'Commission compensation?'
Voters will consider charter amendment question
By Bari Auerbach

In accordance with the existing city charter, members of the Sunny Isles Beach City Commission do not receive an annual salary, car allowance or expense account. Other than the right to request reimbursement for travel, cell phone and other reasonable city related expenses, the only compensation the mayor and commissioners currently receive are the intrinsic rewards derived from serving the best interests of the community.

At the May 20 City Commission meeting, an ordinance was approved on first reading regarding proposed charter amendments voters will consider including the issue of compensation for the mayor and commissioners. This proposed charter amendment was previously rejected by citizens casting votes in a June 10, 2003 special election with low voter turnout.a total of only 533 of 6,834 registered voters cast ballots; and the question regarding compensation was worded as follows:

Compensation/Reimbursement for Expenses. The current City Charter provides that Commissioners, including the Mayor receive no compensation but receive expense reimbursement in accordance with applicable law. The proposed amendment recommended by the Charter Revision Commission calls for a monthly stipend of $700 per month for a Commissioner and $800 per month for a Mayor for the length of his/her term. Reimbursement for expenses remains unchanged.
The whole number of votes cast for this particular question was 515, of which number: Yes: 193 votes were received; No: 322 votes were received.

Back on the Ballot
The newly proposed charter amendment regarding compensation has been drafted by the City Attorney's Office as follows:

Compensation. The City Charter currently provides that the Mayor and City Commissioners shall serve without compensation. It is proposed that the Charter be amended to provide City Commissioners with a monthly compensation of $1,000 for their services on the Commission and the Mayor with a monthly compensation of $1,250 for his or her service on the Commission.

When members of the city's Charter Revision Commission were studying the issue of compensation last year, they found that most cities provide some form of compensation to their elected officials.

Shortly before the June 10, 2003 special election, the Charter Revision Commission distributed literature and held workshops to explain benefits of providing compensation stating, "This [compensation] is intended to help offset some of the costs associated with the substantial amount of time necessary [for elected city officials] to fulfill their duties and responsibilities. Additionally, it is believed that [compensation] can potentially help widen the field of potential candidates to other than those who may be financially independent or rely heavily upon campaign contributions."

As far back as 2001, the merits of compensation were also being discussed at City Commission meetings. "We have to be aware that City Commission seats are not just for people who are retired with time on their hands," Commissioner Danny Iglesias noted. "It's also for people who work but want to do their best for the city. I believe people should be compensated when they have to take time out from work to do the right job for the city. If not, we'll get less people who want to serve."

Vice Mayor Gerry Goodman (referred to as "Commissioner" at the time) observed, "We have to consider who is going to hold office in the future. Instead of only retired people, we would like a cross-section of people who want to run."

At a recent City Commission meeting, Goodman also pointed out, "In [the city's] $15 million budget, we're talking about $60,000 [annual compensation for all five members of the City Commission]. I guarantee you in the next five years, [Sunny Isles Beach] will probably have more money than it will know what to do with." Subsequently, Mayor Norman Edelcup interjected that last year alone, city revenues totaled approximately $2.7 billion.

Commissioner Lewis Thaler emphasized Sunny Isles Beach is now only one of two municipalities in Miami-Dade (with equivalent population groupings) where elected officials do not receive any compensation.

Addressing the Commission, resident Kathleen Kennedy said, "As a tax payer, [I believe] you don't get enough money for what you have to put up with. I strongly support the 'lousy $1,000' [per month for commissioners] - you deserve more."

Henry Kay, president of the Sunny Isles Beach Citizen's Coalition, posed a question that helped clarify proposed compensation would be "over and above" any monetary amount the mayor or a commissioner may receive as reimbursement for expenses. Subsequently, Kay said, "It would be a worthy cause for commissioners to receive this [compensation]."

Developer Joseph Milton agreed, stating, "I think [compensation for the mayor and commissioners] is a necessity for the city.You deserve it for putting in a lot of hours."

Other Proposed Charter Amendments
In addition to the charter amendment issue regarding compensation for the mayor and city commissioners, voters will also be asked to consider the following proposed amendments:

Filling a Vacancy in Office of Mayor
If more than six months remain in the Mayor's term, the City Charter currently provides that a special election is required to be held within 90 days to fill a mayoral vacancy. It is proposed that the Charter be amended to provide that a special election be held not sooner than 45 days or more than 90 days following the occurrence of the vacancy in the Mayor's position.

Filling a Vacancy in Office of Commissioner
The City Charter provides that a vacancy in the Office of Commissioner is filled by appointment depending upon the length of the unexpired term and the occurrence of a general election. It is proposed that the Charter be amended to provide that vacancies for an unexpired term of six months or less be filled by appointment and that other vacancies be filled by special election to be held, not sooner than 45 days or more than 90 days following the occurrence of the vacancy.

During discussions regarding filling vacancies on the Commission, City Attorney Lynn Dannheisser explained a term is deemed "commenced" from the date of the election - except in the case of a filling of a vacancy.When calculating the number of years served by someone who has filled a vacancy on the Commission, if the remaining time of the unexpired term they took over is less than two years, it will not count as a term; and if the remaining unexpired term is more than two years, it will count as a term (the Commission decided this based on a precedent set by term limit laws pertaining to the office of the Vice Mayor of the United States).

The proposed charter revision amendments regarding filling vacancies on the Commission originated following the situation that arose when former Mayor David Samson passed on while still in office. At the time, Norman Edelcup, who was serving as Vice Mayor, filled Samson's seat. Since there was more than six months left in the Mayor's term, per the city's charter, Edelcup was required to run for the seat of Mayor.

Ultimately, Edelcup ran unopposed and became the new Mayor of Sunny Isles Beach. Subsequently, Roslyn Brezin was appointed to fill Edelcup's open seat on the City Commission. Now, if the proposed charter amendments pass, in the future, those appointed to an open commission seat will have to run in a special election just like the mayor, if the seat they're filling has an unexpired term of more than six months. The special election would also have to be held not sooner than 45 days or more than 90 days following the occurrence of the vacancy.

Revision of General Election Date for Mayor and Commission
The City Charter currently provides that the date of the general election for Mayor and Commissioners shall be in September of each odd-numbered year. It is proposed that the Charter be amended to revise and extend the date of the election to the second Tuesday in November of each odd-numbered year.

During discussions regarding the date of general elections, the Commission agreed more residents are in town in November as opposed to September.

"They way [elections are] scheduled now, people running for office are [campaigning] when no one is here in July and August for a September election," Edelcup said. "It would be better to start [campaigning] in September and October and then have the election in November."

Term Limits for Members of the Commission
The City Charter currently provides that a person may serve two elected terms as Mayor and two elected terms as a City Commissioner. It is proposed that the Charter be amended to provide that a member of the City Commission may only serve four terms on the Commission.

City Attorney Lynn Dannheisser explained the charter revision amendment relating to term limits clarifies the definition of a term. It will still be mandated that no person can serve as mayor for more than two elected terms and no person can serve as a commissioner for more than two elected terms.

For more information about the Charter Revision election scheduled for November, 2004, phone the office of the City Clerk: 305-947-0606. The second reading of the ordinance providing for amendment of the City Charter will take place on June 17 at 7:30 p.m. during the next regular City Commission meeting at City Hall.
 

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