County Charter and Gambling

Baxley,

What happens when the voters of Clay County approve the CTLAC amendment requiring a super majority to change the County constitution?

Then, the majority who want to enact the Constitutional provision from Osceola County would not be well served by requiring a 60-percent voter approval providing they could get it on the ballot.

Hmmm...what to do?

Hmmm...let's see?

I say have them put it on the ballot, let the citizens vote, if it is an important matter to the citizens and what the community desires it will get the 60% majority. Then it becomes part of the charter. If not we can roll out the carpet to the gambling industry.

Hmmm...that was easy enough to figure out.

Thanks for the info, Bax.

Could you take a few days off and teach our County Attorney how to do research instead of hiring expensive outside legal counsel all the time?

Good info Bax. and another example of how pitiful our charter is. It was created by special interest and modified by uninformed. What a great background.

I think a charter form of government is the best form of government. We have never had County Commissioners or a county manager who followed the home charter until recently. I think our Charter came out of the office of the County Attorney. I will ask again why is Mr. Scruby still there? You know when the FBI showed up with the State Attorney's Office at the landfill they requested the Chairman and the County Attorney meet them at the closed down landfill. Must a been an interesting conversation that day.

Every 4 years we have a Charter Review Commission some counties only have them every 8 years. The CRC can suggest amendments for the Charter every 4 years concerning any issues they think will enhance the quality of life in our county. The Commissioners can present issues they think will enhance the quality of life in our county. The citizens can present issues they think will enhance the quality of life in our county. 

I think giving the Charter an opportunity to work like it is suppose to work will benefit the citizens in the long run. There are 19 charter counties in Florida which is home to more than 75% of Florida's residents.

Along with the gambling issue raised by Commissioner Bush. I would like to see him request an amendment like they did in Seminole County that was passed by the voters. To subject constitutional officers to an internal audit by the BCC. We have just change what was an old practice of letting the constitutional officers pick their own auditor but I would like to see an amendment that would subject them to internal audits.

The best way to get special interest out of our government is to get the people (voters) involved in our government.

If you don't think our charter measures up you can get a copy of each of the 19 counties charters and see what they are doing in their counties. Then you can blog about any suggested changes that you feel will enhance our quality of life. 

EX

Your approach to problem solving is akin to throwing the baby out with the bath water. Charter government is the best thing that has happened to Clay County. It offers citizens the most basic form of participation in their government and encourages improvements through charter changes.

The fact that you were not successful at your attempt to organize a citizen initiative drive back in 2000 does not mean that the successful drives were depending on uninformed citizens.

Charters give citizens the greatest control over their local officials. Citizens can have any form of government they wish. The sky is the limit, as long as it does not conflict with state law. As with any good device, however, citizens must be diligent in watching to make sure the tenants of the charter are enforced.

The original charter should have applied to the constitutional officers as well as the commissioners, giving them term limits so citizens did not have to do it. A stronger system of checks and balances should have been included. These are issues that have been ignored by the last two charter revision commissions.

The last CRC met for 10 months and could have made some strong changes instead of leaving a list of recommendations for the future.

Great comments from all.  I agree that Homerule Charter is where it's at.  And what we see happening is the evloution of our own Charter.  The phrase used for our original Charter is "starter Charter".  It is improved from the original, and will surely continue to be improved.

As far as 60%, I'm all for it.  I voted for it for the State Constitution, and I think it's appropriate for the Charter. These guiding documents - Charter, Constitution - should not be easy to change every time some one gets their underpants in a knot over some issue.  That's where the unfunded hi-speed rail & civil rights for pigs came from.  But, I digress.

I hope the next CRC will research the possible improvements by bringing Constitutional Officers under the Charter control.  I never really got any responses (that I saw anyway) about what are the problems with the Constitutionals that bringing them under the Charter will cure?  I wonder, hmmm?

Why are things not better? The data doesn't support any of your argument. I admit like a lot of things it looks good on paper and feels good to talk about but not improving anything except rising cost of governmant. The 19 charter counties are all much bigger.

  In  this county the constitutional officers are more accountable than the rest of county and I hear a lot less negative about their operations.

  I don't know anything about a 2000 initiative

The Charter was not the problem in Clay County, but the blatant disregard for the laws that governed the county by charter. The Commissioners, County Manager, and the County Attorney who knows the laws, and should have advised them that they were all violating the laws, but evidently never did. Let me asked again, why is the county attorney still there? This was one of the problems with our county's government. Let me say that again, blatant disregard for the laws. The Charter came out of the county attorney's office.

