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25-041 ORDINANCE NO. 25-041 1 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA 2 SUBMITTING TO REFERENDUM AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY 3 CHARTER; AMENDING SECTIONS 8, 20, 23, 24, 40, 50, 52, 54, AND 55 4 TO MODERNIZE LANGUAGE BY REPLACING MASCULINE-ONLY 5 PRONOUNS AND TO UPDATE NOTICE AND PUBLICATION 6 REQUIREMENTS TO COMPLY WITH CURRENT FLORIDA STATUTES 7 AND DIGITAL-AGE COMMUNICATION PRACTICES; PROVIDING FOR A 8 NOTICE OF AN ADVERTISEMENT OF THE REFERENDUM ELECTION TO 9 BE PUBLISHED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STATE OF FLORIDA 10 ELECTION CODE; PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE, WHEN 11 ADOPTED, SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF 12 THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON THE MARCH 2026 13 GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION BALLOT AND SHALL BECOME 14 EFFECTIVE AS PROVIDED BY LAW; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS, 15 SEVERABILITY, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 16 17 WHEREAS, Chapter 166, Florida Statutes, as amended, provides for a methodology of 18 Charter amendments supplementary to and not in conflict with the Charter of the City of Boynton 19 Beach ("City"); and 20 WHEREAS, Chapter 166, Florida Statutes, as amended, provides that such an amendment 21 may be submitted to a referendum vote by the City Commission through the adoption of an 22 Ordinance calling for such a referendum election; and 23 WHEREAS, the City Commission has determined that it is in the best interest of the City 24 to modernize the Charter language to terms that are inclusive of all persons regardless of gender 25 and to update notice and publication requirements to comply with current Florida statutes and 26 digital-age communication practices; and 27 WHEREAS, the City Commission has publicly reviewed, considered, and directed that this 28 Ordinance be prepared and that the appropriate Charter Referendum question be included 08 17 25(1G) Page 1 of 9 CODING: Words in stfike4hfou0 type are deletions from existing law; Words in underlined type are additions. ORDINANCE NO. 25-041 29 herein and submitted to the qualified electors of the City of Boynton Beach, Florida, at the March 30 2026 General Municipal Election. 31 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF 32 BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA: 33 Section 1: The foregoing "WHEREAS" clauses are hereby ratified as being true and 34 correct and are hereby made a specific part of this Ordinance upon adoption hereof. 35 Section 2: The City Charter is hereby revised to read as follows: 36 SEE EXHIBIT "A" ATTACHED HERETO AND INCORPORATED 37 HEREIN BY REFERENCE 38 Section 3: The Ballot Title shall be as follows: 39 AMENDMENT TO CITY CHARTER - MODERNIZE LANGUAGE 40 AND NOTICE REQUIREMENTS 41 Section 4: The following question shall be placed on the ballot for consideration by 42 the qualified electors of the City of Boynton Beach, Florida, at the March 2026 General Municipal 43 Election in Palm Beach County, Florida. The election ballot question shall read as follows: 44 Shall the City Charter be amended to: (1) modernize language by replacing outdated 45 masculine-only pronouns; and (2) update notice and publication requirements to 46 comply with current Florida law and include digital communication methods? 47 YES NO 48 08 17 25(IG) Page 2 of 9 coDiNG: Words instfike-thretught type are deletions from existing law; Words in underlined type are additions. ORDINANCE NO. 25-041 49 Section 5: That should a majority of electors voting on the above-referenced 50 referendum election vote "YES," thereby approving the above ballot issue, the revised charter 51 language shall become a part of the Charter of the City of Boynton Beach, Florida. 52 Section 6: The City Clerk is hereby directed to update and republish the City Charter 53 to incorporate any approved amendments, including: 54 (a) Affixing the appropriate article and section numbers and/or letters to conform the 55 Charter to the approved amendments; 56 (b) Making all necessary technical corrections to cross-references, table of contents, and 57 formatting; 58 (c)Coordinating with the City's municipal code provider to update the Charter on the City's 59 municipal code website within thirty (30) days of certification of election results; and 60 (d) Filing the updated Charter with the Florida Department of State within the timeframe 61 required by law. 62 Section 7: The City Clerk of the City of Boynton Beach is hereby authorized and 63 directed to take all steps necessary to place this charter amendment on the ballot, including but 64 not limited to: 65 (a) Preparing and publishing all notices and advertisements required by Florida Statutes 66 Chapter 100, the City's Charter, and the City's Code of Ordinances; 08 17 25(IG) Page 3 of 9 CODING: Words in t4tfilie4kreugh type are deletions from existing law: Words in underlined type are additions. ORDINANCE NO. 25-041 67 (b) Coordinating with the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections to ensure the charter 68 amendment question is properly placed on the ballot; 69 (c) Providing the Supervisor of Elections with the ballot title and summary in the form and 70 timeframe required; 71 (d) Ensuring compliance with all applicable deadlines under state and local law; and 72 (e) Taking any and all other actions required to effectuate the referendum election. 