Voters in Miami, Homestead and Surfside will head to the polls Nov. 4 to weigh in on several proposed charter amendments that could substantially change how their governments operate.
Here’s a look at what each municipality is considering, with descriptions detailing what would happen if the ballot measure in question is approved:
Miami
In addition to deciding races for Mayor and Commission seats representing Districts 3 and 5, Miami voters will have a say in four ballot questions aimed largely at shifting power from City Hall to residents.
They include:
— Referendum 1: Would require the City Commission to appoint a Citizen Charter Review Commission within one year after every federal census to review Miami’s charter, hold public hearings and recommend changes for consideration.
— Referendum 2: Would allow the Miami Commission, by a four-fifths vote, to sell or lease non-waterfront city-owned property even if the city receives fewer than three bids, provided fair-market safeguards and voter approval rules for waterfront land remain in place.
— Referendum 3: Would prohibit the City Commission from drawing districts to favor or harm any candidate or incumbent, create a Citizens’ Redistricting Committee to draft maps after each census and establish rules for its appointment, duties and oversight.
— Referendum 4: Would impose lifetime term limits of two elections or appointments for Miami’s Mayor and City Commissioners, county prior service retroactively, and bars them from ever running again for the same office once that limit is reached.
Homestead
Homestead, too, has three offices up for grabs and four questions on the ballot, two addressing the terms of elected office in the city and the rest centered on bonding for local projects.
They include:
— Referendum 1: Would extend the Mayor’s consecutive term limits from eight to 12 years, aligning it with limits already applied to City Council members (12 consecutive years or a combined 12 years in either office).
— Referendum 2: Would change how vacant City Council seats are filled when at least one year remains in a term. Instead of electing whomever receives the most votes in a Special Election, a runoff election would be held between the top two candidates if no one wins a majority.
— Referendum 3: Would authorize the city to issue up to $36.4 million in general obligation bonds, repaid through property taxes, to build and improve city parks, with bonds maturing in no more than 30 years.
— Referendum 4: Allows the city to issue up to $39.6 million in general obligation bonds to fund roadway construction and improvements, also repaid through property taxes and capped at a 30-year maturity.
Surfside
Four more referendums are the only things on this year’s Surfside ballot, including one straw poll, one centered on continuing a storm-resiliency project and two focused on future spending.
They include:
— Referendum 1: Would approve continuing the town’s project to bury overhead electric and communication lines underground at an anticipated cost of $80 million.
— Referendum 2: A nonbinding question asking residents if they support creating a gated community in Surfside. The vote serves only as a gauge of public opinion.
— Referendum 3: Would amend the Town Charter to require a unanimous vote by all Town Commissioners before spending more than $2 million on any single project, purchase or investment, except in emergencies. The $2 million threshold would rise over time with inflation.
— Referendum 4: Would require a public referendum, with at least 60% voter approval, before Surfside can spend an amount equal to or greater than 20% of its prior year’s ad valorem tax revenue on any single project, purchase or investment.