2006 0914 Special City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes: Special City Commission Meeting September 14,2006 First Budget Hearing Sunny Isles Beach, Florida hearing a tape of what took place. Commissioner Goodman said he gets feedback that people think that Sunny Isles Beach government is publishing the newspaper and if we had some explanation in the newspaper we can try to educate the people in Sunny Isles Beach that the newspaper is a private newspaper and is not operated by the government of Sunny Isles Beach. Ms. Hanson said we do purchase eight pages. Commissioner Goodman said the people don't understand because it is called the Sunny Isles Sun and the reason it came about is when we started to publish the newspaper in Russian and he has had a lot of comments on that. Commissioner Thaler said we should put a disclaimer on that one, and Mayor Edelcup said that Ms. Hanson could write an article once a year stating the arrangement the City has with the newspaper and that way our new residents would read the article. Vice Mayor Brezin said for those who contacted her said that they have no access to the paper, and she suggested to them that there was a distribution through their gatehouse and if something was happening there to these papers and when they are delivered they are gone right away even in the condominiums. She said these people are out and about having lunch and we also distribute to the restaurants but she has never seen one there. Ms. Hanson said they are in the newspaper stands. Commissioner Thaler said he did see Mr. Palmer today and he acknowledged that he is having a distribution problem within Sunny Isles Beach. Mayor Edelcup said whatever comments we have made for this we should emulate them also for Sergio's booklet that he puts out because he is not sure how that distribution gets around and how many copies there are. He would like Ms. Hanson to inform the Commission on how that works. Ms. Hanson said we don't control it but we will find out how it is distributed. Mayor Edelcup said that we are paying a portion ofthe printing of those and we should probably know how that money is being spent. Mayor Ede1cup said regarding the Police Department that there has been an area in the County that have made some comments as to off-duty employment and how it gets into pension calculations and he would like this Commission to be apprised of what the arrangements are in our City because there has been some controversy at the County level as it related to John Rivera's compensation and how that affected his retirement benefits. He said he would like the Commission to know how that formula works in our City as it relates to the extra work that the Police do because he suspects that we don't recover from the mutual parties who employ our Police, the ongoing costs ofthe retirement benefits, we may get their current costs but he is sure they are not making annual contributions to retirement plans and we need to know what the ramification ofthat is as it relates to the City. Police Chief Fred Maas said that the City does not pay that. He said they charge the vendor who is hiring the officer an administrative fee, it is 1/3 in addition to what the cost is for the officer and that 1/3 that they pay in addition to the officer's salary is for insurance, retirement, and it is for administrative fees. He said the retirement that is calculated is State law, and they have made the adjustments every year, if it goes up, we go up, he sits down with the Finance Director to ensure the fee percentage is appropriate to what the increased costs are. Commissioner Goodman clarified that the vendor pays the City and the City pays the Police Officer, and Chief Maas said that was correct. Commissioner Thaler said then that the pay, not the 1/3, goes into the officer's retirement, and Chief Maas said yes, it is State law. Commissioner Thaler inquired about the sheet that was handed out on the Director of Community Development, in terms of salary, and City Manager Szerlag said he was going to 7