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Commission puts charter-review rule to voters and expands current review committee
Summary
The commission adopted a resolution to place a charter amendment on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot requiring a charter-review committee every 10 years and approved expanding the panel now meeting by adding two members appointed by the city manager and city attorney.
Coral Gables commissioners voted May 6 to place a charter amendment question on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot to require the commission to convene a charter review committee every 10 years and to expand the existing charter review committee now meeting by adding two additional members appointed by the city manager and the city attorney.
Deputy City Attorney Stephanie Throckmorton summarized the ballot question and the committee composition proposed: the charter-review committee would consist of seven members, with appointments by commissioners and specific appointments by the city manager and city attorney; the city attorneynoted the proposed change would be included in the charter if approved by a majority of voters.
Supporters said codifying a recurring charter review restores historical practice and reduces the potential for ad hoc or politically motivated timing. "This brings us back to the procedures that historically were followed and now we'll have it codified," Vice Mayor Anderson said. The commission also approved a separate resolution to expand the current charter review committee by adding two members, with the city managerand city attorney each appointing one member; the manager's appointee must be a resident and the attorney's appointee must be a current or former municipal or county attorney.
Some commissioners and public commenters expressed concern that committee appointments can be used to "pack" or politicize the review; Commissioner Fernandez opposed expanding appointments by manager and attorney on those grounds. The resolution to place the charter-review requirement on the ballot and the resolution expanding the active committee both passed with recorded votes showing support from a majority of the commission.
The city attorney will finalize ballot language (the commission requested setting a convening date in discussion) and will amend the exhibit to the resolution to reflect any approved language changes before publication.
