Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Charter Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Charter Review Committee delivers final report; commission to consider ballot language
Summary
The 2024 Charter Review Committee presented proposed charter amendments including changes to vacancy filling, a new process for any future sale of city utilities, redistricting updates, term limits and publication rules for special assessments; the commission will decide which proposals to place on the November ballot.
Lakeland, Fla. — The city's Charter Review Committee delivered its final report to the City Commission on March 3, summarizing recommended edits to the city charter and laying out next steps for potential ballot measures.
Committee chair Mike Workman told commissioners the volunteer group met 11 times between February 2024 and February 2025 and worked through the charter line-by-line. He recommended changes on several topics and thanked city staff for preparing a redline version of the charter.
Key proposals and why they matter: The committee highlighted several noteworthy proposed edits:
- Filling vacancies (section 6c): Proposed language would allow a newly elected mayor or commissioner to take office immediately upon receiving a certificate of election and taking the oath, rather than waiting until the January commission meeting after the election.
- Utility-sale safeguards (section 9): The committee proposed expanded language governing the process to sell Lakeland Electric, the city water utility and the wastewater utility. A proposed sale would require unanimous commission approval to authorize a referendum, a two-thirds affirmative vote of electors in that referendum, and the referendum to occur at a regular city election or a single-subject special election. Workman emphasized the committee did not study an actual sale but sought a practical decision-making process should the need arise.
- Redistricting (section 10): Staff used redistricting software to rebalance districts with 2020 census data; the committee favored maps that balance population, follow main roads and natural divisions, and avoid splitting neighborhoods.
- Term limits (section 11): Proposed limits of three terms for commissioners and two terms for the mayor (with a maximum of five terms combined) were included, with transitional language for incumbents as of 01/01/2020. Committee members discussed—but did not propose—pension changes that could flow from longer service.
- Publication and assessment notice (sections 50–66) and civil service board alignment: The committee proposed updates to publication requirements for special assessments to accommodate evolving state law and edits to charter language to align civil service provisions with current practice.
Process and next steps: Workman said staff and the committee will prepare ballot language for items the commission elects to forward to electors in the November election; the commission may adopt some, all or none of the recommendations. Commissioners thanked the volunteers and staff for the committee's work and emphasized careful review before final ballot placement.
What the record shows: The committee's final report and redline charter are available in the meeting materials; the commission directed staff to draft ordinance and ballot language for items it chooses to advance.