73 Section 8: All Ordinance or parts of Ordinance in conflict herewith, be and the same 74 are repealed to the extent of such conflict. 75 Section 9: If any clause, section, or other part of this Ordinance shall be held by any 76 court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or invalid, such unconstitutional or invalid 77 part shall be considered as eliminated and in no way affect the validity of the other provisions of 78 this Ordinance. 79 Section 10: This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon execution by all 80 parties. 81 Section 11: Effective Date of Proposed Charter Amendments.The Proposed Charter 82 Amendments will take effect upon the affirmative vote of a majority of those electors voting in 83 the March ID , 2026 election in the City of Boynton Beach. 84 85 (REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK) 08 17 25(IG) Page 4 of 9 CODING: Words in:;trik � eWigh type are deletions from existing law: Words in underlined type are additions. ORDINANCE NO. 25-041 86 FIRST READING this 7ftl day of 1\10,10-419,'- , 2025. 87 SECOND, FINAL READING AND PASSAGE this 10 day of 1\104 , 2025. 88 CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA 89 YES NO 90 ` 91 Mayor— Rebecca Shelton r�' 92 tZ- 93 Vice Mayor—Woodrow L. Hay 94 95 Commissioner—Aimee Kelley w/ 96 97 Commissioner—Angela Cruz '140 \' 98 I/ 99 Commissioner—Thomas Turkin 100 101 VOTE 10 Ar ES 10 104 ►0 , � 105 Maylee 'iii us, MMC Rebecca Shelton 106 City Clerk Mayor 107 108 r� -.ISOM 0�``‘I APPROVED AS TO FORM: 109 (Corporate Seal) f ti:'•ZoRPO�r;,.L6 %�/ 110 = SEAL 111 t rTPORATED 2= a ✓I'.G� ,C,Q/YJCJ 112 t,, .192Q •�.•• Shawna G. Lamb 113 1‘‘ .'••••••'. City Attorney 114 `� DRIDA 08 17 25(IG) Page 5 of 9 CODING: Words in through type are deletions from existing law: Words in underlined type are additions. EXHIBIT "A" 1 Sec. 8. Frequency, date of regular meetings; special meetings; rules of procedure. 2 (a) The Commission shall hold its meetings as the Commission deems necessary. Should any 3 scheduled City Commission meeting fall upon a date on which any national, state, county, or 4 municipal election is held,said City Commission meeting should be deferred until the next regular 5 working day. 6 (b) The Mayor, or any three (3) members of the City Commission, may call special meetings of 7 the City Commission, upon written notice to each member served personally or left at the usual 8 place of residence, or by electronic delivery to the member's designated email address. Notice of 9 all special meetings shall also be provided to the public in accordance with Chapter 286, Florida 10 Statutes. All regular and special meetings of the City Commission shall be open to the public. The 11 City Commission shall determine its own rules and order of business. 12 ... 13 Sec. 20. General provisions. * 14 ... 15 (b) Supervision by City Manager. Each department, office, and agency under the direction and 16 supervision of the City Manager shall be administered by an officer appointed by and subject to 17 the direction and supervision of the City Manager. With the consent of the Commission, the City 18 Manager may serve as the head of one or more such departments, offices., or agencies, or may 19 appoint one person as the head of two or more of them, or may combine the functions of any 20 offices specified in this Charter which may be appointed by him the City Manager. 21 ... 22 Sec. 23. City Attorney—Duties. 23 The City Attorney, shall, when requested by the City Commission, prepare all contracts, bonds, 24 and other instruments in writing in which the municipality is concerned, or shall endorse on each 25 his the City Attorney's approval of the form, language and execution thereof; and no contract with 26 the municipality shall be binding upon the municipality until his such approval is so endorsed 27 thereon. When required by the Commission,he the City Attorney shall prosecute and defend, for 28 and ion behalf of the City, all complaints, suits,and controversies in which the City is a party.He 29 The City Attorney shall furnish the Commission, or the City Clerk, his a written opinion on any 30 question of law relating to their respective powers and duties; and he the City Attorney shall 31 perform such other professional duties as may be required efhim by ordinance or resolution of the 32 Commission or by this Charter,or such as are prescribed for City Attorneys under the general laws 33 of the State,not inconsistent with this Charter. EXHIBIT "A" 34 Sec.24. City Attorney--Compensation. 35 The City Commission may, from time to time, fix the regular compensation of the City Attorney 36 at a sum commensurate with the duties which may be imposed upon-him upon the City Attorney 37 by this Charter and by the Commission; provided, that all special or unusual services required of 38 the City Attorney, the fee for which is not otherwise prescribed,may be specially compensated as 39 the Commission may see fit to provide. 