Charter Review Committee

TOWN OF LOXAHATCHEE GROVES TOWN HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS 155 F. ROAD, LOXAHATCHEE GROVES, FL 33470 CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES OCTOBER 8, 2025 – 4:03 PM – 6:04 PM Jodi Jansen (Seat 1), Committee Member Burgess Hansen (Seat 3), Committee Member Katie Kuss (Seat 1), Committee Member Aly Daly (Seat 4), Committee Member Christine St. John (Seat 1), Committee Member Ashley Bruce (Seat 4), Committee Member Cassie Suchy (Seat 2), Committee Member Bill Ford (Seat 4), Committee Member Jennifer Stephens (Seat 2), Committee Member Jo Siciliano (Seat 5), Committee Member Karen Plante (Seat 2), Committee Member Virginia Standish (Seat 5), Committee Member Sam Harrity (Seat 3), Committee Member Katie Lakeman (Seat 5), Committee Member VACANT (Seat 3), Committee Member Administration Town Manager: Francine L. Ramaglia Board Liaison: Jeff Kurtz, Town Attorney Board Clerk: Gabriella Croasdaile, Assistant to the Town Clerk COMMITTEE AGENDA ITEMS CALL TO ORDER The October 8, 2025 Charter Review Committee meeting was called to order at 4:03 PM by Town Attorney Jeff Kurtz. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The committee began the meeting by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Town Attorney Jeff Kurtz. Town of Loxahatchee Groves October 8, 2025 Charter Review Committee Minutes Page No. 2 ROLL CALL The roll call was self-led with Committee Members stating their name. Committee Present:  Jodi Jansen(Seat 1)  Katie Kuss (Seat 1)  Christine St. John (Seat 1)  Cassie Suchy (Seat 2)  Jennifer Stephens (Seat 2)  Karen Plante (Seat 2)  Sam Harrity (Seat 3)  Aly Daly (Seat 4)  Ashley Bruce (Seat 4)  Jo Siciliano (Seat 5)  Virginia Standish (Seat 5)  Katie Lakeman (Seat 5) Committee Absent:  Burgess Hanson (Seat 3)  Bill Ford (Seat 4) Staff Present  Jeff Kurtz, Town Attorney  Gabriella Croasdaile, Assistant to the Town Clerk ADDITIONS, DELETTIONS, AND/OR MODIFICATION TO THE AGENDA There were no modifications, deletions, and/or modifications to the agenda. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES There were no minutes for approval. PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments at the meeting. 2 Town of Loxahatchee Groves October 8, 2025 Charter Review Committee Minutes Page No. 3 REGULAR AGENDA Welcome & Introduction to the Charter Review Committee Members introduced themselves to each other and Town Attorney Kurtz welcomed members. Administer the Oath Of Office to the New Charter Review Committee Members Town Clerk Assistant Gabriella Croasdaile administered the swearing-in/Oath of Office of newly appointed Charter Review Committee Members. Appointment of Charter Review Committee Chairperson Committee Member Jennifer Stephens volunteered to be the chairperson. MOTION: Committee Member Cassie Suchy made a motion to nominate Committee Member Jennifer Stephens as the chairperson to the Charter Review Committee. The motion was seconded by Committee Member Virginia Standish. Motion passes 11-0 . Appointment of the Charter Review Committee Vice Chairperson MOTION: Committee Member Karen Plante made a motion to nominate Committee Member Virginia Standish as the Vice Chairperson to the Charter Review Committee . Standish Declined the nomination. MOTION: Committee Member Jo Siciliano made a motion to nominate Committee Member Katie Kuss as the Vice Chairperson to the Charter Review Committee. There were no seconds for this motion. MOTION: Committee Member Karen Plante made a motion to nominate Committee Member Cassie Suchy as the Vice Chairperson to the Charter Review Committee. The motion was seconded by Committee Member Katie Lakeman. Motion passes 10-1. Discussion of Charter Amendments A memo was distributed to members titled “Charter Review Committee Important Dates”(Exhibit A) as well as a copy of Florida Statute Section 166.031. These documents were given out to aide members with their decision making as well to get a comprehensive understanding of the charter amendment process. Discussion ensued with Town Attorney Kurtz explaining the need for the committee as well as the importance of frequent meetings. Any recommendations the committee provides are meant to be on the March 2026 election ballot. For an item to be requested on the ballot, an ordinance must be passed by the council and then given to the Supervisor of Elections. Due to time constraints, the need for frequent meetings was emphasized. Committee Member Sam Harrity joined the meeting and was sworn in. 3 Town of Loxahatchee Groves October 8, 2025 Charter Review Committee Minutes Page No. 4 