Charter Review Board to review elected positions

Sarasota County is the only one of Florida’s 20 charter counties that elects members to its Charter Review Board, but that could be slated to change.

The Charter Review Board is slated to discuss the board’s appointment process at tonight’s meeting.

Sarasota has been a charter county since the state of Florida allowed counties to adopt charters in 1968. Charters are sometimes equated to state constitutions and are able to be amended by a majority vote from the Charter Review Board and a public referendum.

A letter written by former Sarasota County Review Board member Cathy Layton was included in the materials for the meeting. According to Layton, the longevity of Florida’s 19 other charter review boards speaks to the sustainability of the appointment process.

“...Since the inception of Florida Charter Counties, none of the 20 Charter Counties, with the sole exception of Sarasota County, are convened by an elective process,” Layton’s letter said. “That this remains unchanged since the initial research that was filed with the Clerk in 1999 is compelling evidence that the appointed method of amending County Charters works in favor of the citizens of these respective counties.”

The Sarasota County Review Board will meet tonight at 6 p.m. at the Sarasota Administration Building, 1660 Ringling Blvd.