America'sFirstSettlementEstablished1559

MEMORANDUM

Mayorand City Council-will-iam D. we.'c--

ciry Arrorney'%--

August 7, 2OO9CommentsRegarding the Charter ReviewCommission'sProposed Charter

OfficeofCity Attorney

TO:FROM:DATE:RE:

MayorWiggins hasrequested that.I reviewtheproposedCharterand bepreparedto assistCouncilin the scheduledworkshop.In doing so,I havefoundseveral-provisionsthatmayrequireattentionanddiscussion byCouncil- becauset.heparticularprovisionappearsincomplete, ambiguous,ornotsufficientlyclear asto be readilyunderstood orimplement.ed.My commentsareas follows:MAYOR

1. Section4.01(a)(7)-ThisprovisionallowstheMayor todisciplineor removeadepartmenthead"forjustcause"withoutthe consentofCouncil. Currently,departmenthreads arecontractualemployeesof theCity Managerandmaybediscj-plinedorremovedwithoutjustcause, sincethe State ofFlorida is an"atwil-l-" employmentstaLe and departmentheads areconLractual-employeesandare exemptfrom CivilServiceprotectj-on. fn theeventof a disputeby adepartment head overwhether"justcause"exists, thisCharterprovisi-ondoesnot specifywhetherit istheMayor,theCouncil ortheCourts that determinewhether"jusLcause"exists orwhat the definitionof"justcause"isgoingto be.PO. Bor12910 32521180Gouernmenta.ICenterPensacolq,,'lorida(850)435-1615 FAX(850)595-1290

Mayorand CityCouncilAugust.7,2OO9Page 22. Section4.01-a)(9)-ThisprovisionalIowstheMayor toveto anyline item in abudgetorappropriat.ionordinance,unless the totaleffectofal-l- of thevetoes"wouldbe to causeexpendituresto exceedrevenues .."in which case allof thevetoes becomevoid. The lack ofclarityhere is thatif theMayorisvet.oingproposedexpenditures,it is difficult.tounderstandhow thatprocesscouldresultinaloweringofrevenues or whetherthisprovisionwould ever betriggered.3.Section4.01AlthoughtheCharter specifiesthat theMayor isto appoint aCityAdministrator, a CityAttorney anddepartmentheads,it does not specifywho has thepowerto hire,disciplineandfireCityemployees belowthe rankofdepartment.head, orwhether any othertype of intermediateadministrativepersonnelbelow thepositionof Administratorbutabovethepositionof departmenthead are authorized.The current,Charterprovidesthat t.heCityManager"shall-have thepowertoappointandremove all officersand employeesin t.he administrativeservicesof the City."

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4. Section 4.02(a) (3)-Thisprovisionauthori-zesthe CityCouncil itselfto determine t.he organization oftheCity and thepowerand dutiesassignedto variousdepartments;however, theexercise of thisauthoritywould seem Lo be inconflictwith thepowerprovidedtotheMayorinSect.ion 4.01-a) (1)to exercisetheexecutivepowersoftheCit.yand superviseall- departments.In the eventofdisputesbetweenthe Mayor and the CityCouncil,these twoCharterprovisionscreateasubstantialambiguityinthe aut.horityof the Mayor and Council-.5.Sect,ion +.02(c)providesthatthe Council-mustset itsown compensationeachyearinthe annual-budget.Normally,inorder to avoidaninherent votingconfl-ict ofj-nterest,membersof agoverningbodydetermine the compensationof their officesto t.ake effectafter t.heir current term ofofficehasended.

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6. Section4.02(a) This section requires theCityCouncil to meet atl-easttwiceeach month. Experienceover timehas demonstratedthat it may not bepracticalorfeasibleformeetings to occurinthismanner,becauseof thepressof otherbusinessinvolvingCouncj-1, seasonalcalendar conflicts,and

Mayor andCity CouncilAugust 7,2009Page 3hurricanes. Ful-fllmentofthis Charterprovj-sionwouldnotbeanimpossibility;however,it, wouldappearon manyoccasionstobeunnecessary.7.Section4.03(c)Thisprovisionpertainst.o theCityCouncil'svotingandquorumrequiremenLs,and I havetwoobservations.First,t.heproposedCharterrequiresa..rol1ca11" votewith the resul-t.stobe.'recordedinthejournal.,,This isan antiquatedprocesscurrentlyfollowedinCongress andithas been longsuperseded inthe Citywithourel-ect,ronictally devices andthe Clerk's ReportsofCouncil- Actionthatarewrittenandpermanentlyrecorded. Aro11 call-vote merelycontributesLo thelengthofthemeeting.Also,thissubsection provJ-desLhat an actj-onof Councilcan be bindingupon Councilwhen it is adopt.ed bya majorityofaquorum present..Thismeans t.hatof a seven member Council,t.hreemembersmaybind the Council asa whol-e,unl-ike thepresent procedureswhich requirea majorityofCouncil tobindCouncil,Bomatter howmanymembers may bepresent.

8.SecLion4.03(e)The third linecontainst.ypographicalerror,"appropriate"should be"appropriation. "PROHIBITTONS

9. Sectj-on 4.04(a)and(b)Theseprovisionsprohibitthemembersof City Councilfrom interferingwith t.heofficers andemployees oftheCity except through theMayor.However/significantly,unlike t.hepresentCharter, theproposedCharterprovidesnopenalt.yfora Councilmember's violation oftheseprohibitions.ThecurrenL Charterprovidesthata viol-ationbyamemberofCouncil shal-I constit.uteamisdemeanor andresul-tinthe forfeiture of office.CITY ADMINISTRATOR

10. Section5. 02 This sectionprovidesf or a Cit.yAdministralor tobeappointedbytheMayor,. however,thissection isnotclear as to whethert.heposit.ionofCityAdministratorismandatory(asisthepositj-onof City C1erk)ordiscret.ionary.