§ 2-26. Boards, commissions and committees organized under the code.

Several boards, commissions and committees have been organized pursuant to various provisions of the Code. The following general regulations apply to all of these boards, commissions or committees:

(1) Residency.

(a) Unless the ordinance creating a board, commission or committee provides otherwise or as provided in the following paragraph (b), membership on these boards, commissions and committees shall be limited to persons who are residents of the City of Lake Wales or owners of property located in the City of Lake Wales or persons having a business tax receipt issued from the City of Lake Wales.

(b) The Lake Wales Library Board consists of five (5) members appointed by the city commission. Four (4) members shall be appointed as provided in paragraph (a) above. One (1) member may be a resident of the unincorporated Greater Lake Wales area or a resident of the City of Lake Wales provided that the Lake Wales Public Library is a member of the Polk County Library Cooperative and receives operating funds from the Polk County Board of County Commissioners. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "resident of the unincorporated Greater Lake Wales area" shall mean "any resident outside of the City of Lake Wales having a Lake Wales mailing address."

(2) Voter registration. Membership on boards, commissions and committees shall be limited to persons who are legally registered to vote.

(3) Limit on consecutive terms.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) below, no person shall serve more than three (3) consecutive terms on a single board, commission or committee except that a person appointed to a partial term that is less than one-half (½) of the normal term for that particular board, commission or committee shall be permitted to serve three (3) consecutive terms in addition to the partial term. Members appointed before July 1, 1989, may be permitted to serve three (3) additional consecutive terms. This limit on consecutive terms may be waived for members of regulatory boards (i.e., planning and zoning board, board of appeals, code enforcement, etc.) with the recommendation of the city manager where, in the sole discretion of the city manager, special circumstances exist which warrant the appointment of a particular member to an additional term.

(b) There shall be no limit to consecutive terms served by an elected or appointed trustee on a board established for the purpose of administering an employee retirement plan.

(4) Limit on concurrent appointments. No person shall serve on more than two (2) boards, commissions or committees at the same time with the following exceptions:

A. No person shall serve on more than one (1) pension board.

B. No person shall serve on more than one (1) regulatory board.

(5) Appointment to regulatory boards. All applicants seeking appointment to a regulatory board such as planning and zoning board, zoning board of appeals, code enforcement board, nuisance abatement board, and the like, shall be interviewed by the board chairman and the head of the department providing staff support to the particular board to ensure that the applicants understand the duties and responsibilities of the board, are capable of performing such duties and responsibilities and are willing to fulfill the requirements of serving on the board. Said interviews shall be open to the public. Following the interviews, the board chairman and department head shall provide the city commission with their recommendations for appointment.

(6) Applications for appointment. The city manager may, in his/her sole discretion, delay the forwarding of applications to the city commission until there are a sufficient number of applicants to fill all vacant positions on a particular board, committee or commission.

(7) Nepotism. Members of the immediate family of elected officials shall not be appointed to serve on a board, commission or committee. Members of the immediate family of a municipal officer shall not be appointed to serve on a board, commission or committee which relates to the area of responsibility of that municipal officer. Board, commission or committee members shall be required to resign if a member of the immediate family becomes an elected official or municipal officer with duties relating to business conducted by that board, commission or committee. Such members appointed before July 1, 1989, shall be permitted to serve until the expiration of their current term.

(8) Attendance. Absence from three (3) consecutive meetings of a board, commission or committee shall operate automatically to vacate the seat of that member, unless such absence is excused by that board, commission or committee by motion duly passed and recorded in the official minutes.

(9) Sunset provision. Inactive boards, commissions and committees may be discontinued by the city commission provided there is no statutory requirement that such board, commission or committee exists. Boards, commissions and committees shall be declared inactive if no meeting is called or no official business is conducted at least once in a twelve (12) month period.

(Code 1962, § 1-10; Ord. No. 89-14, § 1, 6-20-89; Ord. No. 2002-27, § 1, 10-15-02; Ord. No. 2004-20, § 1, 8-3-04; Ord. No. 2005-16, § 1, 5-3-05; Ord. No. 2006-19, § 1, 5-16-06; Ord. No. 2006-47, § 3, 12-5-06; Ord. No. 2008-07, § 1, 2-19-08; Ord. No. 2008-09, § 1, 3-18-08; Ord. No. 2008-27, § 1, 9-2-08; Ord. No. 2009-11, § 1, 5-5-09)