Apopka council takes first step toward stripping mayor’s power

APOPKA, Fla. — Apopka city leaders have taken the first step toward changing the way the city’s government functions, which would remove much of the mayor’s powers if voters approve.

At least some council members would like the city to transition from a “strong mayor” form of government into a “council-manager” format, which would replace the mayor with a professional administrator as the city’s CEO.

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Council members had their first meeting to review the city’s charter Wednesday night after spending the past year locking horns with Mayor Bryan Nelson over the fallout from the death of firefighter Austin Duran in 2022, especially the mayor’s refusal to fire the fire chief.

Council members have also generally felt left out of the decision-making process, and in the past have complained that the mayor won’t loop them in until the 11th hour.

Commissioner Kyle Becker pointed out that only six cities in Central Florida had a “strong mayor” government, with Orlando being the only major city other than Apopka.

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“I think there’s a lot more benefit to having a city manager run things that way,” Becker told council members. “The politics as much as possible stays up here on the dais.”

Nelson did not commit to supporting or opposing the change during an interview with WFTV Thursday, and said hiring a city manager would not automatically give council members the ability to fire employees other than the manager.

He said a strong mayor government gave cities more leverage over developers, since winning his approval as the CEO also meant a developer earned one of three needed votes.

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“Let the voters decide,” he said. “We’ve got some other issues.”

Nelson said he wanted the voters to enact single-member districts for at least some of the council seats, possibly leaving two at-large seats available.

He said that would avoid a repeat of a situation where three council members lived in the same neighborhood.

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Council members also talked about expanding the number of seats, but there appeared to be less support for that idea, including with Nelson.

The city’s attorney is now tasked with drafting the proposed city charter for council members to review.

If the changes receive approval at a future meeting, which hasn’t been set, then the issue will head to the ballot.

“Personally, I don’t want our form of government to change based on the current leadership,” councilwoman Diane Velazquez said. “Let us work and set our council up for success for the future.”

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