Top Heavy Government The city of Pompano Beach has grown to over 100,000 residents. A city that big takes a lot of money to operate. The city has almost 900 employees and the brain trust and seats of power are located on the 4th floor of City Hall. It’s been almost six months since the city hired Keith Chadwell as City Manager, at a salary of $185,000, to replace C. William Hargett, Jr. In that six months, Chadwell has reorganized the east wing of the 4th floor to his liking. Things definitely have changed in the past six months, so let’s take a look at Chadwell’s reorganization of city officials, and of bureaucratic officials in the legal and financial departments. Keep in mind that every CEO has his own management style but is expected to develop his own limitations and parameters based on what he finds, and that’s why they earn big bucks. They’re supposed to have the knowledge and experience to figure it out so that the company, or city in our case, will operate effectively and efficiently. While it’s true that governmental agencies have organizational and manning charts, these are generally just guidelines for chief executives, and they mold them according to their idea of how things should run. These guidelines are fairly flexible, limited only by the city’s budget and ordinances. Chadwell, as the new City Manager, has exercised his options in deciding how to run our city, but the costs of running the city has escalated significantly. Events continue to unfold that will mean additional costs to fill vacant positions. Unfortunately, in times of budget cuts driven by decreasing revenue, it’s almost impossible to make payroll cuts, especially in municipal governments. Because of union contracts, laws and other factors, it’s a bit like trying to put toothpaste back into the tube. Chadwell’s reorganization of the City Manger’s Department was made with the knowledge and consent of the city commissioners – you know, those six ‘experts’ who are constitutionally responsible for watching over the taxpayer money. They approved his reorganization, and it must be pointed out that by contract Chadwell is authorized to amend and shift personnel around to suit his management style. Before writing this story, I made my intentions known to City Hall watchers and insiders. I was looking to investigate who got hired, promoted or transferred, and what their new rate of pay would be under their new titles. During the holidays I also talked with many residents about our new City Manager, and there were nagging questions – to most of which there seemed to be no answers. In his short tenure, Chadwell has accumulated both supporters and critics. Most residents I talked with gave Chadwell high marks from what they can see of his personality and conversations at City Commission meetings, but few readily admit to either knowing or understanding the man. When it came to open discussions about Chadwell, I was asked questions like, “What has he done? From what I can see, he hires and promotes and delegates – there seems to be no track record of accomplishments or failures.” One observation – and criticism – is, “that he listens and then either delegates the problem to someone else or (apparently) sets it aside hoping it will take care of itself. “For example, he delegated preparation of the budget, the AirPark negotiations with the FAA, and the contract negotiations with the Firefighters’ Union. Hargett led the way on all of these. When will Chadwell emerge as his own man?” While there are mixed thoughts on the man, most believe he is charming and energetic and has the confidence of his employees, while others contend Chadwell lacks follow through because he doesn’t return telephone calls or e-mails. Like I said, every CEO has his own distinct management style. Okay, let’s look at some specifics. The East Wing Chadwell has created two new positions of assistant city managers. One was to be in charge of day-to-day operations and employee relations. Phyllis Korab, who came to the city in February 2005, was moved to that position and currently earns $131,234 a year. Previously she was Deputy City Manager and filled in as Acting City Manager from the date of Hargett’s retirement until Chadwell moved in. The second assistant city manager position is still open and will involve community services, with a comparable salary. Payroll is going to increase. Brian Donovan, former Budget Officer, joined the city in June 2000, and was recently promoted to Assistant to the City Manager by Chadwell. His new position will pay him $90,244, an increase of over $30,000 from his previous job. There doesn’t seem to be a new job posted yet for a new Budget Officer, so Donovan may continue to serve in that position too. Still, even if the old position isn’t filled, payroll is going to increase. Robert Franke is the top candidate to become the new CRA Director, and salary negotiations are on going. According to posted advertisements, a salary range of $75,000 to $105,000 can be expected. This job will entail being the CRA director for both the Western and Eastern development projects. This shouldn’t increase the City’s payroll, because he is expected to be paid from CRA funds – but it will have some small impact on the CRA’s budget (Hargett ran the CRA with his own staff). Additional employees in the City Manager’s immediate circle are: Shelley Bartholomew, Executive Secretary, who joined the city in February 1993 and currently earns $59,612 per year; Clare Kimber, Budget Assistant who joined the city in March 1997, and earns $49,043; and Carol Canto, Office Assistant who joined the city in July 2007 and earns $28,674. Sandra King, Public Information Officer, joined the city in January 1990 and earns $79,885, while her assistant Jacqueline Barrett, who joined the city in March 2006, is paid $47,151. In addition to the full time employees directly under Chadwell, both C. William Hargett, Jr., and T.C. Broadnax (both former city hall employees) had personal service contracts with the city. Hargett’s contract expired on September 30, 2007, calling for him