The Hillsborough County Charter Review Board on Dec. 9 voted to abandon its effort to change term limits for the Board of County Commissioners and declined to reopen a recent vote on single-member districts, leaving the county's current charter language intact.

During a lengthy discussion about a local bill filed in Tallahassee that would alter BOCC composition, board members debated whether to pursue a local charter amendment or allow the legislative process and a potential voter referendum to play out. Mary Helen, the board's attorney, told members that state statute requires the school board to pay for a referendum it initiates and directs the county commission to place the measure on the ballot.

"The school board has to pay for it," Mary Helen said while explaining the statute's requirements, and she clarified that the charter treats single-member (district) seats and countywide seats differently because of redistricting and staggered terms.

After more than an hour of debate over redistricting, timing and voter choice, member Geraldine Latham moved that the board "abandon" a proposal to change BOCC term limits and leave the charter as written; Mr. White seconded. The motion passed on a recorded roll call, 9'to'2. The minutes recorded Members Jerosch, Joden and one member whose name was redacted in the transcript as voting no.

Board members also considered a separate motion to bar reconsideration of the panel's prior vote to pursue seven single-member districts. That motion, offered by Ms. Strogy and seconded by Ms. Carlton, passed on roll call 9'to'2, with Members Collins, Snively and White recorded as voting no. Several members said they did not want competing ballot measures in November and noted the delegation had forwarded a local bill for nine single-member districts to the legislative process.

Public comment at the meeting included Gordon Schiff, who urged the board to resist Tallahassee's involvement in local governance and warned the proposal risks litigation. "Please respect Hillsborough County as a home rule county," Schiff said. "Seven commissioners is enough. Nine is too many. Eleven is ridiculous."

Board leadership said staff will prepare a written memorandum analyzing the local bill filed in Tallahassee for the Jan. 13 meeting. The board also recorded routine housekeeping, including acceptance of the Nov. 4 minutes earlier in the meeting.

The meeting closed after the board voted to adjourn with a follow-up January meeting that will allow the chair an opportunity to formally conclude the board's work.

What happens next: Staff will circulate a memorandum summarizing the local bill and its implications; the board scheduled a Jan. 13 session to receive that analysis and to complete remaining logistical items, including member bios and headshots.