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2003-25288 ResoRESOLUTION NO. 2003-25288 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, CALLING FOR A SPECIAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2003, FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUBMITTING TO THE ELECTORATE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH A QUESTION ASKING WHETHER THE CITY CHARTER SHOULD BE AMENDED TO INCLUDE WITHIN THE CITIZEN'S BILL OF RIGHTS A GUARANTEE THAT NO PERSON SHALL BE DEPRIVED OF ANY RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES CONFERRED BY LAW BECAUSE OF RACE, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN, RELIGION, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, DISABILITY, MARITAL STATUS, FAMII,IAL STATUS, OR AGE. NOW, TI-IEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH: SECTION 1. In accordance with provisions of the Charter of the City of Miami Beach, Florida and the general laws of the State of Florida, a Special Election is hereby called and directed to be held in the City of Miami Beach, Florida, fi.om 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 4, 2003, for the purpose of submitting to the electorate the question as set forth hereinafter. SECTION 2. That the appropriate and proper Miami-Dade County election officials shall conduct the said Special Election hereby called, with Miami-Dade County's certification of the results of said Special Election being accepted by the City Commission. The official returns for each precinct shall be furnished to the City Clerk of the City of Miami Beach as soon as the ballots fi.om all precincts have been tabulated and results duly accepted by said appropriate Miami-Dade County Officials. SECTION 3. Said voting precincts in the City of said Special Election shall be as established by the proper and appropriate Miami-Dade County Election Officials. All electors shall vote at the polling places and the voting precincts in which the official registration books show that the said electors reside. A list of the voting precincts and the polling places therein (subject to change by the Supervisor of Elections of Miami-Dade County, in accordance with the laws of Florida) is attached hereto as Exhibit A. SECTION 4. Registration of persons desiring to vote in the Special Election shall be in accordance with the general law of the State of Florida governing voter registration. Qualified persons may obtain registration forms to vote at the Office of the City Clerk, City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive, First Floor, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, during normal business hours, and at such other voter registration centers and during such times as may be provided by the Supervisor of Elections of Miami-Dade County. Each person desiring to become a registered voter shall be responsible for properly filling out the registration form and returning it to the Miami- Dade County Elections Office. All questions concerning voter registration should be directed to the Miami- Dade County Elections Office, 111 Northwest 1 st Street, Floor 19, Miami, Florida 33130; Mailing Address: P.O. Box 012241, Miami, Florida 33101; Telephone: (305) 375-5553. SECTION 5. Not less than thirty day notice of said Special Election shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in Miami Beach, Miami-Dade County, Florida. Such publication shall be made at least once each week for four consecutive weeks next preceding said Special Election. SECTION 6. The notice of election shall be substantially in the following form: THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A SPECIAL ELECTION HAS BEEN CALLED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AND WILL BE HELD IN SAID CITY FROM 7:00 A.M. UNTIL 7:00 P.M. ON THE 4TH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2003, AT WHICH TIME THERE SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE DULY REGISTERED AND QUALIFIED VOTERS OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: AMENDING CITIZEN'S BILL OF RIGHTS RE: NONDISCRIMINATION SHALL THE MIAMI BEACH CITY CHARTER BE AMENDED TO INCLUDE WITHIN THE CITIZEN'S BILL OF RIGHTS A GUARANTEE THAT NO PERSON SHALL BE DEPRIVED OF ANY RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES CONFERRED BY LAW BECAUSE OF RACE, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN, RELIGION, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, DISABILITY, MARITAL STATUS, FAMH.IAL STATUS, OR AGE? YES NO SECTION 7. The official ballot to be used in the Special Election to be held on November 4, 2003, hereby called, shall be in substantially the following form, to-wit: OFFICIAL BALLOT THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION, NOVEMBER 4, 2003. