2021-11-04 CCRAC Minutes,;�.�,F.��xF, 21
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; _� ;� CITY OF OKEECHOBEE
CITIZENS CHARTER REVIEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE
SPECIAL MEETING AND JOIiVT WORKSHOP WITH THE CITY COUNCIL
NOVEMBER 4, 2021
MINUTES
I. CALL TO ORDER
In the absence of Citizen Charter Review Advisory Committee (CCRAC) Chairperson
Whirls, Mayor Watford called the meeting to order ord Thursday, November 4, 2021, at 6:04
P.M. in the City Council Chambers, located at 55 Southeast 3rd Avenue, Room 200,
Okeechobee, Florida.
II. ATTENDANCE
Roll was taken by CCRAC Secretary Patty Burnette to establish a quorum. Members
present: Mayor powling R. Watford Jr., Council Members Noel Chandler, Monica Clark,
Bob Jarriel, and Bobby Keefe; CCRAC Members Wes Abney, Suzanne Bowen, Sandy
Perry, Cary Pigman, Hoot Worley, and Jeremy LaRue (entered the chambers at 6:33 P.M.).
Absent with consent were CCRAC Chair Myranda Whirls and Member James Gamiotea.
III. AGENDA AND PUBLIC COMMENTS
A. Motion by Member Jarriel, seconded by Member Clark to adopt the agenda as
presented. Motion Carried Unanimously.
B. There were no comment cards submitted for public participation for any issues not on
the agenda.
Mayor Watford opened the floor for nominations for a CCRAC Temporary Chairperson.
By majority consensus of the CCRAC Members present, Member Worley was
appointed. Mayor Watford yielded the floor the CCRAC Chair Pro-Tempore Worley to
oversee the remainder of the meeting.
IV. NEW BUSINESS
A. Motion by Member Perry, seconded by Member Pigman to dispense with the reading
and approve the July 8, 2021, Regular Meeting minutes. Motion Carried Unanimously.
V. CHAIR PRO-TEM WORLEY RECESSED THE MEETING AND OPENED THE JOINT
WORKSHOP AT 6:08 P.M.
A. The purpose of the workshop was for the two boards to review the proposed City Charter
which reflects all the recommendations to date by ihe CCRAC. The following areas were
specifically noted for amendments, corrections, or as a topic of discussion:
C-1.3 Corporate Boundary. The last annexation legal description is not included,
Attorney Fumero will add this information into the final document.
C-2.1 City Council; third paragraph under Meetings, amend the paragraph to reflect or
such shorter time as three Council Members shall deem necessary in case of an
emergency affecting the public health, safety, welfare, or the public peace. And reword
portion of the sentence using "no less than" to "less than" for easier understanding.
CCRAC SPECIAL MEETING & CITY COUNC�L JOINT WORKSHOP MINUTES, 11-4-2021, PAGE 1 OF 3
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V. WORKSHOP CONTINUED
A. Continued. C-2.2 Mayor and Vice Mayor, (d) amend to reflect the same language as
provided in C-5.2(i), first Council meeting in the month of January of such year instead
of November.
C-2.5 Vacancies; Forfeiture of Office; Filing of Vacancies. Paragraph (b) Forfeiture of
Office, paragraph ii), change six regular meetings to five. Paragraph (c) Filling of
vacancies. By majority consensus of the Council, Attorney Fumero to reword this section
to implement the current process provided in Code Section 2-39.
C-3.1 City Administrator, (a) strike the last sentence, the Administrator need not be a
resident of the City. This will be a contract negotiation item on a case-by-case basis.
C-3.3 Acting City Administrator. No changes, only noted that this process could create
an awkward situation.
C-4.2 Prohibitions, (c) Holding Other Office. Add language to exclude City Administrator
from this paragraph.
C-4.4 Emergency Ordinance, (b) Procedure. Amend to reflect when adopting an
emergency ordinance, must be by a majority vote instead of by three members.
C-6.1 Procedure to Amend, (b) Initiative by Petition and (c) Submission to Electors.
Notation that when initiated by petition, could cause a special election.
C-7.2 Conflicts of Interest; Ethical Standards. Attorney Fumero will rewrite the second
paragraph to make it correspond to Chapter 112 of the State Ethics Code so it would
not eliminate local businesses.
C-7.3 City Personnel System. City Clerk Gamiotea provided to Attorney Fumero to
amend to read "All employment, appointments and promotions of City officers and
employees shall be made pursuant to personnel policies and procedures to be
established by the Administrator or City Clerk from time to time and approved by City
Council. The City Council officially adopts the Employee policies and procedures, but
they are presented for adoption by the Personnel Administrator.
Items of discussions throughout workshop included term limits for Council Members,
numbering City Council seats, and the form of government in C-1.2 which is "Mayor -
City Council - Administrator." The proposed recommended organizational structure is
that the Mayor and City Council will hire/fire the City Attorney, City Administrator, the
Chief of Police, and leave the Office of the City Clerk elected. All of the above noted
items will be discussed further by the City Council. [For clarification the City
Administrator is currently the Head of the Departments of Administration, Finance, and
General Services. The proposed Charter would move the Public Works Department to
also be under their direct management. The Fire Department is not addressed due to
the City now contracting that service to the Board of County Commissioners through an
interlocal agreement].
CHAIR PRO-TEM WORLEY ADJOURNED THE WORKSHOP AND RECONVENED THE
SPECIAL MEETING AT 8:04 P.M.
CCRAC SPECIAL MEETING & CITY COUNCIL JOINT WORKSHOP MINUTES, 11-4-2021, PAGE 2 OF 3