Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Charter Review topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Charter review board reviews City of Opa-locka charter, outlines rules for elections and citizen initiatives
Summary
At a Charter Review Board meeting, the city attorney reviewed key sections of the City of Opa-locka charter covering election timing, candidate qualifications, initiative and referendum procedures, conflict-of-interest rules, and personnel authority. The board confirmed its advisory role and scheduled its next meeting for Aug. 7, 2025.
The City of Opa-locka Charter Review Board heard an extended reading of the municipal charter from the city attorney, who reviewed rules governing regular and runoff elections, candidate qualifications, initiative and referendum procedures, charter amendment mechanics and local ethics requirements.
The city attorney said regular municipal elections for mayor and commissioners “shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November” of even-numbered years unless Miami-Dade County runs the election on a different date, and noted that election timing is governed in practice by the Miami-Dade County elections department. The attorney also described candidate-qualification requirements, including a $250 qualifying deposit and a residency requirement that a candidate must have lived in the city for 365 days prior to the qualifying date.
The attorney reviewed how citizens may propose or challenge ordinances. Under the charter’s initiative and referendum provisions, a minimum of 10 electors may commence a petition and initiatives or referendums cannot be used to adopt or reconsider the annual budget, the capital program, ordinances appropriating money, levying taxes or setting salaries. The attorney said the charter requires petitioners to file an affidavit with the city clerk and follow procedures consistent with Florida statutes and the county charter.
On charter amendments, the attorney explained that amendments to the municipal charter must follow procedures set out in section 5.03 of the Home Rule Charter of Miami-Dade County; when conflicting amendments appear on the same ballot, the provision receiving the most affirmative votes prevails. The attorney also noted a standard severability clause for invalidated sections.
The attorney read the charter’s ethics and conflicts-of-interest language, saying that all commissioners, officers and employees are subject to Miami-Dade County standards of conduct and state ethics law; officials must disclose any interest in real estate or business upon taking office and annually thereafter. The attorney summarized the charter requirement that a commissioner who possesses a financial interest “shall not vote on or participate in the commission deliberations concerning any such contract or sale,” and said a contract entered into with knowledge of such an undisclosed interest may be voidable by the commission.
On personnel, the attorney said the charter vests hiring, appointment and promotion authority with the city manager, and that the charter encourages — but no longer requires — that employees reside within city boundaries.
Board members asked procedural questions about terminology (for example, which offices are considered “city officers”), and the attorney confirmed the review board serves in an advisory capacity and may discuss proposed charter amendments for referral to the City Commission. The board set its next meeting for Aug. 7, 2025, at 6:30 p.m.
The meeting concluded with a motion and second to adjourn; the chair stated the meeting adjourned at 7:36 p.m.
