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09/14/1998CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING CITY OF CLEARWATER September 14, 1998 Present: Timothy A. Johnson, Jr. Chair Douglas Hilkert Vice Chair Richard Fitzgerald Committee Member Pat Greer Committee Member Judy Mitchell Committee Member Mayme Hodges Committee Member Carolyn Warren Committee Member Absent: Jackie Tobin Committee Member William Justice Committee Member Grant Petersen Committee Member Also Present: Rita Garvey Mayor (arrived 4:45 p.m.) Karen Seel City Commissioner (arrived 4:25 p.m.) Pam Akin City Attorney (arrived 4:29 p.m.) Cyndie Goudeau City Clerk (arrived 4:15 p.m.) Sue Diana Assistant City Clerk Brenda Moses Board Reporter The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. at City Hall. To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. Item 2 - Approve Minutes from Meeting of August 31, 1998 Member Hodges moved to approve the minutes of the meeting of August 31, 1998 as submitted in writing to each member. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Item 3 - Follow-up From Previous Meeting Section 2.03 The City Attorney presented suggested language regarding term limits as requested. She said this language addresses full terms, terms for Mayor-Commissioner, and applies to Commissioner Clark’s situation. Section 2.07 addresses vacancies, forfeiture of office, and filing vacancies. Member Greer moved to approve the City Attorney’s suggested language and add “...or forfeiture of office” after “... but for resignation”, in sentence one, and “.. or forfeiture of office” after “...but for resignation” after sentence 2. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. It was noted the first and last paragraph remain. The fourth paragraph had previously been amended. Section 2.07 (e) and (f) The City Clerk said in response to a question at a previous meeting, the City Attorney does not believe Charter authority is needed in order to have advisory boards. The City Attorney indicated while not required, she preferred the language as approved at the August 31, 1998, Charter Review Committee meeting remain in the Charter. Section 2.09 (b) The City Attorney said the City’s language regarding resolutions and ordinances directly tracks State law. She recommends to the Commission to re-notice an ordinance and have a new first reading if substantive changes between the first and second reading of ordinances occurs. In response to a question, she said changes suggested at first reading of the transit shelter ordinance were approved at first reading, and no new first reading was necessary. Section 2.08 (c) The City Clerk said the Commission rules rely on Robert’s Rules of Order, for compelling absent members to attend meetings. The City Attorney said the Commission has no rules regarding penalties for absent members compelled to attend. Sections 2.01 (c) 3 and 3.03 (f) Further investigation regarding the year end report is being done. It was noted these 2 sections address a report from the City Manager and a report requested by the City Commission. It appears that for a number of years, these 2 have been treated as one and the annual financial audit is used to meet the requirement. Quarterly budget amendments are issued and serve as the quarterly financial report. A year-end report for the last fiscal year indicating final adjustments is issued at the next budget reporting cycle. It was remarked financial matters and administrative activity should be reported. It was suggested a 3-month deadline be added to 3.03 (f) regarding submission of a financial and administrative report at the end of each fiscal year. It was noted it takes longer than 3 months to compile all financial information whether internally or from an independent auditor. The current City Manager has published a list of accomplishments. Member Greer moved to change Section 3.03 (f) to read “Submit to the Commission at the first regular meeting in September of each year and make available to the public a comprehensive report on the finance and administrative activities of the City.”, delete ...”as of the end of the fiscal year.” from sentence 1, and delete sentence 2. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Article 4, Section 5.01 The City Clerk said Section 5.01 can be moved to Section 2.01 (c) as requested at a previous meeting. Article 5, Sections 6.01, 6.02, and 6.03 The City Clerk said for a City the size of Clearwater, 1,000 signatures or 5% of registered voters, whichever is greater, is required to initiate a recall per State Statute. Initiatives and referendums require 10% of registered voters, per the Charter. Discussion ensued regarding the number of registered voters compared to voter turnout at elections, and if the 10% requirement should be reduced to 5%. Consensus was not to change these sections. Item 4 - Continuing Discussion of Charter Revisions Section 8.01 Consensus was not to change this section. Section 8.02 Discussion ensued regarding partisan elections. It was felt nonpartisan elections should