Commission Meeting Agenda Item

WHEREAS, the Town of Lady Lake, after due consideration, has determined to submit certain proposed charter amendments for approval or disapproval by the electors; and

NOW, THEREFORE, be it ordained by the Town Commission of the Town of Lady Lake, Florida:

Section 1. Article X. Elections, Paragraph 3 of Section 10.02 of the Town Charter, entitled “Qualifications” is hereby amended to read as follows:

The qualifying period for town commissioner shall be at least 71 days prior to the date of election, but not later than noon on the 67th day prior to the date of the election. In computing the qualification days, the election day is to be excluded, but all Saturdays, Sundays and holidays are to be included.  Should the 67th day preceding an election fall on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the qualification papers, and payment of the applicable fee, must be filed on or before 12:00 noon on the preceding business day.  Should general law change and conflict with this section of the Town Charter, general law shall supersede over this section and govern.

Section 2. Article X. Elections, Section 10.03 of the Town Charter, entitled “Form of ballot” is hereby amended to read as follows:

The commission, by ordinance, shall prescribe the form of the ballot including the method for listing candidates for the town commission elections and any other town election. A Charter amendment, to be voted on by the town, shall be presented for voting by ballot title. The ballot title of a measure may differ from its legal title and shall be a clear, concise statement describing the substance of the measure without argument or prejudice. There shall be a method by which voters can indicate "yes" for approval or "no" for disapproval of ballot items.

Section 3. Article X. Elections, Section 10.05, Paragraph (b) of the Town Charter, entitled “Elections” is hereby amended to read as follows:

(b)  Commission positions: Each of the five (5) commissioners shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast by the qualified electors of their respective wards. Such municipal elections so held shall be general municipal elections and no other municipal primary or general election shall be necessary, unless general law states otherwise and if so, general law shall supersede and govern. The candidate receiving a plurality of the votes cast for a particular office shall be declared elected. No run-off election is necessary.

Section 4. Form of Ballot. The form of ballot for the Charter amendments provided herein shall be as follows:

A. Town of Lady Lake Charter Amendment Number 1. Qualifications. The days for computing the qualification dates for the Town Commissioner are inaccurate and include the wording “prior to the first primary”, which does not apply to the Town’s electoral process. This has been corrected to the present day general law requirements and allows that general law shall supersede over this section and govern should general law change.

Shall the above-described amendment be adopted?

Yes [    ]

No  [    ]

B. Town of Lady Lake Charter Amendment Number 2. Form of Ballots. This section was amended to remove the words “and mayor” in regard to elections, as the mayor is a position appointed by the Town Commission, and not an elected position.

Shall the above-described amendment be adopted?

Yes [    ]

No  [    ]

C. Town of Lady Lake Charter Amendment Number 3. Elections. This section was amended to remove the words “any local or general law to the contrary notwithstanding” and replace it with “unless general law states otherwise and if so, general law shall supersede and govern”.

Shall the above-described amendment be adopted?

Yes [    ]

No  [    ]

Section 5. Conflicts. All ordinances or part of ordinances in conflict with any of the provisions of this Ordinance are hereby repealed.

Section 6. This Ordinance shall be effective upon passage on second and final reading; however, the Charter amendments contained herein shall not be effective until adopted by a majority of the qualified voters of the Town of Lady Lake as certified by the Supervisor of Elections for Lake County, Florida.

Section 7. Upon adoption of the Charter amendment contained herein, the Town Clerk is directed to revise the Town Charter to incorporate the amendments and to file the revised Charter with the Secretary of State for the State of Florida.

Section 8. The provisions of this ordinance are intended to be incorporated into the Town Charter of the Town of Lady Lake, Florida, and the sections of this ordinance may be renumbered, re-lettered, and the word “ordinance” may be changed to “section,” “article,” or such other word or phrase in order to accomplish such intention.

Section 9. If any section, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, then said holding shall in no way affect the validity of the remaining portion of this ordinance.