Civil Service Commission Meeting

MINUTES CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 14, 2025 4:00 P.M. The City of Madeira Beach Civil Service Commission meeting was scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on October 14, 2025, in the Patricia Shontz Commission Chambers at City Hall, located at 300 Municipal Drive, Madeira Beach, Florida. MEMBERS PRESENT: Jerry Cantrell, Chair/Commissioner Scott Haufe, Commissioner Clara VanBlargan, Ex-Officio Secretary MEMBERS ABSENT: Judithanne McLauchlan, Vice Chair/Commissioner James Paul, Commissioner Paul Tilka, Commissioner CITY STAFF PRESENT: Clint Belk, Acting City Manager Megan Powers, Assistant to City Manager/HR Staff Attorney Rob Eschenfelder, Trask Daigneault, L.L.P. (Via Zoom) 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Jerry Cantrell called the meeting to order at 4:07 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL City Clerk Clara VanBlargan called the roll. Vice Chair McLauchlan, Commissioner Tilka, and Commissioner Paul were absent. A quorum was not present. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT There were no public comments. 4. OATH OF OFFICE – NEW MEMBER SCOTT HAUFE & CURRENT MEMBER JERRY CANTRELL City Clerk VanBlargan administered the Oath of Office to new Commissioner Scott Haufe and current Chair/Commissioner Jerry Cantrell. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES October 14, 2025, Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 5  A. 08-05-2025, Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes The approval of the 08-05-2025 Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes was deferred due to lack of quorum. 6. NEW BUSINESS A. Appointment of Chair The item was deferred due to lack of quorum. Attorney Eschenfelder noted that Chair Cantrell would remain in the position until a new person is appointed. B. Appointment of Vice Chair The item was deferred due to lack of quorum. C. Establishing 2026 Quarterly Meeting Schedule The Commission discussed potential meeting dates. Chair Cantrell suggested scheduling the next meeting for Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 4:00 PM, with Thursday, December 4, 2025, at 4:00 PM as an alternate date. The Commission agreed to have Ms. Powers reach out to the absent commissioners to determine which date would work best for a majority of the members. D. BOC Compensation Chair Cantrell raised the issue of Board of Commissioners (BOC) compensation, noting that he personally felt the current compensation was too low considering the City's budget and responsibilities. He explained that commissioners currently receive approximately $7,500 annually, while the mayor gets about $10,000. Chair Cantrell said that when they look at the size of the city, which has about 4,000 residents, they have a $50 million annual budget, and they have somewhere in the vicinity of one million visitors a year. He compared this to other cities with similar budgets that pay commissioners around $60,000 a year. Chair Cantrell disclosed that he felt there might be a conflict of interest in his raising this issue as he is married to one of the commissioners, but he still believed the compensation matter should be addressed. He suggested reasonable compensation of about $30,000 annually, which would be approximately $15 per hour. Commissioner Haufe agreed with the assessment, noting that financial disclosure requirements and the workload justify better compensation. City Clerk VanBlargan said that per Florida statute and City Charter, any increase would need to be approved at least six months before the next election to take effect. No formal action was taken due to lack of quorum. October 14, 2025, Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 5 7. HR REPORT A. HR Report – April 2025 Ms. Powers gave the HR Report as of 10-14-2025. She noted the following open positions: ● Building Official (working with S. Renee Narloch to fill) ● Senior Planner (in hiring stages) ● Engineer 1 ● Recreation Leader 1 ● Sanitation Worker (in hiring stage) ● Recreation Leader 2 (posting this week) Recently filled positions included: ● Sanitation Worker with CDL (replacement) ● Marina Attendant (replacement) Current projects included: ● City Manager recruitment with S. Renee Narloch ● Preparation of a list of projects for the future HR Director, including: ● Job description updates from Gearing Group ● Paycom cleanup ● Digitizing employee files ● Finding new training software ● Implementing more safety and training meetings ● Developing strategies to boost morale and reduce turnover Chair Cantrell inquired about positions with high turnover, and Ms. Powers identified Sanitation and Recreation Departments. For Recreation, she noted the turnover was often due to younger employees graduating and moving on in their careers. Chair Cantrell asked about improving compensation for CDL holders in Sanitation, suggesting the current $1/hour premium (approximately $2,080 annually) was insufficient. Ms. Powers mentioned they were assisting some employees in obtaining CDLs and considering other incentives such as a sign-on bonus or longevity bonus. October 14, 2025, Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 5 Attorney Eschenfelder advised that any proposed compensation changes would need to be reviewed by the Civil Service Commission, then by the City Manager who would present it to the Commission for final approval. He cautioned against sign-on bonuses and suggested longevity bonuses instead. Chair Cantrell requested a copy of the Gearing Group contract and job descriptions to verify what was owed to the City for the $10,000 paid for the compensation study. The City Clerk said she would like to see the ones for her employees first, to ensure the duties and responsibilities are correct. The Gearing Group did not receive a job description for one of her employees to review. The employee was not working for her at the time of the study. She will put that together. 7. OLD BUSINESS A. Legal Advice for Employees moving to Exempt Status Acting City Manager Belk reported on his analysis of the Gehring Group's recommendation to move 12 employees to exempt status. After consulting with Attorney Eschenfelder and reviewing the Fair Labor Standards Act requirements, he recommended only three of the twelve positions could appropriately be moved to exempt status: ● Parking Supervisor ● Fire Marshal ● Marina Manager/Director/Supervisor Acting City Manager Belk explained that exempt status requires meeting all four categories of criteria, not just one or two. He noted that moving employees inappropriately to exempt status could expose the city to liability including fines of up to $10,000 per occurrence, plus back pay, overtime, and benefits. B. Pay Grades for FY 2026, beginning October 1, 2025 The Commission reviewed the pay grades document showing minimum and maximum annual and hourly rates for various position grades. Ms. Powers explained that green-colored positions were not safety-sensitive, while black-colored positions were safety-sensitive and required drug testing. Commissioner Haufe inquired about the disparity in drug testing requirements between higher and lower-paid positions. Attorney Eschenfelder noted there was federal case law on this issue that had been discussed in previous meetings, explaining that testing is limited to safety-sensitive positions or reasonable suspicion cases to comply with Fourth Amendment protections. C. HR Director Position Ms. Powers reported that she had compiled a list of projects that a future HR Director would need to complete. These included reviewing job descriptions, Paycom cleanup, digitizing files, finding October 14, 2025, Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 5 new training software, implementing safety meetings, and developing strategies to reduce turnover. 8. 2025 PROGRESS REPORT Chair Cantrell mentioned that exit interviews were one of the items on the progress report list. Acting City Manager Belk mentioned that the Fire Department already conducts exit interviews and offered to share their format to help establish a standard process for the entire city. 9. NEXT MEETING The Commission tentatively scheduled the next meeting for either Tuesday, December 2, 2025, or Thursday, December 4, 2025, at 4:00 PM. Ms. Powers would contact absent commissioners to determine which date would work best. 10. ADJOURNMENT Chair Cantrell adjourned the meeting at 4:54 PM due to lack of quorum. ______________________________ ATTEST: Jerry Cantrell, Chair ______________________________________________ Clara VanBlargan, City Clerk/Secretary Ex-Officio October 14, 2025, Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 5