North Lauderdale charter review commission elects leaders, sets monthly schedule and hears public‑records, ethics briefing

The City of North Lauderdale Charter Review Commission met April 24, 2025, elected Marlo Eggold as chair and Kamoda Johnson as vice chair, adopted a standing monthly meeting schedule and heard a detailed presentation on Sunshine, public‑records and ethics rules that will govern the commission's work.

The commission, convened to review the city charter under Section 9.9 of the charter, will develop proposed charter amendments during 2025 and forward recommendations to the City Commission. Under Florida law, the City Commission must hold a public hearing and voters must approve any charter amendments placed on the ballot.

Special legal counsel David Walpin opened the meeting and outlined the commission's role and timeline under Section 9.9, noting the charter is expected to be reviewed every eight years. Walpin said the commission's work is comprehensive and may include updating outdated references (for example, replacing "council" with "commission"), revising election language to reflect the existing single‑member district system, considering ethics and term‑limit language, and examining vacancy‑filling procedures.

The commission elected officers by unanimous voice vote. A motion to nominate Marlo Eggold for chair was seconded and carried with all five members voting yes. A subsequent motion to nominate Kamoda Johnson as vice chair was seconded and carried unanimously. The roll call recorded affirmative votes from Johnson, Shane, Armstrong, Buwada and Eggold.

Members set a recurring meeting schedule of the last Thursday of each month at 6 p.m., with the next meeting set for May 29, 2025; the commission agreed to use November 20 and December 18, 2025, instead of the last Thursdays of those months because of holidays. Commissioners were told a quorum is three members.

The panel received a presentation from municipal attorney Robert Myers on Florida's Sunshine Law, the Public Records Law and state ethics rules. Myers said materials created or received by commission members in their official capacity are public records and must be retained. "Anything you send or receive in your position as a charter review committee member is a public record," Myers said. He urged members to forward public submissions and related correspondence to the city clerk to ensure proper retention and timely response to public‑records requests.

Myers also summarized conflict‑of‑interest rules under state ethics law: members must abstain if they would "realize an economic gain or suffer an economic loss" as a result of a decision. He said most charter recommendations affect the city generally and that conflicts are therefore unlikely, but members should consult counsel if uncertain.

Counsel also noted the panel may recommend changes to recently adopted charter provisions: the commission discussed a voter‑approved November 2024 ordinance that places a 5% annual limitation on a subject in the charter; commissioners may propose amendments to that provision if they choose.

Commissioners discussed reading the full charter before the May 29 meeting and suggested a working target to complete recommendations by October 30, 2025, so the City Commission could prepare ordinances and, if desired, place measures on the ballot for a 2026 election cycle. Counsel said changes that are purely clerical or that consolidate many small edits (for example, updating outdated references throughout the document) can be combined into a single ballot question; substantive changes will generally appear as separate ballot measures with a title and summary for voters.

City Clerk Susan Slattery confirmed members received loose‑leaf and digital copies of the charter and will distribute a February 12, 2025 memo that summarizes items the City Commission had asked counsel to highlight for review. Counsel said the firm will prepare draft redline text showing strike‑through and underlined insertions as the commission forwards recommended language.

With no members of the public present, the commission adjourned at 7:04 p.m.