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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-10-97 MINUTES OF THE CITY OF OCOEE CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION MEETING HELD MARCH 10, 1997 CALL TO ORDER Chairman Beatty called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m. in the commission chambers, then led in prayer and the pledge of allegiance. The roll was called and a quorum declared present. PRESENT: Chairman Beatty, Vice Chairman Combs, Members Anderson and Dabbs. Also present were City Attorney Rosenthal and City Clerk Grafton. ABSENT: Member Poplin APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 24, 1997 MEETING Member Combs, seconded by Member Dabbs, moved to approve the minutes of the February 24, 1997 meeting as presented. Motion carried 4 -0, (Member Poplin was not present.) Discussion ensued regarding the legality of the mayor's communicating with other council members if the mayor had no vote but did have veto power (as Mayor Vandergrift had proposed when speaking in favor of a strong mayor form of government at an earlier meeting). City Attorney Rosenthal stated that, in his opinion, if the mayor was not a member of the council he could communicate with the members. He said that if the objective were to identify a mechanism in which the mayor of the City could communicate with members of the city commission or council without being in violation of the Sunshine Law that would be an area in which options which have been pursued by other cities could be explored. Mayor Vandergrift said that the veto power takes the mayor out of the collegiate body and that the key was to open up an avenue of communication with the commission. PUBLIC HEARING The public hearing was opened. Former Commissioner Gleason, 856 Hammocks Drive, presented the following points: 1. that if the mayor is given veto power, the commission should be expanded to 5 commissioners, 2. that such private communication between the mayor and commissioners would encourage the incidence of bartering, 3. that if a change of government is passed it should take effect after this term is up, so that the person running for office would have to present credentials, 4. that the removal of a city manager is easier than a recall process, 5. that he was in favor of term limits, 6. that districts should either be eliminated or updated every two years. Discussion ensued regarding the distribution of population within the districts and Chairman Beatty asked that the City Clerk provide the current population for each district. Mayor Vandergrift addressed the Commission about taking back the election process from the Ocoee Charter Review Commission fir• March 10, 1997 County Supervisor of Elections and repeated that he had offered to step aside from his position earlier if that would help to put the strong mayor /administrator form of government on the ballot. There was discussion about the qualifications a strong mayor would /should have and Member Combs said that he felt something more should be required than the qualifications City Attorney Rosenthal had noted at the last meeting, i.e., 18 years of age, resident of Ocoee and a registered voter. City Attorney Rosenthal pointed out that there may be other parameters than age and residency that could be imposed, but presently there are none in the Charter. Former Commissioner Betty Hager said she failed to see the difference in the operation between Mayor /Administrator and Council /City Manager, except it appeared that possibly an additional salary would be necessary. The public hearing was closed. DISCUSSION /ACTION REGARDING INPUT FROM CITIZENS AT THIS AND PREVIOUS PUBLIC HEARINGS Chairman Beatty said that the time had come to sort through the issues and determine which Nur items should be put on a ballot, and he directed City Clerk Grafton to prepare a compilation of the issues that have been presented for the next meeting. Member Dabbs presented a list of items in the Charter for review: 1. Pg. C5 - §C -2. Asked about the word "choses" in the sentence, "The title, rights and ownership of property, uncollected taxes, dues, claims, judgments, decrees and choses in action held and owned by the city shall... ". Mr. Rosenthal defined "choses" as an archaic (but in legal documents much used) word for personal property. 2. Pg. C13 - §C -9. Asked for clarification on the use of the phrase "all members of the City Commission" in the last paragraph. Mr. Rosenthal explained that there were some actions taken by Commission that require the majority vote of all members of the City Commission, therefore, if three members were present it would require a unanimous vote of those present to pass on an issue. Such issues as adopting an ordinance /resolution, appointing /removing a city manager or city attorney are included. 3. Pg. C14 - §C -11. Asked that a definition of "bona fide" resident be included in the list of defined terms that accompany this Charter revision. Mr. Rosenthal said there are cases interpreting what a bona fide resident is and ultimately in this Charter it would be determined by a majority of this Commission, subject to judicial parameters in case law. 4. Pg. C14 - §C -12. Assumed that "hold any other office" means "elective" office. Mr. 2 Ocoee Charter Review Commission March 10, 1997 Rosenthal said that, as a generalized statement, an employee of a governmental agency is not an officer, but this sentence may be a place where elective would be appropriate. 5. Pg. C22 - §C -20. Noted that in this paragraph "The mayor...shall have no administrative duties." would have to be looked at if there is a change to a strong mayor form of government. 6. Pg. C23 - §C -22. Asked that this section on the removal of a city manager be reviewed. Mr. Rosenthal said that ordinarily this position is filled by contract and these procedures may not necessarily apply. Chairman Beatty advised that the 1988 Charter Review Commission had wanted to assure that this action would not be taken lightly. There was further discussion regarding ¶ D relating to review by a court or agency. 7. Pg. C27 - §C -28. Asked why the City Clerk is still a Charter position. 8. Pg. C28 - §C -29. Asked if a City Prosecutor is in use and what efficacy that position holds. 9. Pg. C35 - §C -45. Proposed presenting 3 or 4 year term limits to the people. Chairman Beatty explained that either 2 year or 4 year terms make it possible to coordinate with presidential and gubernatorial races. Member Dabbs said that a longer term would enable an elected official to focus on resolving issues rather than running for office again shortly after taking office. DIRECTION TO ATTORNEY /STAFF Chairman Beatty said that at the next meeting the input from City Staff would be reviewed, along with the list of all the issues presented by citizens at the previous meetings. SET NEXT MEETING DATE •m• •r D. I ) s a a 9 M•m' •r imp_ iov t• ^ t - n , •1'c -.ring for March 24, 1997 at 7:15 p.m. Motion carried 4 -0. (Member Poplin was not present.) ADJOURNMENT M. 1!•r 'II • - • 1 • • 111 • _4_ns 1 m•v-• • .•'._r . • in • •• carried 4 -0. (Member Poplin was not present.) APPROVED: ' Charter Review Commission ) LA A if i / l a --------- J„ : n Grafton, Ci Cler' Bru e Beatty, Chairman Now 3