Beaches voters approve charter changes

Voters in Jacksonville Beach and Atlantic Beach approved several local charter updates on Tuesday.

In Jacksonville Beach, voters approved amending the charter to allow the city to remove all gender references associated with job descriptions. For one thing, the charter refers to the mayor as “him” and “he.”

Voters there also voted to elevate the vice mayor to serve the rest of a former mayor’s vacant term, if a mayor vacates the office. The seven-member City Council would then appoint someone to fill the seat left vacant by the vice mayor.

Atlantic Beach voters approved six changes to their City Charter. Among them is giving the city commission more power to protect local resources; letting voters decide whether to sell or dispose of city park property; and increasing the time that commission candidates must live in the city before running for office. The number of years will increase to four.