05/10/2023 Charter Review Committee Meeting Minutes May 10, 2023
City of Clearwater
Main Library- Council Chambers
100 N. Osceola Avenue
Clearwater, FL 33755
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Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
4:00 PM
Main Library - 2nd Floor Board Room
Charter Review Committee
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City of Clearwater
Charter Review Committee Meeting Minutes May 10, 2023
Roll Call
Present:10 - Gladys Andrews, Bill Jonson, Travis Norton, Nathan Hightower,
Mike Riordon, Karen Cunningham, Cory Chase, Jonathan Wade,
Ryan Cotton and Kathy Milam
Absent: 1 - Patricia Rodriguez
Also Present: — David Margolis — City Attorney, Rosemarie Call — City Clerk, and Nicole
Sprague — Deputy City Clerk
1. Call To Order
The meeting was called to order at 4:03 p.m.
2. Approval of Minutes
2.1 Approve the minutes of the April 26, 2023 Charter Review Committee meeting as
submitted in written summation by the City Clerk.
Committee Member Riordon moved to approve the minutes of the April
26, 2023 Charter Review Committee meeting as submitted in written
summation by the City Clerk. The motion was duly seconded and
carried unanimously.
3. New Business
3.1 Discuss Mayor and Councilmembers' salaries.
Chair Hightower said there was a motion at a previous meeting that was
postponed. The City Clerk said on April 12, 2023, a motion was made
to set the mayor's salary at 95% of area median income and the
councilmember's salary at 90% of area median income. That motion
was postponed until more information could be provided, the information
was provided at the May 10, 2023 meeting.
In response to a question, the City Clerk said it does not appear that
other municipalities have a formula for how they base the mayor and
council salaries.
Discussion ensued with comments made that basing the salary on the area
median income implies the positions are full time jobs. A suggestion was
made to set the councilmember salary at $40,000 and the mayor's salary at
$45,000. It was said that the mayor is scrutinized differently and should have
a higher salary.
Committee Member Andrews moved to amend the previous motion and
set the mayor's salary at $49,000 and the councilmember's salary at
$41,000 with an annual COLA. The motion was duly seconded and
carried unanimously.
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City of Clearwater
Charter Review Committee Meeting Minutes May 10, 2023
3.2 Set agenda for next meeting.
The City Clerk said the agenda item provided a list of discussion topics
raised by the Committee. The City Clerk provided some answers to
questions posed by the Committee that do not necessarily need to be
topics of discussion. She said applications for the city manager position are
typically received through a national search and narrowed down by Council
to offer interviews, or an internal candidate may be appointed to the
position. The city clerk position is an at-will position and reports to the city
manager, the position is appointed by the city manager and confirmed by
city council. The City Charter does not provide the number of employees for
any department. The annual budget sets the limitation on the number of
employees. Employee salaries are set through compensation studies. The
City has defined positions with descriptions of duties that are compared with
other municipalities. The City Attorney said pay ranges are reviewed every
couple years to make sure the City is in line with other organizations.
In response to questions, the City Attorney said the city manager is the one
to appoint department directors. The City Clerk said the charter prescribes a
minimum of ten members on a charter review committee, but an even
number of members increases the likelihood of a tie vote, so an odd number
is preferred.
Discussion ensued regarding districts. The City Clerk said she provided
a list of Pinellas cities that are having elections in 2024 and identifying those
with districts. A comment was made that Council asked the committee to
discuss the topic.
Discussion ensued regarding the length of time between charter reviews.
The City Attorney said every city is different with population and structure of
government. He said historically, efforts to reduce the frequency of charter
reviews have failed at the ballot box. A comment was made to keep the
frequency the same as it allows individuals to participate in government
where otherwise may not have an opportunity.
One individual supported keeping the charter review frequency the
same.
Committee Member Milam moved to keep the charter review frequency
at every 5 years to allow for more citizen involvement. The motion was
duly seconded and carried with the following vote:
Ayes:9 — Gladys Andrews, Bill Jonson, Travis Norton, Nathan Hightower,
Karen Cunningham, Cory Chase, Jonathan Wade, Ryan Cotton,
and Kathy Milam,
Nays:1 - Mike Riordon
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City of Clearwater
Charter Review Committee
Meeting Minutes May 10, 2023
Discussion ensued regarding discussion topics for the next meeting. Run-off
elections and date of election were identified as topics of interest. The City
Clerk said Planning and Development is providing an interactive map by
census block showing population, race, education level, etc.
In response to a question, the City Clerk said when this committee
wraps up its work in September, a final report will be presented to
Council.
Discussion ensued with consensus to include the following topics on the
next agenda: 1) Date of Elections, 2) Run-off Elections, 3) Districts, and 4)
Ranked Choice Voting.
4. Citizens to be heard regarding items not on the agenda
5. Adjournment
Bruce Rector said he served on this committee four years ago and
everyone is a volunteer. He said the Committee's work is important to
the community and he appreciates the service of the members.
The meeting adjourned at 5:30 p.m.
Chair, Charte Review Committee
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City of Clearwater