The Charter Review Board (CRB), Hillsborough County, Florida, met in Regular Meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, March 15, 2000, at 6:00 p.m., in the Boardroom, County Center, Tampa, Florida.
The following members were present:

Jan Smith, Chairman
Steve LaBour
Kevin Ambler
Denise Lasher
John Bales
Mary Lou Tuttle (arrived at 6:08 p.m.)
Terry Ballard
Arlene Waldron
Mike Bedke
Gerald White
Henry C. Beltran
Danny L. Wilkes
David Hurley
Dee Williams

Chairman Smith called the meeting to order at 6:06 p.m. Mr. LaBour led in the pledge of allegiance to the flag. The Deputy Clerk called the roll and noted a quorum was present.

MINUTES

Chairman Smith distributed the minutes and explained they would be held for approval at the next meeting. She asked staff to include the minutes with the agenda. In response to Mr. Hurley, Ms. Helen Levine, Public Affairs Officer and CRB liaison, said the minutes would be distributed by E-mail, if it were possible.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Chairman Smith noted that some people who might want to participate in CRB meetings might not want to stay the entire meeting. Therefore, she suggested having a few minutes for public comment at the beginning of the meeting for people to address any charter issue. Public comment at the end of the meeting would address issues discussed that evening. However, she did not want someone to speak twice. CRB members agreed by a consensus.

Chairman Smith called for public comment. Mr. Stanley Krick, 7710 West Elm Street, had attended the legislative session where three senators wanted to put the County mayor plan as a bill before the legislature; he had heard a statement that the issue could be brought back next year and perceived that as an insult to the CRB and citizens. Mr. Al Davis, 3724 East Wilder Avenue, supported public comment at the beginning and end of the meeting. He pointed out the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) was not sworn to support, defend, and uphold the County Charter, because it was not part of the oath of office. Mr. Davis suggested that be considered as part of the oath of office for the BOCC. Ms. Marilyn Smith, County resident, said some powers in the charter had been diluted by the master plan and interlocal agreement; she suggested having an appointed auditor working under the BOCC. Mr. Grant Walters, 13726 Staghorn Road, was new to the County and hoped that the positive results expected from the CRB would not be overridden by the State.

MEETING SCHEDULE

Mr. Wilkes was welcomed to the CRB by Chairman Smith. By a consensus, the CRB agreed to meet on April 6 and April 27, because of Passover and Easter; beginning in May, the regular meetings would be held on the second and fourth Thursdays from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and the second meeting in November would be on the 30th, because of Thanksgiving. Chairman Smith asked for that information to be posted on Hillsborough Television (HTV), government access, et cetera, and that a calendar be printed for members with meeting dates. Mr. Ballard initiated discussion about having meetings in the community. Chairman Smith said a good time to go into each district would be when the CRB had recommendations, which might be the last four meetings. Mr. Ballard suggested Chairman Smith make those recommendations to CRB.

Senior Assistant County Attorney Mary Helen Campbell administered the oath of office to members Bales, White, and Wilkes.

As a follow-up about meetings in single-member districts, Mr. Ambler discussed the possibility of remote site video-conferencing. Ms. Levine would raise that issue with the County Administrator and report at the next meeting. Mr. Ambler was particularly interested in seeing citizens on a monitor in the Boardroom. Chairman Smith said a time could also be set for citizens to call in. Staff would consider all options and report at the next meeting.

Ms. Lasher submitted and reviewed information from Broward County regarding three ballot initiatives that affected its charter. Chairman Smith encouraged members to provide such information.

RECOMMENDATION ON THE SELECTION OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Chairman Smith reported her top choices were Ms. Barbara Merritt, Ms. Lynda Smith, and Mr. John Petrimoulx, who had excellent resumes, experience, and understood the Sunshine Law, the charter, wanted to be involved, and had good skills with computers, E-mail, fax machines, et cetera. Part of the discussion about the job was to have someone that could be in County Center on a semiroutine basis so the public would have access to that person. Following discussion, Chairman Smith recommended interviewing three or four applicants, all of which could attend the next meeting. Mr. LaBour moved the Chairman's recommendation, to invite three applicants--Ms. Merritt, Ms. Smith, and Mr. Petrimoulx--to the next meeting for an interview. Ms. Lasher seconded the motion. In response to Mr. Ballard about the mechanics of the process, Ms. Lasher suggested the executive director be selected by the same process the BOCC used to appoint members to various boards and committees. In reply to Mr. LaBour, Chairman Smith recommended allowing applicants up to five minutes and not requiring a presentation. The motion carried fourteen to zero.

SELECTION OF THE CONFLICT ATTORNEY

Attorney Campbell reported that Attorneys Marsha Rydberg and Stewart Eggert had applied for the position, were well qualified, and proposed fees of $185 and $175 per hour respectively. Many more applications had been received for the last CRB. Attorney Campbell asked to do some more direct marketing, because a conflict attorney would not be needed until CRB began its deliberations, and then only if a conflict arose. Since filling the position was not urgent, Ms. Waldron moved to extend another 30 days, especially if there might be an opportunity to obtain those services at no charge. Mr. LaBour seconded the motion. Ms. Lasher asked if the two attorneys could be asked if they would be willing to provide services pro bono. Mr. Ballard did not support doing that. Mr. White called the question, which carried fourteen to zero. The motion carried ten to four; members Ambler, Ballard, Hurley, and Lasher voted no. Mr. Ballard received clarification that the deadline was 30 days from the motion, not the original deadline date.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS

Chairman Smith said past CRBs had invited various guests to speak to them, generally allowing a time limit on the time they would speak, followed by a question and answer period. In the past, BOCC, Mr. Fred Karl, professors from the University of South Florida (USF), various constitutional officers, mayors from the municipalities, and Ms. Linda Chapin from Orlando had been invited to speak. She suggested to first invite the BOCC, beginning with the Chairman. During the ensuing discussion, CRB members asked to invite Mr. Fred Marquis, county administrator, Pinellas County; Florida TaxWatch; and the League of Women Voters.

