Port St. Lucie voters could be asked to make changes to city charter at Nov. 8 election
PORT ST. LUCIE— Voters here may be asked to make five changes to the city charter at the Nov. 8 election.
City Council gave its initial approval to the ballot questions Monday:
Filling aCity Council vacancy of at least 12 months, instead of six, by a single special election
Eliminating City Council roll-call voting and using majority consensus instead
Having City Council establish rules for each advisory board rather than the boards creating their own rules
Advertising the date and time of all ordinance public hearings in print, or online as allowed by state law, at least 10 days in advance
Designating the Planning and Zoning Board as the city’s Local Planning Agency
Other referendums: Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County asking voters to renew tax-abatement program Aug. 23
Schools referendum: St. Lucie voters may be asked to renew property tax to fund teacher pay, mental health
New trash hauler: Rates to jump nearly 50%, pickups to be cut in half under contract
"These are very simple, kind of housekeeping matters, but I would like to see a citizen-led charter review commission at some point in the future to allow for public input," Councilman Anthony Bonna said.
The proposed charter changes aren't the only issues St. Lucie County voters will face this year.
On the Aug. 23 primary ballot, voters in Fort Pierce and in unincorporated St. Lucie County will be asked to renew for 10 years a tax-abatement program for economic development.
The St. Lucie County School District will be asking voters on Nov. 8 to renew a 1-mill property tax for four years to fund teacher salaries, school security, mental-health services and educational programs.
Olivia McKelvey is TCPalm's watchdog reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach her at olivia.mckelvey@tcpalm.com, 772-521-4380 and on Twitter @olivia_mckelvey.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Proposed changes to PSL city charter could go to voters in November