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A SPECIAL ELECTION HAS BEEN CALLED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AND WILL BE HELD IN SAID CITY FROM 7:00 A.M. LrNTIL 7:00 P.M. ON THE 4TH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2003, AT WHICH TIME THERE SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE DULY REGISTERED AND QUALIFIED VOTERS OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: AMENDING CITIZEN'S BILL OF RIGHTS RE: NONDISCRIMINATION SHALL THE MIAMI BEACH CITY CHARTER BE AMENDED TO INCLUDE WITHIN THE CITIZEN'S BILL OF RIGHTS A GUARANTEE THAT NO PERSON SHALL BE DEPRIVED OF ANY RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES CONFERRED BY LAW BECAUSE OF RACE, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN, RELIGION, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, DISABILITY, MARITAL STATUS, FAMII,IAL STATUS, OR AGE? YES NO SECTION 8. Absentee voters participating in said Special Election shall be entitled to cast their ballots in accordance with the provisions of the laws of the State of Florida with respect to absentee voting. SECTION 9. That the City of Miami Beach shall pay all expenses for conducting this Special Election and will pay to Miami-Dade County or directly to all persons or firms, upon receipt of invoice or statement approved by the Supervisor of Elections of Miami-Dade County, Florida. SECTION 10. If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of the proposed ballot measure is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, then said holding shall in no way affect the validity of the remaining portions of said ballot measure. SECTION 11. This resolution shall be effective immediately upon its passage. PASSED and ADOPTED this 30th day of~ ATTEST: CITY CLERK JKO/ED F :~atto\O LIJ~ELECTIONXRESO'uNondiscfiminafion Reso.doc MAYOR APPROVED ASTO FORM &LANGUAGE Proposed Amendment to City Charter Citizen's Bill of Rights for November 4, 2003 Special Election: Ae Proposed Ballot Question AMENDING CITIZEN'S BILL OF RIGHTS RE: NONDISCRIMINATION SHALL THE MIAMI BEACH CITY CHARTER BE AMENDED TO INCLUDE WITHIN THE CITIZEN'S BILL OF RIGHTS A GUARANTEE THAT NO PERSON SHALL BE DEPRIVED OF ANY RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES CONFERRED BY LAW BECAUSE OF RACE, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN, RELIGION, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, DISABILITY, MARITAL STATUS, FAMILIAL STATUS, OR AGE? B. Proposed Text YES NO 16. Nondiscrimination. No person shall be deprived of any rights and privileges conferred by law because of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, familial status, or age. CITY OF MIAMI BEACH ' CITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139 www.miamibeachfl.gov To: From: Subject: COMMISSION MEMORANDUM Mayor David Dermer and Members of the City Commission Chairman Steve Zack Vice-Chair Jonathan Beloff Member of the Board Ricky Arriola Member of the Board Victor Diaz Member of the Board Honorable Seymour Gelber Member of the Board Larry Herrup Member of the Board Abraham Laeser Date: July 30, 2003 Appointed by Mayor Dermer Appointed by Commissioner Garda Appointed by Commissioner Cruz Appointed by Commissioner Bower Appointed by Commissioner Gross Appointed by Commissioner Steinberg Appointed by Commissior~r Smith DISCUSSION AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CHARTER REVIEW AND REVISION BOARD'S SECOND DELIBERATION CONCERNING AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY CHARTER BACKGROUND: Pursuant to Section 8.01 of the Miami Beach City Charter, the City Charter shall be reviewed ten years from November 3, 1993 and each tenth year thereafter. On February 5, 2003, via City Resolution No. 2003-25124, the City Commission created the City Of Miami Beach Ad Hoc Charter Review And Revision Board (CRB) for the purpose of reviewing the City's Charter. The CRB is composed of seven direct appointees with the Mayor and each Commissioner making one appointment. The CRB terms commenced February 5, 2003 and will expire on February 4, 2004 unless sunsetted earlier by the City Commission. On April 30, 2003, via City Resolution No. 2003-25201, the City Commission enlarged the Board's powers of review to include the City's Related Special Acts portion of the City Code. The Board held three organizational meetings to develop a process, determine how best to solicit public participation, develop a strategy to categorize discussion issues (see Exhibit A), and to schedule future meetings. The CRB requested the Ad ministration create a Charter Review webpage and an email address for citizen's input (CharterReview~,miamibeachfl..qov) to ensure communications between the citizens and