FACTS AND
INFORMATION ABOUT
LEE COUNTY’S CHARTER REVIEW ADVISORY
COMMITTEE
AND ITS PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO
LEE COUNTY’S HOME RULE CHARTER
After nearly 18
months of work, a Citizens Charter Review Advisory Committee is proposing four amendments
to Lee County’s Charter. The committee
is holding four public meetings on the proposed revisions, all at 7:30 p.m.: Jan. 27 (Edison Community College), Feb. 9 (Cape
Coral Council Chambers), Feb. 24 (Lehigh Acres Senior Center) and Mar. 8 (County
Commission Chambers).
The County
Commission will decide prior to the Nov. 7 general election whether to place all, part or
none of the amendments on the ballot. Below
is a description of the charter and information on the four proposed changes being
considered:
Lee County’s
Charter
Lee
County’s Home Rule Charter, or local constitution, was approved at the polls by
voters in November 1996. Simply, the charter
spells out the structure of local county government and the powers and rights of citizens
and officials. It also provides that a
Charter Review Committee will be appointed every four years by the County Commission to
propose amendments or revisions to the charter. The
Committee’s proposed changes are then considered by Commissioners for possible
placement on the general election ballot.
What Does Lee
County’s Charter Do?
County charters
function the same way as do municipal charters in Florida.
They establish the basic framework for the government’s structure and how it
will operate. They are equivalent of
“local constitutions” for the community. Seventeen
(17) of Florida’s 67 counties have adopted charters, making up more than 75 percent
of the state population. Lee County’s
Charter is what’s known as a “simple framework” or “no change”
charter. As originally adopted, it provided
no major changes to operating processes or structure but did grant voters full “Home
Rule” and set in place a mechanism whereby the public may amend the Charter at a
later date. It basically provides three
additional things:
Voter Initiative -- Voters can enact,
change or repeal local laws (ordinances) through a petition and referendum process.
Voter Recall -- Voters can recall
county commissioners through a similar petition and referendum process.
Charter Changes -- Changes to the charter
can be initiated by voter petition, the County Commission or by a Charter Review Committee
with County Commission approval.
It is important to
remember that the Charter is a creature of the public and not the County Commission or
County Government. Only the voting public
may amend its charter during a general election.
The following four
amendments to Lee County’s Charter are being proposed by the 15-member Citizen’s
Charter Review Advisory Committee, which has met since August 1998 to discuss the
county’s charter and possible need for amendments and revisions.
Amendment #1
Actual Ballot
Title:
Revisions Relating to
Adoption of County Ordinances by Citizen Initiative.
Actual Ballot Summary:
Provides for single
subject matter limitation for ordinances proposed by citizen initiative; provides that the
Board of County Commissioners may amend or repeal such ordinances only by a vote of a
majority plus one of the Board membership after the period of one year from the effective
date of the ordinances.
Analysis:
The voters of Lee
County can make, change or repeal local laws by a citizen vote (called a referendum) after
getting enough petition signatures to place a proposal on the ballot. The number of signatures for a referendum petition
must equal at least 5% of the citizens qualified to
vote in the preceding general election.
The Committee believes
that if a citizen initiative leads to a new law, it should not be easily changed or
repealed by the elected officials.
Therefore, it is being
proposed that laws enacted by citizen intitiatives can only be changed or repealed by the
County Commission after one year with a supermajority (4-1) vote, instead of a simple
majority (3-2) vote. This applies only to
laws enacted by citizen initiative and does not take away the power of the Board to make,
change or repeal other laws by a majority vote.
In addition, to avoid
voter confusion at the polls, the Committee believes that an ordinance proposed by
citizens should be about only one subject, not multiple subjects.
Amendment #2
Actual Ballot
Title:
Establishing a Department
of Law Enforcement; Replacing the Constitutional Sheriff with an Elected Charter Sheriff.
Actual Ballot Summary:
Provides for the
creation of the Lee County Department of Law Enforcement with all powers, duties and
functions of the constitutional county Office of the Sheriff transferred to that
Department; provides that the constitutional Office of the Sheriff, is abolished; provides
that the Director of the Lee County Department of Law Enforcement is the Sheriff who shall
be elected every four years pursuant to general law.
Analysis:
The basis of this
amendment is quite simple. Under this
provision, the Sheriff and Sheriff’s Office would function and operate as they do
now, only the Sheriff would be an elected charter officer instead of an elected
constitutional officer.
The main procedural
change is the Sheriff would no longer be able to appeal his or her annual budget to the
Governor and Cabinet. The Sheriff would still
prepare and submit his or her budget, but the final decision on its approval will rest
with the Board of County Commissioners. Because
local taxpayers fund the Sheriff’s Office, the Committee believes the final budget
should be a local, not a state, decision.
The Sheriff isn’t
being singled out for special attention in this amendment.
Other constitutional officers weren’t included because their budgets are
primarily fee-based (Clerk of Court, Property Appraiser, Tax Collector) or they already
have no right of appeal (Supervisor of Elections).
Amendment #3
Actual Ballot
Title:
Creating Non-Partisan
Election of the Supervisor of Elections, Providing for Election Procedures.
Actual Ballot Summary:
Provides that the
Supervisor of Elections is elected on a non-partisan basis; provides for procedures for
such election; provides for the preservation of the consitutional office if adversely affected by election on a non-partisan basis.
Analysis:
The
Committee believes that the Supervisor of Elections should be a non-partisan position so
as to remove any possibility or appearance of political party favoritism or conflicts of
interest in the election process.
Amendment
Actual Ballot Title:
Revisions Providing for a
Charter Review Commission, to Include Membership, Budget and Procedures.
Actual Ballot Summary:
Provides for an
independent Charter Review Commission
consisting of fifteen (15) members appointed by the Board of County Commissioners to
review the Charter and propose any amendments or revisions for direct consideration by the
electorate in a referendum at the General Election; provides for a Charter Commission
budget, and operating procedures.
Analysis:
Currently, the Board of
County Commissioners has the right to place all, part or none of the Committee’s recommendations on the ballot. Under a Charter Review Commission, the Board would still appoint the
members, but the Review Commission would place its
recommendations directly on the ballot without Board approval..
Facts About the
Charter Committee
The Charter
Review Advisory Committee was appointed by County Commissioners in 1998 for the purpose of
proposing changes or revisions to Lee County’s Home Rule Charter. The committee met 14 times from August 1998 to
November 1999, elected a chairman and vice chairman, and proposed four amendments to Lee
County’s Charter.
The County Commission
will decide prior to the November general election whether to place all, part or none of
the amendments on the ballot. Those
amendments placed on the ballot will be voted on by citizens at the polls.
Each commissioner
appointed 3 citizens to the charter committee. Below
are the appointees:
Commissioner John Manning
(Distict One)
Dick Downes
Robert Geltner
Joe Mazurkiewicz
Commissioner Doug St.
Cerny (District Two)
David Butcher
Bill Davis, Vice
Chairman
Seaman Sedockin
Commissioner Ray Judah
(District Three)
Dick Holst
Judy Jenkins
Virginia Splitt
Commissioner Andy Coy
(District Four)
Robert Nicoletti
Steve Personette
Ron Wilkins
Commissioner John Albion
(District Five)
Ray Campbell
Anne Dalton
Rick Diamond, Chairman