2008-05
ORDINANCE NO. 2008-05
AN ORDINANCE 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 IN
ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 6.02(A) OF THE CITY
CHARTER; SUBMITTING PROPOSED CHARTER
AMENDMENTS CONCERNING SECTION 2.03
"ELECTION AND TERM OF OFFICE" AND SECTION 5.01
"ELECTIONS"; PROVIDING FOR CHANGE OF DATE OF
GENERAL CITY MAYORAL AND COMMISSION
ELECTIONS AND FOR THE RELATED EXTENSION OF
THE TERM OF OFFICE AND THE ALLOWED LENGTH
OF SERVICE; 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 22ND DAY OF APRIL, 2008;
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, the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections has recommended that the
City of A ventura consider revising the date of regular City mayoral and commission elections
from the first Tuesday in March of odd-numbered years to the first Tuesday after the first
Monday in November of even-numbered years in order to coincide with the regular county-wide
general elections; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission finds that considerable cost savings will result for the
City by revising the City's general election dates as described above, and further finds that the
election date revision may serve to enhance voter participation in the City's electoral process;
and
WHEREAS, the City Commission desires to amend the City Charter in order to
implement the above described City general election date change and the corresponding
extension of the term of office and length of service which is necessary for an orderly transition
of the election date change, and desires to submit the Charter Amendments to the electors of the
City for approval or rejection as provided herein.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF A VENTURA, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Recitals Adopted. That each of the above-stated recitals are hereby adopted
and confirmed.
Section 2. Charter Amendments. That pursuant to Section 6.02(a) of the City Charter
and Section 6.03 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 (a) "Election and term of office" and paragraph (c) "Limitations
on lengths of service" of this section, to read as follows:
Section 2.03. Election and term of office.
(a) Election and term of office. Each Commissioner and the
Mayor shall be elected at-large for four year terms by the
electors of the City in the manner provided in Article V of this
Charter. The four year term length which is provided for in
this paragraph (a), shall be extended as necessary to
accomplish the election date revision made pursuant to
Charter Section 5.01 (c)(ii) of the City Charter, as applicable.
Accordingly, the term of office of the Mayor and Commission
Seats 2, 4, and 6 which would otherwise expire in March of
I / Proposed additions to existing City Charter text are indicated by underline; proposed deletions from
existing City Charter text are indicated by strikethfElI:Igh.
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2009 shall instead expire in November 2010, and the term of
office of Commission Seats 1, 3 and 5 which would otherwise
expire in March of 201 L shall instead expire in November
2012.
***
(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, except for the additional length of
service as Mayor and/or Commissioner described in paragraph (a)
above, which results from the extension of the term of office of
Mavor and/or Commissioner as produced by the election date change
provided by Charter Section 5.01 (c)(ii). 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 Mayor (the
"Break in Service"). Any person serving the maximum amount of
time as Mayor must have a four year Break in Service before serving
as a Commissioner. Any person serving the maximum amount of
time as a Commissioner must have a four year Break in Service
before serving as Mayor. Any person serving the maximum amount
of time as a combination of Mayor and Commissioner must have a
four year Break in Service before serving as Mayor 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 Mayor or Commissioner
when, if elected, the person would exceed the limitations on service
set forth in this paragraph by any length of time taking into account
the full regular term for the office sought.
Part B. That Section 5.01 "Elections" of the City Charter is amended by amending
paragraph (c) "Election dates" of this section, to read as follows:
Section 5.01. Elections.
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(c) Election dates.
ill A general election shall be held in each odd-numbered year,
on the first Tuesday in March. However, this subparagraph (i)
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shall not be applicable subsequent to the general election held
in March 2007. After March 2007, general elections shall be
held as provided in subparagraph (m below.
(ii) The general election date is hereby revised so that a general
election shall be held in 2010 and thereafter in each even-
numbered year, on the first Tuesday following the first
Monday of November of that year.
Section 3. Election Called.
A. That a special election is hereby called, to be held on Tuesday, the 22nd day of
April, 2008, to present to the qualified electors of the City of A ventura, the ballot question
provided in Section 4 of this Ordinance.
