Clearwater City Council Elections ScheduledCLEARWATER - On March 9th, Clearwater voters will elect two City Council members and vote on one ballot question. Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, and it is hoped that registered voters will exercise their right to vote, although, there is no national election at this time. Voters will be able to respond "yes" or "no" to the question that would amend the City Charter to allow independent auditors to serve more than five consecutive years. The ballot question specifically asks, "Shall Section 2.01 (c) 3 of the City Charter be amended as provided in Ordinance No. 8130-09 to require a Request for Proposals process every five years to select an independent auditor rather than a mandatory rotation of independent auditors every five years?" A "yes" vote: Will eliminate the mandatory requirement to change auditors every five years at a minimum. Will require a competitive public request for proposal (RFP) process for the selection of the auditors, every five years at a minimum. Will require that the request for proposal process and auditor selection processes be conducted by an Audit Committee appointed by the Council, in accordance with State Statute. Will allow the City's external auditors to fully compete for a renewal of their contract after the normal five-year contract period. Will allow the City Council the flexibility to decide whether renewing the contract with the current auditors is in the City's best interest. Will allow current auditors to compete for a renewal contract, giving Council the ability to review the cost/benefit of retaining current audit firm. Could potentially decrease the cost of auditing services due to the increased competition from the current auditors. Will require that the City Council make the final determination whether auditors should be retained or a new firm hired. Will increase the limited pool of firms fully qualified to propose for the City's external audit by allowing current firm to participate in the proposal process. A "no" vote: Will continue the current process of requiring a mandatory rotation of external auditors every five years at minimum. Will not allow the current auditors to participate in the request for proposal process after they have completed the normal five-year contract. Could potentially increase the independence of the audit process by bringing in a "fresh set of eyes" every five years at minimum. Could potentially increase the cost of the audit due to the substantial start-up costs in the first year of an audit engagement. Could potentially increase the cost of audit due to the decreased competition for the contract. Will not allow the City Council to determine the cost/benefit of retaining the current auditors but will require the mandatory rotations regardless of additional cost to the City. A copy of the ordinance establishing the ballot question is available at the Official Records and Legislative Services Department. For information about precinct and the location of you polling place, call the Supervisor of Elections at (727) 464-3551. If you are unable to get to the polls on Election Day, you can request a mail ballot by calling (727) 464-6788.
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