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2006-006 RESOLUTION NO. 2006-06 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF A VENTURA, FLORIDA, PROVIDING FOR THE SUBMISSION TO THE ELECTORS OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY CHARTER AS PROVIDED BY THE CHARTER REVISION COMMISSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 7.06 OF THE CITY CHARTER; SUBMITTING PROPOSED CHARTER REVISIONS CONCERNING SECTION 2.03 "ELECTION AND TERM OF OFFICE" AND SECTION 5.01 "ELECTIONS"; PROVIDING REQUISITE BALLOT LANGUAGE FOR SUBMISSION TO THE ELECTORATE; CALLING A SPECIAL ELECTION ON THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY CHARTER TO BE HELD ON TUESDAY, THE 21ST DAY OF MARCH, 2006; PROVIDING NOTICE OF ELECTION; PROVIDING FOR MAIL BALLOT ELECTION; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CHARTER; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 7.06 of the City Charter, the Charter Revision Commission has determined that certain revisions are needed to the City Charter and has by report of December 16, 2005 submitted the proposed amendments of the City Charter (the "Charter Amendments") to the City Commission; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 7.06 of the City Charter, the City Commission is required to submit the Charter Amendments to the electors of the City. NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF A VENTURA, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS: Resolution No. 2006-06 Page 2 Section 1. Charter Amendments. That pursuant to Section 7.06 of the City Charter and Section 5.03 of the Miami-Dade County Charter, the City Charter of the City of Aventura, Florida, is hereby amended by amending the City Charter Sections described below in Parts A-B, to read as follows: I Part A. That Section 2.03 "Election and Term of Office" of the City Charter, is amended by revising paragraph (c) "Limitations on Lengths of Service" of this section, to read as follows: (c) Limitations on Lengths of Service. No person shall serve as Mayor for more than two consecutive elected terms. No person may serve on the Commission for more than two consecutive terms. No person may serve as a combination of Mayor and Commissioner for more than eight consecutive years. Service shall be deemed to be consecutive unless there is an intervening four-year period during which the individual does not serve as a Commissioner or Mavor (the "Break in Service"). Anv person serving the maximum amount of time as Mavor must have a four year Break in Service before serving as a Commissioner. Anv person serving the maximum amount of time as a Commissioner must have a four year Break in Service before serving as Mavor. Anv person serving the maximum amount of time as a combination of Mavor and Commissioner must have a four year Break in Service before serving as Mavor or Commissioner. This Break in Service requirement shall be applicable only prospectively and shall apply to any person who after the effective date of this Break in Service provision reaches the maximum limitation on length of service which is provided herein. No candidate may run for either the office of Mavor or Commissioner when. if elected. the person would exceed the limitations on service set forth in this paragraph bv any length of time taking into account the full regular term for the office sought. I / Proposed additions to existing City Charter text are indicated by underline; proposed deletions from existing City Charter text are indicated by strikethrough. 2 Resolution No. 2006-06 Page 3 That Section 5.01 "Elections" of the City Charter is amended to read as Part B. follows: Section 5.01. Elections. (a) Electors. Any person who is a resident of the City. has qualified as an elector of the State and registers to vote in the manner prescribed by law shall be an elector ofthe City. (b) Nonpartisan elections. All elections for the offices of Commissioner and Mayor shall be conducted on a nonpartisan basis. (c) Election dates. A general election shall be held in each odd- numbered year, on the first Tuesday in March. ^ fW1 eff eleeti0R, if Heeessary, shall be kala 8ft the third Ta8saay iR Mlli'ea. (d) General election. The ballot for the general election shall contain the names of all qualified candidates for Mayor if the Mayor's term is expiring and for each of the three Commission seats which are to be filled as a result of three Commissioners' terms expiring, and shall instruct electors to cast one vote for Mayor, if applicable, and one vote for each Commission seat, with a maximum of one vote per candidate. If any eaadidate fer ~fayer reeeiY0S a FRillT13er ef ~:ates greater taan iQq{. sf tlie tetaJ. awllher ef Ballets east, sueR eanaiaate sfiall Be the auI)' sleeted Afayer, ana Be fl:1l1 elf sleetieR far ~1:ayer shall Be F8e}Hirea. If an)' eanaiElate(s) fer a CSHURissiaR seat reeeiT:e(s) a FR-:lfaser sf .:8t8& greater taaR 59% ef tae tetal llIIffiller ef ballets east, sllea eamliaate(e) seall Be 8\:lly eleetes t8 tae Camm.issisa ana BO nm eff eleetieR fer that CeHllRissieR seat(a) allall be reljllirea. fet ROlli s./J eleetiB/i. Tlle ballet fer ilie rua ef[ eleetieR sllall eeRtIHR the Rames ef the twe eaadidates fer Mayer, if 8.p}:llieaale, ana tae BanleS sf the t..~/a eanEliaates far saak CSB1l'Flissiaa seat \Vfle reeei?ea the mast '/stes iB the general eleeti0B. Tke Ballet shall iHstmet eleeters to east eRe T:ete fer Mayer and te east eRe ','ete for eaell Cell'llRissieR seat, '.vith a 3 Resolution No. 2006-06 Page 4 IBllltlaUUR af aile vate !Jar 611111iiaate. The candidate for Mayor receiving the most votes shall be the duly elected Mayor. The candidate for each Commission seat receiving the most votes shall be duly elected to that Commission seat. fit W Special elections. Special elections, when required, shall be scheduled by the Commission at such times and in such manner as shall be consistent with this Charter. W ill Single candidates. No election for Mayor or any Commission seat shall be required in any election if there is only one duly qualified candidate for Mayor or for any Commission seat. W {g} Absentee votes. Absentee voting will be permitted as provided by the laws of the State and under such conditions as may be prescribed by ordinance from time to time; provided, however, that no ordinance shall limit the right to vote by absentee ballot available under State law. fi1 ill Commencement of terms. The term of office of any elected official will commence following the election for such elected office, as provided by ordinance of the City. Section 