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ORDINANCE NO. 25-038
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
SUBMITTING TO REFERENDUM AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY
CHARTER; AMENDING SECTION 3 TO REQUIRE CONTINUOUS
RESIDENCE WITHIN THE CITY FOR AT LEAST TWO (2) YEARS PRIOR TO
FILING TO RUN FOR OFFICE; PROVIDING FOR A NOTICE OF AN
ADVERTISEMENT OF THE REFERENDUM ELECTION TO BE PUBLISHED
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STATE OF FLORIDA ELECTION CODE;
PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE, WHEN ADOPTED, SHALL BE
SUBMITTED TO THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF THE CITY OF BOYNTON
BEACH, FLORIDA, ON THE MARCH 2026 GENERAL MUNICIPAL
ELECTION BALLOT AND SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE AS PROVIDED BY
LAW; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS, SEVERABILITY, AND AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
WHEREAS, Chapter 166, Florida Statutes, as amended, provides for a methodology of
Charter amendments supplementary to and not in conflict with the Charter of the City of Boynton
Beach ("City"); and
WHEREAS, Chapter 166, Florida Statutes, as amended, provides that such an amendment
may be submitted to a referendum vote by the City Commission through the adoption of an
Ordinance calling for such a referendum election; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission has determined that it is in the best interest of the City
to modify the qualifications for elective offices to ensure candidates have a sustained
commitment to the community; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission has publicly reviewed, considered, and directed that this
Ordinance be prepared and that the appropriate Charter Referendum question be included
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28 herein and submitted to the qualified electors of the City of Boynton Beach, Florida, at the March
29 2026 General Municipal Election.
30 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
31 BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA:
32 Section 1: The foregoing "WHEREAS" clauses are hereby ratified as being true and
33 correct and are hereby made a specific part of this Ordinance upon adoption hereof.
34 Section 2: The City Charter is hereby revised to read as follows:
35 SEE EXHIBIT "A" ATTACHED HERETO AND INCORPORATED
36 HEREIN BY REFERENCE
37 Section 3: The Ballot Title shall be as follows:
38 AMENDMENT TO CITY CHARTER — CANDIDATE
39 QUALIFICATIONS FOR ELECTIVE OFFICES
40 Section 4: The following question shall be placed on the ballot for consideration by
41 the qualified electors of the City of Boynton Beach, Florida, at the March 2026 General Municipal
42 Election in Palm Beach County, Florida. The election ballot question shall read as follows:
43 Shall the City Charter be amended to require that candidates have resided
44 continuously within the City for at least two (2) years prior to filing for office?
45
46 YES NO
47
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48 Section 5: That should a majority of electors voting on the above -referenced
49 referendum election vote "YES," thereby approving the above ballot issue, the revised charter
50 language shall become a part of the Charter of the City of Boynton Beach, Florida.
51 Section 6: The City Clerk is hereby directed to update and republish the City Charter
52 to incorporate any approved amendments, including:
53 (a) Affixing the appropriate article and section numbers and/or letters to conform the
54 Charter to the approved amendments;
55 (b) Making all necessary technical corrections to cross-references, table of contents, and
56 formatting;
57 (c) Coordinating with the City's municipal code provider to update the Charter on the City's
58 municipal code website within thirty (30) days of certification of election results; and
59 (d) Filing the updated Charter with the Florida Department of State within the timeframe
6o required by law.
61 Section 7: The City Clerk of the City of Boynton Beach is hereby authorized and
62 directed to take all steps necessary to place this charter amendment on the ballot, including but
63 not limited to:
64 (a) Preparing and publishing all notices and advertisements required by Florida Statutes
65 Chapter 100, the City's Charter, and the City's Code of Ordinances;
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66 (b) Coordinating with the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections to ensure the charter
67 amendment question is properly placed on the ballot;
68 (c) Providing the Supervisor of Elections with the ballot title and summary in the form and
69 timeframe required;
70 (d) Ensuring compliance with all applicable deadlines under state and local law; and
71 (e) Taking any and all other actions required to effectuate the referendum election.
72 Section 8: All Ordinance or parts of Ordinance in conflict herewith, be and the same
73 are repealed to the extent of such conflict.
74 Section 9: If any clause, section, or other part of this Ordinance shall be held by any
75 court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or invalid, such unconstitutional or invalid
76 part shall be considered as eliminated and in no way affect the validity of the other provisions of
77 this Ordinance.
78 Section 10: This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon execution by all
79 parties.
80 Section 11: Effective Date of Proposed Charter Amendments. The Proposed Charter
81 Amendments will take effect upon the affirmative vote of a majority of those electors voting in
82 the March 2026 election in the City of Boynton Beach.
83
84 (REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK)
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411
85 FIRST READING thisday of 14CYh\Qer 2025.
86 SECOND, FINAL READING AND PASSAGE this dd ay of _:�)eCah-\bra— , 2025.
87 CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
88 YES NO
89
90 Mayor - Rebecca Shelton
91
92 Vice Mayor - Woodrow L. Hay
93
94 Commissioner -Aimee Kelley
95
96 Commissioner - Angela Cruz f):
97
98 Commissioner - Thomas Turkin ✓
99
100 VOTE
1o1 AT TqS
102
103
104 Maylee sus, MM Rebecca Shelton
105 City Cle k Mayor
106
107 OF 50YIVT� APPROVED AS TO FORM:
108 (Corporate Seal \�•.•'cARAORgT.?
109
110 1NCor?poRAL 2 i /j xa'�
Shawna G. Lamb
112 ••'•••.....••' City Attorney
113 �0R(DA
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EXHIBIT "A"
Sec. 3. Composition, election, terms, vacancies.
(a) In order to qualify for the office of Mayor, a candidate must be a qualified elector of the
City of Boynton Beach and have resided continuously within the City for a period of not
less than one (1) year two (2) years prior to filing for office, and who shall have attained
the age of twenty-one (21) years on or before the date the candidate files and qualifies
for office. The Mayor of the City of Boynton Beach may reside in any of the four (4)
election districts and shall be elected by a city-wide vote.
(b) There shall be a City Commission of four (4) members elected from each of the four (4)
election districts within the City, and a Mayor who is elected by a city-wide vote. Each
City Commissioner and each candidate for City Commissioner shall reside in the election
district from which he or she is (to be) elected at the time of the election. A candidate for
a Commission district seat must reside7 for a period of not less than wear two 2
years continuouslx prior to filing for election in the district from which the candidate
seeks election. Voters shall vote for only one (1) candidate in each election district in
which the voter resides, and one (1) candidate for Mayor.
(c) Qualifications for City Commissioners. Only qualified electors who have resided
continuously in the City of Boynton Beach for at least two (2) nears
immediately prior to the election and who shall have attained the age of twenty-one (21)
years on or before the date the candidate files and qualifies as a candidate for office shall
be eligible to hold the office of City Commissioner. Each Commissioner and each
candidate for Commissioner, shall be
elected from the election district in which hee�then resides, subject to the fifty
percent (50%) plus one rule and runoff procedures set forth in the City Charter. Once
elected, a Commissioner from an election district shall remain a resident of the election
district and the City of Boynton Beach during his�h hgir term of office or shall forfeit
"" their office.
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