Recalling that a citizen had commented the Legislative Delegation (Delegation) was perceived as making a threat, Mr. Ambler wanted to invite Representative Rob Wallace, chairman of the Delegation, to present the Delegation's thoughts on a County mayor and to see how to work together. Chairman Smith said Senator John Grant had put forth the proposal, and she thought CRB members might want to hear from him and from a Delegation member who had an opposing view. However, it might work best to invite no more than three speakers in one evening. Mr. LaBour suggested inviting three County Commissioners to attend one evening as a panel to respond to CRB questions.
The following were added to the list of persons to invite: Dr. Sam Horton, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Ms. Joanna Tokely, Hillsborough County Urban League; Professor Jamil Jreisat, Political Science, USF; Senator James Hargrett; the mayors of the municipalities; Mr. Fred Karl; and Dr. Chip Hinton and someone the Florida Farm Bureau recommended.

Mr. Ambler suggested inviting Mr. Terrell Blodgett, Mike Hogg Professor of Urban Management, LBJ School, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, and the chairman of the Model Charter Revision Project Committee; and Mr. William N. Cassella, Jr., the coordinator of the Model Charter Revision project and former executive director of the National Municipal League, or their equivalents or successors. Both were mentioned in the Model County Charter, Revised Edition, copyrighted in 1990. Chairman Smith did not know the technical name of an organization of county managers and administrators, but she explained some of those individuals worked under different forms of government and might be willing to discuss pros and cons.

CRB members wanted to invite Professor Susan McManus, Government and International Affairs, USF; Mr. Kurt Spitzer, Kurt Spitzer and Associates; and the heads of both local County political parties. Chairman Smith explained the political parties would participate through the public process. The County's budget manager was included in the list. Additional names could be submitted. In response to Ms. Lasher, Ms. Waldron suggested not placing public interest groups on the agenda to make presentations, but inviting everyone to attend the meetings. Chairman Smith said the meetings were open to the public, and the obligation of the CRB was to listen. Mr. Ambler asked that the minutes reflect the names listed.

ISSUES TO STUDY AND UNDERSTAND

Chairman Smith asked members to list five to ten issues for discussion that would be used to prioritize issues, which would not preclude discussion on any issue. Mr. Ambler said the issue of County mayor would probably be discussed; however, he wanted to discuss the less obvious issues of having the County Attorney under the BOCC instead of the County Administrator, providing sworn testimony at hearings, limiting the increase in the County budget to no more than 3 percent, and changing the qualifications for County Administrator to require someone qualified in management and administration--a master's degree in public administration was currently required. Mr. LaBour expressed concern about raising too many issues before hearing the public.

In response to Ms. Tuttle, Chairman Smith said the list should be submitted to Attorney Campbell; members would receive the prioritized list. The consensus was to submit the list by April 20. Mr. White expressed concern about making changes with which the public did not agree. Therefore, he suggested dedicating an entire meeting to public comment early in the process. Ms. Tuttle expressed concern about not having the list until the end of April, because the time was limited to put forth an issue on the ballot. Mr. LaBour pointed out that CRB members would ask questions of those who addressed the CRB about issues without having a list; he would not submit a list. Mr. White thought everyone should submit a list, and he moved that each CRB member submit a list; seconded by Mr. Beltran. Ms. Tuttle opposed mandating a list. Mr. White clarified each member might submit a list of priorities. Mr. Ambler thought the more important point was when the list was due, and he asked to amend the motion that if members submitted a list, they should do so by April 20. Mr. White accepted the amendment. The motion carried eleven to three; Chairman Smith and members Bale and LaBour voted no.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Mr. Ralph Hughes, Tampa resident, said the charter had not been changed since its implementation. The CRB could take action that would make the charter review a continuing process; control the amount of annual increases in taxes, rates, and fees that could be imposed by elected officials; ensure the truth would be told by those who spoke at BOCC meetings; result in the County Attorney being appointed by and reporting to the BOCC instead of the County Administrator; expose waste and inefficiencies that existed in County government; and appoint the best person to become County Administrator, thereby eliminating the provision in the charter that placed severe limitations on the BOCC's ability to appoint the best qualified person to that position. Responding to questions, Mr. Hughes explained why he supported the Pinellas County requirements for County Administrator.
Ms. Merritt asked the CRB to develop a public comment form, which could be filled out by someone who could not stay for the meeting, and have it available on E-mail and in public libraries. She suggested including the public comment form with other mailings to special interest groups, homeowners, et cetera. Chairman Smith suggested the forms could be placed in the County Center lobby, if possible.

Mr. Davis suggested the CRB consider restructuring the charter to place items on the ballot during special elections. He suggested the CRB express an opinion or desire that Hillsborough County not be included with another county for reapportionment, as had been done in the past. Hillsborough County was represented by people who did not live in it and had conflicting interests. Chairman Smith explained the legislature had control over reapportionment. In response to Mr. Walters, Chairman Smith said the next meeting date would be included on agendas.

Mr. Ambler moved to adjourn, seconded by Ms. Tuttle, and carried fourteen to zero.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

READ AND APPROVED: CHAIRMAN

ATTEST: RICHARD AKE, CLERK

By: Deputy Clerk