Res. No. 027-06-12168RESOLUTION NO. 27-06-12168
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, RELATING TO
THE RESIGNATION OF ORLANDO MARTINEZ DE CASTRO
AS CHIEF OF POLICE; AUTHORIZING THE PAYMENT OF
SEVERANCE BENEFITS TO MR. MARTINEZ DE CASTRO;
AUTHORIZING THE FUNDS TO BE DISBURSED FROM
ACCOUNTS NUMBER: 001- 1910 - 521 -1210, 001 - 1910 -521 -2110,
001- 1910 -521 -1510, 001- 1910 -521 -1530, 001 - 2100 -519 -2220;
APPROVING THE ATTACHED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT,
WAIVER AND RELEASE AGREEMENT; AND PROVIDING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, Orlando Martinez de Castro has voluntarily tendered his
resignation as the Chief of Police for the City; and
WHEREAS, the Acting City Manager on behalf of the City has accepted
Mr. Martinez de Castro's resignation and negotiated a severance payment for Mr.
Martinez de Castro in appreciation of the exemplary services he rendered to the
City.
WHEREAS, as of March 16, 2006, the existing balance on each of the
above accounts is: $ 1,651,492; $128,958; $14,175; $29,520; and $39,301
respectively.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND
CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA;
Section 1. The mayor and city commission approve and incorporate by
reference into this resolution the attached acknowledgment, waiver and release
agreement, which agreement is attached hereto as exhibit A.
Section 2. The Mayor and City Commission approve the payment of
severance benefits consisting of one week of salary (excluding health insurance)
for each year of service together with accrued vacation time. The total severance
package to be paid to Mr. Martinez de Castro is attached and incorporated as
Exhibit 1 to the attached acknowledgment, waiver and release agreement.
Severance payments shall be issued from accounts no.: 001- 1910 -521 -1210, 001-
1910- 521 -2110, 001 - 1910 -521- 1510,001 - 1910 - 521 - 1530,001- 2100 -519 -2220.
Section 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon approval.
Additions shown by underlinine and deletions shown by ow '-gig.
Res. No. 27 -06 -12168
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 16th day of March, 2006.
ATTEST:
City Clerk, Maria Menendez
READ A RP ROVED AS TO FORM:
LuiS'IR Figueredo, Office of City Attorney
Nagin Gallop & Figueredo, PA
JAMy Documents \resotutions\Resolution resignation martinez.doc
Page 2 of 2
APPROVED:
Mayor Horace in
COMMISSION VOTE:
4 -0
Mayor Feliu:
Yea
Vice Mayor Wiscombe:
Yea
Commissioner Birts:
Yea
Commissioner Palmer:
absent
Commissioner Beckman:
Yea
o"60
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Orlando Martinez de Castro
CHIEF OF POLICE
Date: March 14, 2006
To: Mrs. Yvonne McKinley, Acting City Manager
6130 Sunset Drive
South Miami, Florida 33143 -5093
Tel: (305) 663 -6357 • Fax: (305) 663 -6337
Due to the present circumstances, please accept my resignation to be effective two weeks
after the City Commission approves my severance package. This resignation is
conditioned upon and subject to the agreement we reached regarding my severance
package. As we agreed, the severance package will consist of a week of severance
(salary and benefits excluding health insurance) per year of service (for a total of eight
weeks) and'my accrued vacation rime. In addition, I will be paid for the two weeks prior
to my resignation going into effect, at which time I will be available via phone.
My eight years of association with the City have been very rewarding, both personally
and professionally and I hope that my presence has been beneficial to the City as well.
In my last assignment as Chief of Police we were able to accomplish many meaningful
challenges. Some of the Police Department's accomplishments include the following:
• Overall crime is down 15% from last year and is the lowest it's been in 9 years.
• Violent crimes are down by 26% from last year and are the lowest they've been in
10 years.
• Non - violent crime is down 14% from last year
• The substantial reduction in crime is due to pro - activity and the arrests for street
level narcotics, along with traffic enforcement. I believe that being visible and
challenging suspicious activities is an important factor in crime prevention. For
example, our police department has arrested and convicted over 100 different
drug dealers in 9 investigations over the last two years.
