Res No 051-24-16156RESOLUTION NO. 051-24-16156
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH :MIAMI,
FLORIDA, CALLING A SPECIAL ELECTION TO BE HELD
ON AUGUST 20, 2024, FOR THE PURPOSE OF
SUBMITTING TO THE ELECTORATE A PROPOSED
AMENDMENT TO SUBSECTION D.l. "REQUIREMENTS
FOR ADOPTION" OF SECTION 6 "ORDINANCES" OF
ARTICLE II "CITY COMMISSION" OF THE CITY
CHARTER, AS PRESENTED IN A BALLOT QUESTION, TO
REQUIRE THREE AFFIRMATIVE VOTES OF THE CITY.
COMMISSION TO APPROVE THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS
OR BORROWING MONEY WHEN SUCH DEBT IS
AUTHORIZED BY REFERENDUM OF THE RESIDENTS
OF THE CITY, AND TO REQUIRE FOUR AFFIRMATIVE
VOTES FOR APPROVAL OF THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS
OR BORROWING MONEY WHEN SUCH DEBT IS NOT
AUTHORIZED BY REFERENDUM OF THE RESIDENTS
OF THE CITY; PROVIDING FOR REQUISITE BALLOT
LANGUAGE AND CHARTER AMENDMENT TEXT FOR
SUBMISSION TO THE ELECTORATE; PROVIDING FOR
THE CITY CLERK TO UTILIZE THE SERVICES OF
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS
FOR THE SPECIAL ELECTION; PROVIDING FOR
AUTHORIZATION, IMPLEMENTATION, CORRECTIONS
AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, Section 7. "Amendments" of Article VI. "General Provisions" of the City
Charter of the City of South Miami ("City") provides that the Charter may be amended as provided
by the Home Rule Charter of Miami-Dade County and Florida Statutes; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission recognizes the importance of periodically amending
and updating the City Charter to serve the needs of the City and its residents; and
WHEREAS, subsection D. l., "Requirements for Adoption," of Section 6, "Ordinances,"
of Article II., "City Commission," of the City Charter currently provides that the issuance of bonds
or borrowing of money requires four affirmative votes of the City Commission; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission wishes to seek the approval of the electors by a ballot
question referendum concerning amendments to subsection D.l. "Requirements for Adoption," of
Section 6, "Ordinances," of Article II., "City Commission," of the City Charter to authorize the
issuance of bonds or borrowing of money by three affirmative votes of the City Commission when
such issuance of bonds or borrowing of money is authorized by referendum of the City's residents
at a General Election, and four votes where the debt is not subject to voter approval; and
Page 1 of6
Res. No. 051-24-16156
WHEREAS, in accordance with provisions of the Charter of the City and the general laws
of the State of Florida, a Special Election is hereby called and directed to be held in the City of
South Miami, Florida, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, for the purpose
of submitting to the electorate the proposed amendment to the City Charter which is set forth
herein; and
WHEREAS, that the appropriate and proper Miami-Dade County election officials shall
conduct the said Special Election hereby called, with acceptance of the certification of the results
of said Special Election to be performed by the City Commission, and the official returns shall be
furnished to the City Clerk as soon as the ballots from the precinct have been tabulated and in
accordance with applicable laws; and
WHEREAS, not less than thirty (30) days' notice of the adoption of this Resolution and
of its provisions calling this Special Election shall be given by publication in the Miami Herald, a
newspaper of general circulation in South Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida, and such
publication shall be made once in the fifth week before the election and once in the third week
before the election in accordance with the provisions of Section 100.342, Florida Statutes; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission finds that this Resolution is in the best interest and
welfare of the City.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Recitals. The above-stated recitals are true and correct and are incorporated
herein by this reference.
