TOWN OF
MINUTES
TOWN COMMISSION - SPECIAL MEETING
Masny Room -
The Town Commission of the Town of Melbourne
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Present were Mayor
The Interim Clerk indicated
by note that the first minute of the meeting was not recorded due to a tape
recorder malfunction.
Mayor Stacey indicated that he
felt special meetings were for things that needed immediate attention.
Mayor Stacey led the entire assembly in the Pledge of
Allegiance to the Flag.
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Discussion
and possible action regarding amendments to Resolution 3-2005 establishing
policies and procedures for the Town Commission as requested by Commissioner Walters.
Commissioner Walters stated
that in December a Commissioner put a personal attack on the agenda. Three members of the Commission voted to hear
it even though there was no evidence presented, and there was no backup as
required. Two of Town rules were violated. The first being that Roberts Rules of Order
expects civility. The second being that there
is suppose to be some type of backup provided to let the Commission know what
the basis of the agenda item is.
Commissioner Walters wanted to know if the Commission was going to
continue that practice. He reiterated
that there was a three to two vote, with Vice Mayor Wilson and himself saying
that they did not think there is any place for personal attacks on the
Commission whether they are between one another, by residents making personal
slanderous attacks on members of the Commission. He said that he has looked at Resolution
3-2005, he stated that Mayor Wiley had presented to the Commission information
from
He wanted to know if this was
going to be the current practice of the Commission or if the Commission was
going to focus on doing the business of the people. He said that he did not want to spend time
fighting among each other. He stated
that he has heard rumors and innuendo about every member of the
Commission. He said that he disagreed with
the Mayor regarding special meeting saying that the reason they have special
meetings is that they are criticized for long regular meetings. He commented that the people do not want to
hear the arguing, but they must realize that they cannot talk among each other
outside of a meeting so there is no other venue to use except to call a special
meeting and in this case, we did not have a choice as Mr. Bursick is working
without a contract. Commissioner Walters
wanted to know what the other Commissioners felt about this issue even though Commissioner
Guglietta and Commissioner Price could not make it.
Mayor Stacey commented that
his feeling was that they need to get on with the business of the town and that
it would only be proper to use civility.
He said that would like to see civility back between the Commissioners.
Vice Mayor Wilson asked if he
was talking about the Commission or the residents. Commissioner Walters replied
that the residents have the right to speak but they have the responsibility to
tell the truth. He said that he did not know
how to stop a resident from speaking as he has three minutes. He said that if they start to swear, be loud,
or do things improper or out of order, he thinks the Mayor should stop them and
have them removed, however that is not in our policy.
Commissioner Walters
continued saying that what he was most upset about was the fact that someone
can come to the commission, make something up, present no argument and no
evidence, lie and nothing can be done about it.
He said that his motion was to remove those items from the agenda that
did not have backup. The Mayor said that
he had no idea things would get that out of hand, but it is over. Commissioner Walters responded that it is not
over because residents want to be able to respond. He asked the Mayor how he planned to address
this issues when they have policies in place, but the Commission ignores them.
Vice Mayor Wilson responded
saying that a strict three minute time limit be adhered to. Commissioner Walters asked if there was a limit
as to what people can say during their three minutes. Vice Mayor Wilson responded that they could
say anything but they must be aware of the repercussions.
Attorney Gary Sack replied
that when you are talking about public comment you really are in a
minefield. The more you attempt to
regulate conduct the more problematic it becomes. It is hard to draft a rule that is going to
prevent the ilk Commissioner Walters is speaking about. There is much more you can do with regard to
section 7A of your resolution. He
suggested adding words that if someone is unruly, disruptive or threatens may be
dealt with by exercising police power and removing them. Other than that, it would be difficult to
limit what individuals can say.
Vice Mayor Wilson suggested
the use of agenda cards indicating what the individual wishes to speak about,
knowing that those who raise their hands can still be recognized but can be
limited to only one opportunity to speak.
The Mayor may also limit what individuals may say if they use the cards as
to what is on the card.
Mayor said that his
philosophy is let the people say what they want. Commissioner Walters asked how many times the
Commission is going to allow them to speak.
Vice Mayor Wilson asked if they wanted to adopt the card method. Commissioner Walters replied that he wanted
to wait until all members were present.
The discussion continued regarding a method of controlling the public
comment section of the meetings. Mayor
Stacey agreed that the three-minute limit is what should be upheld. There was discussion regarding placing the
citizen comment at the end of the meeting, but the consensus was to leave it
where it currently is. The Mayor stated
that he would keep the limit to three minutes per person.
Vice Mayor Wilson asked what
was going to be done about the issue Commissioner Walters brought up. The Mayor responded that the members of the
Commission have a job to do. He believes there should be civility. The discussion continued with members
agreeing that there is work that needs to be done, and it was the consensus
that personal behavior between the members of the Commission needs to be kept
civil.
