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R-360-56 MIAMI SHORES VILLAGE RESOLUTION NO.�(o A RESOLUTION REGARDING DADE COUNTY HOME RULE AMENDMENT When a matter, which materially and seriously affects the welfare of the citizens of Miami Shores Village, is to be submitted to a vote of the people, it is the obligation of the Council of that Village to recommend to its citizens a course of action which the Council deems to be in the best interest of the people of such Village. Such an occasion has arisen in connection with the submission to the electors of the State of Florida at the next general election of a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution which will radically alter the structure of local government in Dade County. This amendment, sometimes referred to as the "Home Rule Amendment", has for its manifest object either the outright consolidation of all of the towns in the area into one municipal government or the partial transfer of a substantial part of the powers and functions of such municipalities to a central agency. The amendment provides that the governing body of the County shall be the Board of County Commissioners, and that this body shall have authority to pass ordin- ances relating to the affairs, property and government of the County. Under the amendr.�..ent the County Commissioners would have power: (1) to change the boundaries of municipalities in the County; (2) to merge or consolidate municipalities in the County; (3) to abolish municipalities in the County. The Board would have authority to abolish all County offices except Superin- tendent of Public Instruction and including the Clerk of the Circuit Court, the Sheriff, the Constables, the County Assessor of Taxes, the Tax Collector and the County Surveyor. Also, it would have power to establish a local court which shall have juris- diction over all offenses against ordinances passed by the Board of County Commissioners; and no other court provided by the Constitution or general law shall have jurisdiction to try such offenses. The Council has seriously considered this proposal. It does not believe that the adoption of the proposal is in the best interest of the citizens of the Village. The -1- Council believes that it will be possible under the amendment to abolish Miami Shores Village, despite statemenisby the Metropolitan Charter Board to the contrary, and it is firmly of the opinion that the intent of the amendment is either to do that or to transfer a substantial part of the powers of the Village Council to the Board of County Commissioners. If this is not the case then there is no purpose in the amendment. This could mean that the power to enact zoning ordinances might be taken from the Village Council and transferred to the Board of County Commissioners. It could mean that the Village might lose control of the Police force, of garbage and trash collection, of automobile inspection. In short, adoption could mean a transfer of power from Village Hall to County Court House and result in home rule not for Miami Shores Village, but home rule for the Board of County Commissioners. It has been urged in support of this amendment that the Village would then have a right, if the charter so provided, to amend the charter of the Village whenever the citizens desired.. This is a wholly illusory right. The Village Charter and the general laws of the State of Florida are ample for the operation of the Village govern- ment. But it is urged that the Village charter is subject to repeal by the Legislature, and that we are in danger of losing our autonomy by virture of the fact that any time the members of the Dade County delegation desire so to do, they can cause our charter to be repealed. It is true that the Village charter is a Legislative Act. It is true that the Dade County delegation to the Legislature, including the senator from this district, could pass a bill, under rules observed for consideration of local legislation, to abolish the Village. It is quite possible that the Governor would sign such a bill if sufficient influence were exerted to that end. But it does not follow that such a practice would be engaged in; and it is serious reflection upon the honesty and integrity of the men comprising the Dade County delegation to assume that they would cause the Village charter act to be repealed and the Village to be abolished out of pique, fretfulness or malice. The Legislature has had authority to establish and abolish municipalities ever since Florida was admitted to the Union in 1845. The present Constitution, which has been in effect for 70 years, gives the Legislature plenary power over municipalities, and there is not as far as the Council knows a single act on record in which the Legislature has abolished a municipality over the -2- protest and without the consent of its citizens. A more vital defect in the proposed amendment, however, consists in the fact that under it Legislative, Executive and Judicial powers to a very great extent will be vested in the Board of County Commissioners, and that under the powers so conferred upon them, all semblance of local government in Dade County can be abolished. Thus the. Board could make and execute laws, and appoint and remove judges without the peoples' consent, to interpret such laws. Governments in this country have-been established upon the assumption that those who make the laws should have no part in executing them, and that those who execute as well as those who make the laws should have no part in deciding cases brought under such laws. The history of man has shown that whenever the power to make, execute and interpret laws is vested in one person, or body of persons, oppression invariably results; and there is no reason to suppose that since the nature of man has not changed, the results will be any different in the case of Dade County than it was in the original thirteen colonies, some of which, in population, were smaller than Dade County. There are no court restrictions in the amendment, therefore, the right of trial by jury is not guaranteed in the local courts and the punishment for offenses arising out of violation of County ordinances could consist of imprisonment in the County jail for many years. This right of trial by jury, which is one of the most valuable heritages of the English law, is completely disregarded in the proposed amendment. The above can best be summarized by repeating what Washington said in his Farewell Address: "It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those intrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the depart- ments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of govern- ment, a real despotism. A just estimate of that love of power, and proneness to abuse it, which predominates in the human heart, is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing it into different depositories, and constituting each the guardian of the public weal against invasions by the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern; some of them in our country and under our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. " -3- In consideration of the premises, the Council. of Miami Shores Village does hereby resolve: 1. That it is irrevocably opposed to the adoption of the so-called "Home Rule Amendment" which is to be submitted to the voters of the State of Florida in the general election to be held on November 6;, 1956. 2. That Miami Shores Village would not gain any tangible advantages for its citizens as implied by advocates for the amendment, such as. (a) The right to amend its own charter. (b) Increased County services which are presently below municipal standards. (c) ,Relief from excessive county taxes for which appropriate services and grants to our Village have never been rendered by the County Commission. 3. That action by mutual agreements in Dade County has recently produced successful results on important county-wide projects, such as; (a) A uniform building code nearing completion. (b) A uniform traffic ordinance now ready for adoption. (c) Outstanding county-wide cooperation in rendering police and fire protection. 4. That Federal, State, County and Municipal government cooperation is solving the road and street building problem, and traffic flow has improved considerably. 5. That the city taxpayers and business people would still carry the same ratio of overall taxation as they are presently burdened with, wherein the County spends tax monies for municipal services in the unincorporated areas, 8376 of which is collected in municipalities. 6. That the adoption of said Home Rule Amendment would be contrary to the best interest of the citizens of this Village and to the solution of area-wide problems. 7. That the adoption of such amendment could make it possible for the Board of County Commissioners of Dade County to destroy and abolish Miami Shores Village. -4- 8. That the citizens of the Village resist the effort to pass this amendment by all valid means in their power, and that they urge the voters throughout the State to do likewise. PASSED AND ADOPTED this _ day of Octobers 1956. c —5—