Section 2. Special Election Called; Notice of Election. That a special election is
hereby called, to be held on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, to present to the qualified electors of the
City of South Miami, the ballot question provided in this Resolution. Notice of said election shall
be published in accordance with Section 100.342, Florida Statutes, in the Miami Herald, a
newspaper of general circulation in South Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida, at least thirty (30)
days prior to said election, the first publication to be in the fifth week prior to the election (to-wit:
during the week commencing Sunday, July 14, 2024, and the second publication to be in the third
week prior to the election (to-wit: during the week commencing Sunday, July 28, 2024, and shall
be in substantially the following form:
"CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA
NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT PURSUANT TO
RESOLUTION NO. 051-24-16156 ADOPTED BY THE CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA ("CITY"), A
SPECIAL ELECTION HAS BEEN CALLED AND ORDERED TO BE
HELD WITHIN THE CITY ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2024, BETWEEN
Page 2 of 6
Res. No. 051-24-16156
THE HOURS OF 7:00 A.M. AND 7:00 P.M., AT WHICH TIME THE
FOLLOWING CHARTER AMENDMENT QUESTION SHALL BE
SUBMITTED TO THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF THE CITY:
VOTING REQUIREMENTS TO ISSUE BONDS OR BORROW MONEY
The Charter requires four votes of the City Commission to issue bonds or borrow money,
and five votes if such indebtedness exceeds five percent of the City's operating budget.
This Charter amendment would amend the Charter to require three votes of the
Commission where debt is subject to a voter referendum at a General Election, and four
votes where debt is not subject to voter approval.
Shall the amendment described above be adopted?
YES [ ]
NO [ ]"
Polling place information, the enabling Resolution, including the full text of the
proposed City Charter Amendment and the ballot question, is available at the Office
of the City Clerk located at 6130 Sunset Drive, South Miami, Florida 33143.
Nkenga "Nikki" Payne, CMC, FCRM, City Clerk
Section 3. Form of Ballot; Ballot Question. That the official ballot to be used in the
Special Election to be held on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, as hereby called, shall be in
substantially the following form, to-wit:
"OFFICIAL BALLOT
VOTING REQUIREMENTS TO ISSUE BONDS OR BORROW MONEY
The Charter requires four votes of the City Commission to issue bonds or borrow money,
and five votes if such indebtedness exceeds five percent of the City's operating budget.
This Charter amendment would amend the Charter to require three votes of the
Commission where debt is subject to a voter referendum at a General Election, and four
votes where debt is not subject to voter approval.
Shall the amendment described above be adopted?
YES [ ]
NO [ ]"
Section 4. Balloting. That balloting shall be conducted between the hours of7:00 a.m.
until 7:00 p.m. on election day. Vote-by-mail ballots and early voting shall be provided as
Page 3 of6
Res . No. 051-24-16156
authorized by law . All qualifi ed City electors w ho are time ly registered in accordance w ith law
s hall be entitled to vote.
Section 5 . Charter Amendment Text; Effectiveness. The text of the proposed
Charter a me ndmen t (the "C harter Amendment") is set forth in Exhibit "A ", w hich is attached
he reto and incorporated herein. The Charter Ame ndment s hall become effective if the majority of
the qualified electors of the City voting on the Charter Amendment vot e for it s adoption , and it
sha ll be cons idered adopted and effective upon the certificatio n of the Special Election results.
Following th e adoption of the Charte r Amendment, the C ity C lerk sh all file t he adopted C harter
Amendment w ith the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Miami-D ade County, Florida.
Section 6. Available for Public Inspection; City Clerk to Utilize the Services of
Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections. Copies of this Resolution providing fo r the
sp ec ial election referendum are on fil e in the Office of the City Clerk l ocated a t City of South
Miami, 6130 Sunset Drive, South Miami, Florida 33143, and are available for public in specti o n
during regular business hours. Furthermore, the City C lerk is a uthori zed to utili ze the serv ices of
Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections for any assistance r equired in the administration of
the elec tion. The C ity s hall pay all expenses for conducting this Special Election and w ill pay su c h
expenses to Miami-Dade County upon receipt of invo ice or s tatement approved by the Supervisor
of Elections of Miami-Dade Co unty, Florida.
