Fort Walton Beach Council minutes — 12-22-08 special minutes — reading text

tie the new Council into having to pay a higher salary than they have to with the economic situation it is right now. Mr. Miller expressed he was not sure how the City compared to other locals in the area since the information was not included in the package but thought $ 125, 000 exceeds what is paid the current City Manager. He would rather put in a range or say it is negotiable. Mr. Hartwell disagreed with the motion because a study was done a couple of years ago when the City Manager had a list of salaries from different Cities of comparable size, budget, and staff and what she is being paid is competitive. He commented another issue is there are Department Heads who are paid commensurate to their level of responsibility which is also fitting if a cross- cities study is done. He said the City wants the best for the cost and not low bidder because you will get low bidder. He did not want a City Manager who is willing to take $ 75, 000 to run a $ 37 million budget and with the complexity of a coastal City and what the City Manager has to do for this City. He said they do not want to send the message that they are looking for the cheapest they can get; they want the best they can get. He thought they want the best they can get here for the City Manager' s replacement and 75, 000 starting is sending the wrong signal. The Mayor mentioned they got those range of salaries when they were going through the budget process when looking at the salary for the City Manager and they are currently paying the City Manager at the higher end of the range. He commented to keep in mind that the City is currently spending in that range right now and comparable salaries were reviewed during the budget process and they saw that was in the ballpark for their size, complexity and so forth. Dr. Pullen commented when you are selecting people you want you make that decision at that point because you don' t know what you will get unless you ask. The Mayor called for the vote on the motion to amend the recruiting to change the salary factor and it failed by a vote of 1 to 6 with Pullen in favor and Holmes, Miller, Reeves, Garvie, Hartwell, and Minich opposed. 86 Special Council 12/ 22/ 08 RANKING METHODOLOGY ( CONT) Mr. Garvie mentioned the sample candidate evaluation matrix given as an example which seemed to have the four issues equally weighed and expressed the hope that the matrix would more put weight on some thanothers. The Mayor noted that was part of the Mercer Group' s presentation. Dr. Pullen commented that each individual Council member will make that decision based upon what they think is important. Mr. Wiltsie pointed out the matrix staff would prepare as a result of their review of the applications and resumes, and staff would be happy to expand that to include different criteria and qualifications if that is the desire of Council. Mr. Minich commented it is an individual decision on how to weigh the criteria and qualifications and thought having the lee- way is the best way to proceed. Mr. Miller disagreed and thought they need to have evaluation factors they can judge, whether it be 10, 15, or 20, then it can be quantified; and then whether or not they have a group above them they can meet with separately to decide how to them what is weight on more important. He said that can be done by a simple vote to decide what is more important and put some weight on them, then when they come together to separate them, the weighting factors will help take out the biases. Mr. Hartwell agreed Council sets their own criteria in their own mind and did not need to justify or debate as to why they rank number 1 as number 3 or number 3 as number 2, they make the final call from the experience they have gleaned on Council and elsewhere that will determine the rank. He did not believe they need to put down one weighting factor over another and then justify it; just rank the order one through ten. BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION City Council move to complete background investigations either internally or utilizing one of the consultants identified. Mr. Wiltsie noted an important part of the process is a background investigation to perform the criminal background check, an internet search, a credit check, check references and previous employers. He said there are two alternatives, one is for staff to undertake and mentioned it is a very time- consuming part of the process for staff, or to hire one of the three consultants to undertake only that portion of the work to perform the background investigation on the candidates City Council brings into town to interview. Mr. Reeves asked if Mr. Wiltsie had any experience with the Slavin Management Group or the Mercer Group. Mr. Wiltsie said he had prior experience with Slavin and said either Group would do a fine job and canundertake the task. He encouraged City Council to consider hiring one of the firms to undertake the task as it is a very time- consuming effort. Dr. Pullen asked if the decision on who would perform the background investigation could be made a month from now because it will not be done until around the later part of February or first part of March. The Mayor opened the floor for public input. As no one wished to speak public input was closed. Mr. Minich moved to approve the Slavin Management Group. Mr. Reeves seconded motion. Mr. Minich stated this is important and needs to be done and is something Council should spend money on, and the Slavin Management is the cheaper of the two.  87 Special Council 12/ 22/ 08 BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION ( CONT) Mr. Wiltsie confirmed that the Slavin Management Group confirmed by email from Sam Trager they will perform the task for $ 500. 00 per candidate plus $ 44. 00 for each County the candidate has lived in for the last ten years. The Mayor called for the vote on the motion and it carried by a vote of 6 to 1 with Holmes, Miller, Reeves, Garvie, Hartwell, and Minich in favor and Pullen opposed. NEGOTIATE CONTRACT City Council to move to approve the Mayor to negotiate a contract with the # 1 ranked candidate. Mr. Wiltsie stated staff recommends City Council authorize, once the # 1 ranked candidate is concluded, that the Mayor be provided the authority to negotiate a contract with the # 1 candidate and ask the City Attorney to assist in drafting agreement. He said whatever support his office can an provide they would be happy to help. He confirmed the final negotiated contract would come to City Council for approval. Mr. Hartwell wished to know why the Mayor' s position and not Human Resources Department. Mr. Wiltsie said it is typical in different appointments throughout the state where the Mayor is given that authority from the Council to negotiate, sometimes it is the City Attorney but it is more typical the Mayor. He said in his experience in review of what transpires throughout the state and the country, it happens most frequently. Dr. Pullen expressed his hope that the Mayor would ask for input from each Councilmember what they would like to see in the contract before he negotiates. The Mayor stated when Council votes on the negotiated contract they can make any recommended changes at that time. He thought it would be appropriate if they wanted to submit something without violating the Sunshine Law. Mr. Miller expressed his thought that the City Attorney should negotiate contracts as part of her responsibility and they have a strong City Council/City Manager form of government and to have the Mayor starting to negotiate with a City Manager is misleading. He thought they need to leave the legal matters in the hands of the City Attorney and let her negotiate contracts for the City. Mr. Hartwell commented City Council, with a vote of four, can delegate authority to the Mayor to negotiate without changing the form of government. He said the City Council votes to have the Mayor represent them on many local matters and sign documentation representing the Council. He said the City Attorney will prepare the employment agreement so if anything is done incorrectly the City Attorney would correct it. Mr. Miller asked the City Manager who negotiated with her in Ormond Beach. The City Manager replied it was the City Attorney. Mr. Minich moved to approve the Mayor to negotiate a contract with the # 1 ranked candidate. Mr. Reeves seconded motion. The Mayor opened the floor for public input. Lee Bobo, 38 Memorial Parkway SW, said everyone has their own opinion on how it should be done and the Charter says the City Council runs the City; but the Mayor who will be negotiating will be in office less than two months if there is a new Mayor. He thought the point is well taken that the City Attorney should be the person who negotiates anything for the City in lieu of the City Manager, and then the Mayor usually signs; but to negotiate a contract for the City Manager, he believed is under the purview of the City Attorney and/ or the City Attorney and the City Clerk who is a constitutional officer. He suggested Council re- think and have the City Attorney negotiate the final contract to bring to City Council to approve. 88 Special Council 12/ 22/ 08 NEGOTIATE CONTRACT ( CO NT) As no one else wished to speak public input was closed. Mr. Minich commented his motion did not say the Mayor will approve the contract, it said the Mayor will negotiate the contract. He said the City Clerk is a Charter Officer and Constitutional Officers are by the Constitution of the State of Florida and he did not want to get into each one of them trying to negotiate a separate contract. He was certain the Mayor will work hand- in- hand with the City Attorney during