Charter Amendment Referendum

Op Ed by Carmine Miranda
The Charter Amendment Referendum that is on the November 5th ballot is seeking to give The City of North Port the ability to borrow money without voter approval via a Referendum in the future. 

A lot of the sentiment towards the Amendment is based on an us vs them mentality or which political party is involved when it comes to Government vs Citizens. If this is the case, you have to ask yourself why the residents of 410 Florida Municipalities, besides North Port, have voted to allow their City to borrow money to supplement their budgets in the same way everyday citizens can by using borrowing instruments such as mortgages, home equity loans and credit cards.

While the borrowing instruments to be used by the city differ from the aforementioned instruments residents use, it serves in the same capacity to supplement the City budget so that the many needs of running a rapidly growing city can be met, can occur sooner than later and will be more cost-effective vs kicking the can down the road while material costs and labor cost rise.

So let’s take a deeper dive into what is being asked of residents on the November 5th Ballot.

In the language of the amendment, there are guardrails spelled out to prevent the City from writing a blank check. These guardrails are put in place to protect the residents and to follow Florida (Statues) Laws that are also designed to protect residents.

Here is a condensed list of the guardrails put in place:

The proposed charter change applies to revenue bonds that are to be paid from identified revenue streams that are not property taxes.

Revenue bonds are to be used in the form of bonds, loans, leases or other borrowing instruments to pay for a declared emergency, disaster or for public safety & public health projects, up to a cap of $15 million per project.

If the amendment is approved, any borrowing or incurrence of debt would still need to be approved by a majority of the City Commission in at least two public hearings, creating transparency and accountability.

General Obligation Bonds for Capital Improvement Projects are paid with property taxes and has been the borrowing instrument used by the City for the past 65 years as outlined in the current City Charter and will continue to be used in conjunction with a referendum for large scale capital improvement projects (greater than $15 Million) such as a future police or fire station or major infrastructure need, even if the referendum passes in November.

We urge the residents of North Port to review the available information on the City Website (link below)so that you can make an informed decision on November 5th.

Charter Referendum 2024 - North Port, FL