City Attorney’s comments on charter

The City Attorney’s office has distributed to the Mayor and City Council its analysis and comments on the Charter Review Commission’s proposed charter revisions.

Many of the City Attorney’s comments highlight technical or linguistic qualms, but he does raise several important issues. Namely, he finds potential conflicts between the Mayor and City Council based on their unusual division of powers. The Pensacola Bay Area League of Women Voters and others have raised similar concerns. Where the Charter Review Commission intended to create checks and balances, they may have instead created confusion.

Additionally, the City Attorney pointed out several phrases in various sections of the proposed charter which are undefined or unclear, and will likely require clarification, indicating that it is increasingly likely that the City Council will return the proposed document to the CRC for further revision.

The City Attorney’s full commentary is included below:

Charter Review Commission – Comments to Proposed Charter