Section 7. Authorization of City Officials. The C ity Manager, C ity Attorney and City
Clerk are hereby authoriz ed to take all steps necessary to complete the execution and
impl e mentation of the terms and purposes of this Resolution, and the Sp ecial E lection Referendum
if adop te d and effective.
Section 8.
adoption.
Effective Date. This Resolution s hall become effective immed iate ly upon
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 16 th day of April, 2024.
ATTEST:
CITY~cy
READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM,
LANGUAGE, LEGALITY ND
EXECUTION THERE
WEISS SEROT A HELFMAN COLE
APPROVED :
~
COMMISSION VOTE:
Mayor F emandez:
Vice Mayor Bonich:
Commissione r Call e :
5-0
Yea
Yea
Y ea
Commiss ioner Liebman: Yea
Commissio ner. Corey: Yea
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Res. No. 0_51-24-16156
& BIERMAN, P.L.
CITY ATTORNEY
Pages of6
Res. No. 051-24-16156
EXHIBIT "A"
TEXT OF PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI 1
CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI CHARTER
* * *
ARTICLE II. -CITY COMMISSION
SECTION 6. Ordinances
* * *
D. Voting Procedure. Voting shall be by roll call. The "yeas" and "nays" shall be
recorded individually in the minutes of each meeting.
No Commission member shall be excused from voting as required by law.
1. Requirements for Adoption. All resolutions or ordinances shall be adopted by no
less than three affirmative votes of the City Commission.
Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, four affirmative votes of the City
Commission shall be required in the following instances:
To issue bonds or borrow money where such debt is not authorized by referendum. of
qualified voters of the City at a General Election
To grant, renew or amend any lease or franchises
To transfer title to property
To appropriate or expend non-budgeted funds
To approve an initiatory ordinance pursuant to Article V
To amend land use and development regulations to make them less restrictive
E*eept as otherwise f)F0 1.cieleEl ia this CkarteF, five aff111Rathce ,cotes of the City Commissioa
shall be Fe(iltifeEl to ftf)f)FOYe die aetioas iaElieateel below: (.A,menEleEl 1 l,l08/22)
Te issue beeas er boFFe1+11 meee~ ie eu:eess ef fi,,e f)Oreeet of the ei~y' s euFFeet Of>OFatieg
buElget.
* * *
1Proposed additions to existing Town Charter text are indicated by underlining: proposed deletions from existing
Town Charter text are indicated by strilee~hreYgh.
Page 6 of 6
Agenda Item No:9.
City Commission Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: April 16, 2024
Submitted by: Daniela Cimo
Submitting Department: City Attorney
Item Type: Resolution
Agenda Section:
Subject:
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA,
CALLING A SPECIAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON AUGUST 20, 2024, FOR THE PURPOSE OF
SUBMITTING TO THE ELECTORATE A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO SUBSECTION D.1.
“REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTION” OF SECTION 6 “ORDINANCES” OF ARTICLE II “CITY COMMISSION”
OF THE CITY CHARTER, AS PRESENTED IN A BALLOT QUESTION, TO REQUIRE THREE AFFIRMATIVE
VOTES OF THE CITY COMMISSION TO APPROVE THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS OR BORROWING MONEY
WHEN SUCH DEBT IS AUTHORIZED BY REFERENDUM OF THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY, AND TO
REQUIRE FOUR AFFIRMATIVE VOTES FOR APPROVAL OF THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS OR
BORROWING MONEY WHEN SUCH DEBT IS NOT AUTHORIZED BY REFERENDUM OF THE RESIDENTS
OF THE CITY; PROVIDING FOR REQUISITE BALLOT LANGUAGE AND CHARTER AMENDMENT TEXT FOR
SUBMISSION TO THE ELECTORATE; PROVIDING FOR THE CITY CLERK TO UTILIZE THE SERVICES OF
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS FOR THE SPECIAL ELECTION; PROVIDING FOR
AUTHORIZATION, IMPLEMENTATION, CORRECTIONS AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5 (MAYOR
FERNÁNDEZ)
Suggested Action:
Attachments:
Memo-Special Election Bond Issuance Borrowing Voter Referendum
Resolution Calling Special Election - Charter Amendment - Bond Issuance Borrowing Voter Referendum
MH Ad.pdf
1
CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
INTER-OFFICE MEMORANDUM
TO:The Honorable Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Members of the City Commission
FROM:Lillian Arango and Tony Recio, City Attorneys
CC:Genaro “Chip” Iglesias
DATE:April 16, 2024 City Commission Meeting
SUBJECT:A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, CALLING A SPECIAL ELECTION
TO BE HELD ON AUGUST 20, 2024, FOR THE PURPOSE OF
SUBMITTING TO THE ELECTORATE A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO
SUBSECTION D.1. “REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTION” OF SECTION
6 “ORDINANCES” OF ARTICLE II “CITY COMMISSION” OF THE CITY
CHARTER, AS PRESENTED IN A BALLOT QUESTION, TO REQUIRE
THREE AFFIRMATIVE VOTES OF THE CITY COMMISSION TO
APPROVE THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS OR BORROWING MONEY
WHEN SUCH DEBT IS AUTHORIZED BY REFERENDUM OF THE
RESIDENTS OF THE CITY, AND TO REQUIRE FOUR AFFIRMATIVE
VOTES FOR APPROVAL OF THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS OR
BORROWING MONEY WHEN SUCH DEBT IS NOT AUTHORIZED BY
REFERENDUM OF THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY; PROVIDING FOR
REQUISITE BALLOT LANGUAGE AND CHARTER AMENDMENT
TEXT FOR SUBMISSION TO THE ELECTORATE; PROVIDING FOR
THE CITY CLERK TO UTILIZE THE SERVICES OF MIAMI-DADE
COUNTY SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS FOR THE SPECIAL
ELECTION; PROVIDING FOR AUTHORIZATION, IMPLEMENTATION,
CORRECTIONS AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (MAYOR FERNÁNDEZ)
The accompanying Resolution was prepared and placed on the agenda at the
request of Mayor Fernández.
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6A .............................................................................................MIAMI HERALD FRIDAY APRIL 5 2024
A Celebration of Life
will be held for Nancy
Ancrum on April 13 at
Fairchild Tropical Botanic
Garden.The memorial is
open to the public.
The longtime Miami
Herald editorial-page
editor,who kept an eye on
South Florida government
and led her team to two
Pulitzer Prizes,died in
February at age 67.
The service will be 11
a.m.to 12:30 p.m.at the
Coral Gables garden at
10901 Old Cutler Rd.
“So many of you have
asked how you might honor
her.A bench for rest,con-
templation,and meditation
will be dedicated at Fair-
child in Nancy’s memory,”
her husband,George Fish-
man,said.
Donations for the com-
memorative bench at
Fairchild are welcomed at
www.spotfund.com.
There is one wish that
Ancrum would have had,
her husband says.
“She would urge plant-
ing lots of flowers,espe-
cially milkweed,and other
butterfly host plants.
“When I saw two big
ugly giant swallowtail ca-
terpillars feeding on a plant
in the yard,I felt a big swell
of relief,because we hadn’t
seen any in many years.
And then,when one of the
giant swallowtail butterflies
fluttered overhead,I knew
Nancy was free and hap-
py.”
Howard Cohen:
305-376-3619,
@HowardCohen
A garden memorial for Nancy Ancrum,
longtime Miami Herald opinion editor
BY HOWARD COHEN
hcohen@miamiherald.com
ROBERTO KOLTUN Miami Herald |2017
A service for Nancy Ancrum
will be held on April 13 at
Fairchild Tropical Botanic
Garden.The memorial is
open to the public.
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