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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Charter Review 010906CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE MINUTES January 9, 2006 The Charter Review Committee met on January 9. 2006. The meeting was called to order at 7:03 P.M. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Complex, located at 10500 North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. I. ROLL CALL Members Present: Paul Auerbach, Gary Fields, Terry Brady, Tim Frohling, Don Kiselewski, Len Rubin, David Clark and Thomas Baird arrived at 7:14 PM Members Absent: Warren Freeman II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The Committee approved the minutes from the November 30, 2005 meeting. III. CHARTER DISCUSSION Don Kiselewski stated that he would like to have more information about the concerns of the residents that were brought up at the Town Hall meeting and would like a copy of the minutes from that meeting. There was also discussion about a memo that was given to the Committee in their binders at the first meeting. The memo describes the issues of elected Mayor and districting as some of the reasons this Committee has been called together. Paul Auerbach asked to discuss making the charter easier to read and more user friendly to the public. The Committee felt that this was not the purpose of the meetings because there are so many topics to discuss and it is going to be very hard to cover every topic. There was concern that putting too many proposals before the public. The Committee felt they should be as specific as possible with any changes to the Charter and not to overburden the public with too many small changes Len Rubin discussed the methodology that will be used to review the charter. There was discussion about going through each article and deciding what articles to talk about at future meetings. The Committee agreed that they had no concerns or comments with: Articles I- Transition Schedule Section 1 -1. — Ordinances Preserved Section 1 -2. — Rights of Offices and Employees Section 1 -2. — Pending Matters Articles II — Boundaries Section 2 -1. - Boundaries The Committee went on to discuss Article III — Form of Government - Section 3 -1 Form of Government. There were questions about the meaning of an elected Mayor form of Government and a strong Mayor form of Government. The Committee decided to start the meeting discussing the possibility of having an elected Mayor or a strong Mayor form of Government and whether or not to implement districting in the City. There was also discussion about the meaning of an elected mayor form of Government. Len Rubin and Thomas Baird explained the difference between elected Mayor and strong Mayor forms of Government. Tom Baird explained that for the most part a Strong Mayor form of Government means the Mayor acts as the City Manager and the City Manager acts as an administer. There was discussion about other municipalities in the county and what kind of Governments they have. Mr. Baird stated that there are no set rules for the form of Government. Some Cities have a strong Mayor and some have a City Manager. It is up to the individual City to decide. Mr. Baird stated that he feels the City Manager form of government works best for a City of this size. He does not agree that this City should have a strong Mayor Government. There was discussion on whether the Mayor should be elected instead of appointed by the City Council. The Committee agreed that they did not see a purpose in having an elected Mayor. The Committee discussed the perception that the public has regarding the Mayor. A lot of residents do not realize that the Mayor has one vote just like the rest of the City Council and is not able to make any changes without a majority vote. Tom Baird made a motion not to entertain a strong Mayor from of Government for the City of Palm Beach Gardens. The motion was seconded by Don Kiselewski and passed 7 -1. Len Rubin: Yes Don Kiselewski: Yes Tim Frohling: No Gary Fields Yes David Clark Yes Terry Brady Yes Tom Barid Yes Paul Auerbach No The Committee went on to discuss the possibility of splitting the City into different voting districts. There was discussion about what the possible boundaries would be, and the pros and cons of splitting the City. The Committee agreed they would not want single member districts and suggested having at least 2 council members from each district. After much conversation the committee decided they would like to abandon the idea of having voting districts. Don Kiselewski made a motion to abandon the issue of districting and Tom Baird made a second. The vote passed 7 -1. Len Rubin: Yes Don Kiselewski: Yes Tim Frohling: No Gary Fields Yes David Clark No 2 a Terry Brady Yes Tom Barid Yes Paul Auerbach Yes Gary Fields made a motion to due away with the idea of having an elected Mayor. Paul Auerbach seconded the motion and the vote passed 7 -1. Len Rubin: Yes Don Kiselewski: Yes Tim Frohling: No Gary Fields Yes David Clark No Terry Brady Yes Tom Barid Yes Paul Auerbach Yes There was discussion regarding the fact that many items in the charter that should be taken out and put into Ordinances or building codes. IV. COMMENTS BY PUBLIC Tom Sosey of 149 Bent Tree stated he would like the committee to consider allowing the residents to have more input in City business. He feels the City Council does not give enough weight to the comments the residents make. He would like the City Council to give replies or responses to the comments made by the public at a Council meeting. He said he and many residents feel they are being ignored. Linda Hughey of Reed Drive explained that she was under the assumption that this committee has three main issues to contend with. She does not think it is fair to the residents because the Committee has already made their decision on these topics without the public's input. There was discussion among the Committee regarding public input at the meetings and the role residents should play in the decision making process. The Committee discussed advertising the meetings and listing items that will be discussed at the next meeting in the advertisement so the public can come to the meetings and express their opinions. They also asked that the agenda and minutes be placed on the City website. X. NEXT MEETING The Committee will continue to move through the charter section by section. They are going to pick two or three articles to discuss each month. In February they are going to discuss: Articles IV- City Council Section 4 -1: Election; terms, general elections; filing fees; notice; runoff election Section 4 -2: Oath of Office Section 4 -3: Organization meeting; election of Mayor and Vice -Mayor Section 4 -4: Vacancy Articles V — General Powers Section 5 -1: Authority under state law Section 5 -2: Specific powers VI. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:29 P.M. Approval: Leonard Rubin, Chair Person Attest: Tim Frohliog, Vice air Person Paul Auerba , Committee Member Thomas Baird, mitte ber Y4:�� 61_a044_ Terry Brady, Committee ember David Clark, Committee Member a eld /s, Committ ember Wan3�P6e , Coffimii Don Kiwfewski, Committee Member Public Information, and Recording Coordinator