Contact Palm Beach Business.com by phone: 561 450-8258. By email.

Delray Beach commissioners move forward on term changes

By David Sedore, Palm Beach Business.com

DELRAY BEACH — Delray Beach city commissioners on Tuesday took a first step toward passing a package of reforms that would extend terms in office for elected officials and also extend the total number of years an official may serve before being “termed out.”

By a 5-0 vote, commissioners passed first reading of an ordinance that would put the proposed change sbefore city voters for their consideration at the March 13 city election. If approved by voters, the changes would go into effect immediately. Final reading will take place during the Jan. 17 regular commission meeting, just ahead of a January 18 deadline to get the measure on the March ballot. Commissioners will hold a public hearing before voting.

Commissioners offered their defense of the changes — particularly the provision that would increase the number of years an official may serve before being termed out — during the brief meeting. They also vigorously responded to charges brought a week ago that they would personally benefit from the proposals.

Mayor Woodie McDuffie, a Delray Beach native, said it took him two years on the commission to find out how much about the city he didn’t know despite having lived here his entire live. It also takes time to develop relationships with members of the local legislative delegations in Tallahassee and Washington, a vital part of the job.

“The way I see things,” McDuffie said, “now, by the time you get really good at this job, it’s time to leave.”

McDuffie, who has one year to serve on this current term, will be ineligible to run for reelection in 2013 regardless the outcome of the proposed changes.

Said Commissioner Tom Carney: “ If you don’t want a strong commission, leave it the way it is. It’s as simple as that.”

During the Jan. 3 meeting, there were some said commissioners were proposing the changes to benefit themselves. One resident, who is candidate for a commission seat, said they were “feathering their nests.”

“I really don’t care how people feel about this,” Carney said. “I do care about personal attacks. You can stick to the point, stick to the issue and not make it personal. It’s a public debate on a public issue. We can agree to disagree.”

The proposed changes include:

— Extending the length of a term in office for the mayor and commissioners to three years from the present two.

— Allowing the mayor and commissioners to serve three consecutive three-year terms in office before becoming term limited, or ineligible to seek reelection. Presently, commissioners serve a maximum of three two-year terms.

— Requiring appointees to the commission to stand for election within 14 months of taking office. It also provides that a special election would be held if a regular municipal election is not scheduled to occur during that time.

The changes would allow the city to eliminate one municipal election every three years at a savings of about $40,000.