ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — St. Petersburg voters will be deciding more than just who sits in the mayor’s office and which city councilors they’ll have for 2022. In addition to the normal races, St. Pete voters will approve or reject seven city charter amendments and a potential tax exemption for local businesses.
If that sounds like a lot, it is. Let’s break it down.
Charter Amendment 1 – Citywide voting
Limiting City Council Elections to Voters in the Applicable Council District and Making Related Changes
Currently, City Council Members are elected through primary elections limited to voters in the Council district and general elections open to all City voters. Shall the Charter be amended to (i) limit primary and general elections for Council Members to voters in the Council district, thereby eliminating City-wide voting for Council Members; (ii) allow a candidate receiving more than 50% of votes in the primary to be elected; and (iii) make other clarifying changes?
BALLOT TEXT: Charter Amendment 1
Currently, voting in St. Petersburg for city council elections is set up as a hybrid system, according to city documents. For primary votes on council seats, only voters in each district choose their primary candidates, but during the general election, the whole city votes.
Under the proposed charter amendment on citywide voting, this would change so that both the primary and general elections for city councilors are voted on only by residents of each of the eight council districts, in an effort to address issues of wealth inequality and racial disparities that St. Petersburg officials say impact general elections more than primaries.
“Because running a City-wide campaign is necessarily more expensive than running a district-specific campaign, the requirement that every candidate for City Council run a Citywide campaign at the general election stage also unfairly favors wealthy candidates and those with access to wealthier donors,” according to the Charter Review Commission.
If St. Pete voters approve the amendment, voting on council seats would become more localized by district, with a goal of making representation for each district more equitable to that community’s residents.
Charter Amendment 2 – New district boundaries
Creating new process for establishing district boundaries for election of City Council Members
BALLOT TEXT: Charter Amendment 2
Shall the City create a new process for establishing City Council district boundaries that (i) uses comprehensive standards for drawing equitable district boundaries; (ii) has requirements and restrictions for appointment, service, communication, and accepting public comment; and (iii) requires City Council to be bound by commission recommendations unless inconsistent with applicable law? The new process would occur every ten years and maintain the existing nine-member citizens commission appointed by the Mayor and Council Members.
Under current charter rules, every 10 years, the city charter requires a re-examination of city districts, which is done alongside the United State Census. Through a unanimous vote by the city council, districts drawn by a nine-member panel can be rejected and the city council is able to create its own district maps, according to city officials.
The Charter Review Commission’s 2021 report said the city’s districting process needs revision that will “strengthen the independence and integrity of the commission, provide for greater transparency, and establish more equitable district boundaries” for city council and mayoral elections.
If voters approve the measure, district boundaries would be redrawn every 10 years based on “comprehensive standards” for equity, and would set different requirements and limitations for who can serve on the city’s redistricting commission, such as preventing elected officials from participating in redistricting processes.
Charter Amendment 3 – City equity officer
Establishing an equity framework and Chief Equity Officer for City government
Analysis of demographic and economic data for Pinellas County indicates that the region’s economy would benefit from eliminating equity gaps based on race, ethnicity, or other immutable characteristics. Shall the City Charter be amended to establish an equity framework intended to address those equity gaps? That framework must include an equity action plan implemented at City-wide and departmental levels, regular assessment and reporting, and the creation of a Chief Equity Officer for the City.
BALLOT TEXT: Charter Amendment 3
Charter Amendment 3, proposed by the Charter Review Commission, would create the position of Chief Equity Officer for the City of St. Petersburg.
The proposal comes based on data published in 2019 from a review that studied the impact of equity gaps in Pinellas County. The study was conducted using economic data from 2016, including racial income gaps. Amendment 3 would have the city equity officer take steps to “prevent differential outcomes based on race, ethnicity, or any other immutable characteristic at all levels of City government and in all functions of City government…”
Should the position be approved by voters, the officer would be charged with the duty of addressing the impacts of inequality among St. Petersburg’s diverse population and improve Pinellas County, and St. Petersburg’s “success and prosperity” by “dismantling these unjust barriers” to let every resident benefit from the city’s strong economy.
According to analysis by the CRC, if voters approve the creation of the office, the official would create an Equity Action Plan for “developing and sustaining an organizational infrastructure” to prevent racial disparities and eliminate barriers to public involvement affecting residents and submit annual reports for progress on program and plan implementation.
Charter Amendment 4 – Protected equity funding
Establishing a requirement for Charter-protected equity funding
Analysis of demographic and economic data for Pinellas County indicates that the region’s economy would benefit from eliminating equity gaps based on race, ethnicity, or other immutable characteristics. Shall the City Charter be amended to require that the City designate “Charter-protected equity funding” to address those equity gaps and prevent that funding from being used for other purposes? This amendment would not prohibit the City from funding equity-related initiatives with other, unrestricted funding.
BALLOT TEXT: Charter Amendment 4
In a continued effort to amend the city charter and fill equity gaps across St. Petersburg, the CRC proposed Charter Amendment 4, which would codify funding protections for funding of equity-related initiatives.
The language of Amendment 4 also clarifies that it would be enacted in conjunction with the creation of a City Equity Officer, proposed for voters to approve by Amendment 3.
