BELLEAIR BEACH, Fla. — Voters in the city of Belleair Beach will be asked to decide on four ballot measures this spring that would amend its charter and bring changes to the city council.

Mayor Dave Gattis said it's in response to a new state financial disclosure law that's led to elected officials around the state stepping down — including four of his colleagues.

"We have three spots that are unfilled right now, and we're in a position to where we can appoint. However, we have no volunteers for appointees," Gattis said. 

According to Gattis, council members Mike Zabel, Belinda Livingstone, and Leslie Notaro, along with Vice Mayor Jody Shirley, all stepped down. Zabel and Livingstone were replaced by Mark Chester and Kim Shaw Elliot, but Gattis said Chester is also resigning.

Gattis said the new law, which requires local elected officials to declare income and assets worth $1,000 or more, is behind the challenge of finding interim replacements. Not only that, Gattis said while there are five available seats in the upcoming election, only Elliot and Councilmember Frank Bankard are running. He said the qualification period for the remaining seats is over.

"In the time that I've lived in Belleair Beach, I've never seen an election where we had a shortage of candidates. There was always an election, there was always a race, and you saw signs all throughout the city of hopefuls wanting to be on the council and serve," Gattis said.

Come March, voters will be asked to decide on four possible changes to the city charter meant to get ahead of future candidate shortages. They include reducing the size of the council from seven to five, increasing term lengths from three years to four, increasing term limits from two to three, and aligning the city's election cycle with the Presidential and midterm elections.

"By reducing the council from seven to five, it's definitely going to help. Not going to solve all the problems, but I think that at least we'll have better chances of filling all five seats instead of seven," Gattis said.

As for those three seats that will still be empty after March's election, the mayor told Spectrum Bay News 9 that members would have to appoint people to fill those seats. If the ballot measure reducing the council passes, that would mean they would have to fill just one empty seat. 

The mayor also started a petition asking the legislature to consider changes to the law to help smaller communities. They include putting a financial assistance program into place to help them comply with the new requirements, looking into more streamlined disclosure forms, and setting up clear guidelines to protect the privacy and safety of elected officials and their families.