03-25-2004 CITY OF EDGEWATER
Charter Review Committee
Thursday, March 25, 2004
3:00 p.m.
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Card called to order the regular meeting of the Charter Review Committee at 3:00
p.m.
2. ROLL CALL
Members present were Pat Card, Bill Miller and Ferd Heeb; Donna Wagner, and Bob Lott were
excused. Also present were City Manager Ken Hooper, Assistant City Manager Liz McBride,
Mayor Donald Schmidt, Paralegal Robin Matusick, and Committee Secretary Bonnie Wenzel.
Mr. Fritz Behring, City Manager of Deltona was present as a guest speaker.
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Chairman Card stated where the minutes read "Comprehensive Plan" it should read "Land Use
Plan ". The minutes were approved with changes.
4. OLD BUSINESS
None at this time.
5. NEW BUSINESS
There were no public comments or member reports at this time.
Chairman Card introduced Mr. Fritz Behring, City Manager for Deltona.
Chairman Card asked what problems are there with single member district voting. Mr.
Behring stated the City has six (6) commission districts and the mayor is elected at large, with a
total of seven (7) on the governing board. Each district is a single member district, we've had no
problems with issues becoming district issues, versus the general will of the City and goodwill of
the City with the exception of one (1) elected official in the roughly eight (8) years the City has
been incorporated. I don't think structurally single member districts create a problem or any
better or any worse, in fact they're probably better than at large elections. It's really based on the
caliber of the elected official.
Mr. Heeb asked how large the City was. Mr. Behring stated around 78,000 residents. He
stated there was a good mix of population spread throughout the community. There is no
minority section/white section of the City, it is all dispersed. Mr. Heeb asked about the age of
the City. Mr. Behring stated the community was originally intended to be a retirement
community, currently the population is young.
Chairman Card asked if the problems were similar across the City. Mr. Behring stated
that they were.
Mr. Miller asked if they were interested in modifying the single member district. Mr.
Behring stated not at all. He added that the districts were done by population.
3 -25 -04 minutes 1
CITY OF EDGEWATER
Charter Review Committee
Thursday, March 25, 2004
3:00 p.m.
Mr. Heeb asked if they were to rewrite the charter would they change it to completely at
large, or at large and single member districts. Mr. Behring stated he would keep it the way it is,
this works for his City. Mr. Miller stated Mr. Behring seemed happy with the current structure.
Mr. Behring replied that if you have good candidates it works well.
Chairman Card asked the size of the City eight (8) years ago. Mr. Behring stated 60,000.
Chairman Card then asked who provided municipal services. Mr. Behring stated the City
provides everything except for Law Enforcement.
The question was asked on compensation for Commission members. Deltona does not
consider commission members full time employees, however they are eligible to buy health
coverage. Their salaries are the average of all other cities in the county.
Chairman Card asked if they anticipated adding a district any time soon. Mr. Behring
state no. Chairman Card then asked if there was a problem with the term limits. Mr. Behring
stated not a present, but there could be some day. Chairman Card stated that Deltona's Vice -
Mayor was elected by a vote of the Commission, does that cause any problems. Mr. Behring
stated that was only a problem when someone expects to be elected and they are not.
Chairman Card asked how many of the 80,000 residents voted in the last general election.
Mr. Behring stated about 10 %, although there is a better turn out when the elections are
Citywide.
Chairman Card asked if Deltona requires all department head to live in the City. Mr.
Behring stated he is the only one required to live there, although he feels all key personnel
should be required.
There was discussion regarding borrowing limits for Council. Mr. Behring stated
Deltona has adopted a formal debt policy, which is very strict.
Mr. Heeb stated he would like to look at the existing structure of Council and the three
(3) alternatives of government and make a list of pros and cons for each starting with the current
setup, and make a decision from there. Chairman Card stated that for the next meeting the
committee could present the pros and cons of the present system, single member districts, single
member & at large districts. Discussion ensued regarding the cost of adding more council
members and elections. Mr. Heeb stated he was not in favor of single member districts with only
five (5) council members. Mr. Miller stated he was not a huge fan of single member districts.
He felt the current charter was very good, and if need be it could be reviewed prior to the five (5)
years required.
Mayor Schmidt stated the "pockets" were a problem, and there needs to be a way to get
everyone in the City to vote.
3 -25 -04 minutes 2
CITY OF EDGEWATER
Charter Review Committee
Thursday, March 25, 2004
3:00 p.m.
More discussion ensued regarding the three (3) types of council structures. Mr. Hooper
asked the committee what was wrong with the current structure. Mr. Miller stated there was not
necessarily anything wrong; they were just looking at what could be better and what might be a
logical change.
Chairman Card stated the April 8, 2004 meeting would consist of discussion regarding
the three (3) alternative structures of government.
6. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 4:20 p.m.
Minutes submitted by:
Bonnie Wenzel
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