A municipal charter is the basic document that defines the organization, powers, functions and essential procedures of a city government.

The City of Punta Gorda's current Charter was set forth in Chapter 63-1832, Laws of Florida, Special Acts of 1963. Since that time, the Charter has been amended by voters at referendum elections on February 8, 1977; February 4, 1997; February 8, 2005; November 8, 2016; and November 8, 2022.

The Charter currently calls for the formation of a Charter Review Committee every 6 years, with the next committee scheduled to assemble between late 2027 and early 2028 in order to determine if any amendments should be submitted for consideration by the electorate in a referendum election in November of 2028. The Charter provides that the City Council shall appoint up to fifteen (15) members with a separate budget. The City Council shall also appoint the City Attorney to assist the Committee in the exercise of its duties or else the Committee Alternatively may appoint independent legal counsel. The Committee establishes a schedule of meetings in order to review the current Charter. If it is determined any amendments are recommended, the Committee shall develop language for the amendments and draft the referendum questions to be included on the ballot. Once the Committee has approved the proposed language for the amendments and ballot questions, the Committee must draft an ordinance to be approved by Council and then forwarded to the Supervisor of Elections so that the questions can be included on the next general election ballot. Following the referendum election, the City Clerk will revise the Charter to incorporate any amendments approved by the electorate.

The City Charter is available in its entirety for download.