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3. PRESENTATION ON CHARTER GOVERNMENT IN FLORIDA <br />KURT SPITZER, KURT SPITZER & ASSOCIATES, INC. <br />A. DRAFT OF HOME RULE CHARTER - FOR USE AS A DISCUSSION GUIDE <br />Consultant Kurt Spitzer informed the Board that he would first recap some of the basics <br />on Charter government for the people who were not at last week's Workshop. Thereafter he <br />would go over the revisions that have been made to the Draft Charter. <br />Mr. Spitzer thought that fundamental to the discussion for Charter government in Indian <br />River County is the understanding of Home Rule in comparison to Dillon's Rule, which provides a <br />local government with only those powers that are specifically granted to it by the State (by <br />Constitution, Statute or Special Act). He advised that authorization is provided under Dillon's <br />Rule and Pre-emption is provided under Home Rule. In 1968 Home Rule replaced Dillon's Rule <br />and out of the 67 counties in Florida 19 have adopted Charters. <br />Mr. Spitzer stated that under general provision it is important to remember that Charters <br />are only adopted, amended or repealed by the voters of the county. He outlined the four (4) <br />primary areas that the Charter covers, namely: Legislative/Executive Branch, County <br />Constitutional Officers, City -County Relations, and Powers reserved to the people of the county. <br />He also compared charter and non -charter counties and cities under Home Rule. <br />Mr. Spitzer then presented the "Discussion Draft" of the Charter (copy on file in the <br />Office of the Clerk to the Board). He informed the Board that since they last looked at the Charter <br />document there has been a lot of language that have been deleted both in the section dealing with <br />the Powers and Duties of the Commission and the Powers and Duties of the County Administrator. <br />He assured the Board that those deletions were already covered in General law or served to operate <br />as limitations on the County's Legislative body or the County Administrator. He said the current <br />April 12, 2007 9am 2 <br />Charter Government Workshop <br />