HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-24-88 CHARTER REVISION COMMITTEE MEETING HELD MARCH 24, 1988
The meeting was called to order at 7 :40 p.m. by Chairman
Beatty who assed for a moment of silent meditation and led in
the pledge to the flag.
PRESENT: Chairman Beatty, Board Members Switzer, Pounds,
Hendrix and Mitchell (arrived at 7 :48 p.m.), Attorneys
Woodson and Mlsna, and City Clerk Catron.
ABSENT: None
APPROVALS
Harold Switzer moved to approve the minutes of the 3 -10 -88
Meeting, Edwin Pounds seconded and the motion carried
unanimously.
REVIEW OF ARTICLE III OF THE CHARTER
Attorney Mlsna, through Attorney Rosenthal, had presented the
board members with a memorandum which summarized the Sections
of Article III. It also provided alternative provisions that
were derived from the model charters. The board members then
reviewed the following sections:
Section 1 - This section dealt with the membership of
the Commission, the Mayor's right to vote and the election of
the Commissioners. All of the board members agreed that 5
r members of the Commission would be sufficient. They also
agreed that the Mayor should have the right to vote. After
discussion, the board supported the idea of single member
districts for the Commissioners and the Mayor to be elected
at large. They asked the attorney to check with the
Supervisor of Elections regarding the mechanics of setting
up this type of system. Chairman Beatty explained this could
be accomplished by phased implementation. As an additional
provision, the board recommended that a Vice -Mayor be
appointed by the Commission and that he /she would not
automatically become Mayor in the event the Mayor could no
longer hold office.
Section 2 - This section dealt with the judge of
qualifications and there was no recommended change.
Section 3 - This section stated that "only qualified
voters of the City would be eligible to hold the office of
commissioner ". The alternatives suggested were: 1 - if
single member districts - must be a bona fide resident of the
district; 2 - must not have been convicted of a crime of
moral turpitude or a felony; and 3 , the section only
addressed holding office, not qualifying for office, so they
could consider comparable qualifications in order to qualify
as a candidate for the office of Commissioner. The board
agreed that a candidate should be a bona fide resident of the
%,, district. They did not feel the felony provision was needed
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Charter Revision Committee
March 24, 1988
since it was already taken care of by Florida State Statute.
On the provisions for qualifying to hold/run for office, the
attorneys were to provide the wording for the boards
consideration. They were to also check into the legality of
requiring an age or residency requirements.
Section 4 - This section dealt with prohibitions - no
Commissioner would be able to hold any other office or City
employment while he/she was a Commissioner and would vacate
his/her office upon qualifying for another elected office,
and no member of the Commission would dictate the
appointment or removal of any City administrative officers or
employees whom the manager is empowered to appoint or remove.
THe alternatives presented were as follows: (a) a member of
the City Commission cannot be employed by or interested in
any firm or corporation having a contractual relationship
with the City; (b) the members can be prohibited from all
other employment and be required to devote their efforts to
the City on a full-time basis; (c) no former member can hold
any compensated appointive City office or employment until 1
year after the expiration of his term; and (d) delete
provision requiring Commissioners to resign upon running for
another elected office. The board members were in agreement
with item (a) but Chairman Beatty questioned the phrase
"interested in" and Attorney Woodson said he would submit
�� wording to them at the next meeting. They all were opposed
to item (b). They all agreed with item (c). There was a
question on item (d) regarding deletion of the resign to run
provision. City Clerk Catron stated that there was a
requirement in the State Statute that required a candidate to
resign to run for another office. She will provide the
attorney with the section of the State Statute that applied
to that provision. The alternative presented for
appointments and removals was: except for inquiries and
investigations into the affairs of the City, Commissioners
would only deal with City officers and employees who are
subject to the supervision of the manager, solely through
the muanager.(This same provision may be used for officers and
employees who are subject to the supervision of the Mayor.)
The board members were in agreement on this item but asked
that the language be cleaned up and insert "City Manager"
instead of "Manager". The additional provision recommended,
stated that members of the Commision could not influence
votes or promise anything of value for the purpose of
influencing political aid or votes. The board members were
in favor of this provision but requested that the wording be
made as clear as possible so a violation could be identified.
Section 5 - This section was reserved. The members of
the board felt this was unnecessary since any additions to
okier
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Charter Revision Committee
March 24, 1988
the Charter could be added at the end. They agreed to delete
this section.
Section 6 - This section dealt with regular and
special meetings; meetings and records open to the public;
rules and order of business; and record of proceedings. The
board members agreed to leave this section as written with
the exception of the recommendation by the attorney to
include the "exception of meetings open to the public" as
written in the State Statute.
Section 7 - This section dealt with quorums; necessary
vote for adoption of ordinances and resolutions; and roll
call. The board recommended leaving these provisions in the
Charter, but add the provision of the Mayor's right to vote.
Section 8 - This section dealt with absence from
meetings and no change was recommended by the board.
Section 9 - This section dealt with compensation and
expenses and no change was recommended by the board.
Section 10 - This section dealt with vacancies;
forfeiture of office and filling of vacancies. The
*ftw alternatives presented by the attorneys for forfeiture of
office were: A Commissioner shall forfeit his office if he
violates any express prohibition of the Charter, if he
violates any standard of conduct or code of ethics
established by law for public officials and if he :is
convicted of a felony. The attorney stated that these
provisions would just enhance the current provisions. The
board recommended that these be incorporated into the
Charter. The alternatives presented by the attorneys for
filling of vacancies were: if the City Commission did not,
within a specified time, select a person to temporarily fill
a vacancy, an appointment may be made by the governor of the
State of Florida or the election authorities may call a
special election to fill the vacancy; a vacancy may be
temporarily filled by the Mayor, with approval of the
Commissioners; and a vacancy for the office of Mayor, if
there is a Vice Mayor, the Vice Mayor shall become interim
Mayor until the successor is elected. The board agreed to
add the provision that if there was a vacancy for the office
of Mayor, the Vice Mayor would become interim Mayor until a
successor was elected, then a Commissioner would be appointed
to fill that vacancy. They also agreed to add the provision
that the governor may appoint an interim Commission in the
event all members of the Commission were removed at the same
t ime.
4 160 Section 11 - This section referred to an independent
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Charter Revision Committee
March 24, 1988
audit. No change was recommeded by the board for this
section.
The board members agreed to stop at this point and complete
the review of Article III at the next meeting.
The attorneys asked, since there were 5 weeks in March, if
the meetings could be held the 2nd and 4th Thursdays so they
would not fall on the same week as the City Commission
Meeting. There was a conflict with some of the board
members: therefore, the meetings will still be held every
other Thursday. The next meeting is scheduled for April 7,
1988. Chairman Beatty also stated that we would probably be
meeting every week as the review of the Charter proceeds.
Chairman Beatty asked staff to verify the deadlines for
submitting the Charter Revisions to the Supervisor of
Elections for placing on the ballot.
Tom Hendrix moved to adjourn, Rev. Mitchell seconded and the
motion carried unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m..
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CHAIRMAN BEATTY
ATTEST:
CITY CLERK
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