Palm Beach County Property Appraiser

Huffington Post Susan B Anthony :

Palm Beach County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to move ahead with a county charter review that, if approved by voters, could lead to changing the power structure of local government.

County commissioners last year first discussed changing the county charter after butting heads with other branches of local government over how to deal with growing budget woes.

But attempts to broaden the County Commission’s powers are sure to draw opposition from other local elected officials as well as those concerned about giving more control to a commission that has been plagued by corruption scandals in recent years.

“If they are seeking more power, no,” Palm Beach County Property Appraiser Nikolits said about potential charter changes. “They haven’t proven they can handle the power they have.”

On Tuesday, the County Commission OK’d moving ahead with a yearlong process to draft potential charter changes which would go before voters at the November 2012 presidential election.

Changing the charter could help reduce overlapping roles of the different branches of local government, County Commissioner Burt Aaronson said.

“More efficiency, cutting down the cost of government,” Aaronson said about the possible charter changes. “It certainly deserves a good look.”

Commissioners in the past have suggested changing the charter to bring independently-elected positions — such as the sheriff, property appraiser, tax collector, clerk and supervisor of elections — under the control of the County Commission as a way to make it easier to cut the county budget.

Other potential charter changes suggested in the past include adding county commission seats, switching back to countywide elections to select commissioners and changing the boundaries of the districts commissioners represent.

The commission on Tuesday approved holding a series of public meetings over the course of a year to help come up with a list of proposed changes.

The County Commission plans to discuss potential charter changes at its April 5 meeting, 6 p.m. at the county Governmental Center, 301 N. Olive Ave., in downtown West Palm Beach.

Initial plans call for at least five more public meetings throughout the county plus an online survey, to be launched in August, to gauge public support for potential changes.

More public meetings are planned in early 2012. The county would finalize the proposed charter changes in April 2012 for the November ballot.

Over the next few weeks, individual commissioners and county staffers will come up with an initial list of proposed charter changes, instead of appointing a charter review committee to lead the effort.

This approach allows the county to avoid creating another governmental entity subject to Florida’s Government in the Sunshine Law, which would have required the committee to compile the initial list of charter change suggestions at public meetings.

Commission Chairwoman Karen Marcus said the yearlong series of public meetings that the county plans will produce an “open process” without creating another government committee.

The charter review proposal gained steam after the County Commission in September for the second consecutive year, increased the tax rate to avoid budget shortfalls. During budget planning, other county officials balked at the commission’s suggestion to explore combining overlapping duties, such as human resources and purchasing, to try to cut expenses.

The County Commission must approve the total budget allowed for the sheriff, property appraiser and other independently elected officials but can’t tell them how to spend the money.

Nikolits has said that past County Commission spending decisions, back when the economy and property tax revenues were booming, are to blame for much of the county’s current budget problems.

Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher said she welcomes the charter review discussion, but contends her office already reins in costs. Bucher cut her budget from about $ 11.5 million a year to $ 9 million a year.

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