Commission rescinds prior language, approves counsel's ballot wording to tie commissioner pay to state formula

The Clay County Charter Review Commission voted to rescind previously approved ballot wording on county commissioner pay and to adopt legal counsel's alternative language that would remove a fixed $37,000 salary from the charter and tie pay to the state statutory formula. The commission approved sending the revised language to counsel for final wording and to the supervisor of elections, and set three required public hearings.

Chair Sherry Warren opened the discussion by asking the county's counsel to explain a memorandum that included two ballot-language options and cited Florida case law and statutes. Counsel summarized that option 1 reflected the language the commission had approved previously, while option 2 would remove the $37,000 figure from the charter and instead reference the salary set by state law, adjusted annually.

"What I have provided is option 1, which you approved previously, and a second option'which would remove the salary figure from the charter," counsel said, explaining that courts have scrutinized changes that repeal or significantly alter existing limitations. Counsel warned that the fixed $37,000 could be vulnerable to legal challenge and framed option 2 as a way to reduce that risk.

Commission members pressed for clarity about statutory references and whether the phrase "any salary changes shall be approved by a majority of electors in a general election" should remain. Several members said the sentence could contradict language that refers pay to Florida statute and would create confusion about whether future annual adjustments required a voter referendum.

"If we keep that sentence in there, it may make the top part irrelevant because citizens would still vote on any change," one commissioner said during debate. Another argued that referencing the state statute directly would allow voters to verify the formula.

After discussion and an amended motion to rescind the earlier approval and substitute counsel's second option (with a requested insertion of the specific statute reference), the commission voted on the substitute language. A roll-call vote recorded 10 in favor and 3 opposed; the chair declared the motion carried.

County attorney guidance clarified the next steps: the CRC must hold three public hearings at least 10 days apart and then forward the final ballot language unchanged to the board, which must transmit it to the supervisor of elections; the board cannot revise CRC language, although it may place its own charter amendments on a ballot by a separate process.

The commission agreed to hold the three public hearings on April 20, May 4 and May 18, each starting at 5 p.m., to give residents the opportunity to comment before the language is finalized for the supervisor of elections. The county attorney also noted that the deadline to submit final ballot language to the supervisor of elections is in August.

The motion and vote send the counsel'recommended wording to the ballot process and schedule the public comment hearings; counsel will prepare the final text to meet legal word-count and statutory requirements.