BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Starke will have two or three seats open for election in 2025, depending on the outcome of a mail referendum in the spring.
Seats two and four on the city commission — currently held by commissioners Janice Mortimer and Scott Roberts — will be open for election. So will the currently vacant office of city clerk, unless voters choose to remove the position from the city charter.
That question will be asked via a mail-only referendum, with ballots sent directly to eligible voters. The dates for the mailout were uncertain, but ballots will be mailed and due back at the supervisor of elections office by April 8, which is prior to election qualifying in June.
This won’t be the first time voters have been asked about removing an elected city clerk from the charter. The prior vote in 2017 failed by just six votes.
Since that time, however, some things have changed. Starke voters just chose to remove references to an elected police chief and police department from the charter. Prior to that, the commission eliminated funding for the police department, offering to pay the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office for those services instead. Police Chief Jeff Johnson subsequently retired, and the commission moved to make police chief a ceremonial position with a $1 salary pending the outcome of the charter referendum.
In the past, those who felt the city clerk should be hired instead of elected preferred having someone with guaranteed accounting credentials. Most municipal clerk or finance officers are hired, they argue, not elected.
Three out of the four commissioners present voted in favor of holding the referendum by mail. Commissioner Bob Milner, who was away at another board meeting, has also supported changing the charter. Only Commissioner Danny Nugent has advocated for voters to continue electing a clerk.
The future of a clerk in the city depends on enough voters agreeing with Nugent. Someone must also be willing to run for the office if it remains.
With satisfaction expressed for Starke’s current administrative setup, it is unlikely the commission would even request applications for the post if it is removed from the charter. Drew Mullins briefly took on the role of interim clerk in his position as city manager when Jimmy Crosby resigned the office. Now, with Crosby hired to oversee the city’s general operations, including finance, and with Mullins overseeing utilities, the role of a city clerk appears obsolete.
Mortimer said many strides have been made since politics was removed from the equation. In the past, some have observed a divided city hall, with a commission-appointed manager struggling to cooperate with an elected clerk.
Starke commissioners will take up the language for the clerk referendum during its next two meetings. It must also be approved by the state. It will likely mirror the question asked voters for the police chief referendum. Responding to Nugent’s question about public input, Mayor Andy Redding said those upcoming meetings would be the time for citizens to voice their opinion.
“They also voice their opinion by their vote. That’s the ultimate decision, because we don’t change that. The citizens make that change,” he said.
If the referendum fails, Roberts observed, then the election year moves forward as normal, with the clerk’s office being up for election.
There will at least be two commissioner positions on the ballot for Starke’s 2025 election, which will take place on Aug. 19. Qualifying for the election will take place June 9-13. Visit city hall or call 904-964-5027 for more information.
Commissioners have also discussed the need for a full charter review to modernize the charter to reflect current operations.
The next commission meeting is Dec. 17 at 5:30 p.m.