Should voters approve the measure, the city council will “designate one or more forms of revenue” that would be subject to equity protections and therefore considered “Charter-Protected Equity Funding,” through an ordinance or ordinances made by council.
The funding would be authorized by Amendment 4 to use as a way of enacting the “formal equity action plan” created by the city equity officer, should Amendment 3 pass.
Charter Amendment 5 – Administrator requirements
Establishing new requirements related to City Administrator, City Clerk, and City Council Administrative Officer
The Charter provides requirements and duties for certain City officials appointed by the Mayor with consent of City Council. Shall the Charter be amended to (i) add a residency requirement for the City Administrator; (ii) clarify that the City Clerk serves both Mayor and Council and may be removed only with consent of both; (iii) provide the City Council Administrative Officer with duties and protections similar to the City Clerk; and (iv) make related changes?
BALLOT TEXT: Charter Amendment 5
The fifth charter amendment proposed for the Nov. 2 ballot would change the requirements to be city administrator for St. Petersburg.
Should the measure pass the vote, city administrators would be required to be a resident of St. Petersburg, as well as update the administrator position to be charter-protected, similar to the city clerk position.
The amendment would also clarify what the duties of the city administrator are and remove language in the charter “for purposes of consolidation.” The residential requirement is also being proposed as the City Administrator is “the first person in the line of succession” to be the acting mayor, should it be necessary, according to CRC analysis.
Charter Amendment 6 – Charter review process
Changing the City’s Charter-review process to avoid conflict with redistricting and make other improvements
Every ten years, the City conducts a Charter-review process to consider the operation of City government and propose amendments to the Charter. Issues occur when the Charter-review process changes the process for redrawing City Council districts because the two processes are scheduled to occur almost simultaneously. Shall the Charter be amended to resolve that scheduling conflict and to make other changes to improve the administration and integrity of the City’s Charter-review process?
BALLOT TEXT: Charter Amendment 6
Another proposed amendment to the St. Petersburg city charter focuses on altering the charter review process to avoid issues with conflicting schedules for redistricting and to improve the integrity of the city’s administration processes.
Every 10 years, the city reviews its district boundaries, as noted in Amendment 2. On the same schedule, St. Petersburg’s charter also requires the city to review the charter, a process performed by a citizen commission appointed on behalf of St. Pete residents.
The charter review has citizens review how the city government operates, and propose changes if necessary.
To make both of these processes for district and charter review avoid conflicts of time and scheduling, Charter Amendment 6 would alter that schedule, changing the charter review time to occur every 10 years, but two years before the redistricting process in order to avoid implementing redistricting changes “in an expedited manner, delay redistricting to implement the changes in full, or conduct redistricting under the prior standards with the changes implemented only when the next redistricting occurs.”
City documents say that right now, the city has to choose to, essentially, rush, delay or wait another 10 years to make redistricting changes as a result of the scheduling conflicts from the charter review process.
Charter Amendment 7 – Governing philosophy
Adding a preamble to describe the spirit of the Charter and the City’s governing philosophy
Shall the Charter be amended to add a preamble containing a concise statement to describe the spirit of the Charter and the City’s governing philosophy? That aspirational statement will describe the City’s vision, goals, values, and priorities while acknowledging past shortcomings and promising a renewed and continuing commitment to improving the quality of life for all citizens.
BALLOT TEXT: Charter Amendment 7
The St. Petersburg City Charter was first adopted in 1975, following passage of the Municipal Home Rule Powers Act of 1973. Through the law in ’73, cities across Florida were authorized to adopt their own charters, and St. Petersburg drafted an ordinance doing so in 1975.
That original document still forms the basis of the current St. Petersburg charter, according to documents published by the Charter Review Commission. However, the charter does not currently have a preamble that officially sets “a concise statement of the City’s vision for the future and that governs the spirit of the Charter and City government as a whole.”
Charter Amendment 7, if approved by voters, would add the following paragraphs to the beginning of the city charter, establishing the governing philosophy of the city’s leadership.
We the people of St. Petersburg, under the constitution and laws of the state of Florida, in order to secure the benefits of local, responsive self-government that provides for the greatest common good, do hereby adopt this Charter. Reflecting our shared vision, St. Petersburg will be a city of opportunity for all who come to live, work, and play. We will be an innovative, creative, and competitive community that acknowledges our past while pursuing our future. Accordingly, this charter will advance the City’s values of civic engagement, inclusive prosperity, and cultural vibrancy in a way that is supported by a shared commitment to equity, environmental stewardship, education, public health, arts, and worldclass recreation.
By this action, we secure the benefits of home rule, affirm the values of representative democracy, and assert the importance of inclusive citizen engagement.
In keeping with a commitment to more effectively represent the interests of every citizen, we commit that, as frequently as this Charter is reviewed, community members will convene to affirm and improve our structure of government with intentional priority on those self-evident determinants that work to define residents’ opportunities and quality of life. This Charter affirms the City’s values and strives to ensure a living framework to help build an ever more inclusive, engaged St. Petersburg, where everyone experiences belonging, fairness, human rights, and fundamental freedoms.
PROPOSED PREAMBLE FOR ST. PETERSBURG CITY CHARTER
