Maitland approves March election amendments

Maitland residents will have 29 different city charter amendments on their ballots to pass or dismiss this March, following approval from the Maitland City Council Nov. 26.

Many of the amendments deal with housekeeping issues, such as wording and clarifications, while others are geared toward avoiding conflicts like those the Council faced earlier this year: criteria for which to hold members accountable outside of city business.

Convictions of driving under the influence, public intoxication, theft and prostitution would cause a Councilman to automatically vacate his or her seat, a move to keep history from repeating itself in cases like the one encountered with former-councilman Phil Bonus earlier this year.

Other amendments deal with subtle language and date changes for Council, mayoral and appointed city officials’ terms and term limits. To break down the amendments for easy understanding from residents, the city is working to schedule a workshop with members of the city’s Charter Review Committee to meet with voters interested in understanding exactly what voting “yes” or “no” means for each proposed change.

“Some of these are a little subtle and unless you understand some of the background it could be hard to get,” Councilman Jeff Flowers, who also serves on the review committee, said.