Bi-weekly meetings are set for changes
The Century Town Council held a workshop Tuesday night to discuss the town’s charter and after some confusion among members, decided to schedule bi-weekly workshops to render a final charter following the discovery that more than one draft has been submitted to the council for review.
Town Attorney Matt Dannhieser reminded council members the goal is to present an approved town charter on the ballot during the Florida August, 2024 primary election. He said the process will require time for public meetings for input and revisions, suggesting the council start having workshops every month.
The town’s charter review committee spent three years having meetings prior to the COVID-19 pandemic meeting with former interim town manager ‘Buzz’ Eddy to discuss proposed changes to the 1979 charter. The suggestions made by the committee addressed the role of the mayor, the type of government the town wanted and who will carry out the legislative, executive and administrative roles in each type of government.
However, when the council met with Dannheiser Tuesday night, the draft Dannheiser presented had some minor inconsistencies with the draft submitted by Eddy, which led council members to have concerns.
Council President Luis Gomez expressed some confusion as to why there had been a charter review committee that met and discussed recommended changes if the council is going to address the charter. Town Clerk Leslie Howington suggested the council recognize the committee’s diligence for three years with a proclamation and not overlook the work they had put into the draft submitted by Eddy.
“This is probably the most important thing you will do as a council member,” said Dannhieser. “You are laying the groundwork for the next 50 years.”
Dannhieser advised that it is easier to pass an ordinance to address a needed change, such as the amount of money the mayor can spend without council approval. He said that having a flexible charter makes ordinances a way to make changes, rather than having to bring issues to the ballot.
Several council members said they want to go line-by-line and requested that Dannhieser ‘interpret’ the language.
Dannhieser suggested each council member go through the current charter and make a list of proposed changes so he can draft a copy as the workshops progress. He said there is a modern model of a city charter on the National League of Cities website they can look at for ideas. He suggested looking at the town’s current charter, the charter submitted by the charter review committee and the draft Dannhieser presented also to get a better understanding of what an effective charter includes.
The council determined that the Century charter review committee was never officially ended and Dannhieser recommended they do that at their next council meeting on Tuesday, April 18. Howington will put a proclamation on the next agenda to recognize the work they did in the past. The council will consider the suggested changes the committee made as they work on an up-to-date charter to go on the 2024 primary election ballot.
The next charter review workshop will be at 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 25 at town hall.
