2005 0310 Regular City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes: Regular City Commission Meeting March 10,2005 City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida Attorney's Office and it would define what appearance is. Mayor Ede1cup said that we can't read this tonight and comment on it because the material was not given to them prior. He said he would be glad to look at it if Commissioner Iglesias would defer this item. Commissioner Iglesias said that he is only adding to the Ordinance and asked City Attorney Dannheisser if we can hear this tonight since this is first reading. Commissioner Brezin said she would like this item deferred so she can have the opportunity to really read this through and study it. City Attorney Dannheisser said that what Commissioner Iglesias is referring to is the question on whether you can make a material change on a second reading and this would be a material change on a second reading, at first reading you can present anything you want, then it is a matter for the Board to decide. Commissioner Iglesias asked the Commission to look at page 2 of the ordinance and for the record, he said that this starts from now on, it is the perception that we are trying to deal with, from this day forward. Mayor Ede1cup asked ifthis ordinance substitutes the amended ordinance, and Commissioner Iglesias said yes, and he read the second page ofthe ordinance. He said that the first one he did was more strict then this one but Howard Rosen of the State Attorney's Office gave him input that the disqualification should be in there. Mayor Edelcup noted that the word appearance is missing from this one, and Commissioner Iglesias said yes they dropped appearance, that it is very clear using specific instances. Mayor Edelcup said he would like to get into the record and he would like to see it somehow incorporated in the ordinance as to what our real intent was if we were to do something, and something similar came up in the State of Connecticut and the Connecticut Supreme Court made some comments that are appropriate here and we should listen to those comments and work them into the ordinance. He said this was in the Supreme Court in July 1970, "Local governments would be seriously handicapped if any conceivable interest no matter how remote and speculative would require the disqualification ofthe zoning official. Ifthis were so, it would not only discourage, but might even prevent capable men and women from serving as members of the various zoning authorities. Of course courts should scrutinize the circumstances with great care and to condemn anything which indicates the likelihood of corruption or favoritism, they must however, be mindful that to abrogate a municipal action on the basis that some remote or nebulous action may be present and would deprive unjustifiable a municipality in many important instances of the services of its duly elected appointed officials.", and he said he thinks that is the intent that Commissioner Iglesias is building his suggestion on. Commissioner Iglesias said yes pretty much but he also has from the Ohio Ethics Commission, but the bottom line is when we did our laws that everything was covered here but we decided to take it to a higher level. He said the Ohio one also addresses the bank issue, the one he used with the passbook. He quoted the Ohio one "that the Commission of Ethics adopted a standard that a public official is prohibited from participating in matters involving other parties where relationship between the official and the other party is such that the official's objectivity or independence of judgment could be impaired with regards to matters that effects his interest ofthat party." Commissioner Brezin said that she thinks Commissioner Iglesias is extending himself over and above and beyond what our original intent was in stopping you from purchasing apartments at pre-site plan approvals and she said she doesn't think that something like this is ajustifiable action because she can understand what Commissioner Iglesias' feelings are about this and she can see it is very obvious where he is coming from. Mayor Ede1cup read into the record from Ohio "It 7