HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 2004-03 Legislature Issues
RESOLUTION 2004-03
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA,
URGING MEMBERS OF THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO
SUPPORT THE FOLLOWING MUNICIPAL ISSUES DURING THE
2004 LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
WHEREAS, legislation passed (HB 113A) during the 2003 Special
Session "A" that is the implementation of Article V, a 1998 constitutional
amendment, that requires the state to fund the county court system; and
WHEREAS, HB 113A prohibits state attorneys from appearing in county
courts for the purpose of prosecuting municipal ordinances; and
WHEREAS, the bill also prohibits a municipality from contracting with a
state attorney for the prosecution of municipal ordinances, and public defenders
will not be allowed to represent indigents charged with ordinance violations; and
WHEREAS, HB 113A requires a filing fee of $200 for each code or
ordinance violation; and
WHEREAS, several cities enforce code enforcement through a citation
process, which are filed through the county court system; and
WHEREAS, many of the fines for these citations are less that half of the
proposed $200 filing fee, which would make the citation process ineffective for
code enforcement activities; and
WHEREAS, the intent of the Municipal Revenue Sharing hold harmless
provision in HB 113A was intended to not reduce any revenues currently shared
with municipalities; and
WHEREAS, clean drinking water is a precious resource that must be
adequately planned for to meet the needs of future growth in Florida; and
WHEREAS, cities are implementing several innovative methods to assure
an adequate supply of drinking water is available for its citizens; and
WHEREAS, efforts were made during the 2003 legislative session to
mandate that cities establish water conservation rate structures, impose drought
rates, require submetering in apartment buildings or condos, mandate statewide
irrigation standards, implement "informative billing" and meter reclaimed water;
and
WHEREAS, municipalities would be negatively impacted by legislation
mandating conservation measures on a "one size fits all" approach and many of
the conservation measures being considered had no demonstrable conservation
benefit but will be very expensive to implement; and
WHEREAS, the geographic emphasis and restrictive nature of Florida's
current annexation policy has negatively impacted Florida's municipalities by
inhibiting their economic vitality, creating inefficient service delivery and
subsidizing urban sprawl; and
WHEREAS, the current law has actually made it more difficult for
municipalities to provide municipal services in the urbanizing areas in
comparison to counties and special districts; and
WHEREAS, Florida's tremendous population growth and inflexible
annexation policies causes disruption in historical service delivery responsibilities
and results in a continuous conflict and inefficiencies in the financing and delivery
of many local public services.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS,
FLORIDA:
Section 1. That the City of Winter Springs urges Governor Jeb Bush and
members of the Florida Legislature to support legislation that:
Preserves the authority of individual local governments to determine
and implement the specific water conservation measures required
under a water use permit, and which preserves a local government's
control over reclaimed water that is created by the local government.
Section 2. That the City of Winter Springs urges Governor Jeb Bush and
members of the Florida Legislature to support legislation that:
Allows municipalities to contract for the services of public defenders
and state attorneys to enforce local ordinances; and
Eliminates the fee schedule for the enforcement of municipal code or
ordinance violations.
Provides a modification of the distribution formula for revenues
transferred from the Half-Cent Sales Tax Program to the Revenue
Sharing Trust Fund for Municipalities.
Section 3. That the City of Winter Springs urges Governor Jeb Bush and
members of the Florida Legislature to support legislation that:
City of Winter Springs
Resolution 2004-03
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Strengthens the ability of municipalities to eliminate all enclaves
regardless of size or use, and provides reasonable procedures to
expeditiously annex areas that are contiguous to their boundaries.
Section 4. That a copy of this resolution shall be provided to Governor
Jeb Bush, Senate President Jim King, House Speaker Johnnie Byrd and member
of the Florida Legislature.
PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA
This 12th Dayof January 2004.
John F. Bush, Mayor
ATTEST:
Andrea Lorenzo-Luaces, City Clerk
City of Winter Springs
Resolution 2004-03
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