2013-28446 Reso RESOLUTION NO. 2013-28446
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, CREATING AN AD HOC
CHARTER REVIEW BOARD FOR A PERIOD OF 120 DAYS
COMMENCING AFTER THE EXPIRATION OF THE AD HOC CHARTER
REVIEW AND REVISION BOARD; PRESCRIBING ITS DUTIES, AND
PROVIDING FOR THE MANNER OF ITS APPOINTMENT AND THE
TERMS OF OFFICE FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE NEW AD HOC
CHARTER REVIEW BOARD.
WHEREAS, pursuant to Miami Beach City Charter section 8.01, the "Charter shall be
reviewed ten (10) years from November 3, 1993 and each tenth year thereafter"; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Resolution No. 2012-28072, the Mayor and City Commission
created an Ad Hoc Charter Review and Revision Board which reviewed the City Charter and
presented its recommendations regarding amendments to the City Charter at the December 11,
2013 City Commission meeting; and
WHEREAS, the Ad Hoc Charter Review and Revision Board expires on January 1,
2014; however, the Mayor and City Commission wish to establish a new Ad Hoc Charter
Review Board for a period of 120 days to review the City Charter and to make additional
recommendations regarding amendments thereto; and
WHEREAS, a new Ad Hoc Charter Review Board ("Board") is hereby established as of
January 2, 2014 to be composed of seven (7) members, who shall be direct appointees of the
individual City Commissioners with the Mayor appointing Stephen Zack as a member and Chair
of the Board. The terms of the Board members shall commence on January 2, 2014 and expire
on May 2, 2014 (subject to earlier or later sunset by the City Commission). The Board's power
of review shall include submittal of a report to the City Commission by May 2, 2014, which
report shall include any recommendations concerning proposed amendments to the City's
Charter.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND THE CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that an Ad Hoc Charter Review
Board is hereby created for a period of 120 days commencing after the expiration of the Ad Hoc
Charter Review and Revision Board for the purpose of reviewing the City's Charter and to make
recommendations regarding amendments thereto; the Board shall be composed of seven (7)
direct appointees of the Miami Beach City Commission, with the Mayor appointing Stephen
Zack as a member and Chair of said Board; and the Board terms shall commence on January 2,
2014 and expire on May 2, 2014 (subject to earlier or later sunset by the City Commission).
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 11th edyq, ecember, 2013.
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ATTEST:
INCORR ORA- , MAYOR
APPROVED AS TO
RAFAEL E. GRANADO CITY CLERK FORM &LANGUAGE .
&FOR XECUTION
F:WTTO\TURN\RESOS\Charter Review 2014.docx
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MIAMIBEACH
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive,Miami Beach, Florida 33139,www.miamibeachfl.gov
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor Philip Levine and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Members of the City of Miami Beach Ad Hoc Charter Review and Revision Board
Members: Appointed by:
Stephen Zack, Esq., Chair Mayor Matti Herrera Bower
Aaron Perry, Vice Chair Commissioner Jerry Libbin
Scott Diffenderfer Commissioner Jorge R. Exposito
Jacqueline Lalonde Commissioner Michael Gongora
Rick Kendle Commissioner Edward L. Tobin
Alex Fernandez Commissioner Deede Weithorn
Richard "Rick" J. Preira Commissioner Jonah Wolfson
DATE: December 11, 2013
SUBJECT: DISCUSSION OF THE CHARTER REVIEW AND REVISION BOARD'S
RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING 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 November 14, 2012, via City Resolution No 2012-28072, 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 term of the CRB commenced January 1,
2013 and will expire on January 1, 2014, unless sunsetted earlier or later by the City
Commission. The Charter was previously reviewed in 1993 and 2003, through Charter Review
and Revision Boards chaired by Stephen Zack.
The CRB has held 15 meetings since its inception. The CRB requested the Administration to
create a Charter Review webpage and an email address for citizen input to ensure
communications between the citizens and the CRB members. The webpage was used to inform
the public of agendas, minutes, meetings, public notices regarding meetings, and other relevant
information such as access to the City Charter.
Because of the importance of the City Charter review process, the CRB felt it was necessary to
reach the most citizens possible. Given this objective, there were seven meetings that were held
in the City Commission Chambers and televised on MBTV. Seeking to reach all citizens, the
meetings were advertised in The Miami Herald Miami Beach Neighbors Section and El Nuevo
Herald. The meeting dates, times, and topics were also posted on the webpage, and broadcast
via the City's social media outlets. At each meeting, whether it was held in the Commission
Chamber or in a City conference room, all individuals in attendance had an opportunity to be
heard.
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Agenda Item R
Date
Statutory Deadlines:
In order not to politicize its decisions, the CRB waited until after the 2013 City Elections to make
its recommendations.
