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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCRC 08/25/2008 City of Ocoee Minutes of the Charter Review Commission Meeting Held August 25, 2008 Call to Order Chairperson Grafton called the meeting to order at 6:39 p.m., in the Commission Chairperson Grafton Chambers of City Hall, located at 150 N. Lakeshore Drive. gave Recording Clerk Moseley the invocation and led the pledge of allegiance to the flag. called roll and declared a quorum to be present. Roll Call Present: Chairperson Grafton, Vice-Chair McKey, and Member Barnes, Member Howell, and Member Amey. Also present were City Clerk Eikenberry, City Attorney Nick Palmer, and Recording Clerk Moseley. Absent: None. Approval of Minutes of August 11, 2008 City Attorney Palmer stated that on page 2, under the discussion of Sections 61 & 62, sentence 3 needed clarification. He explained that he stated “under the current Charter the City Commission could elect to pick one, more than one, or all of the amendments City Attorney Palmer that are proposed to the City Commission.” stated that the sentence, “City Attorney Palmer said they could not reject an amendment; however, they have the authority to create a conflicting amendment if they desire.” needed to be moved to the end of the paragraph, following his previous statement of “under the current Charter, the City Commission could elect to pick one, more than one, or all of the amendments that are proposed to the City Commission.” He then stated that it should City Attorney Palmer read, “ stated that he would reword the paragraph per the request City of the Charter Review Commission and bring a draft to the next meeting.” Attorney Palmer explained that the draft would reflect that the City Commission could not selectively pick amendments that they would like on the ballot versus this Commissions recommendation. Member Howell, Member Barnes, seconded by moved to approve the minutes of August 11, 2008, as corrected. Motion carried unanimously. Review of the List of Charter Items to be Revisited (list attached) City The Charter Review Commission continued to review the current City’s Charter. Attorney Palmer provided examples of Charter Amendments from Orange County, Altamonte Springs and Winter Park. He stated that wording in a few sections of Orange City Attorney Palmer County’s reflects what this Commission may be researching. explained that one section allows the City Commission to add amendments and another section allows the amendments from the Charter Review Commission to go straight on Member Howell the ballot without approval/rejection from the City Commission. stated that the amendments would need to go before the City Commission for approval to Charter Review Commission Meeting August 25, 2008 City Attorney Palmer be placed on a ballot. explained that this time, the Commission would need to approve the item/s to the ballot, and if the referendum passes, then the next Charter Review Commission would not need approval from the City Commission for the amendment/s to be placed on a ballot. Article I, Creation and Existence of Municipality Item 1. Section 1. Topic: Preamble Chairperson Grafton stated that the Preamble has been previously agreed and the Attorney is to draft the document. Member Barnes, Vice-Chair McKey seconded by , moved to use the preamble similar to that of Winter Garden and have the Attorney create the document. Motion carried unanimously. Article II, Powers of the City. Item 2. Section 8. Topic: C-8-AA: Add Reclaim to the paragraph. Chairperson Grafton reviewed past discussion on this item regarding C-8-AA. She stated that the Attorney suggested a “clean-up” and only needed to change the sentence wording. Member BarnesVice-Chair McKey, , seconded by moved to have the Attorney re-write the section, and to add the wording or make broader. Motion carried unanimously. Item 3. Section 8. Topic: C-8b 1 & 2 and C-8g, are dollar amounts still working or do they need to be updated.; and Item 4. Section 8. Topic: C-8-1&2, do current amounts in these sections need to be updated? Continued discussion from 04-30-08. Chairperson Grafton stated that the Finance Director has reviewed this section and it has no comments or changes. She also stated that the Commission has previously addressed this Section. Item 5. Section 8. Topic: Page C-11, Article I Section C-8-AA, Sewer and Water Systems. Chairperson Grafton stated that this item has been taken care of previously. Item 6. Section 8. Topic: Section C-8B, Page C7 Property Rights Chairperson Grafton said this item had been questioned at a past meeting by Resident Lester Dabbs regarding a property being awarded to a church that was not the highest Member Howell bidder. had explained previously that the church was the second highest bidder, but the first highest bidder had backed out and that is why the church was 2 Charter Review Commission Meeting August 25, 2008 Member Barnes awarded the bid back then. questioned if a lawsuit could be filed Recording Clerk Moseley against the City if the highest bidder is not selected. stated that there is a rule in effect for the bidding process. Some discussion followed. Consensus of the Commission is that this item is covered. Article III, City Commission Item 7. Section 9. Topic: Section C-9, Spelling/Grammar Correction Chairperson Grafton stated that pro tem was capitalized and does not need to be. Member Barnes, Vice-Chair McKey seconded by , moved to authorize the Attorney to correct the spelling error of pro tem through out the charter. Motion carried unanimously. Item 8. Section 9. Topic: Section C-12, Article 3, City Commission, Section C-9, Created: composition, designation, election generally. Chairperson Grafton Member reviewed the item regarding the swearing in oath. Howell City Clerk questioned if the City is currently in violation with this process. Eikenberry explained that the mayor pro tem is sworn in yearly after the election. She stated that there is no election every third year, therefore, the current mayor pro tem City Attorney Palmer could be mayor pro tem for two years until the next election. Clerk Eikenberry stated that the Charter does not say that it can not be done. stated that past mayors pro tem were selected by seniority. Resident Lester Dabbs, 619 Caborca Court, stated the Charter and practice needed to Clerk Eikenberry be in sync. stated currently the mayor pro tem is selected by the Commissioners. Resident Rosemary Wilsen, 1019 Shady Maple Circle, stated that the Charter had not Member Barnes been violated by the Commissioners electing the mayor pro tem. suggested adding a line regarding “during an off year of no election, the Commission Chairperson Grafton votes for the mayor pro tem.” questioned if a four-year term, if City Attorney Palmer asked for, could be in this section. suggested adding a line, “at such other time as the commission sees fit.” Member Barnes,Vice-Chair McKey, seconded by moved to add a sentence to C-9 that the Commission may elect a mayor pro tem at any such other time they deem necessary. Motion carried unanimously. Item 9. Section 9. Topic: Section C-9 Chairperson Grafton stated that this item relates to the swearing in of the City Attorney Palmer Commissioners. stated that per the Supervisor of Elections, this needed to be incorporated in the Election section. 