Not surprisingly, opinions are divided in Bradenton Beach.
A petition drive to put amendments to the charter — often referred to as the bible for municipalities — on the November ballot appears to have a challenger.
The city commission appointed a charter review committee, which had its first meeting June 8, to review the three 2017 charter amendments approved by the electorate, and address four new proposals proffered by the political action committee, Keep our Residential Neighborhoods.
Reed Mapes and John Metz, former planning and zoning board members, registered KORN as a PAC and collected signatures in support of four initiatives for the November ballot that — if approved — would amend the city charter.
However, the Mapes-Metz petitions hit a stumbling block at city hall.
In a letter to Metz June 11, city clerk Terri Sanclemente disputes the effort by KORN, saying the city charter requires KORN have at least five members.
Additionally, she wrote none of the petitions include an affidavit affirming the petition was signed in the presence of a committee member.
Sanclemente returned KORN’s signed petitions to Metz, although he refused to accept them.
In an email response June 16 to the city, Mapes wrote that the petitions comply with state statutes, which supersede the city charter.
He wrote it is the legal responsibility of the city to file the petition forms with the supervisor of elections and, if not, KORN will litigate.
Mapes and Metz encountered the same problem last year when the city tried to block the CNOBB petitions from reaching the SOE. However, the city relented in the final hour, delivered the petitions and the amendments went on the ballot and passed.
The charter committee was formed by the city commission in response to the 2017 amendments and KORN’s new charter amendments.
The 2017 amendments replaced the city’s four-ward representative system with at-large representation, reduced residency requirements for elected officials and prohibited changes to the city charter by a resolution of the commission.
City Attorney Ricinda Perry said June 8 that by not correcting inconsistencies that resulted from the 2017 amendments, the charter work was not finished.
She noted the amendment removed the four-ward structure, but references to the wards still exist elsewhere in the charter.
“That’s her job, not ours,” Mapes, who helped get CNOBB’s amendments on the ballot, said June 14. “We did what we needed to do to get votes. Now it’s the city’s responsibility to clean it up.”
The charter committee is considering an amendment for the November ballot that would re-establish wards, citing concerns that candidates might come from one area of the city.
Mapes said the reason CNOBB proposed the amendment removing wards was so more people would be eligible to run for office.
“In the last 10 years, 70 percent of people placed on the city commission either ran unopposed or were appointed because no one ran,” Mapes said. “We are looking for a way to get more people to run.”
He added that the other island municipalities do not have wards.
The 2018 ballot questions on KORN’s petitions would prohibit the construction of a multilevel parking garage; require commission vacancies be filled by election; prevent construction within setbacks; and require a certified public manager to serve as chief executive officer.
According to Perry, language in the 2018 KORN amendments is leading and, if approved, the actions proposed might be detrimental to the city.
“They were written by my attorney, Bob Hendrickson, so the language is legally permissible,” Mapes said June 14.
At the June 8 CRC meeting, Perry told the members that the city runs well with the weak-mayor form of government; departments heads that “wear many hats;” and it doesn’t make “fiscal sense” for taxpayers to fund a city manager.
A city manager previously employed by Longboat Key touted a manager can more than make up for his/her salary with grants, savings and other funding.
And Holmes Beach also is considering a charter change from a strong-mayor to the city manager form of government.
According to Mapes, the city is a $3 million business requiring an experienced city manager.
“Would a company with a $3 million budget hire an $800-a-month boss?” Mapes asked, referring to the mayor’s monthly stipend. He added that the city touts its department heads’ efficiency, but perhaps that is not an effective way to manage the city.
“I’ve got nothing against him, but the chief of police should be doing that job, not negotiating contracts and maintaining the website,” Mapes said.
At the CRC meeting, Perry implied the city manager would assume city hiring and firing responsibilities.
However, Mapes said as CEO, the city manager would work for the city commission.
“The city commission can fire the city manager if he doesn’t do his job correctly,” Mapes said.
He said the city may be small, but it faces big issues, including tourism, traffic and flooding, that need to be managed by a professional.
Metz said he will attend the next CRC meeting.
“I’d be glad to speak to the issues so people understand our point of view,” Metz said June 14.
The CRC will continue reviewing the charter at 9 a.m. Thursday, June 21, while the KORN amendments are on the agenda for discussion at the noon commission meeting, both at city hall, 107 Gulf Drive N.