Leon County charter review committee orients members on process, open-government rules; elects chair and vice chair

At an orientation meeting of the Leon County Charter Review Committee, county staff briefed the 21-member panel on the scope and schedule of the eight‑year charter review and on the legal limits for committee deliberations, and the members elected former Commissioner Mary Anne Lindley as chair and Chauncey Haynes as vice chair.

County Administrator Vince Long opened the session by explaining the committee’s role and timeline. “You’ll hear us say throughout this process that the county charter is our whole rule constitution,” Long said, describing the charter as the county’s “home rule constitution” and reminding members they have about 120 days to complete their work and may recommend amendments to the Board of County Commissioners.

The briefing outlined how charter amendments may reach voters and what this committee can and cannot change. Long said the board gave the committee broad latitude but identified a single issue it wanted the committee to examine: whether county ordinances should prevail over conflicting city ordinances except where limited by state law. Long also reviewed past charter review outcomes (the original Leon County charter was adopted in 2002, with significant review activity and amendments in 2010 and 2018) as context for members’ deliberations.

County Attorney Chastity Osteen led a presentation on open-government requirements, saying the rules exist to “protect the public from those closed door conversations during the decision‑making process.” Osteen summarized three core Sunshine Law duties—reasonable public notice, public access to meetings and an opportunity for public comment, and written minutes—and warned that knowing violations can be prosecuted as misdemeanors and that inadvertent violations can still carry fines and attorney‑fee exposure. She advised members that two or more members discussing matters that may foreseeably come before the committee outside a public meeting can trigger a Sunshine Law violation and explained the committee’s options to “cure” inadvertent violations by publicly placing the item on a later agenda for discussion and vote.

Osteen also covered public‑records obligations, telling members that nearly any written or electronic material made or received in connection with committee business is a public record. She cautioned that personal notes may remain private only so long as they are not later used to formalize or communicate knowledge, and urged members to forward records to county staff for retention if members’ devices purge messages automatically. Osteen reviewed conflict‑of‑interest rules and the memorandum (Form 8B) process that applies when an appointed member has a voting conflict.

Ken Morris and other staff reviewed committee bylaws, quorum and voting procedures, Robert’s Rules of Order, and a meeting schedule laid out in the members’ binders. The committee was told it has nine meetings scheduled (including orientation), with the possibility of completing work earlier; staff noted the prior charter review completed regular business in six meetings plus three public hearings. The committee set its next regular meeting for Thursday, Nov. 6.

On organizational business, a committee member nominated Mary Anne Lindley for chair; another member seconded the nomination and members approved her by voice vote with no opposition noted. Chauncey Haynes was nominated and seconded (Jay Terry recorded a second) for vice chair and was likewise approved by voice vote.

County staff said they will support members throughout the review with legal, policy and procedural research, and reminded members that public comment periods are required at each meeting and that the committee should be careful in one‑way or two‑way communications outside public meetings to avoid Sunshine Law issues. Staff emphasized that many potential changes might be handled by ordinance or policy rather than by charter amendment and urged committee members to weigh whether proposals truly require charter changes.

The committee adjourned after the orientation. Staff told members to contact county attorneys or staff with questions between meetings and reminded them of public comment and records practices they must follow.