18-031 1 ORDINANCE NO. 18-031
2
3 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA,
4 AMENDING PART H. "CODE OF ORDINANCES," CHAPTER 2,
5 "ADMINISTRATION," ARTICLE I, "IN GENERAL," SECTION 2-15
6 "LIMITATION ON BOARD MEMBER ADVOCACY AND
7 LOBBYING"; PROVIDING FOR DEFINITIONS; PROVIDNG FOR
8 PENALTY FOR VIOLATION; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION,
9 CONFLICTS, SEVERABILITY, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE
10
11 WHEREAS, individuals who serve on City Boards by appointment of the City
12 Commission hold a trusted position which requires them to adhere to more stringent rules of
13 conduct and to avoid any appearance that a Board Member is using his or her position to
14 influence others to take or fail to take any action or to secure a special privilege, benefit, or
15 exemption for himself, herself, or any others; and
16 WHEREAS, the Commission finds that the benefits of limiting City Board Member's
17 right to speak at City Commission and Community Redevelopment Agency meetings
18 outweighs the rights of those Member's to speak as individuals on matters which come before
19 the Board on which the Member serves; and
20 WHEREAS, the City Commission deems it to be in the best interest of the citizens
21 and residents of the City to amend Part II, Chapter 2, Article 1, "In General", of the Code of
22 Ordinances, Section 2-16 to add sub-section (5) limiting Board Members from advocating or
23 lobbying on matters which have come or will come before the Board Member's Board.
24
25 NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF
26 THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA AS FOLLOWS:
27
28 Section 1. The foregoing "Whereas" clauses are hereby ratified and confirmed as being
29 true and correct and are hereby made a part of this Ordinance.
30
31 Section 2. Part II, Chapter 2, "Administration" Article I, "In General," Section 2-15 is
32 hereby amended as follows:
33
34 Sec. 2-15 Limitation on Board Member advocacy and lobbying.
35
36 a) For purposes of this section the term "advocate" means to communicate without
37 economic consideration for the passage or defeat of any measure that comes before
38 the City Commission or CRA Board for approval.
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39
40 b) For purposes of this section the terms "lobbying" and "lobbyist" have the same
41 meaning as set forth in the Palm Beach County Code of Ethics.
42 c) The prohibitions and penalties set forth in this section are supplemental to the
43 lobbying prohibitions and penalties set forth in the Palm Beach County Code of
44 Ethics.
45 d) A City Board Member may not advocate privately or publicly with a City staff
46 member, member of the City Administration, member of the City Commission or
47 the Commission as a whole, CRA staff member, member of the Community
48 Redevelopment Board or the CRA Board as a whole, for or against the interest of
49 an individual, partnership, corporation, or other business entity which has an
50 application, request, or any other matter pending for review or approval with the
51 City when the matter has come before the Board on which the Board Member sits
52 or it is reasonably foreseeable that the matter will come before the Board.
53 e) A Board Member may not speak at a City Commission meeting or CRA meeting
54 on any matter which has been before the Member's Board or is reasonably
55 expected to come before the Member's Board unless:
56
57 1. A Member of the City Commission requests that the Board Member
58 answer questions regarding the Board's action; or,
59 2. The Member's Board has voted in the affirmative to request that the
60 Board Member address the City Commission.
61
62 f) Violation of the rules set forth in this Section constitutes grounds for removal of a
63 Board Member by the City Commission, following notice and opportunity to be
64 heard.
65 g) A City Board Member is prohibited from acting as a lobbyist, as that term is
66 defined by the Palm Beach County Code of Ethics, if the subject of the Member's
67 lobbying activity may foreseeably be presented for consideration to a City advisory
68 board, the City Commissioners or CRA Board.
69
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70 h) In addition to any penalties provided for in the Palm Beach County Code of Ethics
71 a violation of the prohibits set forth in this section is grounds for removal by the
72 City Commission of the Board member from the City Board(s) to which the Board
73 Member has been appointed.
74
75 Section 3. All Ordinances or parts of Ordinances, Resolutions or parts of Resolutions
76 in conflict herewith be and the same are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.
77 Section 4. If any clause, section,or other part or application of this Ordinance shall be
78 held by any court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or invalid, such unconstitutional
79 or invalid part or application shall be considered as eliminated and so not affecting the validity of
80 the remaining portions or applications remaining in full force and effect.
81 Section 5. This Ordinance shall become effective on passage.
82
83 FIRST READING this 16th day of October, 2018.
84
85 SECOND, FINAL READING AND PASSAGE this NI"day of
86 dcto/'fes , 2018.
87
88 CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
89
90 YES NO
91
92 Mayor— Steven B. Grant
93
94 Vice Mayor—Christina L. Romelus
95
96 Commissioner—Mack McCray � ,�,>!
97
98 Commissioner—Justin Katz f`
99
100 Commissioner—Joe Casello
101
102 VOTE
103 ATTEST: •
104 •
105 p
106 t
107 Judith'. Pyle, CMC
108 City Clerk
109
110 (Corporate Seal)
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