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Why the Council Should NOT Terminate Jim Borgmann.

8/2/2011

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Updated: August 2, 2011.  Jim Borgmann has been a good City Manager for Miami Springs -- not perfect -- but very good.  Now that he has decided to retire effective January 1, 2012, there are a lot of residents and business owners who would like the Council to terminate his employment sooner (for a variety of reasons).  Many of the reasons are good reasons.  In fact, on June 13, when I received the report from Finance Director William Alonso providing a preview to the large deficit for the next budget, due in part to Jim’s end of employment payout, I too thought that maybe the City could get by without our City Manager for the next six months in order to save money and balance the budget without cutting services.  After all, one of the things that Jim was best at was bringing on very competent people in senior management within the City. 

My first thought was, maybe Jim could leave after the August budget meetings to save money? Certainly, Assistant City Manager Ron Gorland is well qualified to serve as interim City Manager during the search process, and William Alonso could guide us through the final part of the budget process. 

In addition, I immediately wondered why the City was going to owe Jim $115,000 upon his separation from employment.  As a result, I obtained a copy of his
contract.  The contract provides that Mr. Borgmann is entitled to accrued sick, vacation, holidays, etc.  It also provides on Page 3 that he must provide at least 30 days notice of resignation.  Finally, it provides that if the City terminates him, it must provide 120 days of pay in lieu of notice. 

Obviously, this changes the analysis of what is in the City’s best interest.  It clearly does not make ANY sense to terminate Mr. Borgmann when we are contractually bound to pay him anyway.  Especially when we consider that we presently do not have a City Planner and we are aggressively working to finalize commercial zoning revisions while also expanding code enforcement throughout the city. 

Some believe we can circumvent our contractual obligations with Mr. Borgmann by “
accepting his resignation immediately” thereby saving the City about $100,000.  That is some pretty big wishful thinking -- even I wish it were so.  Cute and clever opinion and argument, but no basis under the law.  Lawyers have this saying that was recently articulated by David Cole, a Georgetown University Law Professor, “When you're a law student, they tell you if say that if you can't argue the law, argue the facts. They also tell you if you can't argue the facts, argue the law. If you can't argue either, apparently, the solution is to go on a public relations offensive and make it a political issue... to say over and over again "it's lawful", and to think that the American people will somehow come to believe this if we say it often enough.”

We must not treat Mr. Borgmann’s employment as a political issue.  His retention is a business decision for the City.  We cannot ignore the basic legal principles that govern his employment contract, or for that matter, any other issue before the Council.

Upon his return from vacation, our Budget Director drafted a memo outlining the costs associated with Mr. Borgmann's seperation from the City.  It establishes that the actual NET savings for terminating the City Manager on June 27, 2011 (and obviously that did not happen), would be $44,918 -- not $140,000 as was suggested by members of Council.  While the memo is not exact, it appears that terminating Mr. Borgmann on August 8, 2011 would save the city less than $30,000.  Indeed, my argument stands, it does not make sense for the City to terminate Mr. Borgmann's contract while searching for a new City Manager -- it saves the City very little money and it creates another void in our workforce, which is already very, very lean.

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Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!

6/24/2011

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“Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!”  A classic line from The Wizard of Oz scene where Dorothy, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow are fearful of the forest because of the unseen (and imagined) dangers that must lie within it.

Lately, it seems that Miami Springs has been ground zero for the same kind of hand-wringing, rumor-induced speculation that Dorothy confronted outside the forest.  While I’m always glad to listen to the opinion of a fellow citizen -- it is distressing to hear so many that are based on incomplete information at best -- and rhetoric, speculation or plain old gossip at worst. 

In reality, sometimes we simply don’t have all the facts.  And, that is OK.   But, rushing to judgment and opining with little in the way of concrete evidence does not do anyone any good.  Worse, it distracts attention from the important business of the city -- and we have a lot of important business to attend to here in Miami Springs.

I do not speak for the Council, only myself, but I do not want to stand by while the rumor mill continues to dominate public discussion of the issues we all face.

Therefore, I am going to use this blog as a means to address some of the current “hot topics” of discussion here in Miami Springs over the next week or so by responding to questions I’ve been asked in various conversations:

    Why am I letter Jim Borgmann stay on as City Manager when he has already resigned (effective January 1, 2012)?

    Why am I concerned for the City about the initial proposal by CMI related to selling tax credits to raise money for the Mansion?

    Why won't I demand that the Mayor respond to the accusations about his integrity, and/or demand his resignation?

    And finally, what is going on with the search for a New City Manager?

In the future, I would like to continue to respond to issues such as these on this blog.  I invite you to email me at
atorj@miamisprings-fl.gov and ask me your questions - especially the “hard” questions.  If I don’t have enough information to respond, I will work on getting the information.  If it is something relating to the broader community interest, I will post my response to this blog.  It would be impossible for everyone to like my position on every issue that comes before the City.  But, everyone should understand why I am taking the position I am taking -- that is what transparency is all about.

Information is our best weapon in the fight against ignorance, rhetoric, and the poor decisions that often flow from them.  Miami Springs is filled with intelligent, caring, and passionate residents.  We are a smart community.  We are smart enough to evaluate the evidence before becoming part of the gossip mill and, we are smart enough to demand the facts before getting sucked into the rhetoric.

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Miami Springs Arbor Day Celebration

4/28/2011

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Arbor Day -- the day to celebrate all things green and shady.  The holiday originated in Nebraska in 1872 and is now celebrated worldwide. 

Miami Springs is the most beautiful, safest, friendliest place to live in South Florida.  We live in Miami Springs because it is a community in an urban area where there are not very many “communities” left.  Those of us with children, especially small children, revel in the fact that there are hundreds of eyes and ears -- starting at the top with our police force, including our neighbors and friends, and ending in our own backyards -- looking out for the safety of our children. 

While our churches, clubs, and organizations -- those small groups -- are the basis for our community, it is our commitment to our green space that further sets us apart from our neighboring cities.  I can’t imagine anyone in Miami Springs advocating for development of our precious golf course, but maintaining our “green triangle” takes more than just a commitment to the golf course. 

In 2009, the Council changed the ordinance to allow citizens to cut down any tree without replacing it.  I strongly opposed the change.  With the assistance of the Board of Park and Parkways, we rescinded the changes to the ordinance and the Code. 

I also advocated for money in the budget to pay to replace the trees we have lost within the city.  This year we have already purchased 33 trees and have submitted a grant for an additional 75 trees.  I hope to reach my goal of planting 100 trees in Miami Springs this year -- and every year after that as well.

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    Beautiful Miami Springs.  There is no place like it.  THANK YOU for re-electing me to our City Council in April 2011.  It is going to be difficult to share information with our residents during or after Council meetings.  As a result, I will post to my blog often: Council items, neighborhood happenings, local events.  Please subscribe, bookmark the site, and visit often.

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Jennifer J. Ator, P.A.
901 Falcon Avenue
Miami Springs, FL  33166
jennifer@jenniferator.com