Press Release: In November 2009, the voters of Pensacola chose to change the city’s form of government from a council-manager to mayor-council. Prior to this action, there was no separation of powers. The new charter clearly assigns legislative powers exclusively to the city council, the governing body, and executive duties to the mayor.
In September 2012, Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward submitted a line item veto message to the city council eliminating changes to the budget made by the council. According to City Councilman Charles Bare, this action violated the charter and the separation of powers outlined in the charter. “A veto can only operate as a negative act used to destroy an appropriation,†said Bare. When the Governor uses his line item veto in the state budget, all funding is removed, it is zeroed out. He cannot use a veto to partially fund the vetoed appropriation nor may he move that funding somewhere else in the budget with the veto. Yet, Mayor Hayward did just that.
Instead of a traditional veto message, Mayor Hayward instructed staff to craft language that would not destroy the appropriations. He had his employees draft the final budget to reflect the amounts he originally proposed (with the exception of an amount eliminated which was equal to the amount used to fund the chief of staff position). “In effect, he took legislative action by appropriating funds, and unilaterally amended the budget presented to him by the council. The Mayor illegally restored funding to line items which had been reduced by the council and then vetoed by him, a legislative act,†said Bare. As a result, he violated the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches and deprived the citizens of Pensacola from having the protections of the new form of city government they chose when the 2010 Charter was voted into law.
Late last year, former councilwoman Maren DeWeese filed a lawsuit alleging, among other things, that the mayor’s actions in the Fiscal Year 2013 Budget process were illegal and a violation of the separation of powers and the charter. On August 8th Councilman Bare, through his attorney, filed a motion to join this lawsuit.
“I joined this lawsuit because I believe that we must protect and preserve the new form of government that the citizens of Pensacola chose. This form of government, like our federal and state governments, has at its very core the principle of separation of powers,†said Bare. Per the Charter, the Council has the power “to adopt the annual budget and all other appropriations necessary for efficient City government.†While the Mayor has the ability to veto items, the veto cannot be used as a legislative tool to make amendments to legislation such as the City Budget.
“As an elected member of the governing body of this city, I believe it is my responsibility to ensure that the citizens of Pensacola have the government guaranteed to them in the charter. While judicial action is not always the appropriate venue to resolve disputes, the judiciary, our third branch of government, exists to assist in maintaining the balance of power between the other branches of our government,†said Bare
Councilman Bare looks forward to the judge’s decision on this matter so that Pensacola can move forward with a better understanding of the legislative powers the council possesses.