2. Election Called. That a special election is hereby called, to be held on Tuesday, the 21 st day of March, 2006, to present to the qualified electors of the City of A ventura, the ballot questions provided in Section 3 of this Resolution. Section 3. Form of Ballot. That the form of ballot for the Charter Amendments provided for in Section I of this Resolution shall be substantially as follows: I. Reqnirement for Break in Service as Mayor or Commissioner. The City Charter currently provides for a limitation on the consecutive length of service as Mayor or Commissioner, but does not specify any required break in service before resuming office. It is proposed that the Charter be amended to provide for a four year break in service before a 4 Resolution No. 2006-06 Page 5 person may again serve as Mayor or Commissioner, once the maximum length of consecutive service has been reached. Shall the above-described Charter Amendment be adopted? [] Yes [] No 2. Elimination of Run Off Elections for Mayor and Commissioner. The City Charter currently provides for both general elections and run off elections for Mayor and Commissioner. It is proposed that the Charter be amended to eliminate run off elections and to revise the method of election from a majority vote requirement to a system by which the candidate for Mayor or a Commission seat who receives the most votes in the general election is elected. Shall the above-described Charter Amendment be adopted. [] Yes [] No Section 4. Ballotin2. That mail ballots, as prescribed by Section 101.6101-101.6107, Florida Statutes, shall be used in this special election. All qualified City electors who are timely registered in accordance with law shall be entitled to vote. The City Clerk is authorized to obtain any necessary election administration services from the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections. The County registration books shall remain open at the Office of the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections until February 20, 2006, at which date the registration books shall close in accordance with the provisions of the general election laws. The Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections is hereby authorized to take all appropriate action necessary to 5 Resolution No. 2006-06 Page 6 carry into effect and accomplish the provisions of this Resolution. This special election shall be canvassed by the County Canvassing Board unless otherwise provided by law. Section S. Notice of Election. That notice of said election shall be published in accordance with Section 100.342, Fla. Stat., in a newspaper of general circulation within the City at least 30 days prior to said election, the first publication to be in the fifth week prior to the election (to-wit: during the week commencing Sunday, February 12, 2006), and the second publication to be in the third week prior to the election (to-wit: during the week commencing Sunday, February 26, 2006), and shall be in substantially the following form: "NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT PURSUANT TO RESOLUTION NO. 2006-06 ADOPTED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF A VENTURA, FLORIDA (THE "CITY") A SPECIAL ELECTION HAS BEEN CALLED AND ORDERED TO BE HELD WITHIN THE CITY ON TUESDAY, THE 21ST DAY OF MARCH, 2006, BY MAIL BALLOT, AT WHICH TIME THE FOLLOWING CHARTER AMENDMENT PROPOSALS SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF THE CITY. 1. Requirement for Break in Service as Mayor or Commissioner. The City Charter currently provides for a limitation On the consecutive length of service as Mayor or Commissioner, but does not specify any required break in service before resuming office. It is proposed that the Charter be amended to provide for a four year break in service before a person may again serve as Mayor or Commissioner, once the maximum length of consecutive service has been reached. Shall the above-described Charter Amendment be adopted? 6 Resolution No. 2006-06 Page 7 [] Yes [] No 2. Elimination of Run Off Elections for Mayor and Commissioner. The City Charter currently provides for both general elections and run off elections for Mayor and Commissioner. It is proposed that the Charter be amended to eliminate run off elections and to revise the method of election from a majority vote requirement to a system by which the candidate for Mayor or a Commission seat who receives the most votes in the general election is elected. Shall the above-described Charter Amendment be adopted. [] Yes [] No The full text of the proposed City Charter Amendments is available at the office ofthe City Clerk located at 19200 West Country Club Drive, Aventura, Florida 33180. City Clerk Section 6. Couies. That copies of this Resolution proposing the Charter Amendments are on file at the offices of the City Clerk located at 19200 West Country Club Drive, Aventura, Florida 33180, and are available for public inspection during regular business hours. 7 Resolution No. 2006-06 Page 8 Section 7. Effectiveness. That the Charter Amendments provided for in Section I above shall become effective if the majority of the qualified electors voting on the specific Charter Amendment vote for its adoption, and it shall be considered adopted and effective upon certification of the election results. Following adoption of the Charter Amendments, the City Clerk shall file the adopted Charter Amendments with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Miami- Dade County, Florida. Section 8. Inclusion In The Charter. Subject to the requirements of Section 7 above, it is the intention of the City Commission and it is hereby provided that the Charter Amendments shall become and be made a part of the Charter of the City of Aventura; that the Sections of this Resolution may be renumbered or relettered to accomplish such intention. Section 9. Effective Date of Resolution. That this Resolution shall become effective immediately upon adoption hereof. The foregoing Resolution was offered by Vice Mayor Joel, who moved its adoption. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Stem, and upon being put to a vote, the vote was as follows: Commissioner Zev Auerbach Commissioner Bob Diamond Commissioner Harry Holzberg Commissioner Michael Stem Commissioner Luz Urbaez Weinberg Vice Mayor Billy Joel Mayor Susan Gottlieb yes yes yes yes yes yes yes 8 Resolution No. 2006- 06 Page 9 PASSED AND ADOPTED this 10th day of January, 2006. ~~ ~Mf' ../ Susan Gottlieb, Mayor Attest: esa M. Soroka, Ity Clerk Approved as to Form and Legal Sufficiency: ~ City Attorney 9