Breaking down ballot amendments

CRESCENT CITY – Local voters packed the Crescent City Woman’s Club to listen to candidates share their platforms Thursday and to hear local officials talk about ballot amendments. 

The Summit Street building had a packed house as candidates shared three minutes of why they are running for office. County Commission hopefuls and Crescent City Commission candidates spoke to the room. Leota Wilkinson, who is running for the District 2 County Commission seat, was sick and did not attend the forum, according to members of the woman’s club. A video of the event can be found on the Palatka Daily News Facebook page. 

State amendments

Putnam County Property Appraiser Tim Parker explained to attendees Thursday what kind of impact each of the three proposed state amendments would have with a yes or no vote. The Florida Legislature sponsored the following three amendments, according to the Florida Division of Elections. 

Amendment 1: Limitation on the assessment of real property used for residential purposes. 

Summary: Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution, effective Jan. 1, 2023, to authorize the Legislature, by general law, to prohibit the consideration of any change or improvement made to real property used for residential purposes to improve the property's resistance to flood damage in determining the assessed value of such property for ad valorem taxation purposes.

“Essentially what (the amendment) says is if I make improvements to my property to help mitigate the chance of being flooded, then that will not be added to my assessed (real property) value,” Parker said. 

He added that if someone votes yes to this amendment, those changes will not be looked at and a person’s tax bill would not go up. 

Amendment 2: Abolishing the Constitution Revision Commission.

Summary: The Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) is a 37-member commission provided for in the state constitution that convenes every 20 years to review and propose changes to the Florida Constitution. [2] The CRC refers constitutional amendments directly to the ballot for a public vote, which makes the commission unique amongst the states.

Florida is the only state with a commission that can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot. [3] The CRC convenes every 20 years on the following schedule: 1977, 1997, 2017, 2037, 2057, and so on. Beyond what is required in Section 2 of Article XI of the Florida Constitution, the CRC sets its own rules and procedures. [2]

Parker told voters Thursday to think back to 2018 when 12 amendments made it to the ballot, and some of those proposed amendments combined topics. In one example, he said an amendment to stop vaping also combined offshore oil drilling. If someone voted yes to stop vaping in a restaurant, they also voted to stop offshore drilling in just one amendment. 

“So, there's been some debate on the efficacy of the actual CRC board. One of the things about the CRC is that no one is accountable. Okay, these members are appointed … they're not elected. And you can’t ask that they be put off the CRC committee,” Parker said. 

Voting yes to this amendment would get rid of the commission. 

Amendment 3: Additional homestead property tax exemption for specified critical public services workforce.

Summary: Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to authorize the Legislature, by general law, to grant an additional homestead tax exemption for nonschool levies of up to $50,000 of the assessed value of homestead property owned by classroom teachers, law enforcement officers, correctional officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, child welfare services professionals, active duty members of the United States Armed Forces, and Florida National Guard members. This amendment

shall take effect Jan. 1, 2023.

Voters need to decide, Parker said, if people employed in the above-mentioned professions should receive an additional homestead property tax exemption. He said those individuals will receive about an $800 tax break if they live in the county, and a $1,000 break if they live in a municipality. 

“So just remember when one group benefits, another group has to pay for it,” he said Thursday. “If you vote yes, you're going to authorize the Florida Legislature to write legislation that will implement this additional $50,000 exemption for these classes of individuals.”

Crescent City amendments 

City Manager Charles Rudd told Crescent City voters there will be five city charter amendments on their ballots.

He said the first question cleans up charter language to limit confusion and would change his title officially from administrative supervisor to city manager. The second proposed amendment, if approved, would allow Rudd to no longer serve as both the city manager and city clerk. He said Crescent City currently has a deputy clerk, but she is not allowed to be the head city clerk because the charter stipulates that whoever serves as the administrative supervisor must also be the city clerk. 

The third proposed amendment would change how department heads within the city are hired and fired, Rudd said. As the charter stands now, the Crescent City Commission must approve all hiring and firing. 

“In the event I want to remove somebody, it becomes sort of public spectacle where we almost have a trial at a city commission meeting and we talk about performance and so forth and I think it could be humiliating,” Rudd added. 

The city manager considered the fourth question also to be a housekeeping change to clean up the charter language. As it reads now, candidates who would like to run for city office cannot submit any paperwork to the elections office the year they are running until the first Monday in August, he said, and they have a week to get qualifying signatures and paperwork into the county Supervisor of Elections. 

If voters approve the change, candidates would have months to start campaigning and turn paperwork in, rather than just one week. 

The final amendment in Crescent City asks for the charter to be changed to allow expenditures less than $5,000 not to have to go before the commission for approval and that there be no competitive bidding, Rudd told the crowd. Currently, the commission must advertise a competitive bidding process for anything more than $1,000, he said, and added that this slows work down. 

“All other expenditures shall be authorized and directed to the City Commission only upon contract to a responsible bidder,” he said.