Fort Walton Beach Charter Review Commission finalizes report, sends suggestions to City Council

Major charter amendments proposed

According to the final report, the committee recommends:

• City name update: Sections 1, 2, 5 and 6 update references from “Fort Walton” to “Fort Walton Beach,” aligning the charter with current state law.
• Residency requirement: Section 3 reduces the residency requirement for council candidates from six years to one year.
• Resignations and vacancies: Sections 4 and 5 prevent a resigned official from reinstatement during the same term and provide that if a council member resigns or is unable to assume office, the seat reverts to the runner-up unless the council votes otherwise.
• Council authority: Sections 7 and 14 restrict interference by council members and the mayor in city management, aligning both under the same rules.
• Forfeiture of office: Section 9 adds new forfeiture and absence provisions modeled after Venice Beach.
• City manager: Section 11 removes reference to an assistant city manager and sets residency requirements for the city manager, while allowing more flexibility in appointing an acting manager.
• Department changes: Section 17 allows the council to create or dissolve departments by resolution, except for police and fire.
• Deleted provisions: Sections 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 30, 32, 33, and 34 are slated for deletion as they were deemed either redundant or outdated.
• Council compensation: Section 33 sets a $1,000 council supplement plus reimbursements.

Key debates at the meeting

During the Sept. 3 meeting, City Attorney Kimberly Kopp urged deleting a forfeiture clause in Section 3 because “in Section nine, we added new language about forfeiture of office, so we could … propose to delete that last sentence … just as duplicative.” The committee agreed.

Commission Member Tony Taylor introduced a new restriction barring elected officials or their families from buying property encumbered by city liens without council approval.

“The council member holds a fiduciary duty to the public … I just want to make sure that it’s all done out in the open,” Taylor said.

Commission Member Michael Beedie asked whether city employees should be included. Kopp suggested handling that in the employee manual instead of the charter.

Commission Member Steve Caldarelli pushed to limit charter referendums to March municipal or November general elections.

“There’s gonna be more opportunity for more people to actually go and vote on something that’s important during a general election,” he said. The measure passed 4–1.