B. That the City Commission may by Resolution alter the date of the special election
in the event that the Commission finds that unforeseen circumstances require it to do so.
Section 4. Form of Ballot.
A. That the form of ballot for the Charter Amendments provided for in Section 2 of
this Ordinance shall be substantially, as follows:
1. Change of General Election Date for Mayoral and Commission Elections
The City Charter currently provides for the Mayor and Commissioners to
be elected in March of odd-numbered years. It is proposed that the
Charter be amended to provide for the general election for the Mayor and
Commissioners to be held in November of even-numbered years, and for
the term of office and allowed length of service to be extended to
accomplish this election date change.
Shall the above-described Charter Amendment be adopted?
[ ] Yes
[] No
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B. That the City Commission may revise the ballot form which is set forth above by
Resolution.
Section 5. Ballotine:. 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 March 24, 2008, 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 carry into
effect and accomplish the provisions of this Ordinance. This special election shall be canvassed
by the County Canvassing Board unless otherwise provided by law.
Section 6. 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, March 16, 2008), and the second
publication to be in the third week prior to the election (to-wit: during the week commencing
Sunday, March 30, 2008), and shall be in substantially the following form:
"NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT PURSUANT TO
ORDINANCE NO. 2008-05 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
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TUESDA Y, THE 22ND DAY OF APRIL, 2008, BY MAIL
BALLOT, AT WHICH TIME THE FOLLOWING CHARTER
AMENDMENT PROPOSAL SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE
QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF THE CITY FOR APPROVAL OR
REJECTION.
Change of General Election Date for Mayoral and Commission
Elections
The City Charter currently provides for the Mayor and Commissioners to
be elected in March of odd-numbered years. It is proposed that the
Charter be amended to provide for the general election for the Mayor and
Commissioners to be held in November of even-numbered years, and for
the term of office and allowed length of service to be extended to
accomplish this election date change.
Shall the above-described Charter Amendment be adopted?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
The full text of the proposed City Charter Amendments is available at the
office of the City Clerk located at 19200 West Country Club Drive, Aventura,
Florida 33180.
"
City Clerk
Section 7. Copies. That copies of this Ordinance proposing the Charter Amendments
are on file at the offices of the City Clerk located at 19200 West Country Club Drive, A ventura,
Florida 33180, and are available for public inspection during regular business hours.
Section 8. Effectiveness. That the Charter Amendments provided for in Section 2 above
shall become effective if the majority of the qualified electors voting on the Charter Amendment
vote for its adoption, and it shall be considered adopted and effective upon certification of the
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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 9. Inclusion In The Charter. Subject to the requirements of Section 8 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 A ventura; that the Sections of this
Ordinance may be renumbered or relettered to accomplish such intention.
Section 10. Effective Date of Ordinance. That this Ordinance shall become effective
immediately upon adoption on second reading.
The foregoing Ordinance was offered by Commissioner Weinberg, who moved its
adoption on first reading. This motion was seconded by Commissioner Auerbach, and upon
being put to a vote, the vote was as follows:
Commissioner Zev Auerbach yes
Commissioner Teri Holzberg yes
Commissioner Billy Joel yes
Commissioner Michael Stern yes
Commissioner Luz Urbaez Weinberg yes
Vice Mayor Bob Diamond yes
Mayor Susan Gottlieb yes
The foregoing Ordinance was offered by Commissioner Joel, who moved its
adoption on second reading. This motion was seconded by Commissioner Auerbach and upon
being put to a vote, the vote was as follows:
Commissioner Zev Auerbach yes
Commissioner Teri Holzberg yes
Commissioner Billy Joel yes
Commissioner Michael Stern yes
Commissioner Luz Urbaez Weinberg yes
Vice Mayor Bob Diamond yes
Mayor Susan Gottlieb yes
PASSED AND ADOPTED on first reading this 8th day of January, 2008.
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PASSED AND ADOPTED on second reading this 5th day of February, 2008.
Approved as to and Legal Sufficiency:
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City Attorney
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