Charter Review Committee approves package of technical and procedural edits, schedules July meetings

The City of Venice Charter Review Committee approved a series of proposed amendments to the Home Rule Charter at its June 17 meeting, moving the revisions forward for drafting into ballot propositions and planning public outreach.

The committee, led by the presiding Chair, approved minutes for prior meetings and then voted, by voice, to adopt proposed changes to Articles 5 through 8 and portions of Articles 6–8. Among the changes the committee approved were: a consolidation and clarification of referendum and initiative procedures in Section 5.08; a clarification that ordinances will be reviewed by the city attorney before City Commission consideration (Section 5.03); a technical correction and deferral on a terminology item (Section 5.06); appointment language specifying that the city secretary and city attorney may appoint assistants subject to the adopted budget (Sections 6.01 and 6.02); gender-neutral wording in Municipal Court provisions (change from “policemen” to “police officer” in Section 7.10); and added language allowing bond funds to be invested as authorized by the city’s investment policy (Section 8.05).

City Attorney Ritchie said he combined referendum and initiative text "so we didn't have to repeat it twice" and recommended excluding some subject matter from referendum, specifically salaries of city officers and employees and zoning decisions, because those actions can raise legal risk if reversed. City Attorney Ritchie said of the proposed changes: "I added salaries of city officers and employees, because obviously ... if somebody tried to reverse that, you get yourself in legal situations regarding reversing that." (City Attorney Ritchie)

Committee members emphasized voter education. Member Hall said the proposed redlines were detailed and urged the committee to prepare lay-language materials and town halls so voters can understand the changes. The Chair agreed, saying a pamphlet or town hall would help voters "understand what's being done and why it's being done." (Chair)

The committee gave City Attorney Ritchie and staff direction to draft final proposition language and to prepare voter-facing explanatory materials. Staff reported the current draft would result in roughly 23 propositions for voters; City Attorney Ritchie said he will produce suggested proposition language by the next meeting so the committee can decide whether to split specific changes into separate propositions for fair notice.

Procedural notes: most votes were taken by voice; no roll-call tallies were recorded in the transcript. The committee scheduled a reconvening on July 1 to continue review of Articles 9–12 and discussed a target of July 15 to finalize recommended amendment language and propositions. The Chair closed the meeting at 5:52 p.m.

What’s next: City Attorney Ritchie will draft proposition language and research several flagged items; staff will prepare outreach materials and a schedule for town halls prior to any election order by the City Commission.