Bid to drop Zephyrhills mayor falls by wayside

By CARY DAVIS

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 16, 2000

ZEPHYRHILLS -- Voters will not get to choose on election day whether to do away with Zephyrhills' non-voting mayor position.

Council members expressed no interest Monday night in council member Tim Ippolito's proposal that the five-member City Council select a mayor from among its own ranks.

"The mayor has a full-time job just doing ribbons and meetings and all kind of things he does that we don't even know about," said council member Clyde Bracknell. "It gives us another body for information that's very worthy, that's out there meeting people more so than we are and brings it back and informs us."

Council members Cathi Compton and Alan Brenia also spoke out against Ippolito's idea.

Even if council members had warmed to Ippolito's idea, Zephyrhills voters would have had to approve a change in the city's charter.

No mention was made during Monday night's brief discussion of putting Ippolito's proposal on the ballot for the city's April 11 election. In fact, the matter did not even come up for a vote.

Ippolito said doing away with the largely ceremonial mayor's position would help eliminate the confusion that sometimes arises when people want something done but don't know who to approach. The city's mayor has veto power but can't vote on city business.

"It would be a little bit easier as far as accountability and responsibility -- streamlining the chain of command," Ippolito told fellow council members.

It would also save the city money, he said.

The mayor, like members of the City Council, is paid $3,600 annually.

Ippolito provided his council colleagues copies of city charters from other municipalities, including Dade City, which has a system similar to the one he proposed.

Ippolito said he has had the idea for several years but kept it to himself out of respect for Mayor Jim Bailey, who is stepping down to run for Seat 4 on the City Council.

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