40 ... 41 Sec. 40. ('all by City Commission, publication of proclamation; qualification of candidates, 42 filing by candidates with City Clerk; notification of Supervisor of Elections. 43 All general and special elections, unless otherwise provided in this Mt Charter, shall be called by 44 resolution adopted by the City Commission, and in conformance with applicable state law, and 46 - • - • - -- , •. - - -- . - . • - - • . . • - notice shall be 47 provided in accordance with Chapter 50, Florida Statutes, and the City's Code of Ordinances. 48 Candidates for City Commission shall file such papers and pay such fees as may be required by 49 law with the City Clerk no sooner than noon on the second Tuesday of November nor later than 50 noon on the fourth Tuesday in November;of the year in which the election is to be held. The City 51 Clerk shall transmit the names of all candidates for City Commission to the Supervisor of Elections 52 by 5:00 p.m. on the first Ffiday business day after the close of qualifying. 53 ... 54 Sec. 50. Initiative petition of proposed ordinances---Required signatures, etc. 55 Any proposed ordinance, including ordinances for repeal of ordinances then in effect or which 56 have been enacted but not yet effective, may be submitted to the City Commission by a petition, 57 signed by at least twenty-five percent of the total number of registered voters in the City. All 58 petitions circulated with respect to any proposed ordinance shall be uniform in character, shall 59 contain the proposed ordinance in full3 and shall have printed or written thereon the names of five 60 electors who shall be officially regarded as filing the petition, and shall constitute a committee of 61 the petitioners for purposes hereinafter named. Each signer of the petition shall sign his their name 62 in ink or indelible pencil and shall place on the petition opposite his their name the date of his their 63 signature.The signatures of any such petition need not be appended to one paper,but to each such 64 paper shall be attached an affidavit by the circulator thereof, stating the number of signers to such 65 part of the petition and that each signature appended to the paper is the genuine signature of the 66 person whose name it purports to be,and that it was made in the presence of the affiant on the date 67 indicated. 68 ... EXHIBIT "A" 69 Sec.52. Initiative Petition--Action of City Commission; referendum. 70 The City Commission shall at once proceed to consider such petition and shall take final action 71 thereon within thirty days after the date of submission. If the City Commission rejects any of the 72 provisions of the proposed ordinance, as set forth in the petition,the City Clerk shall at once cause 73 notice of the filing of such petition and the refusal of the City Commission to pass said ordinance 74 . . _ - : - - - - - . _ . •' -- •- - - - : = - - = - - to 75 be provided in accordance with Chapter 50, Florida Statutes, and the City's Code of Ordinances, 76 and the City Commission shall at once proceed to submit the passage of the ordinance to the 77 majority vote of the qualified electors of the City voting in such election. If a regular or special 78 election is to be held in the City not earlier than thirty days,nor later than sixty days,the ordinance 79 shall be submitted to the voters at such election; otherwis; an election shall be called for such 80 submission. At least ten days before such election,the City Clerk shall cause to-bepublished -a 81 _ .. . _ . -_ _ . _• _. . •. •• • :: •- _ _• the text of the ordinance to be provided in 82 accordance with Chapter 50, Florida Statutes, and the City's Code of Ordinances. 83 Sec. 54. Initiative Petition---Form of referendum ballot. 84 Referendum elections shall be provided for in the same manner as other elections of the City. The 85 ballot shall be a piece of plain white paper which shall have printed upon it the title of the ordinance 86 to be referred,below which shall be two lines in the following form: 87 88 FOR THE ORDINANCE 89 90 91 AGAINST THE ORDINANCE 92 93 The voter shall express himself themselves by placing a cross X mark to the right of the line 94 indicating his their desire in the matter. 95 Sec.55. Initiative Petition--Vote required to amend or repeal. 96 Ordinances adopted by referendum vote can be amended or repealed only by a referendum vote, 97 but the proposition to amend or repeal such ordinances may be submitted to the voters in any 98 regular election of the City,provided that no later than fifteen thirty days before such election the 99 City Commission shall cause . •=1 . •- - - - - =: . . _ . • . _. •- _ .. . _ . __ - 100 -. . •: • _: - _ - ' •• _ . . . notice of such referendum to be in 101 accordance with Chapter 50, Florida Statutes, and the City's Code of Ordinances, using only the 102 title of such ordinance in the notice if it is to be repealed, but the amendment in full if it is to be EXHIBIT "A" 103 amended. -. . . ' - . . .. . ' - -- .. . ' . . - . . - - • - . . . ' •- -- 104 City. *This section is the subject of a separate charter referendum question. The language changes in the other charter referenda, if adopted, shall supersede the language in this section.