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ORDINANCE RELATING TO COMMUNITY COUNCILS; CLARIFYING PROCEDURES FOR APPOINTMENTS TO THE COMMUNITY COUNCILS; AMENDING SECTION 20-43 OF THE CODE OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA; PROVIDING SEVERABILITY, INCLUSION IN THE CODE, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE

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BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA:

Section 1. Article IV, Section 20-43 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, is hereby amended to read as follows:

ARTICLE IV. - COMMUNITY COUNCILS

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Sec 20-43. - Community Councils; membership.

Except as provided in subsection (E), Community Councils shall have seven (7) members, six (6) of whom shall be elected at large within the council area and one (1) of whom shall be appointed by the Board of County Commissioners as follows:

(A) Elected Council Members.

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(7) The County Commissioner [[or Commissioners]] whose district encompasses [[all or part of a Community Council]]>>the greatest total population within the Community Council area, based on population data from the decennial Census,<< shall fill any vacant Council positions, by the appointment of an individual meeting the qualifications provided in subsection (1) above from a list of one or more names supplied by the Community Council. A person appointed shall serve until the earlier of the following: (1) the next [[state first ]]primary election; or (2) expiration of the term of office for which the appointment is made. This limitation on term length shall apply to any person appointed by either a Community Council or a County Commissioner, whether appointed prior to or after the effective date of this ordinance. A person elected at such county-wide election shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term. It is provided, however, in the event there is an insufficient number of Community Council Members in office to constitute a quorum, the County Commissioner [[or Commissioners]] whose district encompasses >>the greatest total population within the Community Council area, based on population data from the decennial Census,<<[[all or part of a Community Council,]] shall appoint a sufficient number of members necessary to constitute a quorum. Further, should any Community Council fail to supply a list of one or more names for any vacant Council position within ninety (90) days from the date such position becomes vacant or that the names supplied within such time period are not acceptable to the appointing County Commissioner[[ or Commissioners]], the County Commissioner[[ or Commissioners]] whose district encompasses >>the greatest total population within the Community Council area, based on population data from the decennial Census,<<[[all or part of a Community Council]] shall appoint an individual meeting the qualifications set forth in subsection (1) above to fill such vacancy. In the event any Council Member no longer resides in a Council subarea for a subarea position or Council area for an at large position, that person shall be deemed to have tendered their resignation from such Council; provided, however, any Council Member who, as a result of a modification to the configuration of a Council subarea pursuant to Section 20-42, is no longer qualified to be an elected member of such Council, shall be permitted to complete the term of office commenced prior to the subarea boundary modification.

(B) Appointed Council Members.

(1) The County Commissioners shall appoint one (1) member to each Community Council following each election of Council Members. Each appointed Community Council Member shall have been for at least six months prior to appointment a resident elector of the Council area, and, for at least three (3) years, a resident elector of Miami-Dade County. No appointed Council Member shall be employed by Miami-Dade County or be a member of the County Commission. These members shall be appointed by the County Commissioner[[(s)]] whose district[[(s) include]]>>includes<< the [[boundaries of all or part of the Community Council area.]] >>greatest total population within the Community Council area, based on population data from the decennial Census.<< Appointments shall be confirmed by a majority of the Board of County Commissioners.

(2) The term of each appointed Council Member shall be four (4) years; provided, however, the term of each member expires when the Commissioner who appointed that member leaves office. Each member shall hold office until a successor has been duly appointed, qualified and confirmed. Vacant Council Member positions shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as other appointed Council Members.

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Section 2. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or provision of this ordinance is held invalid, the remainder of this ordinance shall not be affected by such invalidity.

Section 3. It is the intention of the Board of County Commissioners, and it is hereby ordained that the provisions of this ordinance, including any sunset provision, shall become and be made a part of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida. The sections of this ordinance may be renumbered or relettered to accomplish such intention, and the word "ordinance" may be changed to "section," "article," or other appropriate word.

Section 4. This ordinance shall become effective ten (10) days after the date of enactment unless vetoed by the Mayor, and if vetoed, shall become effective only upon an override by this Board.

