DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. — The Deerfield Beach City Commission voted 3-2 on first reading Tuesday night to send a slate of nine City Charter amendments toward the November ballot, over objections from two commissioners who said the package would extend their own terms by roughly 20 months without direct voter authorization.
Mayor Todd Drosky, Vice Mayor Michael Hudak and Commissioner Tom Plaut voted yes. Commissioners Ben Preston and Daniel Shanetzky voted no. Second reading and public hearing is set for 7 p.m. Aug. 4. If the ordinance clears that hearing, all nine questions would appear on the Nov. 3 ballot, and each would take effect only if a majority of Deerfield Beach voters approve it.
The nine questions, including the shift from March to November elections, the removal of the $750,000 voter-approval requirement on the sale or lease of city land, and the changes to the beach-area development rules in charter Sections 11.01 and 11.02, are detailed in Boca Post's earlier report.
The election-timing amendment drew the most floor debate. Preston asked City Attorney Chad Friedman to walk him through the mechanics, then told the dais he wanted the March elections to stay.
"Two of us will be paid an additional 20 months," Preston said. "And that's not really what the people, when they voted, that's not what they voted for."
Shanetzky called the extension "egregious."
"You, the people, voted for us to have a four-year term," he said. "To extend it for an additional 20 months is extremely egregious."
Drosky defended the mechanics. He said state law does not allow odd-year November elections and current terms cannot be shortened, which he said leaves a one-time 20-month extension as the only path to a November even-year cycle.
"It's a mathematical byproduct of moving the election," he said. "You either want November elections or you don't."
In a written statement provided to Boca Post about 30 minutes before the meeting, Drosky put numbers on the turnout argument the ballot language cites. His statement arrived after Boca Post's earlier story published.
Drosky sent the following response:
"Tonight is just the first reading, so nothing will be finalized and placed on the November ballot until after the second reading on August 4. Please remember that eight of the nine proposals came from the Charter Review Board and not the Commission itself.
The argument for November elections is to increase voter turnout and participation. A typical March election has a nine to twelve percent turnout. However, a November election has a fifty to seventy five percent turnout. The term extension is a mathematical byproduct of moving the elections. Deerfield Beach currently holds March elections in odd-numbered years. The next November even-year election is twenty months away. Because odd-year November elections are not allowed and that current terms cannot be shortened, a one-time twenty month extension is the only logical possibility to effectuate a move to November elections.
Contrary to popular belief on social media, the small revisions to the charter regarding the barrier island are meant to further protect Deerfield Beach from the massive development taking place in our neighboring cities. There are dilapidated properties now on the barrier island that cannot be redeveloped due to the restrictions in the City's charter. A common sense change to the floor area ratio without a height increase will allow a fix to something we can all be proud of to call home."
Hudak, whose earlier emailed statement about giving today's residents "the same voice the residents of 2003 had" ran in Boca Post's preview, expanded on the turnout case during his closing remarks. He said District 1 turnout in the March 2015, 2019 and 2024 municipal elections was under 9 percent of registered voters in each cycle, and he put the cost of a standalone city election as high as $135,000, above the $60,000 figure some residents have cited.
"This November, for the first time since 2003, the people of Deerfield Beach will have a direct voice in shaping the future of our city," Hudak said, "from the future of our elections to the future of our barrier island."
On the Section 11.01 beach-development question, Preston asked whether removing the floor-area-ratio limits could increase building heights. Friedman said no, and Deputy City Manager Eric Power told the dais the same from the podium.
"There would be no way in which the floor area ratio or lot coverage amendment could increase the height above what is permitted by the charter regulation," Power said.
More than a dozen residents spoke in person and on Zoom. Nearly all opposed at least the election-timing amendment or the beach amendments, and several urged the commission to move the questions to the March 2027 municipal ballot instead. Sam Perks, who told the dais he plans to run for the District 1 seat in the next March election, said the change would delay his opportunity.
"Let's just get it done now is not a reasonable answer to any of those concerns," Perks said.
Before the roll call, Drosky pushed back on criticism that the commission was ducking its responsibility by sending the questions to voters.
"Charter amendments get approved by the public. That's why you get to vote on them," Drosky said. "But when it comes to amending the charter, the city's constitution, you, the public, get to make those changes, not this dais."
Ballot language and required election materials must be submitted to the Broward County Supervisor of Elections by 5 p.m. Aug. 18 to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot, according to the agenda item. The commission's next regular meeting is scheduled for Aug. 5.
Boca Post follows Deerfield Beach City Commission meetings, workshops, agendas, hearings, and planning discussions through Deerfield Beach Government reporting.
