At a workshop on Aug. 11 the Deltona City Commission reviewed proposed revisions to its operating guidelines, meeting rules and procedures and directed staff to return a redlined draft that trims redundancy, clarifies electronic-communication allowances, and establishes a three-minute public-comment time across meetings and workshops.

The city attorney advised the commission that municipal meetings are a “limited public forum” and that the proposed rules—if content neutral and narrowly tailored—are consistent with the First Amendment and Florida’s Sunshine Law. “We are not violating the First Amendment,” the city attorney said while explaining how a limited public forum allows the commission to restrict time, place and manner of remarks so long as the restrictions do not discriminate by viewpoint.

Public commenters raised concerns about specific provisions. Tim Blodgett said the proposed “manner of addressing the commission” section was “loaded with personal bias” and suggested the city rely on established categories of unprotected speech when limiting conduct at meetings. Kathy Brian asked the commission to keep public-comment time at three minutes rather than shortening it and said she preferred public comments to follow commission discussion on some items so speakers can respond to commissioners’ remarks.

Commissioners debated multiple items: whether the policy duplicated provisions already in the city charter, whether commissioners should be permitted to use personal devices for limited research or emergency family matters during meetings, and how strictly to constrain decorum. Vice Mayor Harriot argued for a 3-minute standard across workshops and commission meetings, saying, “I think a fair compromise would be 3 minutes across the board.” Several commissioners said the current policy had useful detail but could be shortened and redlined to show changes.

The commission gave staff three specific directions: prepare a redlined version marking additions and deletions against the current policy, incorporate a periodic review schedule (two or three years was discussed) and present clear onboarding/training for newly elected officials. Staff confirmed the city provides three iPads for in-meeting research and agreed to show commissioners how to use them during meetings rather than rely on personal phones for research.

Why it matters: Commissioners said clearer, shorter meeting rules will reduce confusion, better align written policy with the charter and the Sunshine Law, and improve public perception of professionalism and transparency.

What’s next: City attorney and city manager will coordinate a redlined draft for the commission showing proposed deletions and additions and present it at a future meeting. The commission asked staff to include options for a 2-year or 3-year review cadence and to formalize onboarding for new commissioners.