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Tampa City Council's Efficiency In Question

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By ELLEN GEDALIUS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 5, 2008

TAMPA - At a recent council meeting, two of Mayor Pam Iorio's highest-paid administrators sat side by side for hours. One was there in case the council had questions about a new code enforcement director. The other was there to lead a discussion on a reclaimed water project.

That same morning, Fire Chief Dennis Jones spent hours waiting around council chambers before being called upon to give a two-minute presentation about a permitting issue.

The frustration in the room was palpable. By meeting's end, veteran council member Charlie Miranda declared the board so dysfunctional he wanted to run for county commission.

What has become of the Tampa City Council?

Council members often spend hours debating issues over which they have little say - such as complaints about Verizon's customer service or whether to make state road Florida Avenue a two-way thoroughfare - while issues they can influence often take weeks if not months to resolve.

"I'm a lot more frustrated," said council Chairman Tom Scott, who served on the county commission when that board was considered highly dysfunctional.

Part of the problem is that the council's ambitions to shape city policies runs into the reality of Tampa's political system, where the mayor has far more power to shape issues than the council.

The council also might be a victim of its own meeting schedule. Often, as many as 20 items are scheduled for the same time, causing people with business before the board to arrive in the morning, only to wait hours as the council slogs through the agenda.

Whatever the reasons, this much is certain: Residents are upset they need to spend so much time at city hall. Council members are frustrated with themselves and one another.

Taxpayers are paying the salaries of city administrators who end up sitting at council meetings rather than getting work done in their offices.

Hurry Up And Wait

As president of the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association, Susan Long is a regular at council meetings. She has her own business, and when she's not in the office, she's not making money.

She said some council members don't seem interested in hearing from the public. She gets upset when debate over some topics drags on. And she says some council members don't seem to understand what motion they're voting on.

"If I can understand what's going on, why can't the people who are elected understand what they're doing?" Long said. "Are they asleep? Are they not paying attention?"

Randy Baron, another frequent visitor to council meetings, has been aggravated when wet-zoning discussions scheduled for 10 a.m. don't start until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Restaurants need wet-zoning approval to sell alcohol.

"For someone who isn't getting paid to be down there, it's really a burden for people," Baron said.

Baron, vice president of Tampa Homeowners, an Association of Neighborhoods, said he hears complaints from members about spending the entire day at a council meeting to talk about just one item.

'The Public Needs Service'

Some council members say they are frustrated, too. About three weeks ago, the council had a long debate about campaign finance reform. The council voted against moving forward with any changes, but at the end of the meeting, the issue got a second life.

"The chair should have shut the discussion off," Councilman Joseph Caetano said. "I see citizens sitting there all day long, too. People have better things to do. All the administrators sitting there for hours and hours costs money."

Chairman Scott shares Caetano's frustrations about city staff members sitting idle at council meetings. Some of those top administrators make $72 an hour.

"Staff reports have got to be at a certain time so you don't have these high-paid staff people sitting around all morning," Scott said.

Scott just finished serving his first year as a councilman, after spending about a decade on the county commission. As the newly elected chairman, Scott wants to quicken the pace of meetings and schedule more issues for specific times.

Scott said he is willing to halt debate on one topic to take up a scheduled conversation on another.

Councilman Miranda was the first to publicly label the city council dysfunctional this month. He was visibly annoyed that the campaign finance issue was resuscitated after the board voted it down earlier in the meeting.

He also has said he doesn't understand why some council members seem unprepared for meetings when the backup material is available several days before a meeting.

"They should really know what they're doing, first of all," Miranda said. "We've got to get on track. Maybe it's the personalities; maybe it's about what I want to be rather than what I am."

The council, he said, should be talking more about mass transit and the budget and spending less time on smaller issues.

"The public needs service," Miranda said. "The road system is in terrible shape. There are ditches everywhere. There is so much we can do."

Ambition Versus Reality

The council's primary roles are legislative in nature, while the mayor holds executive, policy-making responsibilities.

That means the council is responsible for land-use decisions and approving expenses recommended by the mayor. The council also debates proposed ordinances.

By most accounts, the council does those jobs well. But at a retreat last year, some council members said they wanted to take a more assertive role on some issues, including developing mass transit and encouraging green building. Councilman John Dingfelder took the lead on the green building issue and has written a proposed ordinance.

Dingfelder said the council has been more assertive this year than in his previous four years on the board.

"Every council has its own personality," Dingfelder said. "This council tends to ask a lot more questions than prior councils. That's a healthy thing in regard to the system of checks and balances."

Mass transit discussions, however, have focused little more than on hearing from rail leaders from other cities.

The council also has a tendency to dabble in issues it has no control over.

City Attorney David Smith says the council should focus more on issues within its purview. Sometimes, he said, the council tries to renegotiate contracts the administration had spent months working on.

"The biggest issue is, council needs to exercise their own internal discipline," Smith said.

Several other city administrators declined to comment for this story, including Iorio, who would only say she respects the council and the legislative function the board performs.

Chief of Staff Darrell Smith said the council can run more quickly and efficiently, and he is confident Scott will work with the administration toward that goal.

Scott has some ideas to move the meetings along, namely having staff reports at a certain time so department heads won't have to sit around waiting.

Miranda said part of the problem is simple politics, as several council members might run for mayor, county commission or another council term within the next few years.

"We're not focusing on the needs of the city," Miranda said. "We're focusing on our own needs."

Reporter Ellen Gedalius can be reached at (813) 259-7679 or egedalius@tampatrib.com.

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