HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Council 032593 Specialz
CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL MEETING
CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS
MARCH 25, 1993
The Special Meeting of the City Council of the City of Palm
Beach Gardens, Florida, was called to order by Mayor Russo
at 10:46 P.M., in the Assembly Room of the Municipal
Complex, 10500 North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens,
Florida.
ROLL CALL The Deputy City Clerk called the roll and present were Mayor
Russo, Vice Mayor Monroe, Councilman Jablin, Councilwoman
Furtado and Councilman Clark.
ITEMS FOR
CITY MANAGER Mayor Russo stated the purpose of the Special Meeting of the
City Council was to obtain input from the City Council and
the City Attorney to come to a clear understanding on the
issue of accrued vacation time and sick time paid to City
Manager, John Orr. Mayor Russo stated he could not come to
proper closure on this matter as it involved a payment to
Mr. Orr in the amount of $113,393.71. Mayor Russo stated he
had called this meeting to discuss the matter, as these
funds had already been deposited in Mr. Orr's bank account.
Attorney Brant stated, after research of the Charter, the
Merit Ordinance, and Chapter 35 of the Palm Beach Gardens
Code, Personnel Policy, his legal opinion was that the City
Manager position was exempted from the Merit System, as the
position could not be considered a department head, and,
therefore was not entitled to payment for accrued vacation
and sick time. Attorney Brant stated the only mention of
vacation time was contained in Ordinance 13, 1974, which
stated "The City Manager shall be entitled to two weeks
vacation in calendar year of employment after being employed
for one year by the City." Attorney Brant stated his
opinion was that City Council approval was needed to
authorize the transfer of these funds. Attorney Brant
stated there was no sufficient administrative track in the
records granting the entitlement.
Attorney Brant stated he had spoken with Mr. Orr this
afternoon and informed him of his findings, however, Mr. Orr
felt he was entitled to these funds and felt he had done
nothing wrong.
Mayor Russo stated he had met with Holly Vath on Friday, May
19, 1993, and was informed Mr. Orr was going to receive a
large check upon his retirement. Mayor Russo stated he
requested from Ms. Vath and Mrs. Herakovich, Acting
Assistant City Manager, that the proper documentation be in
place. Mayor Russo stated he was under the assumption Mr.
Orr was going to receive the check on his last day with the
City.
Ms. Vath addressed the City Council and stated, after
researching Mr. Orr's personnel record, it was determined
Mr. Orr had taken 67 vacation days during his tenure with
the City and based on the 2 weeks of vacation approved in
Ordinance 13, 1974, Mr. Orr would be eligible for
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING, 3/25/93 PAGE 3
approximately 1,500 hours of vacation pay. Ms. Vath stated
Mr. Orr was paid for 1,800 hours of vacation, which would
mean the City would need to recoup approximately $10,000 -
$12,000 in excess payment of vacation pay.
Attorney Brant stated the Council had the inherent power to
1) request the return of the monies transferred within a
reasonable period of time; 2) approve the transfer of funds;
or, 3) approve the transfer of funds in part.
Attorney Brant stated, if the consensus of the City Council
was to request the return of monies transferred, he
recommended the Council authorize the Mayor to direct a
letter to Mr. Orr requesting the return of the monies and
set a time certain between now and the 4/1/93 Regular
Council Meeting for the return of the funds. Attorney Brant
stated, if the return of funds did not occur by the time
certain, the Council needed to be prepared to take the next
legal step and would request the Mayor place this item on
the 4/1/93 Regular Council Meeting Agenda to bring it to a
conclusion.
Councilman Clark made a motion, seconded by Councilwoman
Furtado, to authorize the Mayor to deliver a letter to Mr.
Orr on Friday, May 26, 1993, or as soon thereafter as could
be delivered, requesting the return, in full, of the monies
wire transferred into his account no later than the close of
business on Monday, March 29, 1993. The motion was
unanimously approved by the City Council.
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING, 3/29/93 PAGE 4
There was a consensus of the City Council for Attorney Brant
and Ms. Vath to determine the amount due and payable to Mr.
Orr upon his retirement from the City.
ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was
adjourned at 11:37 P.M.
APPROVAL
MAYOR RUSSO COUNC�MA9-7AAL-
VICE MAYOR MONROE
'4 4 M. RIEF
DEPUTY CITY CLERK
COUNCILWOMAN FURTADO
COUNCILMAN CLARK