News Features

Umatilla Ballot Referendums Explained

    City of Umatilla voters will have four additional referendum items to consider when they vote this year. The city is asking voters to consider items like shortening the amount of time a person must live in the city to be eligible for election to the city council as well as aligning the city charter with both current actual operations and current law.
   Sometimes, ballot language can be confusing, or voters can have questions as to why items were placed on the ballot. Umatilla City Manager Aaron Mercer this week took some time to outline each item for voters:
   •Ballot Question Number 1: Employee Retirement And Insurance Benefits - This amendment cleans up outdated statutory language and requirements associated with the City's police pension fund. The City now uses the Florida League of Cities for the pension. It also removes the City Clerk oversight.  It is our own police pension, it's just administered by Florida League of Cities. The recent change that was made is to simply use their master agreement instead of having to make changes to ours every time there were changes in laws, etc. It was done to save the pension plan money for ongoing attorney’s fees just for updating the agreement.
   •Ballot Question Number 2: Officers - This amendment cleans up who are the official "charter officers" of the City. Back in the day, prior to the Council-Manager form of government, the Clerk, Police and Fire Chiefs were charter officers, which are now administrative positions, not charter officers.
   •Ballot Question Number 3: Council member salaries - The City Council was getting meeting stipend which was paid annually each December. The amendment will allow the Council to set their monthly salaries by vote and removes the fixed annual compensation.
   •Ballot Question Number 4: Residency Requirements for Candidates for Election - This amendment is intended to entice more residents to run for City Council. I believe this was an issue with more than one resident looking to run for Council for the previous two elections.
   Voting will conclude on November 3.