The CRB recommends bringing its recommended Charter amendments to the voters either at
the August 26, 2014 Countywide Primary Election or the November 4, 2014 Countywide
General Election.
The last day to submit a resolution to the Supervisor of Elections placing Charter amendments
on the ballot for the August 26, 2014, Primary Election is Friday, June 6, 2014, and the last day
to submit a resolution for the November 4, 2014 Countywide General Election is Tuesday,
August 5, 2014.
Recommended Process:
Any of the issues that are approved by the City.Commission for placement on a 2014 ballot,
shall comply with the following procedures: a motion on each recommendation must be made
by the City Commission instructing the City Attorney's Office to draft a resolution calling for a
Special Election with the specific ballot language for each question. The City Attorney's Office
will prepare the appropriate legislation for consideration by the City Commission.
Charter Review Board Recommendations:
After 15 public meetings, and presentations by City Staff members and City residents, including:
Jose Smith, City Attorney, Donald Papy, Chief Deputy City Attorney; Debora Turner, First
Assistant City Attorney; Gary Held, First Assistant City Attorney; Aleksander Boksner, Senior
Assistant City Attorney; Robert Rosenwald, Jr., Senior Assistant City Attorney; Joe Jimenez,
Assistant City Manager; Jorge Gomez, former Assistant City Manager; Maria Ruiz, Community
Services Division Director; Nannette Rodriguez, Communications Office Director; Rafael E.
Granado, City Clerk; Richard Lorber, Planning Director; Rick Rivera, Pension Office Director;
Sylvia Crespo-Tabak, Human Resources Director; Nancy Liebman, Miami Beach United (MBU);
Mark Needle, MBU; Terry Bienstock, MBU; Christine Florez, MBU; Frank Del Vecchio, Dr.
Morris Sunshine, and others, the following Charter amendments are respectfully being
presented to the City Commission for consideration:
I. Proposed Amendments To The Bill Of Rights—
A. CRB's Proposals:
(A)18 Ethics in Government. The public's confidence and trust in City of Miami
Beach operations and government must meet the most demanding ethical standards
and demonstrate the highest level of achievement in adherence to ethics laws. City
of Miami Beach officials and employees are agents of the people and hold their
position for the benefit of the public— as public servants, they are to observe in their
official acts a high standard of conduct and to discharge faithfully the duties of their
office regardless of personal considerations and interest, recognizing that promoting
the public interest and maintaining the respect of the people in their government
must be of foremost concerns. No City of Miami Beach elected or appointed official
or employee shall use or attempt to use his or her official position to corruptly or
unlawfully secure special privileges, benefits, or exemptions for himself, herself, or
others. In upholding the values of accountability and responsibility, all city officials
employees, shall abide by applicable codes of ethical conduct, and be subject to all
penalties provided for in such regulations.
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II. Proposed Charter Section Amendments
A. Section 2.02 — Compensation — Compensation shall include salary and benefits.
Benefits are defined as anything of value received b the Mayor or a Commissioner
v g v v
from the City including, but not limited to, expense allowances, vehicle allowances,
travel, medical and life insurance, leave days as provided in the Unclassified
Employees Leave Ordinance, and pension benefits as provided in the Miami Beach
Employees' Retirement Plan. All benefits for the Mayor and City Commissioners
shall be approved by the City Commission by ordinance or resolution.
The annual seMpensatiea salary for the Office of Commissioner shall be six
thousand dollars ($6,000.00) and shall be adjusted retroactively from 1966 to
October 1St of each annual fiscal year using the Consumer Price Index — All Urban
Consumers (Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL Area) (CPI) rate (approximately $43,900.00
as of October 1, 2013). and t The seMpensatien annual salary for the Office of Mayor
shall be ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00); and shall be adjusted retroactively from
1966 to October 1St of each annual fiscal year using the CPI rate (approximately
$73,200.00 as of October 1, 20131
etesti9R.
It is also recommended that if this Charter amendment is approved by the City Commission,
that a corresponding clarification be made in the City Code to define the benefits that are
pensionable.
B. Section 2.02 — Term (Term Limits) — The term of office of the Mayor shall be two (2)
years. The term of office of the City Commissioners shall be four (4) years.
Commencing with the General Election in November 4997 2015 (excluding
individuals holding City of Miami Beach elective office prior thereto for their
unexpired terms), the term limit for Miami Beach Commissioners shall be two terms
Jeight GOnseGU#V9 yearsl and their term limit for Beach Mayor shall be three terms
Jsix yearsl respectively, measured retroactively from their first elections
said terms not including time served as a member of the City of Miami Beach
Commission as a result of having filled a vacancy in the Commission pursuant to
Section 2.07 of the city of Miami Beach Charter.
