By D. L. Norris
Among the many duties Florida law lays out for the commissioners in non-charter counties to perform; adopting county ordinances, resolutions, rules of procedure and prescribing fines and penalties for violations of ordinances are near the top of the list right after adopting an annual budget and levying taxes and special assessments.
Since one of the main responsibilities of the county commission is to meet regularly as a group and make policy; and, with this year being an election year, here’s a timely review of the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) 2019 legislative record. Note, from the county website, this legislation has been enacted but has not yet been codified.
The BOCC passed 11 ordinances and repealed one. Eight of the 11 ordinances were amendments to existing ordinances and three were newly drafted ordinances. Four of the adopted ordinances required an enforcement mechanism; however there was no request for an increase in funding or manpower for the county code enforcement department, or any other departments, to handle this increase in enforcement responsibility. A short summary of all follows:
Ordinance 19-01 adopted January 15, 2019, amended Ordinance 15-04, modifying the grant of economic development ad valorem tax exemption.
Ordinance 19-02 adopted February 5, 2019, amended Chapter 11 of the Code of Ordinances pertaining to affordable housing.
Ordinance 19-03 adopted February 19, 2019, amended Chapter 16 of the Code of Ordinances relating to county recreational areas, specifically for beach vending and wedding events. The 21 pages of regulatory code is enforced by civil penalties and fines. Enforcement agencies are: Sheriff Department, Public Works Department, Code Enforcement, Tourist Development Department, and Public Safety Department.
Ordinance 19-04 adopted April 16, 2019, created Article VI of the Code of Ordinances, regulating the sale of motor vehicles unless conducted by a business within Okaloosa County. Enforcement agencies are: Sheriff Department or Code Enforcement.
Ordinance 19-05 adopted June 4, 2019, amended Chapter 11, Article IV, Division 2, titled “Residential Solid Waste and Recycling” creating section 11-198, relating to debris removal from private communities.
Ordinance 19-06 adopted June 4, 2019, amended Chapter 19, Article III of the Code of Ordinances, established a Boating Restricted Area, creating idle speed and no wake zones around the fuel pumps operated by the Fort Walton Beach Yacht Basin. Enforcement agencies are: Any law enforcement officer possessing the power to arrest.
Ordinance 19-07 adopted August 6, 2019, established procedures for the disposition of county owned real property, the acquisition of real property, providing for procedures for acquisition of real property. The county administrator was granted decision making authority to acquire private property valued at $10,000 or less without BOCC consent.
Ordinance 19-08 adopted September 17, 2019, amended Ordinance 19-07, granting the county administrator decision making authority to acquire private property valued at $50,000 or less. Prior to the acquisition of real property, a notice of intent to acquire the real property shall be sent to the BOCC. If within 3 business days of the sending of the notice of intent to acquire the real property, a member of the BOCC may request that it be placed upon the Board’s agenda for review, in which case it shall be placed upon the Board’s next available agenda. If no request is received within the time period set forth, then the county administrator may proceed with the acquisition of the real property.
Ordinance 19-09 adopted October 15, 2019, amended Chapter 4 Concurrency Requirements of Code of Ordinances, ordinance 91-01, pertaining to traffic concurrency and public school facilities.
Ordinance 19-15 adopted October 15, 2019, repeals ordinance 04-05 and dissolves the Parks Advisory Committee.
Ordinance 19-16 adopted November 19, 2019, amended Appendix D, Articles XIV of the Code of Ordinances, relating to the municipal services taxing unit.
Ordinance 19-17 adopted December 3, 2019, amended ordinance 19-06, Boating Restricted Areas, after Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWC) reviewed the ordinance as part of an application for Florida Uniform Waterway Markers associated with the boater restricted area. FFWC determined the ordinance needed to be amended to add Exhibit A, overhead map of restricted area, and amended enforcement agencies to: Any law enforcement officer with jurisdiction within Okaloosa County, including Sheriff’s Office.
The fact that two of the newly adopted ordinances were amended within half a year of passage, one within a month, tells us 1.) The BOCC is moving too quickly to pass legislation and not taking the time to thoroughly deliberate and question the issues that are driving the perceived need for the ordinance. 2.) The county administrator and staff is not conducting due diligence on researching, coordinating, and vetting with all applicable agencies to ensure the draft ordinances are legally sound.
With regard to Ordinance 19-06 and its amendment Ordinance 19-17, enforcement of the ordinance was thrown in with a catch all phrase “Any law enforcement officer possessing the power to arrest.” There was no serious discussion on who the exact agencies would be, how much manpower would be necessary to enforce the ordinance and how much funding would have to be allocated to provide the necessary manpower and training to enforce this code. It was just assumed that “any law enforcement officer” would take care the violators. Surprisingly, District 1 Commissioner Fountain is a retired law enforcement officer and he didn’t raise any questions on enforcement of this code. Lack of consideration for manpower requirements and costs for enforcement of newly adopted ordinances has been a recurring theme of this BOCC and the administrative staff. Both branches of our local government have shown little desire to actually enforce the ordinances they adopt as noted in a previous post on this blog, Okaloosa County’s Eroding Code Enforcement.
For the two ordinances amended within months of being adopted, both the legislative branch (BOCC) and the executive branch (county administrator) failed; but, to who’s advantage are the failures?
From a previous post on this blog, Okaloosa County: Commissioners and Eminent Domain and Separation of Powers, Oh My!, we know the legislature gave up decision making authority, and thus power, to the executive branch in passing Ordinance 19-07. Then, within a month’s time, the BOCC gave up even more power to the county administrator by adopting Ordinance 19-08, allowing for more private property to be acquired without prior consent by the BOCC. In this power play, the county administrator and staff got everything they wanted.
From the Florida County Government Guide, “The county administrator, the executive branch, has great say over what ordinances the county commissioners adopt, what decisions they make and what budgets they pass. The administrators are full-time employees and have a large information advantage over their commissioners. Administrators bring problems to the attention of the commissioners which allows them to help set the agenda. They also propose budgets and do research on policy problems and so can help steer the board to their desired course of action. Of course, county administrators have a tough and tricky job and they have to be careful not to obviously exceed their authority or anger the commissioners. Because if they do, the same commissions that hire administrators can also fire them.”
Looking back on the 2019 legislative year, the executive branch clearly finished with more power in their court than the legislature. Sadly, when the legislature loses power, the people lose power. However, during the January 21, 2020 BOCC meeting, there was a ray of hope for the people to regain some power, when the BOCC voted unanimously to table the short term rental ordinance until July 21, 2020 in order to wait for action from the state legislature on this same issue. The BOCC, by a 4-1 vote, also tabled the beach vending ordinance until the February 18, 2020 meeting. They directed staff to bring back a plan for gathering data, which was requested a year ago and never provided, and for staff to also provide a fee schedule. The dissenting vote was District 5 Commissioner Windes, he gave no public statement as to why. The conservative action any commissioner should take when asked to make a decision without having all the necessary information is to wait until such time when the information is available.
This push back on the executive branch by the legislature was a breath of fresh air to this observer. The current BOCC was elected by a conservative majority who expect their BOCC to always fight to uphold the separation of powers and conserve our historical ways of life. Will this new found conservative stance of the BOCC last? Only time will tell. BUT, if it doesn’t, there is an election in August 2020 that can vote in a new and, hopefully, more conservative BOCC!
You can contact the author at dlnorris@theparadisepatriot.com