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By Melody Jameson
melody@observernews.net
SUN CITY CENTER -- A “flawed concept” or the key to “checks and balances,” a sure route to “conflict” or “leadership” in the making – these are a few of the headlines on opposing views about a Hillsborough county mayor.
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| Melody Jameson Photos
Jan Platt...opposes the county mayor proposal. David Hurley...favors county mayor concept. |
And they were used liberally last week when former county commissioner Jan Platt squared off with David Hurley, principal in a well known Tampa engineering firm, during a quarterly session of the South Shore Roundtable here.
The question of accepting or rejecting the county mayor concept for Hillsborough will appear on the November 4 general election ballot, giving all registered voters in the county a voice in whether the Home Rule Charter - sometimes called the county’s “constitution” – should be so amended. The issue got on the ballot after a petition drive by pro-mayor forces gathered 75,000 supporting signatures.
The county home rule charter, instituted by voters in 1983 after years of study and debate, defines how the jurisdiction is governed. Basically, it establishes the county’s legislative branch consisting of seven elected commissioners with staggered terms of office - four representing specific districts, three of them serving a county-wide constituency, thereby giving each citizen four elected county-level representatives. Further, the county “constitution” sets forth commissioners’ means of governing through ordinances.
The charter also creates the executive branch in the form of an appointed county administrator, sets the educational and experience standards required of that official, and outlines the county administrative organization.
Just as importantly, the charter institutes the office of county attorney to handle county administration legal affairs, sets forth qualifications for that appointed office holder and initiates the administrative code which controls functions of the governmental structure.
The history of a Hillsborough county mayor is nearly as long as the charter’s background. The now 25-year-old home rule prescription emerged from years of local discussion and dissatisfaction with government dating back to the 1950s. Similarly, the county mayor concept dates from unsuccessful moves beginning in the 1960s to consolidate the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County in much the same way two other prominent Florida East Coast jurisdictions - Miami in Dade County as well as Jacksonville and Duval County – eventually did.
In Hillsborough, various versions of the county mayor, along with proposals for consolidation, have been offered over the years, but then rejected on one basis or another.
And the current proposal is the most “flawed” of all, Platt asserted Friday before the roundtable representing the several communities in the South County. The county mayor concept as currently outlined is intended to amend or be added to the existing county charter, she noted. But, Platt, who has participated in several periodic charter reviews and chaired the last one in 2006, added that the proposal actually conflicts with parts of the established charter without providing any means of dealing with the contradictions. “It has not been thought out,” she said.
One area of conflict involves a basic means by which elected county officials govern – use of ordinances. The current mayor concept calls for giving that individual the power to veto many actions of the county commission, with allowance that such a veto can be overridden by a “super majority” or two thirds of the seven commissioners. But, many ordinances are the result of mandates from the state, Platt pointed out, and others, by law, can be produced only by the commission.
Making such responsibilities of the commission subject to a single individual’s veto is a disservice to citizens, Platt said. Situations could develop in which a mayor’s solitary veto could stall a necessary ordinance, then possibly hamstringing administrative functions for the duration of litigation, she indicated. “It’s taking us back to the old time politics,” the former commissioner told The Observer. “I don’t think the veto language will stand” if challenged in court, she said.
Another concern centers on the veto power given a county mayor to negate the county budget. Half of the county budget each year supports offices of the county’s five constitutional officers – Clerk of the Circuit Court, Property Appraiser, Sheriff, Supervisor of Elections and Tax Collector. Each of these officials is independently elected and answers to voters, not appointed by or subject to the county commission. Neither they nor their budgets would be subject to a county mayor. In fact, as elected county officers, they can – and do – go outside the county to the state legislature on budgetary matters, Platt said. “Whomever drafted the ballot language really does not understand county government,” she asserted.
Then, there’s the matter of timing service. County commissioners are elected and immediately seated in November of their election years, Platt pointed out. But the county mayor proposal calls for electing and seating that person in January – two months after the commissioners. That means that every time there’s a change in county mayor, beginning with the first election, the preceding chief county administrative official will be “a lame duck” - keeping the chair warm but potentially on the way out the door - for two months, she added.
Another problematic aspect of the mayor proposal is the authority given that single person to enter into contractual obligations on behalf of the county. Such a situation “simply takes government out of the sunshine,” Platt proclaimed forcefully.
And there are many other potential problems with the county mayor proposal, Platt emphasized. While the charter requires a certain proved level of professional achievement by appointed county administrators, no professional standards whatsoever are required of the prospective county mayor. “All that person needs to be able to do is get elected,” she said.
Additionally, the proposal does not provide either a back-up for or a successor in case of emergency, Platt noted. If serious illness or accident should incapacitate the elected county mayor, who would be there to immediately take over?, she asked rhetorically.
Platt also expressed concern that the pro-county mayor forces have given voters several false impressions. For example, contrary to inferences, most Florida counties have not adopted county mayor forms of government. “Only a handful” of Florida’s 67 counties have tried it in the history of the state, she added. And, also contrary to indications, many of the largest counties – in Hillsborough’s league - have not opted for a county mayor. Neither Pinellas nor Polk or Palm Beach, for example, has adopted the concept although each has populations around the 1 million mark. Nationwide, only nine percent of U.S. counties have gone for a type of county mayor, Platt said.
On the other hand, Hurley told the roundtable group “if anyone thinks the county commission system we have is working really, really well, I’d like to know why they think so.”
A county mayor would provide the “leadership” that does not exist today with a county administrator responsible to the county commission, not to Hillsborough’s citizens, he said. Creating a county mayor position in Hillsborough, he suggested, would create a situation similar to governance on the state level – a governor working with state legislators, and all of them elected.
“Talking points” distributed by the pro-mayor forces elaborate on this alleged lack of leadership. An appointed county administrator “is in no position to ‘speak truth to power’ or to disagree with the elected administrators,” the document states. Commissioners pressure their appointed administrators to hire or fire staff, to approve or disapprove contracts and “This kind of political pressure is unhealthy in a democracy,” the document continues.
Making the same claim about open government that anti-mayor forces express, the pro-mayor document asserts “An elected county mayor, with veto power, would be accountable to the people… and his or her actions would be open to public scrutiny.”
Asserting that the current system of local government has no checks and balances built in - a hallmark of good government - pro-mayor supporters suggest that with an elected county official the county government could work as city, state and national governments do. The commission would function as the legislative branch, setting policy and enacting ordinances, while the county mayor would be the executive branch, “proposing legislation and providing vision and direction.”
The small audience for the roundtable session, though, was not swayed in favor of the concept. Community activist Dee Williams asked who would “vette the candidates” for county mayor. Questioning the necessity of such a process, Hurley replied “few people are so dumb they would elect anyone who cannot lead the county,” The comment prompted snorts of derision in the audience.
Another Sun City Center resident actively involved in local governmental affairs, Janet Wilson, said she doubted any change in the form of governance would provide better service. “We’ve met with success nearly every time we’ve asked for good government,” she stated.
Summing up their opposing positions, Hurley reemphasized the importance of a single county leader elected by and responsible to the citizenry while Platt suggested “if you’re inclined toward the county mayor concept, then start over again. This proposal is too flawed.”
©2008 Melody Jameson
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