Council forms Charter Review Committee and narrows scope to speed ballot timeline

The Town Council of Loxahatchee Groves approved Resolution 2025‑73 to establish a charter review committee charged with examining selected provisions of the town charter. Councilmembers voted unanimously to remove one proposed topic — the town’s limitation on borrowing term — from the committee’s initial charge.

Town Attorney Kurtz told the council the timetable for placing a charter amendment on the March ballot is tight: ordinances would need first reading in November and second reading at the council’s first December meeting to make the likely schedule. The council agreed the committee should prioritize a short list of issues that included supermajority thresholds for certain official actions, terms of office, and the role of the town attorney in contract review.

Nut graf: Why this matters Changes to charter language would alter how the town elects officials, how many votes are required for key actions such as removal of charter officers and land‑use decisions, and whether some procedural approvals should be shifted into ordinance or charter language. Those choices affect governance, election frequency and voter oversight.

What the committee will do and timeline The resolution establishes a 15‑member committee and assigns duties, staff support and authority for public meetings. The council directed staff to contact prospective members and begin work quickly. Kurtz outlined the schedule for placing amendments on the March ballot and warned that meeting frequency will have to be intensive to meet statutory publication and ordinance-adoption deadlines: "Ordinances would have to be ready for first reading in November, second reading at your first meeting in December," he said.

Public comment and council reactions Residents and former committee members attending the meeting urged the council to limit the committee’s initial scope or allow the council itself to consider some items. Mary Ann Miles, a former charter committee member, told the council the process is lengthy and “it was long. It was grueling to go piece by piece, item by item to understand everything that was going on.” Several council members urged the committee to prioritize a few high‑impact items because completing a full charter rewrite on the short timetable would be difficult.

Action taken Councilmember motioned to approve Resolution 2025‑73 with item number 4 removed from the scope; council seconded the motion and the resolution passed 5‑0. Council noted the committee could expand its scope later, but agreed to start with a prioritized list to meet the calendar for a possible March ballot.

Clarifying details - Priority topics listed for the committee included: (1) supermajority voting requirements for removal/hiring of charter officers and land‑use matters, (2) terms of office and potential changes to election frequency, and (3) whether the town attorney should be required to sign or review certain contracts. - The resolution as passed removed the borrowing-term item from the committee’s initial charges at council direction. - Committee composition: 15 members, to be contacted by staff; council discussed meeting cadence that could require meetings every 9–10 days to meet the calendar.

Ending: next steps Staff will contact the proposed committee members and begin scheduling meetings; the council will review any committee recommendations and decide whether to place charter amendments on the ballot. If the council pursues a March ballot placement, ordinance drafts and readings must be scheduled in late fall and early December.