Fort Myers Beach residents to vote on 21 referendums

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FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. – While most voters in Florida’s March 15 primary elections will make one decision, Fort Myers Beach voters are being asked to weigh in on more than a dozen additional topics.

Residents in Fort Myers will join the thousands of people voting for a presidential nominee on Tuesday, but they will also vote on 21 referendums.

Those referendums include issues about term limits, council member salaries and financial limits. It took the Fort Myers Beach charter committee months to create the 21 questions.

Voters like Andrea Carriere said they will shape the future of Fort Myers, but Carriere was skeptical about people’s investment in the process.

“This is probably one of the most important elections we will ever have,” she said. “I think it’s a lot and I don’t think a lot of people will do a lot of work prior to.”

Fort Myers Beach Mayor Anita Cereceda said she believes people will take the time to learn about the different topics before voting.

“I think people will have read and decided the questions before they get to the ballot,” she said.

But some people, including Dan Sinclair who is running for Lee County Supervisor of Elections, are concerned that the long list of referendums will equate to longer precinct lines.

“The problem is, is the scanning machine is a bottle neck so when you have four pages it takes four times longer to run it through. Ideally, it should be one page,” Sinclair said.

Current Lee County Supervisor of Elections, Sharon Harrington, said the county will prepare the precincts, though there may be some delays if people cast their votes slowly.

“We have two scanners at every precinct, so that will help,” she said. “Where it bogs down is the actual voting booth itself.”

The 21 topics up for vote in Fort Myers are:

  1. Removing limitations of the town’s ability to engage in long term financing
  2. Lowering the requirements needed for resident to present initiatives to the Town Council from 25 to 15 percent
  3. Requiring three instead of two affirmative council member votes to take official action
  4. Extending council member terms of office from three to four years
  5. Allowing elected council members to serve more than two consecutive terms; eliminates term limits
  6. Establishing a town canvassing board to review and certify votes
  7. Setting council member salaries and method for adjustment
  8. Clarifying the date mayor and vice mayor are selected
  9. Clarifying the terms of forfeiture of office
  10. Eliminating restraints on the adoption of emergency ordinances
  11. Clarifying timing for charter review
  12. Establishing grounds for recall for violating non-interference provisions
  13. Clarifying the territorial boundaries of the town to include waters within 1,000 feet of Estero Island
  14. Eliminating the requirement of keeping a journal in addition to council meeting minutes
  15. Clarifying the language regarding the filing of council member vacancies
  16. Eliminating the 24-hour notice requirement for all council meetings
  17. Requiring at least three votes to remove town manager
  18. Clarifying the terms of the town manager’s appointment
  19. Removing the approval of voters for road and bridge tolls
  20. Removing language regarding independent special districts
  21. Removing language regarding revenue sharing

For a sample of the ballot referendum questions up for vote in Fort Myers, visit http://www.fortmyersbeachfl.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8802.

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