3 Charter Review Commission Meeting August 25, 2008 Member Barnes, Member Amey seconded by moved to table this item until they get to the election Section C-44 of Article 7. Motion carried unanimously. Chairperson Grafton introduced a discussion regarding single member district and a Member Barnes Commissioner not living within the district. stated that this item should be included in the election discussion along with the item previously discussed. Chairperson Grafton reviewed the current language in the Charter and the past discussion with Mr. Dabbs regarding voting for a candidate within that single district Member Barnes where they live or holding a city wide election for each district. stated that would be a topic for discussion at the joint meeting with the City Commission. Member Barnes, Member Amey, seconded by moved to table this item until the joint meeting with the City Commission. Motion carried unanimously. Items 10. Section 10. Section C-10, Qualifications Chairperson Grafton gave a brief review of this item. She stated that in past discussion, Member Howell someone in the audience stated that more teeth were needed. stated that City Attorney Paul Rosenthal stated that the Charter had been followed in the past. Mr. Dabbs stated that rules are rules which need to be followed. He then read C-17B City Attorney Rosenthal Forfeiture of Office. stated that this section refers back to C- Member Howell 10. then reviewed a personal incident that happened while he was a Chairperson Grafton Commissioner. stated that the current Charter states, “that if Ms. Rosemary Wilsen convicted of a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude.” stated that the Charter Review is not for reviewing things that are personal in nature and historical. She stated that the review is for updating purposes. Member Barnes stated that consensus of the Commission is to leave this paragraph alone. All agreed. Item 11. Section 10. Section C-10, Qualifications Chairperson Grafton explained that the second discussion relates to qualifications. She explained that Commissioner Johnson suggested having 5-7 district Commissioners. Member Barnes, Member Amey, seconded bymoved to table this item until Article 7. Motion carried unanimously. Item 12. Section 10. Topic: Section C-10, Page 13. Judge of Qualifications. Chairperson Grafton stated that this item has been previously handled. 4 Charter Review Commission Meeting August 25, 2008 Item 13. Section 12. Topic: Section C-12-b, which states, “…no member of the City Commission shall in any way deal with or dictate the appointment or removal of any city officers or employees who are subject to the supervision or control of the City Manager…” Chairperson Grafton reviewed the current topic regarding City Commissioners interfering with City officers and employees and asked if it should be reworded. Member Howell stated something should be put into place because he has seen Member employees go to the “higher ups” and within a few months they were fired. Barnes stated he agreed that something is necessary. He stated that, in regards to a Mr. Dabbs Director, the Commission should be involved. stated his concern with this Chairperson Grafton section. Discussion followed. questioned if this item needed to be discussed in the joint session with the City Commission. Member Barnes,Member McKey seconded by, moved to table this item until the joint meeting with the City Commissioners. Motion carried unanimously. Item 14. Section 12. Topic: Section C-12-c, regarding influencing votes or political aid Chairperson GraftonVice-Chair McKey reviewed the past comments on this item. Member Barnes stated that the State Statute could be referenced there. felt it was fine the way it was. Member McKey, Member Amey seconded by, moved to replace the current verbiage with the State Statute. Motion carried unanimously. Item 15. Section 12. Topic: Mayor Vandergrift Comments Chairperson Grafton reviewed Mayor Vandergrift’s prior comments on the section. She stated that most of the items have been reviewed but there are still concerns with Mr. Dabbs Veto Power and the City Manager residing within the City of Ocoee. stated that the City Manager should reside within the City limits. Member Barnes moved to hold off on the review of the Veto Power issue until C-21 is reviewed and the City Commission interfering with the City be tabled to Section C-20. Motion died for lack of a second. Chairperson Grafton Discussion followed. questioned how to get an adult to admit to a Member Howell violation and who would determine the violation. suggested having an anonymous person listen to the complaint and decide whether there is a violation or not. Member McKey questioned other avenues for someone to voice a complaint or concern. Member Barnes, Member McKey, seconded by moved to add C-12 to the joint meeting, table the Veto Power and the City Manager residing in the City. Motion carried unanimously. 5 Charter Review Commission Meeting August 25, 2008 Set Next Meeting Date Chairperson Grafton stated that the next meeting dates needed to be determined. rdth Discussion followed. Everyone agreed to meet on September 3 and September 15 City Clerk beginning at 6:30 p.m. and start review of the list with Section 13. Eikenberry questioned if everyone would like to have the sections numbered. Everyone Chairperson Grafton agreed that numbering would help the process. questioned the City Clerk Eikenberry date for the Joint meeting with the City Commission. explained City that the item will placed on their agenda to decide a date. After some discussion, Clerk Eikenberry stated that she will try to schedule the joint meeting in October. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 8:30p.m. ________________________________ ______________________________ Holly Mosley, Recording Clerk Jean Grafton, Chairperson 6