Commissioner Walters said
that he would like something put in the rules not allowing personal attacks by
one Commissioner against another nor should there be any personal attacks
placed on the agenda. He felt that if
everyone agreed, he would abide by those rules.
He continued stating that once those rules are established they should
not be changed. He indicated that he did
not want to vote on the issue as members of the Commission were not present,
but he wanted it discussed at the next meeting.
Discussion continued with Vice
Mayor Wilson setting up the scenario that if a Commissioner wants to place a
personal attack on the agenda, who does the Town Clerk, speak to regarding the
matter. Commissioner Walters stated that
the agenda has to be approved.
Commissioner Walter continued
stating he wanted a rule saying there will be no personal attacks, and that the
Mayor should approve the agenda before it is posted. Vice Mayor Wilson asked if there was some way
to differentiate true business items from someone that just wants to put
something on the agenda. Discussion
continued regarding what items need to be voted on and which do not. Commissioner Walters said that there is no
law requiring an agenda to be posted; only the meeting needs to be
noticed.
There was a consensus of the
members present that there will be no personal attacks on the agenda. Commissioner Walters stated that members of
the Commission should be able to defend themselves from personal attacks
without interruption. The Mayor stated
that he did not believe there should be any personal attacks. Commissioner Walters stated that he would not
sit quietly he will defend himself.
Action: The item will be placed on the agenda for the
next regular commission meeting for further discussion and possible
action.
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Discussion and possible
action regard the Interim Town Manager's contract
as requested by Commissioner
Walters.
Mayor Stacey asked if the
Interim Manger had the opportunity to look at the contract. Mr. Bursick indicated that he had a few items
he would like to discuss. The first
being on page 2, Section 3 (d) where it speaks about unused holiday leave, it
seems unclear. He felt that holiday pay
would be used, as the holiday came so there would be no holiday time
accrued. Vice Mayor Wilson asked if it
should be rewarded in case of an emergency.
Commissioner Walters said that the Town has always paid everyone for
unused holiday time. If for some reason
he must be in the office he will have the ability to take it at a later date,
the same as it is with annual leave. The
consensus of the Commission was that there would be the same pay and benefits
as the previous manager. Next was Section
5, which was that he receives the same benefits afforded to all other employees
in accordance with the personal policy.
Commissioner Walters stated with the exception of compensation
time. Commissioner Walters wanted a
paragraph in his contract that he will receive all applicable benefits as other
general employees. Commissioner Walters
questioned the salary; he believed that the pay was more than $62,000.00. Mr. Bursick asked that he be made a signatory
on the bank account. The section
regarding the town automobile was changed to read he could make use of it if
necessary.
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Discussion and possible
action regarding individual Commissioners authority to instruct the
Commissioner Walters said
that he placed this on the agenda based on information from Commissioner
Guglietta. Commissioner Walters stated
that everyone received a copy of the request and that it has always been the
past practice that Commissioners could call the
Commissioner Walters felt
that there should be a policy in place limiting the amount of time authorized
for attorney services for each Commissioner.
He felt that if something was going to take more than one hour of the attorney's
time it should be brought before the Commission.
The Mayor replied that if it
is official constructive business for the town he has no problem. Commissioner Walters replied that there needs
to be a limit, and it should come to the Commission if it is going to take over
an hour. He said that there are varying
degrees of knowledge on the Commission and he realizes that the members of the
Commission will have questions but is the Commission willing to allow unlimited
access. The Mayor felt that if there is
excessive use, it should come before the Commission. The Mayor believes that if there is a problem
or question it should be brought up at the regular meeting to see if it can be
resolved there. The other alternative is
to go through the town manager and see if he can resolve the problem, but not to
limit anyone on the Commission the use of the attorney. Commissioner
Walters replied that he was talking about research that may take hours.
Vice Mayor Wilson commented that
Commissioner Walters had a good point. Attorney
Sack stated that it is common for Commissioners to call the town attorney. He said that he did not believe that Mr.
Tsamoutales would spend an inordinate amount of time on this. Mr. Sack said that if he received something
that he felt would take a number of hours he would not do it without consulting
the Commission first.
Commission Walters asked how
the other cities handle situations such as this. Mr. Sack replied that he is not aware of any
restrictions.
Discussion continued
regarding what would be an acceptable amount of time for use without Commission
approval.
Commissioner Walters stated
that he was not trying to prevent anyone from utilizing the attorney, just to
set a limit as to how many hours should be spent without Commission
approval.
The Mayor requested the
attorney contact the Town Manager if a request comes in that will require a lot
of time. Commissioner Walters
interjected saying that he wants these types of items to come to the Commission.
Mayor Stacey stated that if
an item is going to take longer than five hours, the attorney is to contact the
manager who will then contact the requestor.
Members of the Commission can then bring the issue up during Commissioner
comments.
Motion by Commissioner
Walters to adjourn. Second by Vice Mayor
Wilson. The motion carried unanimously