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Volusia County charter review commission elects chair and vice, adopts rules and meeting schedule
Summary
At its organizational meeting the Volusia County Charter Review Commission elected Mark Watts chair and Pat Northey vice chair, adopted draft rules of procedure and set a monthly meeting schedule with five public listening sessions; staff set up vccharterreview@volusia.org as an official records repository.
The Volusia County Charter Review Commission organized for its review work, unanimously electing Mark Watts as chair and Pat Northey as vice chair and adopting draft rules of procedure and a meeting schedule that includes five countywide listening sessions ahead of the commission’s report to the county council and voters.
The commission — appointed by the Volusia County Council to review the county charter and consider items that may go on the November 2026 ballot — opened its work with member introductions and staff remarks from County Manager George Recktenaw, who introduced county staff assigned to support the commission.
The commission then moved to officer elections. Mark Watts was nominated and elected chair by voice vote; Pat Northey was elected vice chair by voice vote. The meeting record shows the votes were taken by voice and announced as carried unanimously. Watts thanked commissioners and said he hoped “to do you all justice, do the community justice.”
The panel adopted draft rules of procedure modeled on the prior 2016 commission’s rules. County staff said the draft is a starting point and can be amended by the commission. The rules require public notice, a public participation period on agendas, and that minutes be recorded and published. The commission adopted the rules by voice vote and the motion carried.
The commission approved a regular monthly meeting schedule and a set of public listening sessions to gather community input before the next commission meeting. Staff published proposed listening-session dates and locations in advance; the schedule approved at the meeting lists listening sessions in Deltona, New Smyrna Beach, Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach (library), and DeLand. Commissioners amended the proposed calendar to move the December meeting date from Dec. 15 to Dec. 8 and approved the overall slate by voice vote. Staff said all listening sessions and meetings will be recorded and that minutes and audio will be posted to the commission website.
Staff also announced an official email address for commission business and public records: vccharterreview@volusia.org. Commissioners were advised to forward relevant texts, screenshots or constituent messages to that address to create an archive for potential public-records requests.
During discussion the commission debated whether to hold regular meetings in a single central location or rotate meeting locations around the county. By motion the commission adopted the practice of holding its regular monthly meetings at a single central meeting site “absent exigent circumstances,” while keeping the listening sessions distributed across the county.
Two commission members were absent and listed as regrets: Jennifer Bright and Kent Parker. Staff asked commissioners to alert the office if they could not attend and reminded members that a physical quorum is required for formal votes.
The commission set next steps: staff will compile summaries and recordings of the listening sessions for review at the commission’s next meeting; commissioners agreed the next meeting should focus on reviewing public input and setting committee work plans.
The meeting closed after brief public comment; Chair Watts thanked members and staff and said he viewed home-rule governments as “the laboratories of democracy.”
