Fort Lauderdale Government Guide

Fort Lauderdale has a Commission-Manager form of government, in which an elected five-member City Commission sets city policy and an appointed City Manager runs the departments (City of Fort Lauderdale).

The Fort Lauderdale City Commission consists of five members: the mayor and four district commission members (City Commission page). The four commissioners are elected by individual districts and the mayor is elected at-large. Each seat carries a four-year term, and each Fort Lauderdale elected official is eligible to serve three consecutive four-year terms (City of Fort Lauderdale). The Commission appoints the City Manager, who holds the administrative responsibility of the City.

The roster above comes from the Fort Lauderdale City Commission page, which names Ben Sorensen of District 4 as Vice Mayor (City of Fort Lauderdale). Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the City of Fort Lauderdale and Broward County websites.

Fort Lauderdale commission mail goes to Suite 444 of the city offices on East Broward Boulevard, and the commission office phone is (954) 828-5003/5004 (City Commission page).

The full mailing address the city gives is City of Fort Lauderdale, 1 E. Broward Blvd., Suite 444, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 (City of Fort Lauderdale).

Each Fort Lauderdale commissioner also has a city email address on the City Commission page, built on the fortlauderdale.gov domain, and the Mayor's line is 954-828-5314 (City of Fort Lauderdale). For general city service questions, the city lists a Customer Service line, 954-828-8000, in the footer of the City Commission page (City of Fort Lauderdale).

The four Fort Lauderdale commissioners are elected by individual districts and the mayor is elected at-large (City of Fort Lauderdale). The Fort Lauderdale elected officials guide on Digital Towns covers each officeholder's district and office in more depth.

The Fort Lauderdale City Commission currently meets in person at various temporary locations, and a person who wishes to address the Commission signs up using the City Clerk's iPad (LauderBriefs).

Fort Lauderdale City Commission meetings can be watched live on FLTV, YouTube, Comcast Channel 78 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99 (City of Fort Lauderdale). After each meeting the city posts a plain-language summary called LauderBriefs, the video at youtube.com/cityoffortlauderdale and a vote summary at fortlauderdale.legistar.com/calendar (LauderBriefs).

The October 6, 2026 Fort Lauderdale meetings included these items. The Commission approved approximately $6.9 million for water and wastewater system equipment, replacement parts and services (LauderBriefs). At the conference meeting it reviewed a new A-5 Sanitary Sewer Lift Station for Downtown Fort Lauderdale, which has an allocated budget of $11.5 million; the city says the existing A-7 sewer basin has reached capacity (LauderBriefs). Sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency board, members approved moving a 4,069-square-foot city lot at 1306 NW 6th Street on Sistrunk Boulevard, valued at $140,000, to the CRA (LauderBriefs).

Several Fort Lauderdale items from that night are still moving. City staff will use commissioners' feedback to refine a proposed ordinance on electric bicycles and micromobility devices before it returns, and the city must notify the Federal Railroad Administration of its train horn Quiet Zone decision by November 1 (LauderBriefs). The next regularly scheduled Fort Lauderdale City Commission meetings are set for Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at the Fort Lauderdale Police Department Community Room, 1300 W. Broward Boulevard (LauderBriefs). The Fort Lauderdale City Commission members guide on Digital Towns covers commission actions in more detail.

Fort Lauderdale holds a District 1 Special Election on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, and the next citywide Quadrennial Municipal General Election falls on Tuesday, November 7, 2028 (City Clerk election information).

Section 7.07 of the Fort Lauderdale City Charter sets the regular cycle: beginning in 2020 and every fourth year after, a regular municipal election is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November to elect a mayor and four city commissioners (City of Fort Lauderdale). If only one candidate qualifies for an office, no election is held for that seat; the City Clerk certifies that fact to the Commission, which declares the candidate elected (City of Fort Lauderdale).

The Fort Lauderdale City Clerk is the qualifying officer for candidates for mayor-commissioner and commissioner, and qualification documents and campaign financial reports are filed with the City Clerk (City Clerk election information). Because a District 1 seat is on the November 3, 2026 ballot, the District 1 line in the commission table above can change after that date; the City Commission page is the place to confirm the current holder. The City Clerk's page directs voter registration, polling places, sample ballots and election results to the Broward County Supervisor of Elections (City Clerk election information).

The City Manager's Office page lists Christopher Cooper as Acting City Manager of Fort Lauderdale, reachable at [email protected] (City Manager’s Office).

The word acting matters for Fort Lauderdale readers. Under the Commission-Manager charter the City Commission appoints the manager (City Commission page), and the City Clerk's directory of boards lists a City Manager Search Committee (City Clerk’s Office).

The Fort Lauderdale City Clerk, David R. Soloman, is a charter officer who reports directly to the City Commission, reached at 954-828-5002 at 1 East Broward Blvd., Suite 444 (City Clerk’s Office). The City Clerk serves as custodian of all records of an official character, supervises municipal elections, code of ethics filings and public notice requirements, and maintains a record of all proceedings of the City Commission (City of Fort Lauderdale). Fort Lauderdale public records requests go to the City Clerk's Office at 954-828-5010 (City Clerk’s Office).

Broward County is a separate government with its own nine-member County Commission, elected by district in partisan elections, while Fort Lauderdale city races are for the city's own five seats (Broward County).

The Broward County Governmental Center stands at 115 S. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301, and the county's general contact line is 311 (Broward County). On the third Tuesday of each November the Broward County Commission elects a Mayor and Vice Mayor from its members for one-year terms, so the county mayor is chosen by the commission each year, unlike the Fort Lauderdale mayor, who is elected at-large (Broward County).

Incorporated on March 27, 1911 and covering approximately 36 square miles, Fort Lauderdale is the largest of Broward County's 31 municipalities (City of Fort Lauderdale). The city takes its name from a Second Seminole War fort built on the banks of the New River in 1838 (About Fort Lauderdale).

The Broward County Commission appoints the County Administrator, County Attorney and County Auditor (Broward County). The County Administrator, Monica Cepero, is the chief executive officer of Broward County Government (Broward County). For Fort Lauderdale residents the split is practical: city questions go to 1 E. Broward Blvd. and 954-828-8000, county questions to the Governmental Center on Andrews Avenue and 311.

Two Digital Towns guides sit under the Fort Lauderdale government section: the Fort Lauderdale elected officials guide and the Fort Lauderdale City Commission members guide.

The Fort Lauderdale elected officials guide focuses on who holds each seat on the City Commission and how the City Manager role fits the charter; the Fort Lauderdale City Commission members guide adds the charter structure, administration and recent policy actions. The city's own City Commission page lists the current officeholders.