Panel submits charter changes

Ten proposals will be on the ballot, but the city's strong mayor system will remain intact.

By BRYAN GILMER

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 11, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- The volunteer Charter Review Commission settled Thursday on 10 proposed changes to the city's blueprint for government that voters can accept or reject in the March election.

In the end, the volunteer group shied away from a controversial suggestion to return executive control of the city to a city manager instead of a strong mayor.

But voters will have the chance to add a ninth seat to the City Council. Instead of representing a certain district, the member would be voted on and represent the city at large.

Voters also will have the option to let City Council members ask for information from city staffers. That goes on now with Mayor David Fischer's permission, but the charter technically prohibits it. If the change is approved, the mayor would remain the only person who could order staffers to do anything.

Another measure would require a two-thirds vote of the council to remove a council member or the mayor from office because of misconduct. The charter now requires only a majority vote.

The other seven questions appearing on the March ballot would:

Move the city primary election from February to September and the general election from March to November. It would have the side effect of extending by nine months the term of the mayor and council members in office in 2003, the first year the change would take effect.

Require a two-thirds vote of the City Council to override the mayor's line-item veto of a city budget item.

Give the mayor five business days instead of two to veto a measure passed by the City Council.

Waive the requirement of holding a general election for mayor if any candidate got more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary.

Require that the city's council districts be redrawn every 10 years to coincide with the release of federal census data, not every four years.

Provide that a charter-review commission be appointed every 10 years, not every six years.

Revise the entire charter to remove holdover language from the city manager form of government and clarify the roles of the mayor, city administrator and city attorney.

The commission also voted Thursday to spend money on advertisements to educate voters about the questions closer to the March election.

The full text of the ballot questions and the way the charter would read if each one were enacted are available at the City Clerk's Office, 175 Fifth St. N.

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