City of Miami Springs Special Election - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - Charter Amendment Questions

On April 4, 2023, City of Miami Springs voters will be presented with five Charter amendment ballot questions. The proposed Charter amendments will address candidate qualifying periods, procedures for partial terms of office, the process for filling vacancies generally, and special elections to fill vacancies that occur when councilmembers resign to run for another office. Voters will also be presented with a proposed Charter amendment to address non-substantive, technical updates to the Charter. When you receive your ballot for the April election, you will see the five Charter amendment questions listed below.  

1.         CANDIDATE QUALIFYING PERIOD

The Charter provides for a sixty day qualification period for candidates to run for Council. It is proposed that the Charter be amended to provide for a 10 business day qualifying period.

Shall the above-described amendment be adopted? 

[  ]        Yes

[  ]        No

2.         PARTIAL TERMS OF OFFICE

The Charter provides that serving on the Council for a portion of any term counts towards an individual’s term limits. It is proposed that the Charter be amended to provide that an individual appointed or elected to fill a vacancy on the Council for less than half of a term will not be deemed to have served a full term.

Shall the above-described amendment be adopted?

[  ]        Yes

[  ]        No

3.         PROCESS FOR FILLING VACANCIES

The Charter provides that Council vacancies are filled by appointment, special election, or both depending on whether 120 days remain before the next City election or in the unexpired term. It is proposed that the Charter be amended to increase the threshold from 120 days to 180 days.

Shall the above described amendment be adopted?

[  ]        Yes

[  ]        No

4.         SPECIAL ELECTIONS TO FILL VACANCIES DUE TO RESIGNATIONS TO RUN FOR ANOTHER OFFICE

Shall the Charter be amended to require that when the Mayor or a Councilmember resigns prospectively to run for another office and the resignation is effective after a countywide election, the vacancy will be filled by special election at a countywide primary or general election occurring before the effective date of the resignation? 

[  ]        Yes

[  ]        No

5.         CHARTER NON-SUBSTANTIVE TECHNICAL UPDATES

Shall the Charter be amended to 1) remove obsolete provisions and 2) reflect non-substantive stylistic and technical changes, along with any amendments needed for conformity, implementation and consistency of Charter amendments?

[  ]        Yes

[  ]        No

To view the proposed text of the Charter Amendments, please visit www.miamisprings-fl.gov or for more information on these proposed Charter amendments, contact the City of Miami Springs City Clerk’s Office: (305) 805-5006.