• The Police Department also detached a detective to a DEA High Intensity Drug
Trafficking Area task force resulting in approximately $130,000 in seizures,
which will be deposited into our forfeiture fund.
• The Police established Mutual Aid agreements with six state and local agencies,
enabling them to share and utilize resources during investigations, emergencies
and a number of other mutually beneficial situations.
• The Department installed Automated Vehicle Locator devices in patrol vehicles
for enhanced accountability, improved response time and to provide safety for the
officers.
• The Department acquired the Reverse 911 system through a State of Florida
Department of Community Affairs grant. This gives the Department the ability to
broadcast telephone messages to the community regarding emergencies or matters
of great community concern.
• Reduced overtime by over forty percent over the last two years.
• The department Manual for the Field Training Officers Program was revamped
and rewritten.
• Standardized the entire department with customized Glock .40 caliber automatic
pistols and adequate firepower (assault rifles) for the supervisors. Additionally,
the entire department when through transitional weapon training. The weapons
and training was done without cost to the taxpayers.
• Complete change to paperless reporting of police offenses and incidents. The
City's Management Information Services (M.I.S.) Manager was merged with the
Police Department's M.I.S. Specialist to form a more cohesive, efficient and
cooperative environment. Working within very tight budget constraints, laptop
computers were provided for each individual officer to allow them to be more
productive and to eliminate some time by not having to log and check shared
computers in and out. Offense and incident reports are now written and
transmitted electronically to the records management system. Traffic citations are
also completed electronically, resulting in a tremendous time savings, increased
productivity and tickets that are easier to read.
• The purchase and distribution of digital cameras to supervisors through a grant
assist in the field interview data by merging the information with digital photos of
suspects to assist in investigations and offender identification.
• Our newly revamped k -9 Unit, which was initiated last year, was enhanced this
year with the addition of a 2 "a dog. The Belgian Malinois and his handler officer
have completed their full training to assist with drug and offender apprehensions.
• We have also realized a decrease in officers injured, vehicle crashes, disciplinary
cases and a decrease in the number and seriousness of complaints against
members of the department.
• With tremendous support of many key members of the department, the newly
appointed accreditation manager has initiated the process of getting the police
department accredited. After a complete rewrite of the general orders, state and
national accreditation is finally going to be achieved — planned completion is in
August 2006.
In addition, as the Department's administrator, I took actions to re- establish pride in the
rank and file. Some of the ways in which this was accomplished were:
• Clearing numerous cases involving workers compensation issues that we're
frivolous and baseless from officers that were abusing the system by working
light duty, etc.
l4ep#fying Pfficers w4pse substandard performance jeopardized their fellow
officers, as well as the citizens of South Miami.
7
• Re- establishing the Officer of the MonthfYear awards. Recognizing exemplary
police performance.
• Initiating a precedence of nominating officers and the police department for
awards on a local and state level. Some nominees were runner -ups in their
respective categories, while others actually won the prestigious awards, bringing
pride and recognition to our department and the community.
It should be noted that throughout my eight years of employment with the City, as
Deputy Director of Public Works, Director of Public Works, Assistant City Manager and
Chief of Police I have never received a reprimand or disciplinary action of any kind.
Instead I have received numerous commendations.
I would like to take this opportunity to commend the numerous men and women that I
have worked with in the numerous departments throughout the City, since we had to
overcome many challenges and obstacles to meet our objectives. Every department that I
had the privilege to serve with was able to successfully improve and provide better
services.
Again, in my last assignment as Chief of Police I realized that it's during times of
adversity and difficulty that the true characters of individuals are revealed. I am honored
and privileged to have worked with the greatest staff that any one could ever ask for!
Their professionalism, commitment and dedication to South Miami are second to none.
The police officers are true examples of what it means to be a public servant since they
put their lives in jeopardy daily to serve and protect.
In closing, I want to take this opportunity to thank past and present City officials and
those superiors who shared my vision and supported all my endeavors. All experience,
it's said is necessary for personal growth. If this is true, my tenure with the City of South
Miami has been a "growth spurt". It is because of this and all that I previously mentioned
that I today thank all the City's residents for that enrichment. It has been my honor and
pleasure to serve you.
\ F(
C: Mayor, Vice Mayor and Commissioners
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