ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — This page will update live as results are reported. Bookmark this page to see live results.
On Tuesday, people within St. Augustine municipal limits voted to pass a charter amendment to move all matters regarding the police pension system from the city charter to the municipal code.
The city commission passed an ordinance to remove the pension system from the city charter and move it to the municipal code in October 2023. However, St. Augustine City Attorney Isabelle Lopez said state law required the city to put this matter to a referendum.
"Anytime we want to make any sort of change in terms of how the Pension Board invests funds for the pension, [it] would require a referendum question," Lopez said. "Anytime we would change the dates of service of board members, that would require a referendum question. So, it becomes very tedious to do these sorts of referendum changes."
Lopez also told First Coast News that moving this issue to the municipal code would make it easier for the city to make changes to anything related to the police retirement system.
"The question to the voters is: Would you rather we just move all of this into the municipal code, so we can amend it with just two readings, [and] have an ordinance instead of having to go through these referendum questions every time?" Lopez said.
To learn more about the amendment, click here.