to received $25,000 – at the rate of $124 per hour. However Chadwell extended the agreement with Hargett through December 31st – for consulting services related only to the negotiations with Local 1549 (Pompano Firefighters/Paramedics). His last duty assignment called for him to be reimbursed also at the rate of $125 per hour. Last year Broadnax worked in San Antonio, Texas, as an assistant City Manager, but continues to draw a paycheck from Pompano Beach for providing special services. Excluding the CRA director and the so-called temporary consultants, East Wing payroll is around half a million dollars. The West Wing In the West Wing of the fourth floor is the legal department, headed by City Attorney Gordon Linn. Linn was hired in July of 1991 and currently earns $150,863. He has three assistant City Attorneys: Mark Berman, hired in September 1995 and earning $115,103; Fawn Powers, hired in November1998 and earning $109,563; and Erin Robles, hired in February 2006 and earning $109,265. The office has two legal assistants who do the bulk of the administrative work: Jill Mesojedec, hired in November 1994 and earning $62,450; and Donna Samolewicz, hired in November 2000 and earning $56,773. Neither the City Attorney nor his assistants do very much court trial work. All major cases confronting the city are generally handled by outside attorneys who charge hourly rates of hundreds of dollars an hour. Excluding the cost of outside attorneys, the legal department payroll exceeds $600,000. The Finance Department occupies the remainder of the west wing. Suzette Sibble joined the city in April 2004, and now heads the Finance Department. She was acting Finance Director and City Controller. Chadwell recently promoted her and she is now the full time City Finance Director with a salary of $108,692. Chadwell hired Agnew Jean-Pierre, in October 2007, and he is the new City Controller, earning $72,000. He took over the job from Sibble. Sibble supervises a staff of 12 other individuals, which makes up the Finance Department. They include, in addition to Jean-Pierre: Accounting Systems Analyst Jane Post, hired in April 1994, and earning $79,885; Jesse Durbin, Accounting Supervisor, hired February 1982 and earning $69,007; Carla Bynes, Accounting Clerk II, hired January 1990 and earning $44,482; Donna Harris, Accounting Clerk III, hired December 2000 and earning $43,330; Cynthia Godfrey, Accounting Clerk II, hired August 2004 and earning $39,444; Shgerri Newell, Accounting Clerk II, hired December 2006 and earning $31,913; Tana Zionitz, the Department Head Secretary, hired October 2005 earning $40,903; Goldie Kintchen, Payroll Specialist I, hired April 2001 and earning $45,326; Joan Bryan, Payroll Specialist 2, hired June 2003, earning $50,822; Barbara Deleon, the Internal Auditor, hired June 1984 and earning $112,406; and Kelvin Stansberry, EDP Auditor hired September 2006 and earning $65,721. There currently is an opening in the Finance Department for an Audit Assistant, which pays $36,596 annual salary. Even without that vacancy, Finance Department payroll exceeds $800,000. The 4th floor is costing nearly two million dollars in salaries alone. Tack on other expenses (such as employer’s share of FICA, health and retirement and other benefits) and the total jumps to somewhere between 2.5 and 3 million dollars. Now what? Pompano’s city government is both costly and growing, but there are some unanswered questions about some of the expansion. Did Chadwell create new positions, or were they already there and Hargett left them vacant on purpose? Make no mistake, despite some of the things Hargett did that many consider to be despicable, he was brilliant at manipulating the City’s finances, and he did so in a way that was anything but obvious. Also, taking a close look at some of the salaries being paid at City Hall – they show great disparity from similar job opportunities in the private sector. Years ago, conventional wisdom claimed that governmental workers would be paid less than the private sector because of job security, retirement benefits and additional perks. That’s the way it used to be. It doesn’t seem to be that way anymore. When comparing job duties and responsibilities in the private sector – especially in Florida – it would seem that a job at City Hall in Pompano Beach is a plum position in nearly every way. There is job security, and regular almost-guaranteed raises. However, many City Hall employees have worked for the City for more than 10 years and have reached the top of the pay scale for their positions. While some workers have not received pay increases for many years, the former city manager accepted a generous pay boost annually. His rationale to the workers was that to continue to grant them pay increases on longevity or on merit would set a dangerous policy and he would have to deal with everyone on an individual basis. That’s why they had a pay scale as a part of their job descriptions. Recently, Governor Charlie Crist commented on the proposed higher salaries that might be needed to lure new candidates to work for upper levels of government in Tallahassee. Crist said he disagreed with the philosophy to increase the wages because “it should be an honor to serve the people that you represent.” On January 29th, voters will consider a constitutional amendment that may change ad valorem taxes and homestead exemptions. While some government officials are promoting it, others such as law enforcement and firefighters are opposing it. Savvy taxpayers see it as a long-range tax increase, disguised as short-term tax relief. My impression is that it will not pass. What happens on January 29th could significantly impact Pompano’s short-term revenues to the tune of three million dollars. With a reduction of revenues on the horizon, adding additional payroll burdens to an already-bloated 4th floor could result in a budget shortfall. Broward’s school system has been suffering from top-heavy administration. Can we not learn from that? Pompano’s government is already top-heavy. Is it wise to make it any heavier?