Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
October 23, 2019
The Charter Review Committee (CRC) of the City of Fernandina Beach convened on October 22, 2019 under the leadership of Chair Arlene Filkoff to begin discussions on background and process for conducting the first comprehensive review of the City’s Charter since 2007.
Lynn Tipton, who heads the Florida League of Cities’ Municipal Training Programs (FLC University), provided CRC members and the audience with an overview of the nature and purpose of charters in Florida cities and recent trends in revising charters around the state.
Tipton reported that all 412 Florida cities, regardless of size, are required to have charters, which serve as the governing authority for each municipality. The state requires that municipalities have an elected governing body; that they inform their citizenry on police and fire services; and that they have a Comprehensive Plan. Otherwise, the municipalities have wide latitude to establish their governments, determine elections and define duties and responsibilities of both elected and appointed officials.
Of the 412 Florida cities, 280 operate under the commission-manager form of government. In cities with a population exceeding 50,000 the general practice is to elect the mayor directly. Other forms of government include: commission – weak mayor; strong mayor; commission. The trend is moving toward more commission-manager charters. Most Florida city charters are available online free of cost at: https://library.municode.com/fl.
In Florida, Home Rule language was proposed in the 1968 Constitutional revision, and was adopted by the people. After several legal challenges, the Legislature adopted the Home Rule Powers Act in 1973, which ended challenges related to city and county powers. The Florida Constitution states in Article VIII, Section 2(b) for municipalities:
“Municipalities shall have governmental, corporate and proprietary powers to enable them to conduct municipal government, perform municipal functions and render municipal services, and may exercise power for municipal purposes except as otherwise provided by law.”
These powers do not extend to fiscal Home Rule: the state reserves all taxing authority unto itself.
According to the Florida League of Cities website:
The most precious powers a city in Florida has are its Home Rule powers. The ability to establish its form of government through its charter, and to then enact ordinances, codes, plans and resolutions without prior state approval is a tremendous authority. To further be able to enforce them “at home” and to make necessary changes as a city grows is a great reflection of the trust that citizens have in their respective city leaders.
Tipton advised the CRC to avoid duplicating duties and responsibilities among elected and appointed officials. She stressed the importance of using simple language, especially in regard to elections. She said that it is not good practice to write too much. The average Florida city charter is 8-10 pages.
She provided a list of 19 Florida cities similar in size to Fernandina Beach. At the CRC’s request she agreed to narrow the list to 3-4 cities with similar characteristics to Fernandina Beach. The CRC will examine the charters of those cities to see how other similar communities deal with form of government, charter officers, elections, etc.
CRC members asked Tipton for guidance on adding a Code of Ethics and a Citizens Bill of Rights to the Charter, as well as chapters on recall and petition. She suggested that since recall and petition are covered by state law, the CRC might consider adding a reference to state law to the City Charter. She said that it was not common practice to include a Citizen’s Bill of Rights or Code of Ethics. She suggested the use of a Preamble to include aspirational language and community vision.
In response to a CRC question, Tipton said that only 30-40 percent of Florida city charters include term limits for elected commissioners. The primary reason for that, she opined, was that especially in smaller cities, it is often difficult to find people who desire to run for office.
Following Tipton’s presentation, the CRC invited three members of the 2007 CRC — Chair Jerry Greeson, Amy Bryan and Suanne Thamm — to address them on their experience, recommendations and observations.
The 2007 CRC members expressed their belief that charter recommendations should be presented directly to the electorate for an up or down vote. Previously, the City Commission received the CRC recommendations and decided which ones they were willing to send to the voters. The 2007 CRC members also addressed specific questions from 2019 CRC members regarding their rationale for some recommendations.
Following an extensive question and answer session, it appeared to be the 2019 CRC consensus that all recommendations be presented to the electorate via a Special Election at the conclusion of their work in June 2020. During Public Comment, sitting Commissioner Chip Ross, who has recently filed to run for reelection in 2020, announced that he would support such a recommendation.
The 2019 CRC members discussed ways to increase public input to the charter review process via outreach as well as regular meetings. Members encouraged local media to educate the citizenry on the process and to publicize meetings.
The next CRC meeting is scheduled for November 26, 2019 from 3-6:00 p.m. in City Hall. There is a joint workshop scheduled for the CRC and the Fernandina Beach City Commission on December 3, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. .
Editor’s Note: Suanne Z. Thamm is a native of Chautauqua County, NY, who moved to Fernandina Beach from Alexandria,VA, in 1994. As a long time city resident and city watcher, she provides interesting insight into the many issues that impact our city. We are grateful for Suanne’s many contributions to the Fernandina Observer.