05/27/2003 (2)
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. CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING
CITY OF CLEARWATER
May 27, 2003'
Present:
Daniel Dennehy
Melody W. Figurski
Katherine Elliott Cole
John Doran
Isay M. Gulley
Thomas D. Calhoun
Timothy A. Johnson, Jr.
Jay F. Keyes
Lawrence (Duke) Tieman
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Absent:
Jay Edwin Polglaze
Nicholas C. Fritsch
William Joe Fisher
Also Present:
Pamela Akin
Cyndie Goudeau
Rosemarie -Alfaro
Brenda Moses
Chair
Vice Chair
Committee Member
. Committee Member
Committee Member - arrived 4:35 p.m.
Committee Member
Committee Member
Committee Member
Committee Member
Committee Member
Committee Member
Committee Member
City Attorney
City Clerk
Administrative Analyst
Board Reporter
The meeting was called to order at 4:30 p.m. at City Hall.
To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not
necessarily discussed in that order.
ITEM #2 - Approval of Mav 13. 2003 minutes
Member Keyes moved to approve the minutes of. the regular meeting of May 13, 2003,
as submitted in written summation to each board member. The motion was duly seconded and
carried unanimously.
ITEM #3 - Review of Proposed Chanqes from May 13 meeting.
Consensus was to accept the proposed changes discussed and recommended at the
May 13 meGting.
ITEM #4 - Article VI. Initiative. Referendum: Recall
In response to a question, it was indicated "city officers" in Section 6.01 refers to the City
Commission and the City Manager and could als'o include members of boards.
In response to a question, Ms. Akin said Sections 6.01 and 6.02 do not allow voters to
set salaries. Ms. Goudeau said it would affect the budget if those sections were changed to .
allow voters to address salaries.
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Consensus was not to change Sections 6.01 and 6.02.
Concern was expressed that 90 days is insufficient to complete the filing of referendum
petitions as' stated in Section 6.0'5(d). Ms. Akin said after that timeframe an initiative to change
an ordinance could be pursued. In response to a question, Ms. Akin said an initiative refers to
the passage of a measure and a referendum refers to repealing a measure. She said the 90-
day timeframe prevents suspension of ' an ordinance to an unacceptable length of time.
" Consensus was not to change Section 6.05(d).
It was suggested that u... and more particularly section 100.361; Florida Statutes,
including any amendments thereto." be deleted from the end of Section 6.03.
. In response to a question, Ms. Akin said Section 6.05 ra Recall emulates state law
although state law does not'make this section a requirement.'
It was requested that- capitalization of words be consistent throughout the Charter.
. In response to a question, Ms. Akin said Section 6.09(a) addresses the possibility of
conflicting ordinances being on the same ballot. If ordinances cannot be enforced together,
they would be con~idered conflicting and the one receiving the most votes would prevail.
In response to a question, Ms. Akin said an initiative could be brought back to the voters
even if it failed at a previous referendum.
ITEM #5 - Article VII. General Provisions
In response to a question, Ms. Akin said Section 7.02 provides for not less than 10
charter review advisory committee members. The Commission could appoint more members or
alternate members. It was felt that a charter review advisory committee should be appointed
every 6 years.
A suggestion was made that the recommendations of the charter review advisory
committee go directly to the voters, rather than the Commission. This is how Pinellas County's
and the statets constitutional convention are handled. Discussion ensued regarding the pros
and cons of this suggestion. It was suggested this topic be added for discussion at the next
meeting. Ms. Akin will prepare draft language for the committee's review.
ITEM #6 - Article VIII - Nominations and Elections
A concern was expressed that declaring a candidate with no opposition elected does not
allow for write-in candidates. Ms. Goudeau indicated because write-in candidates are extremely
rare and the likelihood of them being elected so remote, it was determined the effort and cost for
an election was not warranted.
In response to a question. Ms. Goudeau said per charter, candidates must pay a
qualifying fee of $50 and submit not less than 250 petition cards to run for office. The number of
petition cards was s,et years ago in an attempt to show candidate support. It was remarked that.
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although the County does not require the submission of petition cards, their candidate fee is
much higher than the City's fee.
In response to a question, Ms. Goudeau said the cost of a special election in previous
years was $50,000. Due to the expense of new voting equipment, etc., that cost has increased.
She has not received a definitive response from the County's Supervisor of Elections as to the
actual cost. ' "
Questions were raised regarding having run-offs and the possibility of coordinating city
elections with the county and/or primary elections. Regarding coordinating with County
elections Ms. Goudeau said, while costs would be reduced by piggybacking on the County
ballot, there is some co'ncern re a city's election getting "lost" o'n a November ballot. She
indicated when the Presidential primary falls on the regularly scheduled March city election
date. piggybacking does occur and voter turn out is higher. Regarding having run-ofts, it was
remarked that vcters often wait until they know who "is actually on the ballot" before voting. It
was requested Dr. MacManus be contacted to see if she had statistics regarding these issues.
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ITEM #8 - Adiourn
The meeting adjourned at 5:24 p.m.
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