First charter review hearing set for May 18
A periodic review of the “mini constitution” of the Town of Fort Myers Beach has passed the committee level and initial workshop phase and is bound for two future public hearings.
The Fort Myers Beach Town Council agreed to set the first hearing to inform of proposed changes being considered to the Town Charter and incur public input for Monday, May 18, at 6:30 p.m. A second hearing to consider adopting policy may wait until the fall months.
Recommended changes to the Town Charter -such as eliminating long-term debt limitations- could be approved upon and moved to an electoral referendum vote in March 2016 if seen fit. Such modifications could be extremely important for future Town operations.
“I think that timing is critical in how we proceed, because you don’t want to go through this process quickly now and expect everybody to pay attention until March,” said Mayor Anita Cereceda.
Council plans to address any issues imposed by public speakers at the first public hearing once hearing is closed. The action is to better educate the public on any proposed changes prior to a second hearing.
In mid-March, the Charter Review Commission completed its task of examining each article of the Town Charter, the document that is referred to the grant of authority or rights under which the Beach community is governed. Chairperson Tom Babcock, Vice-Chair Miffie Greer along with members Dan Hughes, Jay Light and Dan Parker cleaned up language, made clerical revisions and are recommending possible changes like eliminating a current 36-month limitation on long-term debt.
“In my understanding, it is very unusual to have that restriction for a municipality,” said Charter Review Commission member Dan Hughes.
Councilwoman Rexann Hosafros used the purchase of particular office equipment to show the level of restriction Town officials face with the three-year limitation on long-term debt.
“We couldn’t enter into a lease/purchase contract for a copy machine that might have much better terms on four years than it would have had on three years,” she said.
Other potential Town Charter changes that are being called “substantial” include Council compensation, forfeiture of office, emergency meeting notification, Council length of terms, elimination of term limits, adoption requirements to fall on three members not just a majority, emergency ordinance requirements and other specific eliminations. The committee has not been disbanded and may be called upon for more work after the first hearing.
Residents are asked to go to Town website www.fortmyersbeachfl.gov to view commission worksheets that support the change log summary and better clarify each of the issues. Click on “Your Government,” scroll down to “Town Council,” click on “Meetings & Agendas,” click on “Council Meetings and Agendas,” click on “Apr 20, 2015 work session” and click on “2015-03-09 ad hoc report march 9 2015_wkpkt” to open up snapshot of worksheets, which begin on page 15.
First charter review hearing set for May 18
A periodic review of the “mini constitution” of the Town of Fort Myers Beach has passed the committee level and initial workshop phase and is bound for two future public hearings.
The Fort Myers Beach Town Council agreed to set the first hearing to inform of proposed changes being considered to the Town Charter and incur public input for Monday, May 18, at 6:30 p.m. A second hearing to consider adopting policy may wait until the fall months.
Recommended changes to the Town Charter -such as eliminating long-term debt limitations- could be approved upon and moved to an electoral referendum vote in March 2016 if seen fit. Such modifications could be extremely important for future Town operations.
“I think that timing is critical in how we proceed, because you don’t want to go through this process quickly now and expect everybody to pay attention until March,” said Mayor Anita Cereceda.
Council plans to address any issues imposed by public speakers at the first public hearing once hearing is closed. The action is to better educate the public on any proposed changes prior to a second hearing.
In mid-March, the Charter Review Commission completed its task of examining each article of the Town Charter, the document that is referred to the grant of authority or rights under which the Beach community is governed. Chairperson Tom Babcock, Vice-Chair Miffie Greer along with members Dan Hughes, Jay Light and Dan Parker cleaned up language, made clerical revisions and are recommending possible changes like eliminating a current 36-month limitation on long-term debt.
“In my understanding, it is very unusual to have that restriction for a municipality,” said Charter Review Commission member Dan Hughes.
Councilwoman Rexann Hosafros used the purchase of particular office equipment to show the level of restriction Town officials face with the three-year limitation on long-term debt.
“We couldn’t enter into a lease/purchase contract for a copy machine that might have much better terms on four years than it would have had on three years,” she said.
Other potential Town Charter changes that are being called “substantial” include Council compensation, forfeiture of office, emergency meeting notification, Council length of terms, elimination of term limits, adoption requirements to fall on three members not just a majority, emergency ordinance requirements and other specific eliminations. The committee has not been disbanded and may be called upon for more work after the first hearing.
Residents are asked to go to Town website www.fortmyersbeachfl.gov to view commission worksheets that support the change log summary and better clarify each of the issues. Click on “Your Government,” scroll down to “Town Council,” click on “Meetings & Agendas,” click on “Council Meetings and Agendas,” click on “Apr 20, 2015 work session” and click on “2015-03-09 ad hoc report march 9 2015_wkpkt” to open up snapshot of worksheets, which begin on page 15.