Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter-News Analyst
Fernandina Beach voters will have the opportunity once again to change the term of city commissioners from 3 to 4 years during this year’s November 5 election. At the May 21, 2013 regular meeting of the Fernandina Beach City Commission (FBCC), commissioners amended and passed on first reading ordinance 2013-03, which calls for an amendment to Section 9 of the City Charter to increase the terms of commissioners by one year and hold elections every two years in conjunction with federal, county and state elections. While the FBCC had initially considered recommending eliminating run-off elections as well, they agreed to strike that portion of the proposed ordinance after consideration.
While all commissioners supported the change in principle as a means to both provide more stability by holding elections every two years as opposed to annually and as a cost savings measure, commissioners were not of one mind on the question of implementation of the proposed change.
The Charter Review Committee, composed of citizens appointed by the FBCC in 2006, recommended changing commissioner terms to 4 years in their 2007 report. The FBCC accepted their recommendation and sent it out to the voters via referendum in 2008, where it was overwhelmingly defeated.
Commissioner Arlene Filkoff reminded commissioners that the measure had failed previously. She believed that one reason for its failure to pass was that the voters did not separate the greater good from the fact that some commissioners would be seen as getting additional time in office that they were not entitled to, since they had been elected previously to 3-year terms. She suggested that the only way to separate the issue from voters’ feelings about incumbent commissioners was to ensure that any commissioner serving a 4-year term must be elected to that term, not grandfathered into the longer term. She stressed that her position in no way was meant to criticize any particular commissioner who might benefit by an extra year; rather, it was a way to get voters to concentrate on the real issue, as opposed their opinions of particular incumbents.
City Attorney Bach presented several scenarios, many of which would address Filkoff’s concerns over a course of several years. Until the election cycles will have played out, elections would continue to be held every year.
After listening to the options provided, Commissioner Ed Boner, who previously seemed supportive of requiring commissioners to be elected for a full, 4-year term, declared that there was “a logic to just doing it.” Vice Mayor Charlie Corbett, who conceded that Filkoff had merit to her position, suggested that this might just be a situation where commissioners would need to vote their best judgment and let the voters decide. The implementation plan apparently supported by Corbett and other commissioners would phase in thusly:
• 2013: Filkoff’s group is slated for election. Filkoff has announced that she is not contemplating a re-election run. Whoever is elected would serve a 3-year term. The next election for that group would be held in 2016. At that time, the term would change to 4 years for the person elected next.
• 2014: Corbett’s and Pelican’s groups are slated for election. Candidates would run for 4-year terms in that election.
• 2015: Under 3-year terms, both Boner’s and Gass’ groups would face election. However, this plan would automatically extend their terms from 3-4 years, meaning that there would not be an election in 2015.
• 2016: Three commission groups (Boner, Gass, and the group currently occupied by Filkoff) would face election to 4-year terms.
The final result of the change in term of office would mean that 2 city commissioners would run in one even-year election and 3 would run in the next even-year election. This scenario mimics the terms and election cycles of the Nassau County Commissioners. The only two city commissioners who would receive an extra year that was not voted by the electorate would be Ed Boner and Pat Gass; every other commission seat would be held by someone elected to a 4-year term.
While this plan passed on first reading of the ordinance on a 4-1 vote with Filkoff dissenting, commissioners are looking for public input at the second reading to determine whether the resistance to providing an extra year to two incumbent commissioners is an impediment to public support for the referendum extending terms of office. Before voting against the ordinance, Filkoff stated her full support for 4-year terms, but said her problem was with the implementation plan that would extend the terms of the two incumbents without voter approval.
Both Vice Mayor Corbett and Commissioner Pat Gass expressed their hope that citizens will turn out for the second reading of the ordinance next month to provide comments that will help them in making the final decision before sending the referendum to the voters in November.
May 22, 2013 5:16 p.m.