C. Section 2.07 — Vacancies in the City Commission —A-Ry If a vacancy occurs+ag in the
City Commission, the vacancy shall be filled by the vote of the majority of the
remaining members of said City Commission with the appointee serving the
remainder of the unexpired term until the next succeeded general City election and
with any further remainder of said unexpired term to be filled by a Commissioner
member elected at said general election;_
+If the remaining members of the City Commission shall fail or refused to fill a the
vacancy within 30 days after 4 the vacancy occurs and if no general City election will
be held within 90 days after the expiration of said 30 days, then a special election
shall be called and held within 90 days to elect a Commissioner member to fill such
vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term.
In the event of a future vacancy due to an irrevocable written resignation, if a City
general election or a countywide election is scheduled to be held on or within 30 days
after the.effective date of the irrevocable written resignation, then the future vacancy
shall be filled by the election of a Commission member for the remainder of the
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unexpired term in the City general election or countywide election. If a City general
election or countywide election is not scheduled to be held on or within 30 days after
the effective date of an irrevocable written resignation, and if the remaining members
of the Commission shall fail or refuse to fill a future vacancy within 30 days after the
effective date of the written irrevocable resignation, then a special election shall be
called and held within 120 days after the effective date of the written irrevocable
resignation.
The qualifying period for special elections provided for in this section shall be the first
10 days after the call of the special election and any run-off election shall be held
within 20 days of the certification of election results requiring the run-off.
D. Sections 3.01, 4.01, 4.03 Referring To Compensation and Salary of the City Attorney,
City Manager and City Clerk.
Among other things, these three Sections provide for "compensation" for the City
Attorney, City Manager and City Clerk. The term compensation should be further
defined to make it clear that compensation includes benefits in addition to "salary"
and should be consistent with the terminology used in Section 2.02 relative to the
Mayor and City Commissioners
Y Y
Adopted Charter Amendments:
It is noted that the CRB considered and recommended two Charter amendments that were
approved by the voters on the November 5, 2013 Special Election ballot:
1. Prohibition of Discrimination by City of Miami Beach in Employment Practices and
Benefits Offered — Creating paragraph A(17) of the Miami Beach City Charter
Citizens' Bill of Rights banning discrimination in employment practices and benefits
offered by the City of Miami Beach based upon an employee or applicant's race,
color, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability,
marital status, familial status, or age.
2. Citywide Referendum Required to Repeal or Reduce Protections in City Code
Chapter 62 ("Human Relations') — Creating Section 1.07 of the Miami Beach Charter
to require a majority vote in a Citywide election to repeal, diminish, or otherwise
negatively impact a right or duty established in City Code Chapter 62 ("Human
Relations") that inures to the benefit of a member of the classification categories of
race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability,
marital status, familial status, and age as defined in City Code Section 62-31.
Remaining Charter Issues To Be Discussed:
A. Miami Beach United's Proposals: The CRB adopted a motion approving the aspirations
proposed by Miami Beach United regarding Truth in Government; Right to Be Heard;
Right to Notice; Right to Public Hearing; Neighborhood Association Rights, Right of Fair
Enforcement; Representation Rights; Ethics in Government and Remedies For
Violations of The Bill of Rights, and recommended continuing the debate with the CRB
or at a Public Workshop, as designated by the City Commission.
B. Extending the term of office for the Mayor (currently it is two years);
C. Preservation of the resources of the beach;
D. Traffic- Citizens of Miami Beach have the right to reasonable access to their roads;
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E. Over scale development in residential areas,
F. Planning Board powers;
G. Inspector General/subpoena power;
H. Electing officials by open seats;
I. Commission on Ethics & Public trust—enforcement authority over Citizens' Bill of Rights;
J. Requiring the inclusion of the City's check registry on the City's website; and
K. Defining pensionable benefits for elected officials.
Sunset of CRS
Pursuant to Resolution No. 2012-28072, the CRB will sunset on January 1, 2014. However,
Pursuant to Section 2-22(5)(a) of the City Code, the terms of four of the current CRB members
shall automatically expire by December 31; 2013 due to the fact that their four appointing City
Commission members have left office. Thus, if the CRB is to continue in existence, a resolution
extending the CRB's term is required and the new City Commission members would need to
appoint individuals to fill the four vacancies on the CRB.
The members of the CRB respectfully request that the City Commission extend the term of the
CRB for an additional 4 months (i.e., through April 30, 2014) to allow the CRB to discuss the
above remaining issues and any further issues as needed. In the alternative, if the CRB
sunsets, the CRB recommends the holding of public workshops, or referral to the
Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee, for the discussion of Charter.issues that the City
Commission may wish to place on the August or November 2014 ballots.
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