Elected Mayor Charter Amendment Won't Make November Ballot

Updated 11 p.m. July 16

A competing charter amendment to have Sarasota elect its own mayor to become the chief executive of the city will not be on the November ballot.

The City Commission voted 3-2 to continue discussion on the amendment to the Aug. 20 commission meeting, meaning that any public hearings held will fall after the 90-day deadline for the amendment to appear on the Nov. 6 General Election ballot. Vice Mayor Willie Shaw, commissioners Terry Turner and Shannon Snyder voted to continue the discussion at the Aug. 20 meeting while Mayor Suzanne Atwell and Commissioner Paul Caragiulo voted against the move.

Caragiulo (District 2) is proposing that the city commission support him to have the city place a charter amendment to elect a citywide mayor. The proposed amendment will be discussed during the evening portion of tonight's commission meeting at City Hall, after another charter amendment presentation supported by Turner (at-large). Caragiulo's presentation was just added to the agenda Monday morning, which drew the ire of Turner.

"I think this whole discussion having this item on the agenda at this point is inappropriate," Turner said. "It's inappropriate to good governance and good process."

Proposed charter amendments, brought by a signature drive, , requires the commission to accept the proposal and continue to develop an ordinance with ballot language for the referendum, whereas the commission has no obligation to accept proposals made by fellow commissioners. In both scenarios, two public hearings are required for the ballot language ordinance 90 days or more before the referendum, but within 30 days of the amendment's introduction to the commission.

Though it puts a dent in a direct duel between the two amendments on Nov. 6, if Caragiulo's amendment proceeds with future approvals, a referendum could be scheduled at a later date, even potentially reversing a decision in November if voters decide to change forms of government.

"In light or recent events regarding recruiting a new city manager, I feel our citizens should have an opportunity to accept or reject this proposal. In the upcoming general election there will likely be extraordinarily robust voter participation, far exceeding the level in our usual city elections," Caragiulo wrote in a letter Monday morning to commissioners and charter officials. "I feel this opportunity cannot be wasted." 

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The Proposal

In Caragiulo's proposal, the mayor would not be part of the commission and would have no vote, but would prepare the budget and table of organization that the commission must approve of with three votes. The commission would still retain five members. If approved, the mayor and commissioners in districts 2 and 4 would be elected in spring 2013 while commission districts 1, 3, and 5 would be in 2015.

The mayor would also appoint a department head with three votes from the commission, and the city attorney and city clerk would be fired by consent, according to a handout prepared by Caragiulo. 

The mayor would also have veto powers except for "quasi-judicial matters, board appointments, audits and investigations and ordinances creating advisory boards," according to Caragiulo. The commission could override a veto with four votes.

The mayor would be paid $132,500 — "the equivalent of five commissioners' salary" according to Caragiulo, and the commissioners would not have their salary changed.

Caragiulo writes that his proposal is different from ones rejected in the past.

"In 1996 the proposal called for mayor, elected at large, who chaired the city commission but had no additional powers," Caragiulo wrote in the handout. "In 2002 the proposal called for an elected “strong mayor” who had executive authority but was a member of the commission. The most recent proposal in 2009 proposed a mayor with limited executive authority, elected at large and two additional at-large commissioners."

Lack of Support

Caragiulo wanted commission support to direct City Attorney Robert Fournier to prepare the ordinance on the November ballot, but that failed. Snyder had voted to delay the discussion on Caragiulo's amendment, but he also said that Turner's amendment was a "terrible idea."

"I give it two or three weeks before the community realizes what's going on and what it's all about," Snyder said of Turner's amendment.

Atwell supported Caragiulo's idea despite having concern about the process that the proposal came forward.

"We as a city continue year after year after year having serial leadership," Atwell said. "Every potent issue that comes along, we see a leader who emerges from that issue temporarily. ... But when we continue to have a separate but equal mentality, we foster separate but fragmented leadership."

She added that any city manager, including Barwin, is "sophisticated enough to handle what's going to go on. If they have to handle it, of course."

Turner Approval

A presentation for Turner's amendment, backed by the Citizens for a Better Sarasota political action committee, gained approval 5-0 during Monday's commission meeting to have public hearings on Aug. 1 and Aug. 2.

The signatures were collected during a five-week span, according to Donnie McDonough of the political action committee:

• District 1 collected 826 signatures

• District 2 collected 1,340 signatures

• District 3 collected 870 signatures

Two residents during Monday's meeting criticized the signature drive. McDonough said 14 "volunteer residents" collected signatures. Matt Woodall said that one volunteer for the signature drive was from Estero. The other was from Brevard County and had harrassed him at the Sav-A-Lot parking lot, said Jeff Murphy, and resulted in the police being called to the scene.