|
Attorney promises better communication
By MELISSA LATTMAN
| Article published on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009 |
|
 |
REDINGTON BEACH – A vote to terminate the town attorney’s contract with notice did not pass at the Oct. 6 Town Commission meeting.
Communication between Town Attorney Andrew Salzman and the town staff appeared to be the issue. An addendum to Salzman’s contract passed. Code enforcement matters can now be billed under the monthly retainer instead of being billed separately, which is expected to save the town money.
The town has not been using as much of the town attorney’s time so they are putting code enforcement in the retainer, Mayor Nick Simons said.
Commissioner Fred Steiermann voiced concerns he heard from the town staff.
“The problem is not what’s in front of us (the addendum adding code enforcement into the existing contract). The problem is the level of service with the town staff,” Steiermann said.
Salzman disagreed and asked for details.
“If they need something they should call,” he said. “If there is an issue they should bring it up.”
Town Clerk Janina Patrus shared from her experiences. She said there were administrative issues with bills with fees duplicated in some ways and incorrect addresses, which the staff had to call and research with Salzman’s office. There were also some errors with addresses on liens. The town staff also was sometimes not made aware when they needed to be in court, she said.
Salzman said his office coded bills in a manner similar to the way his office does for other municipal clients. However, they had modified the Redington Beach bills to make it smoother for the town. He said the town staff did not need to be present at all proceedings. He said his office does make occasional mistakes with notifications.
Salzman receives $3,000 each month for 20 hours of work. Additional time is billed at $150 per hour and travel is billed at $100 per hour. Salzman said recently he has been spending most of his time in town with code enforcement.
Mayor Nick Simons suggested working on the communications.
“If something is broke we should try to fix it,” Simons said.
Vice Mayor Mark Deighton suggested putting issues in writing.
“I had a lot of legal stuff in the last couple of years,” he said. “I have no real complaints. It’s worked out for me. I have been made aware of (the staff) having a problem, which apparently has not been clearly expressed. I am a great one for putting a problem in writing,” he said.
Salzman said he would come to town more often and meet with Patrus and Code Enforcement Officer Mark Davis, who was not at Tuesday’s meeting. Salzman said he made it his primary goal to communicate.
The commission voted against the motion by Steiermann to terminate Salzman’s contract. Salzman said he will come to town more often as needed by the staff.
In other matters, the commission approved the replacement of a storm drain on Fourth Street. With the completion of the work, at a cost of $9,500, that area of town would be 98 percent complete and needs only a couple of more drains replaced, Davis wrote in a memorandum.
|
Article published on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009
Copyright © Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved. |
