Article 7
Miscellaneous Provisions
Section 7.1 Effective Date
This Charter shall become law when approved by a majority of those electors voting on the matter in a referendum to be held in the County in November 1994 under the provisions of the Constitution and laws of Florida. The Charter Government shall assume
all powers and duties provided by this Charter on the first day of January 1995, the effective date of this Charter.
Section 7.2 Transition
7.2.1 Continuation of laws, ordinances and contracts
Unless expressly provided otherwise in this Charter, the adoption of this Charter shall not affect any existing contracts or obligations of Brevard County; the validity of any of its laws, ordinances, regulations, and resolutions; or the term of office
of any elected County officer, whose term shall continue as if this Charter had not been adopted.
7.2.2 Initial County Commissioners
The persons comprising the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners on the effective date of this Charter shall become the initial members of the Board of County Commissioners of the charter government and shall perform the functions thereof until
the expiration of their terms or until qualification of their successors as provided by law.
7.2.3 Initial County Officers
The persons holding office as the Clerk of Circuit Court, Sheriff, Property Appraiser, Tax Collector and Supervisor of Elections of Brevard County shall constitute the County Officers of like name recognized under this Charter and shall perform the functions
thereof until the expiration of their respective terms of office or until qualification of their respective successors as provided by law. All duties and employees of the elected County Officers shall, on the effective date of this Charter, continue
as deputies and employees of the respective elected officers under this Charter, and all existing wages, benefits, agreements and conditions of employment of such deputies and employees shall continue in effect. The County Administrator and County
Attorney employed on the effective date of this Charter shall serve as the County Manager and County Attorney respectively, subject to termination and replacement as provided herein.
7.2.4 Employee continuation
All employees of the former County Government shall on the effective date of this Charter become employees of the County Government created by this Charter. All existing wages, benefits, collective bargaining certifications and agreements, contracts and
conditions of employment shall continue, until modified by lawful action of the Board of County Commissioners.
7.2.5 Continuation of agencies and advisory bodies
All existing appointments or designations of nongovernmental agencies or corporations to act as official agencies of the County shall remain in full force and effect in accordance with the terms of such appointment and the provisions of this Charter.
All members of advisory boards, resource groups or committees appointed for terms expiring after the effective date of this Charter shall continue to serve their terms without necessity of reappointment under this Charter.
7.2.6 Outstanding bonds
All bonds, revenue certificates, and other financial obligations of the county outstanding on the effective date of this Charter shall be obligations of the charter government. All actions taken by the former government relating to the issuance of such
obligations are hereby ratified and confirmed. Payment of such obligations and the interest thereon shall be made solely from and charged solely against funds derived from the same sources from which such payment would have been made had this Charter
not taken effect.
Section 7.3. Charter Amendment
7.3.1 Amendment by the Board of County Commissioners
The Board of County Commissioners, upon the concurrence of not less than four members, shall have the authority to propose amendments to this Charter not inconsistent with the State Constitution and with general law.
7.3.2 Amendment by petition
Amendments to this Charter may be proposed by a petition signed by at least four percent (4%) of the electors from each County Commission District, provided that any such amendment shall embrace but one subject matter directly connected therewith in the
manner set forth in subsections 7.3.2.1 through
7.3.2.4
below.1
7.3.2.1
Each amendment shall embrace but one subject and matter directly connected therewith. The amendment shall not extend to existing budgets, existing debt obligations, existing capital improvement obligations, salaries of non-elected County officers and
employees, the collection of taxes or rezoning of less than five per cent (5%) of the total land area of the County.
7.3.2.2
The sponsor of the measure shall register as a political committee as required by general law, and shall submit a petition setting forth the ballot title, substance and text of the proposed amendment to the Supervisor of Elections. The sponsor must then
obtain the signatures on the petition of at least 1% of the electors from each County Commission district and then resubmit the signed petitions to the Supervisor of Elections for verification that the electors signing the petition are qualified voters.
When the Supervisor of Elections has verified the signatures, the Supervisor shall report such verification to the Board of County Commissioners.
7.3.2.3
Once the signatures are verified, the County Commission, at the county's expense, shall empanel a panel of three persons to determine whether the proposed amendment and ballot language embraces one subject only and is consistent with the Florida Constitution,
general law and this Charter. The persons serving on the panel shall have demonstrated experience in Florida local government law and shall either be licensed to practice law in the State of Florida or have retired from a Florida law practice or the
Florida judiciary within the past five years.
7.3.2.4.2
If at least two members of the panel find that the proposed amendment is consistent with the Florida Constitution, general law and this Charter, then such consistency shall be presumed and the petition shall be returned to the sponsor who must thereafter
obtain enough signatures from electors in each county commission district to bring the total number of petition signatures to at least 4% of the qualified electors in each county commission district. The verification procedures for signatures on initiative
petitions set forth in Section 5.1.1 of this Charter shall thereafter be followed.
