SEBASTIAN — Sebastian City Council members discussed a series of proposed charter amendments May 26 that would increase elected officials' compensation, strengthen residency requirements for candidates and make several administrative changes to the city's governing document.
The proposed amendments, recommended by the city's Charter Review Committee, are scheduled to receive two readings on June 24 and July 8.
Among the most notable changes is a proposal to increase monthly compensation for elected officials. Under the proposal, the mayor's monthly pay would increase from $450 to $750, while the vice mayor and council members would see their compensation rise from $300 to $600 per month. The amendment would also tie future increases to the same cost-of-living adjustments provided to city employees.
Councilwoman Sherrie Matthews said she did not view compensation as a priority.
“I am not serving for the pay. I'm serving as a community member that wants to serve their city and serve the patrons. With all the other things going on in our community, we don't know our budgets and where we're going to be. I'm very honored, but I think this is the last thing on the list for us,” Matthews said.
Other council members noted the recommendation came from the Charter Review Committee rather than the council itself.
“I don't feel this is about us, it's about future representatives. I don't have a problem with what they've come up with, and I'll respect their wishes to do that as the committee,” said Vice Mayor Christopher Nunn.
Councilman Ed Dodd said committee members considered larger increases before settling on the proposal.
“They had a lot of really good reasons,” Dodd said. “There were people in that group that wanted to do much higher dollars than this.”
Dodd also said serving on the council often comes with personal expenses.
“Going to some of these League of City meetings and the stuff that I go to, I probably spend more money in gas than I get paid in a month,” said Dodd.
The proposed amendments extend the required period a council candidate must be domiciled in Sebastian from one year to two years before qualifying for office. The measure would also define domicile as physically residing within city limits for at least 270 days during a 12-month period and require elected officials to maintain their domicile and voter registration in the city throughout their terms.
Another proposed amendment would formally prohibit individuals convicted of felonies or misdemeanors involving moral turpitude or breaches of public trust from running for or holding office unless the conviction has been pardoned or expunged. The language would define conviction to include guilty pleas and nolo contendere pleas, including cases where adjudication was withheld.
There was some pushback from council members regarding what defines moral turpitude, fearing that it would be used by political opponents over anyone else.
The committee also recommended changes related to vacancies and suspensions. The proposal would retain provisions allowing council members or the mayor to be suspended if arrested for a felony or a misdemeanor related to official duties and would remove a section requiring a special hearing before the council to consider suspension or removal.
Additional amendments would preserve existing procedures for filling council vacancies and vacancies in candidacy while removing outdated transition language from Article VI of the charter by marking several sections as reserved.
If approved by the council, the proposed amendments would update multiple sections of the city charter governing qualifications for office, compensation and administrative procedures.