Martino: Council – Reconsider Wrongs and Make it Right

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PBG Municipal Complex… name change?

Once again I find my opinion to be in conflict with a Palm Beach Gardens City Council decision. At the July 16th regular Council meeting the City Council passed with a 5 to 0 vote Resolution 49, 2020, renaming the City Municipal Complex. The new name is the Ronald M. Ferris Municipal Complex. Ronald M. Ferris is the current City Manager. This is at least the third instance in which a City Council has named a City owned facility after an individual in the last several years without notice to the public. I question the decisions and ask why.

So what is wrong with the above decision on Resolution 49, 2020 one might ask? To my knowledge there is no public clamor for a change in the identification of the Municipal Complex. In my view the fallacy of the decision has several components. The process used, if it can be called that, is wanting at best. The need for the change is neither necessary, nor urgent. The selection of the City Manager, who is a City employee, is highly problematical.

The decision process used lacks integrity. Resolution 49, 2020, proposed by the Mayor, traversed from the City Attorney’s briefcase to adoption by the City Council with little, if any, substantive discussion. It appeared to be a complete surprise to the other Council members. The Resolution had not been advertised for public awareness, was not listed on the published agenda, and had not been work shopped by the entire City Council prior to introduction. Why was the pubic not noticed for its input while four special interest individuals of the community were invited to speak? Conducting important City business, such as, the naming of publicly owned City property, in this manner is on the margins of legality and stresses the public’s trust in the City Council.

To my knowledge there is no public clamor for a change in the identification of the Municipal Complex. . It certainly was not necessary to process and approve this very important decision without public notification and participation. Neither the City Council nor any City employee “owns” the Municipal Complex or any other City facility. The residents and taxpayers of Palm Beach Gardens are the “owners”. To vote and pass Resolution 49, 2020 without advertising its intent to the public, is out and out audacious, and simply wrong.

The City Manager, Ronald M. Ferris, is a contract employee of the City. He serves at the pleasure of the City Council. His main duties are to administer the policies of the City Council. Mr. Ferris is among the top paid Administrators in Palm Beach County. His current salary is approximately $250,000 per year plus a basket full of benefits. Using conservative numbers Mr. Ferris has totaled in excess of $4,000,000 in just monetary compensation for his time on the job, thus far. In my opinion, Mr. Ferris, has been more than adequately compensated, rewarded, and appreciated for his job performance.

From my perspective, the approval of the renaming of the Municipal complex by the City Council was a mistake. The approval process used was wrong. Denying the public the right to comment on the exploitation of publicly owned City property was wrong. Selecting a City employee for the rename was wrong. Two wrongs do not make a right and neither do three.

The City Council needs to reconsider its wrongs and consider how to make them right!