“THIS IS A TOWN MANAGER FORM OF GOVERNMENT “….Town Manager Esther Colon Jan. 21, 2010…
Dear Readers… It started to catch on big time when BSO Chief Scott Gooding was terminated by Town Manager Colon……Commissioner Clottey sent an e-mail to a constituent stating “This is a Town Manager form of government”……and it grew at a record pace……Commissioner Silverstone would start by explaining after any actions made by Town Manager Colon were questioned by Commissioner Dodd, a resident or a vendor…”This is a Town Manager form of government”… Vice Mayor McIntee would throw it in often as well “This is a Town Manager form of government” …in order to deter questions on the pavilion …an annual manager review, questions about the debt or any unilateral decisions Esther made…The BTSTimes wrote “This is a Town Manager form of government” when doing damage control P.R . …And what they all meant each and every time the Mc-Furth Gang said or wrote it was… Hands- off Esther …Carte blanche Esther…Have at it Esther…No holds barred …. and eventually all the “lemmings” believed it …..It became so ingrained in the dais commentary from the majority that the people who live in town believed it was so and never questioned its validity ….Even the Town Manager perpetuated it…for she made use of it most of all ….including at the special meeting held to address the special events in Town on January 21st….At that meeting, Town Manager Colon stood and walked over to two gentlemen to ask them to stop speaking out to those speaking at the podium …She received a negative reaction from the highly charged audience in Jarvis Hall …Afterward she went to the podium and made the following statement “This is a Town Manager form of government” and then went on to say that meant she would give a warning to anyone who had an outburst and then ask them to leave the meeting…. (prev. post)…WOW!… The rules of Jarvis Hall have long been for the Mayor to give a warning first and then the person would be asked to leave ….But never did we hear these Jarvis Hall rules were due to LBTS being a “Town Manager form of government!”…
This writer was caught off guard and rather disturbed by Town Manager’s assertion made that day and I wanted to see what else was contained under our “Town Manager form of government”….in our Charter…
I had to wait though, since the Town’s website was down….and after being down for 2+ days (the 1/26/10 agenda and backup are still M.I.A.)… I checked it out ….Imagine my surprise when I found the following….
“ARTICLE III. ADMINISTRATION AND LEGISLATION
Sec. 3.1. Commission-manager form of government.
The form of government of the Town of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, provided for under this Charter, shall be known as the “commission-manager” form of government.
Sec. 3.2. Creation of Town Commission.
There is hereby created a Town Commission consisting of five (5) Commissioners, each of whom shall be elected at-large in the manner provided in this Charter. The Mayor-Commissioner and each Town Commissioner shall take and hold office for the term(s) provided in this Town Charter.
Sec. 3.3. Qualifications of members.
Only qualified electors who have resided in the Town of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea for at least six (6) months immediately prior to qualifying for office and who shall have attained the age of eighteen (18) years of age on or before the date the candidate files and qualifies in accordance with this Charter as a candidate for office, shall be eligible to hold the office of Commissioner.
Each Commissioner and candidate for Commissioner shall be elected from the election district in which he or she is domiciled for at least six (6) months immediately prior to qualifying for such office by the greatest number of votes of all registered electors residing within the Town. Once elected, a Commissioner from an election district shall remain a domiciliary of the election district during his or her term of office. Any Commissioner who shall cease to possess the qualifications required herein shall forthwith forfeit his or her office, except a Commissioner holding office will not have his/her term cut short by the establishment of or subsequent change of district boundary lines.
Sec. 3.4. Standards of conduct; code of ethics.
In addition to the ethical standards of conduct established by general law for elected officials, appointed officials, and employees, the Town Commission may, by ordinance, establish ethical conduct standards for elected officials, appointed officials, and employees of the Town.
Sec. 3.5. Legislative powers.
The legislative powers of the Town shall be vested in and exercised by the Town Commission, consistent with the provisions of the Constitution of the United States of America, the Constitution and statutes of the State of Florida, this Charter, and the laws and ordinances of the Town of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea. Except as otherwise provided in Article IV or elsewhere in this Charter, or by the Constitution or statutes of the State of Florida, the Town Commission may by ordinance or resolution prescribe the manner in which any powers of the said Town shall be exercised.
Sec. 3.6. Non-interference in Town Administration.
The Town Commission or its members shall not give orders to any Town officer or employees who are subject to the direction and supervision of the Town Manager, either publicly or privately. Nothing in the foregoing is to be construed to prohibit individual members of the Town Commission from examining by question and personal observation all aspects of Town government operations so as to obtain independent information to assist the members in the formulation of policies to be considered by the Commission and assure the implementation of such policies as have been adopted. It is the express intent of this provision, however, that such inquiry shall not interfere directly with the regular municipal operations of the Town and that recommendations for change or improvements in Town government operations be made to and through the Town Manager.”
http://library8.municode.com/default-test/home.htm?infobase=14431&doc_action=whatsnew
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There you have it….voters…..
LBTS IS A COMMISSION-MANAGER FORM OF GOVERNMENT!
“The form of government of the Town of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, provided for under this Charter, shall be known as the “commission-manager” form of government.”!…
NON- INTERFERENCE WITH THE TOWN ADMINISTRATION…
The Town Commission or its members shall not give orders to any Town officer or employees who are subject to the direction and supervision of the Town Manager, either publicly or privately. NOTHING IN THE FORGOING IS TO BE CONSTRUED TO PROHIBIT INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS OF THE TOWN COMMISSION FROM EXAMINING BY QUESTION AND PERSONAL OBSERVATION ALL ASPECTS OF TOWN GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS SO AS TO OBTAIN INDEPENDENT OBSERVATIONS TO ASSIST THE MEMBERS IN THE FORMULATION OF POLICIES TO BE CONSIDERED BY THE COMMISSION AND ASSURE THE IMPLEMENTATIONS OF SUCH POLICIES AS HAVE BEEN ADOPTED. It is the express intent of this provision, however, that such inquiry shall not interfere directly with the regular municipal operations of the Town and that recommendations for change or improvements in Town government operations be made to and through the Town Manager.
For all those times over the last two years Commissioner Dodd made inquiries to obtain “independent observations to assist ” him in “the formulation of policies to be considered by the commission”…it turns out he was doing what was expressly written into the Charter and not interfering as the Town Manager, Commissioner Silverstone, Commissioner Clottey and Vice Mayor McIntee said he was!……These Commissioners owe Commissioner Dodd an apology…. and we owe him our thanks for carrying on!…
Shame on Commissioner Silverstone, Commissioner Clottey, Vice Mayor McIntee, The Furth-BTS- TImes and Town Manager Esther Colon for purposely misleading us all on the role the Town Manager plays in our “COMMISSION-MANAGER FORM OF GOVERNMENT”…..
Vote March 9, 2010 ……for Mayor Roseann Minnet, Candidate Scot Sasser and Candidate Chris Vincent … Commissioners we can trust!…
more to come……..
Tags: Lauderdale By The Sea Article III Town Charter, Lauderdale By The Sea Commissioner Birute Clottey, Lauderdale by the sea Commissioner Jim Silverstone, Lauderdale By The Sea Form of Government, Lauderdale By The Sea Town Manager Esther Colon, Lauderdale By The Sea Vice Mayor Jrry McIntee, local government, Local Politics, Scoops
