POLISCOPE

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LAKEWORTHBEACH (PALM BEACH COUNTY) · LOCALDecisions published

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Monday, November 2, 2026 · Government meeting record

The 30-second read

Recorded outcome

The commission formally acknowledged the vacancy left by Commissioner Sarah Malega's resignation and discussed the appointment process to fill the seat ahead of the March 2027 election.

The Lake Worth Beach City Commission met to formally declare the District 1 seat vacant following the resignation of Commissioner Sarah Malega. Because fewer than six months remain before the next regular municipal election on March 9, 2027, the remaining commissioners will appoint a successor rather than hold a special election.

Why it matters

District 1 residents will be represented by an appointed commissioner rather than an elected official until the March 2027 election is certified.

What happens next

Next meeting: Friday, November 6, 2026.

An official outcome record - an action agenda or minutes - is published for this meeting.

Captured actions

4

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1

Source artifacts

1

What changed

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1 captured item has a publicly linked outcome.

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  • Item A

    The commission formally acknowledged the vacancy left by Commissioner Sarah Malega's resignation and discussed the appointment process to fill the seat ahead of the March 2027 election.

    Declaring vacancy of District 1 City Commission seat

    approved

People and votes

2 routine or incompletely attributed roll calls stay in the official record rather than overwhelming this summary.

Record text

No recording or transcript is held for this meeting.

Minutes textf

7 North Dixie Highway Lake Worth Beach, FL 33460 561.586.1600 AGENDA CITY OF LAKE WORTH BEACH SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING - DISTRICT 1 COMMISSION VACANCY CITY HALL COMMISSION CHAMBER MONDAY, NOVEMBER 02, 2026 – 7:00 PM *** PUBLIC COMMENT IS ACCEPTED AT ALL CITY COMMISSION MEETINGS EXCEPT FOR WORKSHOPS. *** ROLL CALL: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: led by Mayor Betty Resch NEW BUSINESS: A. Declaring vacancy of District 1 City Commission seat and discussion of vacancy ADJOURNMENT: The City Commission has adopted Rules of Decorum for Public Participation and public comment which are posted within the City Hall Chambers, online at: https://hub.lakeworthbeachfl.gov/public-comment, and available through the City Clerk’s office. Compliance with the Rules of Decorum is expected and appreciated. If a person decides to appeal any decision made by the board, agency or commission with respect to any matter considered at such meeting or hearing, he or she will need a record of the proceedings, and that, for such purpose, he or she may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. (F.S. 286.0105)

STAFF REPORT SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA DATE: November 2, 2026 DEPARTMENT: City Commission TITLE: Declaring vacancy of District 1 City Commission seat and discussion of vacancy SUMMARY: Commissioner Sarah Malega resigned her Commission seat on October 28, 2026 creating a vacancy. BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION: The City Charter addresses vacancies in Article III, Section 5. The City Commission will declare the vacancy and discuss how to precede. There are less than six months before the election and that seat will already be on the ballot on March 9, 2027; the Commission would appoint someone to fill the unexpired term until a new commissioner was elected and the election certified. The appointment must be made no later than 24 hours before the start of the qualifying period. The qualifying period begins at noon on Tuesday, November 10 so the appointment must be made before noon on Monday, November 9. MOTION: Direction is sought regarding filling the vacancy. ATTACHMENT(S): Comm. Malega resignation letter City Attorney letter regarding vacancies Charter - vacancies

TORCIVIA, DONLON, GODDEAU & RUBIN, P.A. 701 Northpoint Parkway, Suite 209 West Palm Beach, Florida 33407-1950 561-686-8700 Telephone / 561-686-8764 Facsimile www.torcivialaw.com Glen J. Torcivia Jennifer H.R. Hunecke Lara Donlon Elizabeth V. Lenihan* Christy L. Goddeau* Alyssa L. Salman Leonard G. Rubin* Daniel Harrell, Of Counsel Ruth A. Holmes, Of Counsel *FLORIDA BAR BOARD CERTIFIED CITY COUNTY AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT ATTORNEY October 29, 2026 Mayor and Commissioners City of Lake Worth Beach Re: Commission Vacancy and Subsequent Procedures Mayor and Commissioners, This letter serves as an analysis of the City Charter for the City of Lake Worth Beach as well as Florida law regarding the resignation or vacancy of a seat on the Commission. Article III Section 5 of the City’s Charter, titled Vacancies; Forfeiture of office; filling of vacancies, states: (a) Vacancies. The office of the mayor or of a commissioner shall become vacant upon the death, resignation, removal from office in any manner authorized by law, or forfeiture of such office by a member; such vacancy to be declared by the remaining members of the commission. (b) Forfeiture of office or candidacy. The mayor or a commissioner shall forfeit such office or candidacy if lacking at any time during a term of office or candidacy any qualification for the office prescribed by this charter or by law. (c) Filling of vacancies. A vacancy of the city commission shall be filled in one of the following ways: (1) If there are less than six (6) months remaining in the unexpired term or if there are less than six (6) months before the next regular city election, the city commission by a majority vote of the remaining members shall choose and appoint a successor to serve until a newly elected commissioner or mayor is qualified. Such appointment shall be made no later than twenty-four (24) hours prior to the opening of the qualifying period for the next city election. If a vacancy occurs after the opening of the qualifying period for the next city election, then this deadline will not apply.

