City Commission Special Meeting

City Commission Special Meeting June 28, 2013 Page 1 of 4 The special meeting of the Lake Wales City Commission was held June 28, 2013 at 7:09 p.m. in the Lunchroom at the Municipal Administration Building. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Eugene Fultz. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Christopher Lutton; Jonathan Thornhill; Betty Wojcik; Eugene Fultz, Mayor COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Mike Carter was present by phone CITY REPRESENTATIVES PRESENT: Dorothy Ecklund, Interim City Manager; Sandra Davis, Human Resource Director; Jacquie Hawkins, Deputy City Clerk [Minutes are recorded, but not transcribed verbatim.] AGENDA ITEM 1. ROLL CALL AGENDA ITEM 2. City Commission to decide who will move to Round Two (2) for In-person Interviews [Begin agenda memo] RE: City Manager Selection/In-person Interviews DISCUSSION TOPICS NUMBER OF CANDIDATES FOR SECOND INTERVIEWS The commission needs to reach a consensus on how many candidates to select for second interviews. Staff recommends selecting three candidates to move on to round 2 in-person interviews. STARTING SALARY NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT The Commission needs to reach consensus on where to set the starting salary for a new hire. The current pay and classification plan sets the salary range at $90,000 – $153,000. However, the Commission can set a not to exceed salary cap for negotiation purposes. Former City Manager’s Salary Name Salary Tony Otte 111,430 – includes car, cell phone allowance and deferred compensation Judy Delmar 112,000 – opted out of receiving car, cell phone allowance and deferred compensation Terry Leary 108,000- includes car, cell phone allowance and deferred compensation REIMBURSMENT OF TRAVEL EXPENSES RELATING TO THE SECOND INTERVIEWS The Commission needs to reach a consensus on travel per diem reimbursement for candidates. Historically candidates have paid for their own travel expenses. THE SELECTION PROCESS FOR JULY 16TH The Commission needs to reach a consensus on the selection process and methodology to use for the July 16th meeting. Who will be the next City Manager? City Commission Special Meeting June 28, 2013 Page 2 of 4 COMMISSIONER LUTTON’S SUGGETED INTERVIEW SCHEDULE Proposed In-person Interview Schedule – Week of July 8th 8:00 a.m. Introduction to each department head to receive a brief overview of their department’s function. 1 hour 9:00 a.m. Window tour of the city with Dorothy and a Commission Member. 1 hour 10:00 a.m. Introduction to the Chamber of Commerce Staff and Board Members. 1 hour 11:30 a.m. Lunch with a Commissioner at a downtown restaurant. 1 hour 12:30 p.m. Commission panel or one-on-one candidate interview, depending on Commissioner availability. 2 hours [End agenda memo] AGENDA ITEM 3. Number of Candidates to Interview in Person The consensus was to select three candidates and if any of them drop, a special meeting will be scheduled to select another candidate. AGENDA ITEM 4. Salary “Not to Exceed Amount” The consensus was not to exceed $115,000, including car allowance and other benefits AGENDA ITEM 5. Reimbursement of Travel Expenses The consensus was to provide travel expenses following the per diem rules in Florida State Statute 112 AGENDA ITEM 6. The Selection Process for July 16th The consensus was that each Commissioner will write down their choices for first, second and third on ballots provided. The Mayor will tally them and announce the result. If at least three Commissioners had the same candidate for number one then a motion will be called. If not, a discussion will follow for the pros and cons of each candidate. AGENDA ITEM 8. Top Three Candidates Each Commissioner listed their top three candidates for City Manager as follows: Commissioner Carter Commissioner Lutton Commissioner Thornhill John Schneiger Kyle McCain Kenneth Sauer Robert Bartolotta John Granger Ann Toney-Deal Vincent Akhimie Ken Fields Robert Bartolotta Commissioner Wojcik Mayor Fultz Ann Toney-Deal Ann Toney-Deal Robert Bartolotta Kenneth Fields Kenneth Fields Kenneth Sauer Mayor Fultz and Commissioner Carter wanted to get input from the Chamber and EDC before their final vote on July 16th. Commissioner Wojcik explained the Attorney General’s ruling that the EDC cannot give advice to the City Commission on anything that will be coming up for a vote because that would make them an advisory board and would be subject to the open meetings law for the State of Florida. Commissioner Carter thought it was important to get their input and thought that if the Commission could City Commission Special Meeting June 28, 2013 Page 3 of 4 get input from the Range Riders, who were unknown to them, then they should be allowed to get input from an EDC that is made up of business leaders that will have to work with the new city manager. Mayor Fultz wanted to open the meeting for Public Comment and asked if that was legal for him to do so. Because no one had an answer to either request, City Attorney Chuck Galloway was called. Mr. Galloway advised them that the meeting could be opened for public comment as it can for any public meeting. For the EDC issue he said the Commissioners could individually ask for advice from the EDC or Chamber or from any individual on those boards as long as only one Commissioner was present, but the EDC or Chamber could not come before the City Commission to advise them on anything. OPENED PUBLIC COMMENT Jim Bell, resident of Babson Park and Executive Director of the Lake Wales Area Chamber of Commerce, commented that the City Commission made a great choice. CLOSED PUBLIC COMMENT Commissioner Lutton made a motion to approve the short list of Kenneth Fields, Robert Bartolotta, and Ann Toney-Deal. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Wojcik. By Roll Call Vote: Commissioner Lutton “YES” Commissioner Wojcik “YES” Commissioner Carter “YES” Commissioner Thornhill “YES” Mayor Fultz “YES” The motion passed 5-0. AGENDA ITEM 7. Interview Agenda 9:00 a.m. Coffee Meeting 10:00 a.m. Tour of the City Lunch Panel Discussion 3:00 p.m. Interview COMMISSIONERS SCHEDULES • Mayor Fultz will be available for the coffee meetings each morning before 10:00 a.m. • Commissioner Wojcik will be available from 10:00 a.m. for anything that’s needed. • Commissioner Carter will be available for lunch and for interviews from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. • Commissioner Lutton will be available for breakfast on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, for lunch any day, and one tour. • Commissioner Thornhill will be available between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Ms. Davis asked the Commissioners to review the questions for the July 18th meeting to see if they wanted any added or deleted. There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 7:49 p.m. City Commission Special Meeting June 28, 2013 Page 4 of 4 ________________________________ Mayor Eugene Fultz ATTEST: ____________________________ City Clerk Clara VanBlargan