Charter Review Commission dives into salaries, whether mayor should be elected

Town boundaries, Council salaries and whether the town’s mayor should be elected by voters or fellow councilmembers, were all items taken up in a discussion this past week by the Town of Fort Myers Beach Charter Review Commission.

The commission’s members are going over the town’s bylaws line by line as they prepare recommendations to the Town Council for any changes to the document that governs the town. The commission was appointed this past summer by the Town Council.

One of the hottest topics discussed at the commission’s most recent meeting was whether the mayor should be elected. Currently, and since the town’s inception 30 years ago, the mayor has technically been a “ceremonial position” chosen by fellow councilmembers. In essence, the mayor on Fort Myers Beach is elected just as any other councilmember, with voters leaving it in the hands of the council to choose who is mayor. Unlike strong mayor forms of government, where voters elect a mayor directly and confer more exceptional powers to their mayor, the mayor on Fort Myers Beach is technically supposed to have equal power as any other councilmember with the exceptions including the running of a meeting and representing the town council in official business, interacting with government agencies and certain emergencies.

That line has often been blurred in the town. Since Hurricane Ian, the mayor’s role has been wielded far greater than purely ceremonial, sometimes out of necessity.

At last Tuesday’s charter review commission, commission member Henry Zuba said he thinks the mayor’s office has gone further than just ceremonial. “I have favored electing the mayor,” Zuba said. “It seems to me the mayor has a very strong voice. It is not purely ceremonial. It should be the voice of the people heard.”

Zuba said he believes the mayor’s office “would be better served if it were more than one year.” Zuba said the “institutional knowledge” of the position was important.

Vice Mayor Scott Safford said he believed it was important for the mayor’s position to have some continuity and “consistency.” Safford said Mayor Dan Allers has “some pull regionally” after being named mayor three years ago by the Town Council. In 2020, Fort Myers Beach voters also elected to increase the length of terms for councilmembers from three years to four years.

Former Mayor Anita Cereceda, who is an alternate on the commission, also sought a way for the mayor’s office to have more continuity by potentially not needing to be elected in years where there was no election for councilmembers. Commission member Edward Schoonover said he also supported Cereceda’s position. Currently, councilmembers vote for the mayor and vice mayor each year.

Jim Dunlap, chair of the commission, was more inclined to keep the status quo, noting that voters had the power to vote out the mayor from their council seat if they were unsatisfied.

Ultimately though, the commission moved forward with a recommendation that the mayor’s term of office would last from the time of appointment by the council until the next council election. For example, after next year’s November election, if Allers is reappointed, he would serve until at least 2028 when there is another council election as there will be no scheduled council election in 2027.

Alternate Michele Cherney said she would like to see the mayor’s role more defined in the charter. Dunlap asked, citing situations such as after hurricanes during state of emergencies that Cherney bring proposed language for more specific duties and limits she would like to see for the mayor’s position.

Dunlap also said he would lean towards less restrictions on councilmembers, during a discussion about state of emergencies after a hurricane. “I would personally like as much flexibility in our elected officials as possible,” Dunlap said. “To make something clearer also puts boundaries around it.”

The touchiest issue may have been over how much to compensate town councilmembers.

Dunlap raised the compensation levels of councilmembers and a suggestion to consider regular increases for councilmembers as a cost of living increase along with a blue ribbon panel to study the salaries and potential raises. Dunlap said ultimately the town council would have to approve the changes in salary. Dunlap said cost of living increases for councilmembers was required based on the charter though he said there was a lag in councilmembers receiving the raises. Dunlap said the charter promised cost of living increases to councilmembers.

The last updated charter set the salary for the mayor at $19,200 and at $16,800 for councilmembers. According to Dunlap’s reading of the charter, councilmembers should have been given cost of living raises each year. According to figures provided by Dunlap, the salary of Allers is currently $20,053.79 after cost of living increases last year and for this fiscal year. The salary for councilmembers has gone up to $17,546, according to figures distributed to the commission members.

According to town record, cost of living raises for councilmembers and the mayor were given the last two years to bring their salaries up to the current level,.

Cereceda, who was on the council at the time, said the charter was not meant to give councilmembers raises every year. Councilmembers should not be considered as employees and therefore shouldn’t see cost of living increases in equal to town employees, she said.. Cereceda said councilmembers were public servants. She pushed for salaries for councilmembers after they initially did not receive a salary when the town incorporated. She also advocated for adding health insurance coverage for councilmembers while in office but doesn’t believe a cost of living increase is necessary,.

Zuba said he believes “that the salary does not need to be adjusted off and on” unless there is an emergency.

Schoonover said councilmembers should receive cost of living increases just as employees do and that the mayor’s salary should be a little more.

Safford said he supported a cost of living increase for councilmembers. He said it “should absolutely be in there.” However, Safford said the town council should not be in charge of setting its own salaries. “That is political suicide,” Safford said.

Safford said there should be a blue ribbon committee to assess the salaries of the councilmembers at the end of each budget season to assess whether there were funds for salaries, or to leave it as a cost of living adjustment increase. Safford said the compensation “has to be attractive for the generation behind us.”

The charter commission will next meet on Jan. 6.