lmost 40 police officers and fire rescue personnel filed into the
city commission chambers just after
11 p.m. Tuesday, just before two
Hallandale
Beach commissioners quarreled on the dais.
During a spirited discussion about whether Mayor Joy Cooper and
Commissioner Dorothy Ross are illegally holding two
offices by sitting on both the commission and the police
and fire department pension board, Cooper and City
Commissioner Keith London bickered about parliamentary
procedure.
Two weeks ago,
London
questioned whether holding dual offices violates the law
or the city’s charter. Although City Attorney Dave Jove
said then that it was legal, an item appeared on this
week’s agenda to “refer” to commissioners that sit on
the pension board as “ex-officio voting members.”
The Latin term means “by virtue of office or position,” and doesn’t
change any of the voting rights of the two board
members.
“This is an issue of form over substance,” Jove said, adding that
the name change is intended to avoid “more legal
issues.”
The police and fire unions have opposed the dual office holding,
calling it a conflict of interest, concerned that in a
volatile real estate market with impending tax
legislation and a looming recession, the interests of
the city commission’s bottom line might win out over the
unions’ pension interests.
“Where in your heart of hearts would you make the decision?” asked
Police Benevolent Association representative Gary Mcvey.
“These changes are not only a violation of your own charter, but of
the provisions of the law,” said Michael Braverman,
attorney for the Broward Police Benevolent Association,
the county’s police union, citing a section of the
charter that forbids dual office holding.
Firefighters Union 38 attorney Kenneth Harrison asked the board to
consider its own liability. The charter specifically
enumerates the duties of the mayor, he said, and it
would have to be amended to include Cooper’s other
duties, which would be subject to a referendum. If
voters passed such an ordinance, the city could be
vulnerable to a legal challenge.
“If challenged,”
Harrison
warned, “the case law is clear. The position you retain
is the last that you accepted — not the elected
position.”
London and Cooper vehemently argued later about whether
London could question one of the union attorneys.
Cooper, pulling rank, disallowed it and forced London to
direct his question to the city attorney.
London wanted details about whether the commissioners
could lose their seats on the commission.
Jove insinuated there might be a legal
way around the stipulation.
“There’s a proper way to go about this, and that’s to go to a
charter amendment,” said Jim Bunce of the Professional
Firefighters lobbyist group. “I represent the
[firefighters] you call on. We’re calling on you now.”
City Manager Mike Good asserted that no change in benefits would
occur if the two commissioners were allowed to serve on
both boards. “I don’t believe this harms anyone,” he
said. “I’ve never heard a complaint before that a
commissioner is on a board.”
Commissioner Ross is a former mayor who was elected to the
commission in 1995. She was employed by the city’s
police department for 28 years.
She and Cooper (along with the other commissioners) appointed
London to the City Commission in November 2006 to fill
the seat vacated by Commissioner Joe Gibbons.
London
said he recognized the conflict while attending recent
pension board meetings, talking to officials from other
cities and researching city ethics matters.
Vice Mayor
Bill Julian characterized the perception of a conflict
as “a fox in the henhouse.”
“I would err on the side of
caution here,”
London said. “Let’s throw it out to the people. Let
them decide.”
The ordinance change passed
3-2 with
London and Commissioner
Francine Schiller
voting no. A second reading will be held Feb. 6.
Comments? E-mail
angie@miamisunpost.com