Since this charter does not provide the Board, or the Petitioner with an avenue to determine whether proposed amendments are consistent with the State Constitution or general law, the proposed amendment will be governed by Section 1.3 and Section 1.6
of this charter, and the proposed amendment will be placed on the ballot for approval or rejection. The sponsor of an amendment shall, prior to obtaining signatures, submit the text of the proposed amendment to the Supervisor of Elections, with the
proposed ballot summary and the form on which signature will be affixed. The procedures for initiative petitions set forth in Section 5.1.1 of this Charter shall thereafter be followed. The power to amend this Charter by initiative shall not extend
to existing budgets, existing debt obligations, existing capital improvement programs, salaries of non-elected County officers and employees, the collection of taxes, or the rezoning of less than five percent (5%) of the total land area of the County.
7.3.3. Amendment referendum.
The Board of County Commissioners will cause any Charter amendment proposed under section 7.3.1 or 7.3.2 to be submitted to the electors for their approval or rejection. Upon receipt of the official certification from the Supervisor of Elections that
the initiative requirements have been met, the Board will, within 30 days, establish the referendum date. The proposed amendment will be placed on the ballot at a special election held concurrent with the next countywide election, or at any earlier
special election called for that purpose. If the Board refuses to comply with Section 7.3.2 or refuses to place the proposed amendment on the ballot as required by this section of the charter, the Board's action may be construed as interfering
with the right of the people to petition and may be considered an act of malfeasance within the meaning of Article IV, Section 7(a) of the State Constitution.
Notice of said referendum, together with the language of the proposed amendment, shall be published once a week for four (4) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, the first publication being not more than forty-five
(45) days prior to the referendum. Passage of proposed amendments shall require approval of a majority of electors voting in said election. (Amd. 11-7-00)
Section 7.4 Charter Review
Not later than July 1 of the year 1997 and of every sixth year thereafter, the Board of County Commissioners shall appoint a Charter Review Commission to review the Charter of the County. Each Charter Review Commission shall consist of fifteen (15)
persons, with not less than two (2) members residing in each Commission district. The Commission shall otherwise be appointed in the manner provided by law for the appointment of charter commissions in counties without charters. The Commission
shall be funded by the Board of County Commissioners and shall be known as the "Brevard County Charter Review Commission." It shall, within one (1) year from the date of its first meeting, present to the Board of County Commissioners its recommendations
for amendment of the Charter or its recommendation that no amendment is appropriate. If amendment is to be recommended, the Charter Commission shall conduct three (3) public hearings, at intervals of not less than ten (10) days, immediately prior
to the transmittal of its recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners. The Board of County Commissioners shall schedule a referendum on the proposed charter amendments concurrent with the next general election. The Charter Review Commission
may remain in existence until the general election for purposes of conducting and supervising education and information on the proposed amendments.
7.4.1 Independent Review of Proposed Charter Amendments
1. For any proposed amendment sponsored by the County Commission or the Charter Review Commission, the County Commission, at the county’s expense, shall empanel a panel of three persons to determine whether the proposed amendment and ballot
language embraces one subject only and is consistent with the Florida Constitution, general law and this Charter. The persons serving on the panel shall have demonstrated experience in Florida local government law and shall either be licensed
to practice law in the State of Florida or have retired from a Florida law practice or the Florida judiciary within the past five years.
2. If at least two members of the panel find that the proposed amendment embraces only one subject and is consistent with the Florida Constitution, general law and this Charter, the County Commission shall place the proposed charter amendment on the
ballot for consideration at a referendum at a special election held concurrently with the next countywide election or at an earlier special election called for that purpose. Notice of the election shall conform to the requirements set forth in
the last paragraph of section 7.3.3. in this Charter. Passage of a proposed charter amendment shall require approval by a majority of the registered electors voting in the special election.
7.4.2 Analysis of fiscal impact of proposed charter amendment
The Charter Review Commission shall obtain an analysis of the fiscal impact of a proposed charter amendment prior to transmittal of the proposed charter amendment to the County Commission. (Newly adopted 11-2-10)
Section 7.5 Severability and Validity
If any part of this Charter is held invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder thereof shall remain in full force and effect. For purposes of the method of election or manner of choosing, and provision for recall or filling of vacancies in office
of the County Commissioners and other County officers, said offices shall be deemed to be created by this Charter under the powers reserved to the people of Brevard County by Article VIII, Section 1(d) and (e) of the State Constitution, but in
all other respects the County officers have all of the powers, duties and responsibilities of officers in non charter counties elected under the provisions of general law.
Footnotes
1 The wording of section 7.3.2 presented here is a combination of the amendment wording set forth in County Commission Corrected Resolutions 2000-268 and 2000-269, both of which received referendum approval. The precise language of the two resolutions
as approved by the voters has been combined in this form by the editors in an attempt to preserve the actual text as well as the intent and meaning of the text in both approved amendments.
2 The editors have renumbered this subsection from (c), which is the designation given to this paragraph in County Commission Resolution 2000-268, to 7.3.2.4, which is referenced at the end of the first sentence of section 7.3.2 in Corrected Resolution
2000-268. This change corrects an apparent scrivener’s error in the text of the original Corrected Resolution 2000-268 in which it appears that sub paragraph (c) should have been numbered as subsection 7.3.2.4.