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Ordinance No. 33-07-13AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA, CALLING FOR A REFERENDUM TO AMEND SECTIONS 14, 39, 40, 41 AND 43 OF THE CITY CHARTER TO ESTABLISH A NEW SCHEDULE FOR CITY ELECTIONS, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA: fiF.c:TT()N ~ _ Calling for a referendum election amending Charter. A referendum shall be added to the election ballot on October 2, 2007, to amend Sections 14, 39, 40, 41 and 43 of the Charter of the City of Atlantic Beach, Florida, to read as follows: "Sec. 14. Induction of city commission into office; meetings of the city commission. After each general election, the newly elected city commission shall assume the duties of office at the regularly scheduled meeting of the city commission held at 7:15 p.m. the second Monday in November. All other regular meetings of the city commission shall be fixed by ordinance, but there shall not be less than one regular meeting each month. Except as provided by Florida's Government-in-the-Sunshine Law (F.S. 286.011), all meetings of the city commission shall be open to the public." "Sec. 39. Nominations. Any elector of the city having the additional qualifications and limitations as set forth in Article II, Section 6, may be nominated for a seat in the city commission. Such nomination shall be only by petition. A petition for this purpose shall be signed by not less than ten (10) qualified electors of the city. The signatures on the nominating petition need not all be subscribed on one paper. Each separate paper shall have affixed a signed statement of the circulator thereof stating the number of signers of such paper and that each signature appended thereto was made in the presence of the circulator and is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be. Each signer, including the circulator, shall provide his/her place of residence, including the street and number. The form of the nomination petition shall be substantially as follows: "We, the undersigned electors of the City of Atlantic Beach hereby nominate whose residence is for the office of Commissioner, Seat No. , to be voted for at the election to be held on the day of , A.D., and we individually certify that our names appear on the rolls of registered voters, and that we are qualified to vote for a candidate for the city commission. Name, street and number address from which last date of registered (if different) signing. (Spaces for signatures and required date) STATEMENT OF CIRCULATOR I the undersigned is the circulator of the forgoing paper containing signatures. Each signature appended thereto was made in my presence and is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be. SIGNATURE OF CIRCULATOR ADDRESS: ~~ Any signature made earlier than the fifteenth of August next preceding the election shall be void. All nominating papers comprising a petition shall be filed as one instrument with the city clerk, no earlier than 12:00 noon on the first Tuesday of September, nor later than 12:00 noon on the second Tuesday of September, before the election. The city clerk shall make a record of the exact time at which each petition is filed, and shall take and preserve the name and address of the person by whom it is filed. No nominating petition shall be accepted unless accompanied by a signed acceptance of the nomination in substantially the following form: "ACCEPTANCE OF NOMINATION I hereby accept the nomination for Seat No. on the city commission and agree to serve if elected. SIGNATURE OF CANDIDATE Within two days after the filing of a nominating petition, the city clerk shall notify the candidate and the person who filed the petition whether or not it is found to be signed by the required number of qualified electors. If a petition is found insufficient, the city clerk shall return it immediately to the person who filed it with a statement certifying wherein the petition is found insufficient. Within the regular time for filing petitions, such a petition may be amended and filed again as a new petition, in which case the time of the first filing shall be disregarded in determining the validity of signatures thereon, or a different petition may be filed for the same candidate. The petition of each person nominated to be a member of the city commission shall be preserved by the city clerk until the expiration of the term of office for which the candidate has been nominated. "Sec. 40. Elections; Primary. A primary election for the nomination of candidates for the office of city commissioner of the city shall be held every two (2) years on the first Tuesday in October, for each seat on the city commission which shall become vacant, at 7:15 p.m. on the second Monday in November of the same year. The two candidates Ordinance No. 33-07-13 Page 2 of 4 for each seat to be filled receiving the greatest number of votes in said primary shall be certified as candidates or nominees at the general election, provided, however, that should any candidate receive at such primary election a majority of all votes cast, he shall be declared regularly elected and shall not be required to enter the general election as hereinafter provided. However, should only one candidate be nominated for a particular seat, an election for that seat will not be required and the unopposed candidate shall be declared elected to the office of city commissioner. "Sec. 41. Elections; General. At a regular or general election of candidates or nominees to the office of city commissioner shall be held every two years on the first Tuesday in November, unless all vacancies have been determined by the primary election in accordance with Section 40 of this Charter. The candidate or nominee receiving the majority of votes for each seat at such general election .shall be declared elected. In the event of a tie between two candidates in the general election the candidates shall draw lots in accordance with F.S. 100.181 to determine the winner. "Sec. 43. Elections; Canvass of returns. The polls shall open at seven o'clock a.m. and shall close at seven o'clock p.m. or as otherwise provided by Florida Statutes. The result of the voting, when ascertained, shall be certified by return duplicate, signed by the clerk and a majority of the inspectors of the election. One copy shall be delivered by the election clerk to the mayor-commissioner and the other to the city clerk, both of whom shall transmit such returns to the city commission at its regular meeting on the second Monday in October for primary election and, if needed, the second Monday in November for general election. At such meeting, the city commission shall canvass the returns and the result as shown by such returns shall be declared by the city commission to be the result of the election. The city clerk shall, not later than noon on the second day after the canvass of said election, furnish a certificate of election to each person shown to have been elected. CF,C`.TTnN ~._ Form of Ballot and Election Question. follows: The form of ballot and election question to be used in said election shall be as CHARTER ELECTION BALLOT October 2, 2007 CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH RAT,T,nT TTTT F; Amending Sections 14, 39, 40, 41 and 43 of the Charter to establish a new schedule for city elections. BAT.T,nT cTrnmvTARY: Amending five (5) sections of the Charter as follows: Ordinance No. 33-07-13 Page 3 of 4 (1) Sec. 14: Changing meeting date for installation of newly elected city commissioners from the first Tuesday of November to the second Monday in November. (2) Sec. 39: Changing qualifying dates for city elections from beginning second Tuesday in September and ending third Tuesday in September to beginning first Tuesday in September and ending second Tuesday in September. (3) Sec. 40: Changing date city commission seats become vacant from first Tuesday in November to second Monday in November. (4) Sec. 41: Changing date of general election from third Tuesday in October to first Tuesday in November. (5) Sec. 43: Changing date city commission canvasses election returns from immediately after election on election night to the regularly scheduled meeting of city commission on the second Monday in October for primary election and, if needed, the second Monday in November for general election. Shall the above Charter amendments be adopted? Yes (approve amendments) No (reject amendments) ~F["rrn~v '~_ Effective date of Charter amendments. If approved by a majority of the voters at the election on October 2, 2007, then the Charter amendments shall take effect immediately following the 2007 municipal elections. cF["rT(~rt 4_ Effective date of this Ordinance. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its final passage and adoption. PASSED by the City Commission on first reading this 13~' day of August, 2007. PASSED by the City Commission on second and final reading this 27~' day of August, 2007. ATT T: ~~~Q DONNA L. BUSSEY City Clerk as to form and correctness: . JENSEN, ESQUIRE ~~~ ~, DONALD M. WOLFSON Mayor, Presiding Officer Ordinance No. 33-07-13 Page 4 of 4