be continued. A suggestion was made to add ...” or political advertisement under the control of the candidate.” to the end of the paragraph in this section. A comment was made the suggested language infringes upon free speech and gives unfair rights to government regarding what advertising is permitted. Member Fitzgerald moved to add language ...”or political advertisement under the control of the candidate.” to the end of the paragraph. The motion was duly seconded and upon the vote being taken, Members Johnson, Fitzgerald, Greer, Mitchell, Hodges, and Warren voted “Aye”; Member Hilkert voted “Nay”. Motion carried. Section 8.03 The Chair said he will submit grammatical changes to this section. Section 8.04 In response to a question, Assistant City Clerk Sue Diana said in paragraph 1, the $50 filing fee helps to defray the costs of petition cards, copies, and represents a commitment from a prospective candidate. Discussion ensued regarding eliminating the filing fee. Consensus was not to change this section. Section 8.05 (a) Discussion ensued regarding the method by which candidates for Commission are elected. It was suggested changing the language to require a majority vote to be elected to the Commission. It was noted if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a run off election would be needed, resulting in additional expense to the City. Consensus was to leave this section as is. Section 8.05 (b) City Clerk Cyndie Goudeau said the Supervisor of Elections is considering new equipment that would have unlimited ballot space. She said currently if the City were to change the municipal election to November, voters would have to go to 2 separate polling places on the same day. Consensus was not to change this section, but revisit it once the Supervisor of Elections has new equipment. Section 8.05 (c) In response to a question, the City Clerk said general elections are noticed in a City daily newspaper. Per Florida Statute, there are different requirements for general and special elections. Member Greer moved to delete sentence 2. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Section 8.05 (d) Discussion ensued regarding the Commission’s responsibilities as the Canvassing Board. It was requested the City Attorney provide suggested language regarding the former Commission meeting solely as a Canvassing Board. Section 8.06 Discussion ensued regarding how this section addressees the issue of a vacant Commission seat due to death, withdrawal, or removal from the ballot of a qualified candidate, and the latest date for which the election guidelines can be met. It was suggested treating the open seat as a regular vacant Commission seat. In response to a question, the City Attorney said the City follows Statutory guidelines regarding vacant Commission seats. No changes were made to this section. Article 9 This section had been previously reviewed. Article 10, Section 10.1 The City Attorney will review the Committee’s changes to determine if this section is necessary. Sections 10.02, 10.03, 10.04 No changes were made to these sections. Section 10.05 (a) Discussion ensued regarding sentence 2 referring to the date of the next election for a seat. Member Hilkert moved to delete “... shall not be retroactive and” in sentence 2, and inserting the date the last election was effective. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Section 10.05 (b) In response to a question, the City Attorney said she will research if all Charter amendments must be considered at “special” elections. Section 10.5 (c) It was remarked this section is unnecessary since other provisions regarding salary changes are addressed in the Charter. Salaries are covered by ordinance, but the Charter indicates how to change them. Member Hilkert moved to delete Section 10.05 (c). The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Section 10.5 (d) Discussion ensued regarding if this section is necessary. Member Greer moved to delete Section 10.5 (d). The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Other Business It was suggested members review all suggested revisions and previous meeting minutes. The Chair will provide nonsubstantive changes to the City Attorney for distribution to members. In response to a question, the City Attorney suggested the Commission make a determination regarding the Committee’s recommendations prior to drafting a ballot question regarding Charter revisions. A member said she was approached to ask the Committee’s consideration of terms of office being changed from 3 to 4 years. It was noted in previous meetings, the Committee had decided not to make any changes. It was requested reviewing 4-year term limits at the next meeting. At a previous meeting, the Charter Review Committee approved in concept recommendations going directly to the voters, and members of the Commission being members of the Committee, without representing a majority. The City Attorney is researching the County’s procedures relating to this request. Item 5 - Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 5:30 p.m.