- November 20, 2024
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Palm Coast's new City Council is already ready to make changes after just their first meeting, starting with the meeting times.
Council member Ray Stevens proposed that the council move both monthly business meetings to 6 p.m., though it received mixed responses from fellow council members. He also suggested the council begin proclamations at 5:30 p.m., to save time during the meeting's regular agenda, which received universal support from the other council members.
But changing the meeting times is more complex than just having one majority vote.
The city has an ordinance that states the schedule of the city's business meetings, the meetings where the council actually votes on agenda items. Currently, the schedule is business meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, the first at 6 p.m. and the second at 9 a.m.
To change the meeting times, the city attorney will need to draft a new ordinance, and the council will need to publicize, read and vote on the ordinance twice before it can be adopted.
Council member Ty Miller and Vice Mayor Theresa Carli Pontieri both pointed out that have a morning business meeting means that people who work at night have a meeting they could attend.
"When we have different times that allows different people with different shifts of work or commitments to come to different meetings," Miller said.
Workshop meetings are dictated by a resolution, not an ordinance, and can be more easily changed than an ordinance. Adjusting when the council reviews proclamations would also fall under reviewing the council's meeting policies and procedures.
Because of the more complex process, Stevens withdrew his motion. Instead, the council will review the city's meeting policies and procedures — including meeting dates and times — at an upcoming workshop.
