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County Charter Review Committee priming topics for 2022

By Nick Blank nick@opcfla.com
Posted 11/10/21

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Every four years Clay County’s charter can be altered and the 2021-2022 session will have no shortage of topics.

A 15-member citizen panel, which met last week, is …

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County Charter Review Committee priming topics for 2022


Posted

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Every four years Clay County’s charter can be altered and the 2021-2022 session will have no shortage of topics.

A 15-member citizen panel, which met last week, is responsible for bringing forth alterations to the charter. The last time the Charter Review Committee met was 2017-2018.

An early discussion point, brought forward by Chairman Bo Norton, was if the Board of County Commissioners should remain at five members. Committee member Mitch Timberlake also wanted a review of county commissioner and constitutional officer term limits.

“I think it’s worth reevaluating whether they’re effective or useful,” Timberlake said of county commission term limits.

Another topic is a potential change to Clay County commissioner salaries, a change that would require a majority vote in a general election. Voters shot down an increase in 2018. Commissioners currently make $37,500.

The committee members were presented with 19 other charter counties and their commissioner salaries. The closest population comparisons to Clay’s 219,000 people were Charlotte County’s 187,000 people and Alachua County’s 271,000 people. Charlotte County’s commissioners make $37,580 and Alachua County’s commissioners earn $54,317.

Committee member Randy Gillis wanted board members in future cycles to receive a turnover file, listing changes previous committees have made. Gillis said there’s a wealth of knowledge in decisions brought before previous committees and it should be built into maintaining the charter. Gillis and other committee members also wanted to discuss a Citizen’s Bill of Rights.

“I would like to set the stage for everybody who follows to have some sort of booklet or background material,” Gillis said.

Committee member David Theus wanted acknowledgment of Clay County being a 2nd Amendment-friendly in the charter, referring to a late 2019 resolution passed by the BOCC affirming residents’ 2nd Amendment rights.

“I would at least like to converse on the weight of the resolution vs. should it be included in the charter as far as our support of the 2nd Amendment,” Theus said.

The last item was the legal counsel for the committee. The committee agreed to reach out to several local and out-of-county attorneys and unanimously passed a motion to allow legal representation to use video conferencing. Committee members also wanted to know how much was spent by previous committees to establish a frame of reference.

Norton asked committee members to rank their preferred items to discuss at the Dec. 2 Charter Review Committee meeting, which is at 7 p.m. at the Board of County Commissioner’s meeting chambers.