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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Specia Meeting_12/18/2007MINUTES SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING GENERAL EMPLOYEE WAGES Tuesday, December 18, 2007 8:20 a.m. Council Chambers 345 Tequesta Drive Tequesta, FL CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by Mayor Jim Humpage at 8:10 p.m. A roll call was taken by Village Clerk Lori McWilliams. Present were: Mayor Jim Humpage, Vice Mayor Pat Watkins, Council Member Dan Amero, Council Member Tom Paterno, and Council Member Calvin Turnquest. Also in attendance were: Village Manager Michael R. Couzzo, Village Clerk Lori McWilliams, Finance Director Joann Forsythe, Human Resource Director Merlene Reid and Department Heads. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Vice Mayor Watkins moved to approve the agenda; Council Member Paterno seconded. Motion unanimously carried 5-0. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding General Employee FY 2007/2008 Wages Mayor Humpage referred to the employee benefits in consideration of increased pay. Vice Mayor Watkins motioned to adopt a 2.3% COLA (cost of living increase) with a longevity bonus of $750.00 for employees with six months to twelve months of longevity and $1,500 for one year and longer longevity. Ms. Forsythe, Director of Finance stated that the word "merit" usually refer to a raise and suggested calling the bonus a "one time recognition". Council Member Amero questioned giving a monetary bonus to employees which were coming off a probationary period. Mayor Humpage stated the employee would have to have completed the Village's probationary period prior to the bonus. He noted that all employees would be entitled to a COLA increase with no discrimination to the length of time they had been at their position. Manager Couzzo stated there were employees that were falling shy of the bonus and stated it was difficult to place dates on this type of item and include all that should be recognized. Mayor Humpage stated that he felt this was a reward which encouraged Village Council Special Meeting-General Employee Wages December 18, 2007 Page 2 employees to stay on with the Village. Council Member Paterno expressed his opinion that Government should be compared and run like private business and felt that several items in Government were run unfairly. He stated this was still a business and commented he would support Council Member Amero. MOTION: Vice Mayor Watkins moved to approve the 2.3% Cola increase and one time recognition bonus; Council Member Paterno seconded. Motion unanimously carried 5-0. Mayor Humpage stated this bonus was helpful in boosting moral. Council Member Turnquest stated he had mixed feelings on the bonus, but felt there were two particular employees that worked very hard, but were employed just less than one year and felt they would have been skipped over if Council would have adjusted the bonus to a one year longevity time frame. Vice Mayor Watkins asked if the 2.3% COLA increase would be retroactive to October 1, 2007. Council Member Amero felt the majority of businesses were not giving their employees this type of structured bonus and felt Tequesta would have problems in the future from being overly generous. Vice Mayor Watkins noted that Council had been looking for over two years at how Tequesta's salaries compare with surrounding municipalities. She felt the employees at the Village went over and above in their performance and stated Tequesta's pay scale was not a high one. She also noted there were other places people could go that had greater pay scales. She added that good planning by the Village made it possible to show monetary appreciation to the employees that were loyal to the Village. Mayor Humpage complimented Council on the good job they had done in Executive Sessions with this issue and felt using good planning was bringing about positive changes. Council Member Paterno stated the Village did not have an infinite amount of funds and should cut back in more areas. Vice Mayor Watkins felt that residents were appreciative to the quality of service Tequesta provided and felt they understood that good service comes with a cost. MOTION: Vice Mayor Watkins moved to approve the COLA increase retroactive to October 1, 2007; Council Member Paterno seconded. Motion unanimously carried 5-0. Council Member Paterno asked Ms. Forsythe if there would be any repercussions to the budget from offering this type of increase. Ms Forsythe replied no and stated there was money set aside in the account. Discussion ensued. Village Council Special Meeting-General Employee Wages December 18, 2007 Page 3 Manager Couzzo referenced the current Southern Regional adjusted COLA was 4.7%. Ms. Reid, Human Resource Manager stated the Village had a good deal by paying employees at the low point of the pay scale. Manager Couzzo stated: • He would have the PBA contract ready for Council's review by noon today. • Council would review the same contracts being used in negotiations. • He would re-schedule to give Council more time to review the contract if needed. • The negotiation sessions could go back and forth several times. • The wage article and language would be reviewed. Council Member Paterno felt Manager Couzzo should meet with the Union then re- evaluate from there. Mayor Humpage noted he received several calls from the owner of the two acre parcel on Seabrook and he was now asking for a selling price of $ 650,000. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Council Member Turnquest moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Vice Mayor Watkins. The motion to adjourn carried by unanimous vote; therefore the meeting was adjourned at 8:47 a. m. Mr. Greg Corbitt, Director of Parks and Recreation, thanked Council for their generosity. Respectfully submitted, ~ ~l c.lviec~am- Lori McWilliams, CMC Village Clerk