a. Vacancies. The office of a Commission member shall become vacant upon his death, resignation, removal from office in any manner authorized by law or forfeiture of his office, such forfeiture to be declared by the remaining members of the Commission.
b. Forfeiture of office. A Commissioner shall forfeit his office if said person, (a) lacks any qualifications for the office prescribed by this Charter or other applicable law including § 100.361, Florida Statutes, (1989) as may be amended from time to time; or (b) is convicted of a felony while in office, or (c) fails to attend four consecutive regular meetings of the Commission, unless such absences are each excused by motion setting forth the reason for the absence duly entered upon the minutes or (d) having been elected or appointed from an election district fails to reside within the election district from which he was elected or appointed for any reason other than redistricting.
c. Forfeiture hearing. A member charged with conduct constituting grounds for forfeiture of his office shall be entitled to a Public Hearing on demand and notice of such hearing shall be published in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the City at least one week in advance of the hearing.
d. Filling of vacancies. Unless otherwise provided by law, if a vacancy occurs on the City Commission, the remaining members of the City Commission may, by majority vote, appoint a qualified individual to fill the vacancy on an interim basis. The City Commission shall adopt a resolution setting forth the process of appointing an interim member of the City Commission pursuant to this section.
(1) Appointment. If there are less than one hundred eighty (180) days before the next municipal election, then the interim Commission member appointed to fill the vacancy shall serve until the next municipal election. If there are more than one hundred eighty days before the next municipal election, then the City Commission shall conduct a special election to fill the vacancy. The special election shall take place as soon as practicable, but no more than one hundred eighty (180) days from the date that the vacancy occurred. The individual elected to fill the vacancy at either the next municipal election or a special election called for that purpose shall only serve the unexpired term of the City Commission member whose position became vacant.
(3) In the event of a vacancy in the position of Mayor, the Vice Mayor shall forthwith commence to serve as acting Mayor until the Mayor’s position is filled pursuant to this section. When the Vice Mayor becomes acting Mayor, the remaining members of the City Commission shall appoint a qualified individual from the Vice Mayor's district to serve as interim Commissioner. Once the vacancy in the position of Mayor is filled, the Vice Mayor shall return to his or her district position and the individual appointed to serve as interim Commissioner shall be removed from office. The Vice Mayor-designate shall serve as Vice Mayor when the Vice Mayor becomes acting Mayor.
(4) In the event of the death, resignation, or removal of the Vice Mayor, the Commission shall, by majority vote, elect one (1) of the Commissioners to serve as Vice Mayor.
e. Extraordinary vacancies. In the event that a majority of the members of the Council are removed by death, disability, law or forfeiture of office, the governor shall make interim Commission appointments and the Commission shall call a special election as provided in d. above and such election shall be held in the same manner as the election held pursuant to the previous City Charter.
(Adopted by electorate, 3-13-84; Amendment adopted by electorate, 3-13-90; Amendment adopted by electorate, 3-10-92; Amendment adopted by electorate, 9-1-98; Amendment adopted by electorate, 11-7-06; Amendment adopted by electorate, 11-6-12)