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1. Can I speak at a City Commission meeting?

Yes. You may sign up to speak on any non-agenda item at the beginning of each Commission meeting. You may also speak on any item on the agenda as it is presented for discussion by the Commission. Public comment is limited to two minutes unless an extension is approved by Commission.

2. How are City Commission meetings conducted?

Meetings will be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Section 286.011, Florida Statutes, the Government in the Sunshine Act.

3. What is the Government in the Sunshine Act?

The Government in the Sunshine Act prohibits communication between Commissioners outside of a public meeting on any matter which shall be the subject of a commission action. The Act also requires public noticing of all meetings, open public attendance at meetings, and meeting locations where public access is reasonably available.

4. What are the qualifications for a commissioner's seat?

The three ward Commissioners must each be an Elector. Additionally, they shall each have been a Legal Resident of the City for a minimum of three hundred and sixty-five (365) consecutive days immediately prior to the last day of qualifying for election to the office being sought and have been a Legal Resident of the ward from which they are to be elected for a minimum of one hundred and eighty (180) consecutive days immediately prior to the last day of qualifying for election to the office sought.

The two at-large Commissioners must each be an Elector and have been a Legal Resident of the City for a minimum of three hundred and sixty-five (365) consecutive days immediately prior to the last day of qualifying for election to the office sought.

Commissioners shall assume office on the date of the first Commission meeting following their election and shall continue to be a Legal Resident and Elector of the City during their term of office. The term of office is four years.

5. What is the definition of a legal resident?

Legal Resident means a person who has established a permanent residence, as defined as that place where a person has his or her true, fixed and permanent home and principal establishment to which, whenever absent, he or she has the intention of returning, within the corporate limits of the City of Palmetto. A person may have only one permanent residence at one time and, once a permanent residence is established outside of the City, it is presumed to continue until the person shows that a change has occurred.