Remarks by Darrin Palumbo
628 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 18 of 26
“Yes. Motion passes 7-0. Thank you. Congratulations, Chief. Thank you. All right. Nothing for 15B. So we're on to Item 16. 16A, termination of contract with Ron Elbook for lobbying services. Just to note, Ron is on Zoom call should we have any questions. And Raina Brown, I believe she's here. Raina, good to see you again. She's attending in person. Casey, I'm going to turn this over to you.”
“Councilor's light signs for questions. Councilor Gray, you're up first.”
“So you know where the light signs? I don't know if any of you reached out and spoke to Ron. I did in great detail. I don't like the fact that we need a lobbyist, but that's part of the way the game is played in Tallahassee and in DC. 10 million over 10 years sounds like a pretty good track record. I know last year we didn't get any money. So I'm thinking myself, when you keep asking, maybe this year now we're due to receive. The squeaky wheel gets the oil. You have what's considered the best lobbyist in the state. And so I'm not so sure. My concern is if we sever this today, then we have to…”
“Ron, did you want to weigh in? Or Anna, did you want to weigh in or make any comments on this?”
“If you could just identify yourself so we know you.”
“Sorry. Thank you, Ron. I did say, did I have a light sign that was on? I saw one.”
“Okay. Counselors, any other light signs? All right. Do we have anybody signed up for public comment on this?”
“Very good. Thank you. Any questions for me? All right. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you. Guys, I'm going to make – Councillor Gray, your light sign's on.”
“Steve, we've got some light signs. I'll address that at the end, but Councilor Schwan is up first.”
“Thank you, Councillor. Councillor Henry.”
“Well, maybe Councilor Goler's got the answer. We'll see what she has to say. Councilor Goler, you're up. No pressure. You're up next.”
“Thank you, Ron. I'm going to take my go-around team. I see a few light signs on again, but I'll go with mine. A couple of things. I made a few notes. First of all, just big picture. I think we live in a paradise. I think we are well-funded. I think we had one of the lowest millage rates in the entire state. I think it was two or three years running. We were top three lowest millage rates. We funded an entire community. We have an entire staff out of those 15 lowest taxation cities in the entire state of Florida. one of the most heavily populated states in the whole country. We managed to…”
“Motion by Councillor Schwan, second by Councillor Dunham. All right, light signs are stuck. Councillor Schwan, anything else to add to that? Yeah. OK, thank you. Councillor Gray.”
“THANK YOU, COUNCILOR. COUNCIL, LET'S FINISH UP WITH OUR THOUGHTS. WE HAVE A LOT OF OTHER THINGS ON THE AGENDA TONIGHT, SO VICE CHAIR CHAMPAGNE?”
“Well, we have a motion in a second. What you're saying is you're suspecting four councillors are not going to vote for us. I don't want to put words in your mouth.”
“You could ask Councillor Schwan if she'd like to withdraw.”
“So I see no other light signs. Anybody signed up to speak on this?”
“No. Motion passes 4-3. Contract is terminated. We are moving on to 16B. A discussion with the city council regarding the city attorney fee structure. Alan Gabriel. Alan, you are up.”
“Pretty good. Thank you, Alan. First light sign, Council Gray.”
“Very good. Thank you, Counselor. Vice Chair Champagne?”
“I see no other light signs. I liked option one also. I liked the fixed rate, to tell you the truth. I was kind of in between the two of them, option one and two. To be real honest, I can kind of go either way, to be truthful. I do think our city attorney is fair with us, I think, in the pricing. I've asked around. I said my wife's in the legal field. He's mentioned to us where other communities are paying. They seem like they're willing to work with us. And I also know that, Alan, I mean, I know there's a lot of conversations, times, and things that happen where we're not directly billed for,…”
“Well, we got the whisperings of one, one, two, one, two, that first section there, option one or two. Stephen, you were the first one, the 13-5 in the hour. Is that what you're leaning towards?”
“So let's start with we have a motion. We have a second. Let's open up for dialogue. Vice Chair, I think you want to blend them maybe at the 4% to option one. I'm not sure. But light signs to jump in on the conversation. Right now we have a motion by Councillor Gray, a second by Councillor Goehler for option one. The original proposal rate increases at $325 per hour with a monthly retainer of $13,500. Councillor Henry, your light sign's on.”
“Good point. I see no other light signs. Anybody signed up to speak on this?”
“Thank you. All right. We are... Moving right along. Does anybody need a break, counselors?”