25-037 ORDINANCE NO. 25-037
1
2 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
3 SUBMITTING TO REFERENDUM AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY
4 CHARTER; ADDING A PREAMBLE TO THE CITY CHARTER TO
5 ESTABLISH THE FOUNDATIONAL PURPOSES AND PRINCIPLES OF CITY
6 GOVERNANCE; PROVIDING FOR A NOTICE OF AN ADVERTISEMENT OF
7 THE REFERENDUM ELECTION TO BE PUBLISHED IN ACCORDANCE
8 WITH THE STATE OF FLORIDA ELECTION CODE; PROVIDING THAT
9 THIS ORDINANCE, WHEN ADOPTED, SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE
10 QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA,
11 ON THE MARCH 2026 GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION BALLOT AND
12 SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE AS PROVIDED BY LAW; PROVIDING FOR
13 CONFLICTS, SEVERABILITY, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
14
15 WHEREAS, Chapter 166, Florida Statutes, as amended, provides for a methodology of
16 Charter amendments supplementary to and not in conflict with the Charter of the City of Boynton
17 Beach ("City"); and
18 WHEREAS, Chapter 166, Florida Statutes, as amended, provides that such an amendment
19 may be submitted to a referendum vote by the City Commission through the adoption of an
20 Ordinance calling for such a referendum election; and
21 WHEREAS, the City Commission has determined that it is in the best interest of the City
22 to add a Preamble to the City Charter that articulates the foundational purposes and principles
23 underlying the City's governance structure; and
24 WHEREAS, the City Commission has publicly reviewed, considered, and directed that this
25 Ordinance be prepared and that the appropriate Charter Referendum question be included
26 herein and submitted to the qualified electors of the City of Boynton Beach, Florida, at the March
27 2026 General Municipal Election.
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ORDINANCE NO. 25-037
28 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
29 BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA:
30 Section 1: The foregoing "WHEREAS" clauses are hereby ratified as being true and
31 correct and are hereby made a specific part of this Ordinance upon adoption hereof.
32 Section 2: The City Charter is hereby revised to read as follows:
33 SEE EXHIBIT "A" ATTACHED HERETO AND INCORPORATED
34 HEREIN BY REFERENCE
35 Section 3: The Ballot Title shall be as follows:
36 AMENDMENT TO CITY CHARTER— ADDITION OF PREAMBLE
37 Section 4: The following question shall be placed on the ballot for consideration by
38 the qualified electors of the City of Boynton Beach, Florida, at the March 2026 General Municipal
39 Election in Palm Beach County, Florida. The election ballot question shall read as follows:
40 Shall the City Charter be amended to add a Preamble establishing the foundational
41 purposes and principles of the City's government, including protecting the general
42 health, welfare, and safety of residents and promoting honest, efficient, and
43 responsive government?
44
45 YES NO
46
47 Section 5: That should a majority of electors voting on the above-referenced
48 referendum election vote "YES," thereby approving the above ballot issue, the revised charter
49 language shall become a part of the Charter of the City of Boynton Beach, Florida.
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ORDINANCE NO. 25-037
50 Section 6: The City Clerk is hereby directed to update and republish the City Charter
51 to incorporate any approved amendments, including:
52 (a) Affixing the appropriate article and section numbers and/or letters to conform the
53 Charter to the approved amendments;
54 (b) Making all necessary technical corrections to cross-references, table of contents, and
55 formatting;
56 (c)Coordinating with the City's municipal code provider to update the Charter on the City's
57 municipal code website within thirty (30) days of certification of election results; and
58 (d) Filing the updated Charter with the Florida Department of State within the timeframe
59 required by law.
60 Section 7: The City Clerk of the City of Boynton Beach is hereby authorized and
61 directed to take all steps necessary to place this charter amendment on the ballot, including but
62 not limited to:
63 (a) Preparing and publishing all notices and advertisements required by Florida Statutes
64 Chapter 100, the City's Charter, and the City's Code of Ordinances;
65 (b) Coordinating with the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections to ensure the charter
66 amendment question is properly placed on the ballot;
67 (c) Providing the Supervisor of Elections with the ballot title and summary in the form and
68 timeframe required;
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ORDINANCE NO. 25-037
69 (d) Ensuring compliance with all applicable deadlines under state and local law; and
70 (e) Taking any and all other actions required to effectuate the referendum election.
71 Section 8: All Ordinance or parts of Ordinance in conflict herewith, be and the same
72 are repealed to the extent of such conflict.
73 Section 9: If any clause, section, or other part of this Ordinance shall be held by any
74 court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or invalid, such unconstitutional or invalid
75 part shall be considered as eliminated and in no way affect the validity of the other provisions of
76 this Ordinance.
77 Section 10: This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon execution by all
78 parties.
79 Section 11: Effective Date of Proposed Charter Amendments.The Proposed Charter
80 Amendments will take effect upon the affirmative vote of a majority of those electors voting in
81 the March 2026 election in the City of Boynton Beach.
82
83
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ORDINANCE NO. 25-037
84 FIRST READING this COAlday ofUit rri , 2025.
85 SECOND, FINAL READING AND PASSAGE this ) ' day of VT/Ltb kef , 2025.
86 CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
87 YES NO
88
89 Mayor- Rebecca Shelton 1-Ct�Ser��
90
91 Vice Mayor-Woodrow L. Hay
92 ✓
93 Commissioner-Aimee Kelley
94
95 Commissioner-Angela Cruz
96
97 Commissioner-Thomas Turkin
98
(3C7'
99 VOTE
100 . T:
10 /
102 LW l�_
i
103 Mayl:e 2 esus, MM' - Rebecca Shelton
104 City Clerk ,,i Mayor
„=p•{NTON
105 ��� *PORAr
106 ; 0,40R F :,90 ttt APPROVED AS TO FORM:
107 (Corporate Seal) ;'- SEP'..L :z
TED;
�tiNCO ORA ;
108 RP
;:
109 9 2 0;
110
�'► P . Shawna G. Lamb
� FLOR\�
111 City Attorney
112
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ORDINANCE NO. 25-037
EXHIBIT "A"
1 PREAMBLE
2 The citizens of the City of Boynton Beach, in order to protect the general health, welfare, and
3 safety of its residents,promote honest, efficient, and responsive government, hereby adopt a City
4 Charter in accordance with the Constitution and Statutes of the State of Florida.
5
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