After the Fort Myers Charter Review Advisory Board recommended 13 proposed changes to the city charter for City Council consideration, Council scrapped all but a handful of the proposals it will consider moving forward to referendum on the general election ballot.
After going through each proposed change during a workshop Feb. 26, Council moved forward with three consecutive four-year term limits for the mayor and City Council members, a 12-month residency requirement for elective officers of the city and allowing the city manager to procure and contract services.
Additionally, a small change to the language regarding investigation of departments was moved forward for further consideration, along with the mayor and Council’s compensation increases to be tied to the cost of living increases the city’s general employees receive.
Council member Darla Bonk said of all proposed charter amendments, the one to receive even just a little traction was the conversation surrounding term limits.
“Whether we do anything with it or not, I think this is one that people do tend to pay attention to,” she said. “The moment we stopped being willing to at least look at self-regulating is a really big eye opener for a lot of people. I think it’s certainly worth the conversation.”
The conversation sparked a comment from Mayor Kevin Anderson, addressing the different relationships constituents have when it comes to local government.
“This is where government is closest to the people,” he said. “We shop in the same stores. We go to the same churches. Our kids go to school together. We eat in the same restaurants, while the farther you get away like Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., you don’t have that connection like we have.”
While the proposed term limits will be considered for referendum, it’s to be determined how long an elected official will have to sit out before being able to serve another term.
The items the Council decided to move forward avoided some of the most controversial proposed changes, including residency requirements for high-ranking staff and following the Lee County Home Rule Charter.
Council determined it was an overreach to ask department heads to live in the city. While Mayor Kevin Anderson brought up discussion on how residency is preferred, the consensus was the reality of requiring residency for department heads is problematic.
“I certainly understand the sentiment of being able to be a user in the city and being able to understand the nuances of the city,” Bonk said. “The reality far outreaches what the scope is that we could ask, especially hearing from not just staff, but some of the directors who were pretty adamant about the impact for them.”
Most of the proposed changes that did not move forward for further consideration were dismissed because they were determined unnecessary, or Council already had authority for some proposed changes without changing the charter.