It states: Clay County shall operate under an appointed County Manager form of government with separation of legislative and executive functions in accordance with the provisions of this Home Rule Charter.[1]

It continues: The executive responsibilities and power of the County shall be assigned to and vested in the County Manager, who shall carry out the directives and policies of the Board of County Commissioners and enforce all orders, resolutions, ordinances, and regulations of the Board of County Commissioners, the County Charter, and all applicable general law, to assure that they are faithfully executed. [2]

From the time the Charter was enacted into law it was never followed. How could we determine as a county that our Charter form of government is not working if it has not been followed until recently? Charters are formal written documents that confer powers, duties, or privileges on the county.

The 19 counties that have adopted the Charter form of government range in populations of Columbia County 67,000 2006 population to Miami-Dade with over 2 million 2006 population.[3] As I stated before this is home to 75% of Florida's residents.

The Constitutional Officers could be a blog in itself and I think they all need some oversight.

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[1] Home Rule Charter

[2]Home Rule Charter

[3]U.S. Census Bureau

 Technically I can't disagree with most of your comments. I can however say that some of your coclusions are a little askewed. I think what is missing in a lot of your blogs is a true understanding of politics and how it works. I along with most people think the politics is the peoblem. As far as voter power goes, I see it deminishing not increasing. Under our soon to be enlarged board it will take 5 votes over to elections to get a board who would replace a county manager, a super-majority. As you stated  the county manager has some pretty extensive powers and I don't think he will be threatened by a couple unhappy commissioners.

  Bottom line is we need people like you who know right from wrong to run, and then be able to get enough money to get elected. Even the single member elections are going to be expensive and where is the money. If most people were like the people who blog on here we wouldn'thave a problem and would have an informed voter, but guess what the reality is. The terrible dislike of anything political buy a huge percentage of the population to me is really scarey. Yet I am becoming one of that vast majority

  Recently we had an elected constutional officer (sheriff ) who overstepped his bounds enough for people to vote him out by an overwhelming majirity  I am curious if you know how many of the 19 charter counties have contitutional ofiicers under their charter?

First, We in America do not have a government by the majority. We have a government of the majority who participate. Thomas Jefferson

If people don't participate then they let the others who will participate make all the choices for them. Those people take all the power we have as voters at the ballot box and give it to a few who will show up and let their voices be heard.

I did not vote for the 2 at large commissioners because I don't think we need 7 policy makers because we have had enough inflated egos with only 5 Commissioners, and/or the added expense to the taxpayers of salaries and benefits. These Commissioners also get travel and per diem to all these events they go too and spend the night in nice hotels on the taxpayers money. I am not for more government waste, but a more efficient government. We have bigger issues that desperately need additional funding such as traffic issues than 2 additional Commissioners to make a policy.

You know when people say I only get to vote for one Commissioner in a single district that may be true. But one Commissioner has no power so it is in your best interest to find out who is running in those other districts and promote those individuals that best reflect your ideas because they will be needed to get anything done. Just because you don't live in a district don't mean you can't help promote an individual in another district.

As far as the Charter and the Constitutional Officers. Technically, they are under the Charter. In Article III Section 3.1, however they also fall under the Fl Statutes with laws that are specific to their responsiblities. Article I Section 1.3 Relation to State Law The provisions of this Home Rule Charter are not intended, and shall not be construed, to conflict with the constitution of the State of Florida, a general law, or special law approved by vote of the electorate.

Those powers cannot be taken away from the Constitutional Officers. However, the BCC investigatory power is clearly outlined, including powers to conduct investigations of County officers (including all constitutional officers) and county employees. They have always had that power.

That is why I would like to see an amendment to subject constitutional officers to an internal audit by the BCC like Seminole County voters just passed. The constitutional officers make up about 50% of the county's budget with no oversight by the Commissioner. 

When you talk about the prior Sheriff the BCC could have investigated that issue. I cannot see that happening they didn't do it then. But who were they to investigate anybody they were violating the laws themselves.

As far as I know all the Charter Counties have the Constitutional Officers under the Charter in the limited capacity I described above and what is allowed by State laws. I think Sarasota just passed an amendment to include the Constitutional Officers under their Charter,

Hopefully, people will read these blogs and get a better understanding of  the government and what it can do for or against them as citizens. The best we can hope for is to "Get Out The Vote".

Our biggest defense against special interest is our vote and we have a lot of power if we vote.