Letter: Charter Government

ManaSota-88 has over 40 years of experience dealing with the Manatee County non-charter government and the Sarasota County charter government. A majority of our membership resides in Manatee County.

A charter government does not solve the problems associated with the impacts that rapid growth has on the quality of life in Florida, however, a charter government does have the potential to provide for local flexibility to tackle various issues associated with growth management. Having a charter government gives the residents of a county the flexibility to respond to local needs. A home rule charter is intended to be written by citizens to serve as the county’s constitution. Home rule gives the citizens the right to determine and implement government for a public purpose at the local level.

Under a charter government, opportunities exist for concerned citizens to add provisions to the charter for the purpose of protecting the public health and the environment. Several counties have included environmental protection in their charters. Sarasota County’s charter includes requirements for zoning disclosure and a mandatory recycling program.

Charters are not meant to be stagnant documents, they are intended to change over time. Once a charter is in place, voters can amend it by referendum, giving citizens the ability to initiate changes in local government. The charter is a document that should be produced by the public, not the county commission or county government. Only the voting public can adopt or amend its charter during a general election. Voters can enact, change or repeal local ordinances. Voters can recall county commissioners through a petition and referendum process, and changes to the charter can be initiated by voter petition. A charter form of government entitles the citizens of a county to define the structure of their county government.

ManaSota-88 supports the creation of a citizens advisory panel to study a charter proposal for Manatee County, and to openly discuss the merits of whether a charter home rule government would benefit the residents of Manatee. We also recommend that Manatee County and the municipalities continue discussion to review existing interlocal agreements for the purpose of improving communication on growth management issues.