The members will be discussing three (3) issues per the request of Council. These issues are as follows: 1. Supermajority voting requirements within the Charter; 2. Section 3 “Election and Terms of Office” in conjunction with Section 7 “Elections” which result in the Town having at least one Council seat open for election each and every year; and 3. Section 4 (4)(D)(3) and the Town Attorney’s role in approving all contracts. It was noted that these items are not placed in a certain order or with hierarchy. Chairperson Stephens suggested beginning the discussion with the third item regarding the Town Attorney’s role in approving all contracts. Town Attorney Kurtz gave insight into his experience as Town Attorney and some of the problematic nature of the clause. The language in the charter states that the Town Attorney approves but also endorses all contracts. Town Attorney Kurtz explained that the approval of form is understandable but that every purchase is a contract, making it impractical to review every contract. The committee provided the following suggestions, which included:  Removing the language from the charter in general;  Adding a fixed dollar amount to clarify which contracts are deemed necessary to be approved;  Providing a subsection to clarify which types of contracts need approval;  Having language in the Charter changed to only have approval of form;  Expanding upon the materiality of a contract; and  Having the charter reference an ordinance, the ordinance can be more easily changed and kept standard to times when compared to the charter. The consensus from this discussion came to an agreement that all members present believed that there should be language pertaining to this issue in the charter. The committee liked the idea of referencing an ordinance but tabled the conversation for the next meeting. The committee then moved onto the supermajority voting requirements within the charter. Within the charter there are (3) three sections of the charter that require (4) four affirmative votes of Council to make a decision. The first of these sections the committee decided to discuss was Section 9(10) which requires a supermajority for any change to the Town’s future land use map as well as any change to the zoning designation for any parcel. The consensus by the committee was to maintain the current language. The next section they decided to discuss was Section 3(4)(e)(2) which speaks to the issue of increasing Town Council compensation. A committee member raised a question as to whether changing this compensation would affect councilmembers who were elected after the change was made. It was clarified that all sitting members would receive equal compensation regardless of 4 Town of Loxahatchee Groves October 8, 2025 Charter Review Committee Minutes Page No. 5 their election date. The committee came to a consensus to maintain the supermajority vote for this item. The final section discusses Section 4(2)(b) which requires a supermajority vote to remove a charter officer. Before deciding, there was a discussion on the number of votes it takes to hire a charter officer. Upon review of the charter, it was found that it takes 3 votes of the full Council to hire or renew a charter officer. Members shared sentiments that it should be the same number of votes to hire a charter officer as it is to terminate an officer. Town Attorney Kurtz provided an anecdote about his own experience in local government to provide context as to why the original drafters of the charter may have included a supermajority- to promote stability within frequent turnover. This example was shared for context, not persuasion. Committee Members came to a consensus that to remove a charter officer it should take a majority number of votes, the same number it takes to hire. The meeting concluded with a discussion of Sections 3 and 7 of the charter which speaks to terms of office and elections. One of the main concerns surrounding the topic was the issue of voter fatigue, low turnout, and cost as the Town has elections every year. Discussion on this topic will continue at the following meeting. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS There were no comments from the committee. CONFIRMATION OF THE NEXT MEETING DATE The next Charter Review Committee meeting was confirmed to be Wednesday October 22, 2025 at 4:00 PM. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:04 PM. Jennifer Stephens, Charter Review Committee Gabriella Croasdaile, Committee Chairperson Assistant to the Town Clerk y 5 Town of Loxahatchee Groves October 8, 2025 Charter Review Committee Minutes Page No. 6 6