City council votes 6‑1 to ask Florida Attorney General for legal guidance on charter spending cap and police budget

Fort Walton Beach City Council voted 6‑1 to ask the Florida Attorney General to answer three legal questions about the interaction of a recently enacted state statute and a local charter‑imposed spending cap, and about which baseline year should be used to calculate the cap.

City Attorney Mr. Burns told the council he drafted the questions after conversations with council members and staff and that he had already prepared a legal memorandum. He summarized his preliminary conclusions in open session: “the conclusions are going to be on the first question that it does … preempt the charter amendment,” and that, for practical reasons tied to statutory budget deadlines, calculations may need to “base it on prior years budget expenditures.” Burns said he would send the package, and noted the Attorney General’s office may ask for additional material.

Council members debated whether the questions were necessary now or primarily intended to guide future budget planning. Councilman Walker said he supported seeking the AG opinion for outside validation: “I would feel more comfortable getting an opinion from the attorney general as pure legal counsel because if I’m wrong, I’d like them to tell me I’m wrong.” Other members said the opinion would help future councils and staff prepare for potential deeper cuts.

Public commenters and council members also discussed prior council actions that adopted a particular baseline year and whether that history should be included if the Attorney General asks for more information. City Attorney Burns confirmed background materials would note the prior adoption and related facts.

The council’s motion to adopt Resolution 2025‑16 was made by Councilman Jeter and seconded by Councilman Schmidt; the motion passed 6‑1. The resolution asks the Attorney General to address (1) preemption of the charter by statute for the police budget rule, (2) which budget year may serve as the legal baseline, and (3) whether actual prior‑year expenditures (rather than budgeted amounts) can be used to comply with approval‑based accounting timelines. The city attorney indicated the city will include its own legal analysis with the submission and will provide additional information if requested by the Attorney General’s office.

Next steps: City staff will transmit the written legal questions and the city attorney’s memorandum to the Attorney General and will notify interested parties if the office requests more documentation.