By Reggie Connell, Managing Editor
The Apopka City Council will hold a workshop at 6 p.m. on the charter amendments it has discussed off and on for over a year before its scheduled meeting.
There are six amendment proposals the Council will discuss:
- Mayor-Council to Council-Manager Form of Government
- Changing the Name of the Governing Body from Council to Commission
- Authority of City Clerk in Election Qualifying
- Scheduled City Elections
- Term Limits
- Employment Contracts
The council is not expected to vote on the six amendment proposals but to give direction to City Attorney Cliff Shepard on what they want to see in the draft ordinance on first reading to decide which questions to submit to the voters.
According to Shepard, they may decide when they want the referendum scheduled, but they might also wait until the first reading of the ordinance.
Heading into the workshop, The Apopka Voice has a few recommendations for residents and voters to keep in mind:
Avoid Shiny Objects - South Apopka Annexation
You will not find a stronger advocate than The Apopka Voice for annexing South Apopka into the City's borders. Since 2015, we have called for it and stated why in multiple articles and editorials:
You would think our news site would be thrilled to see the Apopka City Council discuss a possible vote for annexation. Unfortunately, for a multitude of reasons, we are not.
If the Council sincerely wants to take action on annexation, return to your last discussion on the subject, form a South Apopka Annexation Committee, give it a budget, and let it create a plan to move forward. After its findings are presented, calling for a vote in March or November 2026 might be a better timeline than this hasty, chaotic plan you discussed during an unrelated subject.
Unfortunately, for annexation to become more than a political talking point, Apopka needs a mayor and Council (or at least a majority) who want it to become a reality.
Keep the South Apopka issue independent of the charter review.
A new election date is about turnout
Because of an extraordinarily low turnout at the 2022 Apopka Municipal elections, a move from March to November election days was suggested and made it to the final six amendment proposals.
But not all Novembers are created equal.
The proposal called for an even-numbered year to coincide with the national elections and, therefore, drive turnout. However, when the Orange County Supervisor of Elections Office staff presented the idea of November elections to the City Council, they recommended odd-number years to coincide with the Orlando elections.
Unfortunately, odd years in November are no better than even years in March.
Here are the last three turnout models for Orlando elections in November 2019, 21, and 23: 16.6%, 13.3%, and 16.23%. Apopka's elections in March 2022 had a turnout of 21% and a 2024 turnout of 12%.
Those figures aren't worth all the moving parts of transitioning to odd-year November.
As was discussed in a previous editorial, Apopka has firm evidence of how its election would perform in an even-numbered November.
In 2020, Commissioner Alice Nolan resigned from Seat #2 on the Apopka City Council, and a special election was held on the November ballot.
Here are the results of that special election for Seat #2:
- Diane Velazquez 10,318
- Yesenia Baron 6,157
- Gene Knight 4,028
- Nick Nesta 3,799
That's 24,302 votes for a special election with two first-time candidates among the four. That's more votes in one city commission election than combined in the last three March elections. That's approximately 68% voter turnout, which mirrors the 66.7% turnout nationally in the 2020 presidential election.
If this isn't the City Council's intended path, then there is no reason to change its current election date.
Strong Mayor vs. Town Manager
Over a year ago, at a January 10th (2024) Charter Review meeting, the City Council seemed to reach a consensus on taking the next step towards transitioning from a strong mayor to a city manager-council form of government.
Former Commissioner Kyle Becker gave a presentation outlining his support for the city manager-council format. One of his points was the vast majority of municipalities in the state use this form of government.
"Why should we do something that is outside the norm in the state of Florida? Becker asked. "Out of over 400 municipalities, 12% of those have a strong mayor form of government... out of the 69 municipalities in Orange, Lake, Osceola, Seminole, Volusia, and Brevard counties, which we commonly call a central Florida area, only six have a strong mayor form... four of those six have populations less than 3,000—the other two are Orlando and Apopka. My opinion is there's a Goldilocks zone where it's appropriate to have a strong mayor, and Apopka is not one of them. It's for a small municipality with small populations or large municipalities with large population centers and large budgets to be able to satisfy many layers of executive and organizational design."
It's hard to imagine that this charter amendment process began when Becker was on Council, and his presentation still best describes the case for a city manager-council form.
The upcoming workshop presents a critical opportunity for the Apopka City Council to define its path forward on these significant charter amendments.
Ultimately, these decisions will shape Apopka’s future for years to come. Thoughtful leadership, informed by public input and historical context, will be essential as the Council begins drafting an ordinance for first reading. Voters and residents should stay engaged — the outcome of this process will directly affect how Apopka is governed and how its citizens are represented.
Although this is not always the case, this workshop will have a public comment section during the meeting. This is an opportunity for your voice to be heard on the issues you think are vital.
