. Reid advised the Village could not be forced to provide domestic partner benefits at this point. 4. Discussion on Towing Services Request for Proposal Police Chief McCollum explained that currently there was a rotation system of five wrecker companies. There had been no problems, however, this would insure more timely service, and the Village could control the charges. A benefit would be that the company would provide a franchise fee in order to be sole provider, and they would be required to clean an intersection after an accident. The police officer would have to ask the resident if they had a provider before calling for the service. Consensus of Council agreed to proceed with the request for proposal. 5. Discussion on Annexation Community Development Director Catherine Harding provided the county's map which showed county pockets the Village might consider annexing. In the past the county had not received annex information timely in order to update their map, therefore they were working on a charter change that would require municipalities to advise them within 10 days after they had annexed a property. If the Village received a formal letter from a parry requesting voluntary annexation with a copy of their deed, the Village was required to address the issue Village Council Workshop Meeting July 10, 2007 Page 7 within ten days. Ms. Harding requested direction in advance on how to handle the following: • Regions Bank owned property in Tequesta plus a portion in the County on U.S. Highway One, by Baldinos, and wanted to annex this contiguous portion into the Village, which could be done with no problem. • On County Line Road, the Old Rood property and Teen Challenge International, a school for abused girls, wanted to be annexed into the Village; also a property in between was interested. This would be contiguous. • Ms. Harding pointed out an enclave area on the map and explained the County was interested in helping because they wanted the enclaves annexed. Council Member Paterno commented those were multi-million dollar homes and the owners had no incentive to join the Village. He would like to see if there was something the Village could do to provide an incentive, and suggested the possibility of a special taxing district. The Village Manager commented the whole issue of annexation would change dramatically with the new property tax legislation. Incentives were discussed, and grandfathering in with afive-year limit. The Mayor indicated he would like to pursue anyone who wanted to annex voluntarily. Vice Mayor Watkins noted a subdivision might need road repairs and the Village might take on issues they were not prepared to consider. Ms. Harding explained the County would work with the Village to just annex along the north side of Tequesta Drive in Bermuda Terrace. Mayor Humpage commented he had asked Commissioner Marcus for funding to improve the right- of-way, but it had been stopped by the legislation and he needed to speak to her again. Ms. Harding advised she was willing to work with the County to bring in areas involuntarily that the Village Council wanted, and that voluntary annexations would be very simple to accomplish. Mayor Humpage stated he would like to pursue anyone who wanted to annex voluntarily. Any area under 10 acres the County would simply transfer. Mayor Humpage stated he favored making some ordinance concessions. Council Member Paterno recalled all the commercial property along U.S. One wanted to be within Tequesta. He pointed out problems that were happening at the sandbar off Anchorage Point and jurisdiction issues were discussed. Ms. Harding concluded that she would proceed with voluntary annexations and would work with the County. Mayor Humpage encouraged the Council to talk with people in the enclaves, tell them things would change with the new legislation, and let them know the Village was willing to work with them. Using a five-year plan was suggested. Ms. Harding reported new businesses were Village Council Workshop Meeting July 10, 2007 Page 8 coming in and she had been talking with people, telling them how great the Village was. 6. Discussion of 7/12/07 Council Agenda Items Council Member Paterno noted in the May 29, 2007 minutes on page 19, 4cn paragraph down, Juno Beach was shown as a nine and it should be a five. Mayor Humpage suggested options for financing the ambulance, 1.) setting up a special fund from reserves with $200,000 to pay for it, 2.) pay it off, 3.) finance it. Council Member Paterno commented he would like to see the ambulance purchases staggered so they were not purchasing two in one year, noting the backup ambulance had only been used 24 times since 2006. Village Manager Couzzo reported the Chief had advised the ambulance could wait another year; however, noted it could break down. Council Member Paterno asked if it was up to the Village to anticipate the County closure of Station 11, and expressed his opinion that would set the Village up to provide the service, which he would favor only if the Village received the same amount the County received. Fees and number of runs were discussed. Village Manager Couzzo reported a dispatch contract was being discussed with Juno Beach. He reported an error in a newspaper article regarding water lines, and advised he would send a friendly letter to Jupiter pointing out this was in Tequesta's service area and ask what they would like the Village to do. In discussing the ambulance runs, the Village Manager pointed out the issue was not that the ambulance only made 24 runs since 2006, it was the liability if the vehicle broke down, and he felt it would be appropriate for the Chief to make a presentation to the Council. Council Member Paterno requested a discussion on maintaining common areas and why the responsibility was different for commercial than residential. Village Manager Couzzo responded staff would put together a map and do an analysis of the areas. 7. Upon motion by Vice Mayor Watkins, seconded by Council Member Paterno, and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at 6:32 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lori McWilliams Village Clerk