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Date:

To: Honorable Chairman Joe A. Martinez
and Members, Board of County Commissioners

From: Carlos A. Gimenez
Mayor

Subject: Ordinance clarifying procedures for appointment of members to the Community Councils

STAFF RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Board of County Commissioners adopt the proposed ordinance amending Section 20-43 of the Code of Miami-Dade County. The proposed ordinance will clarify procedures for the appointment of members to the Community Councils.

Scope
The ordinance affects Community Councils which encompass all portions of unincorporated Miami-Dade County.

Fiscal Impact/Funding Source
There is no fiscal impact to Miami-Dade County.

Track Record/Monitor
The Regulatory and Economic Resources Department will be responsible for implementation of the proposed ordinance.

MANAGER'S BACKGROUND
Background
The community councils were originally created in 1996 for the purpose of making zoning hearings more accessible to the public. Section 20-43 of the Code provides for one appointed position within each of the community councils. In addition, any vacant elected positions within a given community council are also filled through an appointment process. The Code provides that appointed positions shall be filled by the �Commissioner(s) whose district(s) include the boundaries of all or part of the Community Council area� with confirmation by a majority of the members of the Board of County Commissioners (BCC). Prior to 1997, there were sixteen community councils. Over the years the number of community councils has been reduced to the current ten. The remaining community councils now encompass a greater number of commission districts within the boundaries creating a need to clarify the appointment procedures for community council members.

Historically, the commissioner with appointing purview has been interpreted to be the commissioner whose district encompasses the greatest total population within each community council based on decennial Census data. In early 2011, the Census Bureau released decennial population data for the 2010 Census. Additionally, on December 19, 2011, the BCC adopted Ordinance 11-103 which provided new boundaries for County Commission Election Districts. The combination of population growth trends and amendments to the commission districts resulted in amendments to the population totals within the community council boundaries.

The following tables provide Census population data by commission district for each of the ten community councils. The commission district with the greatest population, as indicated with an asterisk, has appointing purview within the community council. As noted below, the appointing purview of Community Councils 2 and 7 has changed as a result of the 2010 Census data.

COMMUNITY COUNCIL 2 (Population by Census Year)

COMMISSION DISTRICT
CENSUS YEAR D1 D2 D4
2010 24,906* 573 22,912
2000 17,754 541 26,594*

COMMUNITY COUNCIL 5 (Population by Census Year)

COMMISSION DISTRICT
CENSUS YEAR D1 D12 D13
2010 42,566 3,580 49,465*
2000 27,356 10,424 43,008*

COMMUNITY COUNCIL 7 (Population by Census Year)

COMMISSION DISTRICT
CENSUS YEAR D3 D4
2010 5,150* 4,283
2000 3,578 5,544*


COMMUNITY COUNCIL 8 (Population by Census Year)

COMMISSION DISTRICT
CENSUS YEAR D1 D2 D3 D5 D6 D12
2010 106,427* 31,462 113 1,123
2000 8,037 105,658* 23,391 118 4 1,080


COMMUNITY COUNCIL 10 (Population by Census Year)

COMMISSION DISTRICT
CENSUS YEAR D6 D10 D11 D12
2010 54,476 111,315* 67,582 22,905
2000 50,127 112,167* 52,232 28,497


COMMUNITY COUNCIL 11 (Population by Census Year)

COMMISSION DISTRICT
CENSUS YEAR D7 D8 D9 D10 D11
2010 10,920 11,838 19,083 51,218 132,247*
2000 12,164 11,834 47,758 125,344*

COMMUNITY COUNCIL 12 (Population by Census Year)

COMMISSION DISTRICT
CENSUS YEAR D7 D8 D10
2010 65,014* 24,074 28,146
2000 50,463* 48,042 18,964

COMMUNITY COUNCIL 14 (Population by Census Year)

COMMISSION DISTRICT
CENSUS YEAR D8 D9 D11
2010 30,024 99,920* 40
2000 18,036 97,979*

COMMUNITY COUNCIL 15 (Population by Census Year)

COMMISSION DISTRICT
CENSUS YEAR D8 D9 D11
2010 34,813 46,204* 413
2000 23,914 37,951*

COMMUNITY COUNCIL 16 (Population by Census Year)

COMMISSION DISTRICT
CENSUS YEAR D5 D7
2010 132* 31
2000 467* 6

* Commission District with greatest population within Community Council boundary.




_______________________________
Jack Osterholt
Deputy Mayor