Mayor and Commissioners City of Lake Worth Beach October 29, 2026 Page 2 Torcivia, Donlon, Goddeau & Rubin, P.A., 701 Northpoint Parkway, Suite 209, West Palm Beach, Florida 33407 (561) 686-8700 - (561) 686-8764 (facsimile) (2) If there are more than six (6) months remaining in the unexpired term and no general city election is scheduled within six (6) months, the city commission shall fill the vacancy by a special election to be held no more than sixty (60) days following the occurrence of the vacancy. If a run-off election is necessary, it shall be scheduled two (2) weeks after the special election. Sarah Malega, Commissioner of District 1, announced her resignation on October 28, 2026. With her resignation, the seat becomes vacant as per the City’s Charter. The next municipal election is scheduled for March 9, 2027, and as such there are less than six (6) months remaining in her unexpired term. This allows for the remaining Commissioners to appoint a successor to the seat by a majority vote. If appointed, that individual will serve from the appointment until such time that the March 9, 2027 election has been certified. (See Article III, Section 2 for election procedure). The appointment must be made no later than twenty-four (24) hours prior to the opening of the qualifying period. Qualifying begins on November 10, 2026 at 12:00pm, and as such the appointment must be complete before November 9, 2026 at 12:00pm. The Mayor has called for a special meeting on Monday, November 2, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. so that the Commission can declare the seat vacant and discuss the topic of vacancy. Staff will prepare a “Notice of City of Lake Worth Beach Commission Vacancy” requesting applications from qualified individuals who might be interested in serving the remainder of the unexpired term. Any individual being considered must be qualified for the seat. The City’s Charter in Article III Section 1 states that “each commissioner shall reside in one of the single-member districts established, and only one commissioner may reside in each district, except for the mayor who shall reside within the city.” To comply with this section, the Commission should only consider individuals who reside within District 1. Additionally, Article V Section 2, states in subsection (a) “Any person who has been domiciled within an election district for a period of not less than six (6) months immediately preceding the first day of the qualifying period shall be eligible to qualify for office of city commissioner from said district. For purposes of this subsection, a person shall be considered to be domiciled where he or she has established a fixed habitation or primary abode and intends to remain indefinitely.” To comply with this section, the Commission should only consider individuals who have been domiciled within District 1 for a period of at least 6 months from November 10, 2026. The Mayor has called a second special meeting on Friday, November 6, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. To move forward with an appointment, the City Commission can begin accepting applications immediately following the November 2, 2026 meeting with a submittal deadline of November 5, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. The Commissioners can then review the applications and vote on a potential appointment at the second special call meeting on November 6th, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. An applicant must receive a majority of the vote to fill the seat.

Mayor and Commissioners City of Lake Worth Beach October 29, 2026 Page 3 Torcivia, Donlon, Goddeau & Rubin, P.A., 701 Northpoint Parkway, Suite 209, West Palm Beach, Florida 33407 (561) 686-8700 - (561) 686-8764 (facsimile) Please let me know if you have any questions, Sincerely yours, Glen J. Torcivia City Attorney cc: Troy Perry, City Manager Teanna McKay, Assistant City Manager Elizabeth Lenihan, Assistant City Attorney Melissa Coyne, City Clerk

Created: 2025‐05‐08 13:13:12 [EST] (Supp. No. 155, Update 2) Page 9 of 18 Sec. 5. Vacancies; forfeiture of office; filling of vacancies. (a) Vacancies. The office of the mayor or of a commissioner shall become vacant upon the death, resignation, removal from office in any manner authorized by law, or forfeiture of such office by a member; such vacancy to be declared by the remaining members of the commission. (b) Forfeiture of office or candidacy. The mayor or a commissioner shall forfeit such office or candidacy if lacking at any time during a term of office or candidacy any qualification for the office prescribed by this charter or by law. (c) Filling of vacancies. A vacancy of the city commission shall be filled in one of the following ways: (1) If there are less than six (6) months remaining in the unexpired term or if there are less than six (6) months before the next regular city election, the city commission by a majority vote of the remaining members shall choose and appoint a successor to serve until a newly elected commissioner or mayor is qualified. Such appointment shall be made no later than twenty-four (24) hours prior to the opening of the qualifying period for the next city election. If a vacancy occurs after the opening of the qualifying period for the next city election, then this deadline will not apply. (2) If there are more than six (6) months remaining in the unexpired term and no general city election is scheduled within six (6) months, the city commission shall fill the vacancy by a special election to be held no more than sixty (60) days following the occurrence of the vacancy. If a run-off election is necessary, it shall be scheduled two (2) weeks after the special election. (d) Extraordinary vacancies. In the event that three (3) or more members of the city commission are removed by death, disability, the law, or forfeiture of office, the governor shall appoint an interim commission that shall call a special election as provided in (c)(2) above and such election shall be held in the same manner as the first election under this charter. (Ord. No. 2021-24, § 7, 11-16-21, election of 3-8-22)

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4 meeting items captured from the published sources reviewed here, kept in source order.

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  • Meeting recordOther meeting itemsNo recorded outcome

    ” To comply with this section, the Commission should only consider individuals who reside within District 1.

    Topics: coastal resilience, roads, elections

  • Meeting recordOther meeting itemsNo recorded outcome

    Official meeting record item

    Topics: coastal resilience, roads

  • Meeting recordOther meeting itemsNo recorded outcome

    Official meeting record item

    Topics: coastal resilience, roads

  • Agenda item AOther meeting itemsapproved

    The commission formally acknowledged the vacancy left by Commissioner Sarah Malega's resignation and discussed the appointment process to fill the seat ahead of the March 2027 election.

    Declaring vacancy of District 1 City Commission seat

Official record

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