Citizen's Guide
A Citizen’s Guide to the City Commission
Meeting
City Commission:
The City Commission is
the legislative and governing body of the City of Flagler Beach.
The Mayor is a non-voting member; however he maintains veto power.
The Mayor and the five-member Commission are responsible for
establishing policies to protect the health, safety and general
welfare of Flagler Beach residents. The Mayor and Commission are
elected to serve a two-year staggered term. To qualify, all must
reside within the City limits a minimum of one year before
qualifying for elections. The Elections are held every year in
March, with three Commission seats filled one year and the Mayor and
two commission seats filled the alternate year. Each official takes
office at the Sine Die Meeting, held in April following the March
election. During this meeting the Commission members select a
Chairman to preside over the Commission meetings and a Vice-chairman
to assume these duties in his/her absence. Terms of office for
Chairman and Vice Chairman are one year.
What your
Commission does:
Exercising their
legislative powers, the City Commission adopts ordinances and
resolutions to establish policies and programs, to provide public
services and facilities for the City. The City Commission considers
major problems facing City government and guides the growth and
development of the City in a manner that is consistent with the
public interest and the future of the City. Section 2-20 of the
Code of Ordinances and Chapters 112.311; 112.501; 286.011 and
286.012 of the Florida Statutes establishes the specific rules for
the Commission meetings.
Meetings – Where &
When:
City Commission meetings
are held in the Commission Chambers at Flagler Beach City Hall, 105
S. 2nd Street, Flagler Beach, FL. Meetings are usually
held twice a month. A schedule of meetings for each year is
approved by the Commission. The meetings are held usually, but not
always, on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays. All
Regular Meetings are schedule for 5:30 p.m. Special meetings or
Workshop meetings are scheduled by the Commission as required.
These meetings are always scheduled to allow the agenda to be posted
in the required timeframe. Workshop meetings, as suggested by the
title, are for information gathering and an exchange of ideas. They
are not utilized for motions or decisions making.
Agendas:
The regular Commission
Meeting Agenda is available on Thursday one week prior to the
meeting. (In the case of Special or Workshop meetings, the agenda
must be posted 72 hours prior to the meeting unless the meeting is
declared an emergency in which case the time frame is 24 hours.)
Copies of the agenda are available to the public by posting on the
bulletin board in front of the City Hall, in hard copy form at the
customer service counter, the library, in the meeting room, or on
the City’s WEB Site:
www.cityofflaglerbeach.com.
A regular meeting agenda
is divided into eleven (11) sections:
1. Call the
meeting to order:
2. Pledge of
Allegiance: Followed by a moment of silence to recognize members
of the Armed Forces.
3. Proclamations and awards:
Mayor reads proclamations(s) and presents awards if applicable.
4. Deletions and changes to the
agenda: Gives the Elected Officials and staff an opportunity to
address last minute modifications to the agenda.
5. Comments regarding items not on
the agenda. Citizens are encouraged to speak. However,
comments should be limited to three minutes. The Vice-Chairman will
monitor the time each person speaks and let them know when their
allotted time has expired. All comments should be appropriate for a
public forum. Any comments regarding personnel should be addressed
privately with the City Manager.
6. Consent Agenda: The Consent
Agenda is used for items that require Commission approval, however,
should not require discussion. As a rule, approval of past meeting
minutes is placed under this agenda item. All items are approved by
one motion. Items may be removed from the Consent Agenda (usually
during Item 4) for discussion and separate action.
7. General Business:
Items placed on the agenda, not otherwise covered under Public
Hearing, will be covered at this time. To place an item on the
agenda, an Agenda Application must be filled out and turned in by
4:30 p.m. on the Tuesday prior to the week of the meeting (check
schedule for date modifications due to holidays)
8. Commission Comments
and Reports::
Provides an opportunity for Commissioners and the Mayor to make
general comments concerning the City. Board and Committee
reports – Allows the Chair of an approved Board or Committee and any
elected official who represents the City at another agency’s meeting
to make their report to the entire body.
9.
Public Hearings: Items
discussed at this time, are any ordinance, items concerning the use
of land and any item required by law.
10. Staff reports – provides staff an
opportunity to report to the entire Commission body. The commission
may take action to be ratified at a later time.
11. Adjournment: The Chairman
will ask for a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Miscellaneous Rules of Conduct:
-
All pagers and cell
phones are to remain OFF while the City Commission
is in session.
-
Persons in the
audience should remain quiet to enable others to hear the
proceedings.
-
No smoking is
allowed in City Hall.
-
No pets are allowed
unless they are certified guide or service dogs.
Record Required to
Appeal:
In accordance with
Florida Statute 286.0105, if you should decide to appeal any
decision the Commission makes about any matter at a meeting, you
will need a record of the proceedings. You are responsible for
providing this record. To this end, you may hire a court reporter
to make a verbatim transcript or you may purchase a CD of the
meeting at the City Clerk’s Office. Each CD is $3.00. Copies of
CDs are only made upon request. Note: The City is not
responsible for mechanical failure of the recording equipment.
Americans with
Disabilities Act:
In accordance with the
Americans with Disabilities Act, persons needing assistance to
participate in any of these proceedings should contact Angela M.
Apperson, City Clerk, at (386) 517-2000 Ext. 233, at least 48 hours
prior to the meeting. Personal listening devices for the hearing
impaired are also available.
Terms to be familiar
with:
-
Amendment: A
change to any previously approved document, resolution,
ordinance, etc.
-
Ordinance: A
local law approved by the City Commission.
-
Resolution:
An official decision made by the Commission; does not require a
public hearing.
-
Proclamation:
A document approved by the Commission officially recognizing an
event or accomplishment.
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