the CRB members. The webpage was used to inform the public of agendas, minutes of meetings, public notices regarding meetings, and other relevant information, such as access to the City Charter and Related Special Acts. The CRB agreed that at least three-votes were needed for the CRB to accept issues for discussion, and a supermajority vote of 5/7th of the CRB needed to recommend a change to the City Commission. Because of the importance of the City Charter review process, the CRB felt it was absolutely necessary to reach the most citizens possible. Given this objective, there were three (3) meetings that were held in the City Commission Chamber and televised "live" on Cable Channel 20 seeking public comment. Seeking to reach all citizens, the meetings were advertised in The Miami Herald Miami Beach Neighbors Section, The SunPost and the local Hispanic newspapers: Art Deco Tropical, Hola Amigo, La Voz de Miami Beach and Tiempo Nuevo. The meeting dates and times were also posted on the webpage, on government Channel 20, an insert was placed in the water bills, and in the City of Miami Beach Meeting Notices. David Leahy from the Miami- Dade County Elections Department spoke on election related issues. Robert Meyers with the Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics attended a meeting and answered questions regarding ethical issues. At each meeting, whether it was held in the Commission Chamber or in the Mayor's Conference Room, those individuals in attendance had an opportunity to speak. City Clerk's Office T:~AGENDA~.003~ju[3003~regular~Charler Review Board.doc Page I of 2 Agenda Item Date The first deliberation meeting was held in early June. The recommendations of the CRB being presented today are the result of a particular issue receiving at least three (3) votes of the CRB to consider discussing the item. After discussion was held, the issue also had to receive a 5/Tth vote of the CRB to present the issue to the City Commission. A second deliberation meeting was held on July 22 to discuss those items which the CRB felt needed additional information or did not have the required five (5) votes to recommend to the City Commission. STATUTORY DEADLINES: The last date by which the Miami Beach City Commission can pass a Resolution placing an issue on the November 4, 2003 ballot, amending the City Charter and Related Special Acts is September 5. September 10 is the first scheduled Commission Meeting after the August recess. Future Election Dates: November 4, 2003 --> General Elections March 9, 2004 August 31, 2004 November 2, 2004 RECOMMENDED PROCESS: Any of the issues which are approved by the City Commission for placement on the November 4, 2003 ballot, shall comply with the following procedures: a motion on each recommendation must be made instructing the City Attorney's Office to draft a resolution calling for a Special Election on November 4, 2003 with the specific ballot language for each question. The City Attorney's Office will prepare the appropriate legislation for the July 30 Commission Meeting (inasmuch as the July 30th meeting is the last regularly-scheduled City Commission meeting prior to the September 5 deadline). CHARTER REVIEW BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS*: After public input and CRB discussion, the followiny Charter and Related Special Act amendments are respectfully being presented for City Commission consideration: I. City Charter's Bill of Rights. Diversity - Add language expressing citizens' right to be free of all forms of discrimination, including that based upon sexual orientation. '16. Non-Discrimination. No person shall be deprived of any rights and privileges conferred by law because of race, color, national origin, religion, se~, Render, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, family status, or age." II. City Charter Increase Mayor's Term - Sec. 2.02. Term and compensation. Should Sections 2.01 and 2.02 of the City Charter be amended to provide that, commencing with the General Election in November 2005, the term of office for Mayor shall be increased from two years to four years, with the Mayor's term limit increased from six consecutive years to eight consecutive years? II1. Miscellaneous- A. Telephonic/Electronic Participation The CRB recommends that the City establish a policy in the City Code permitting absentee Board Members to participate in Board Meetings via telephonic/electronic means when appropriate. B. Changing CRB Status From Ad Hoc To Stand n.q Committee - It is the recommendation of the CRB to amend the City Code to change the status of the Board [rom Ad Hoc to a standing (permanent) committee. City Clerk's Office Page 2 of 2 T:~.GENDA~2003\jul3003\regular~Cha~ter Review Board.doc 07/02t2003