Panama City shifts non‑agenda public comments to monthly town halls, moves evening meetings to 5:30 p.m.

Mayor Alan Branch and the Panama City Commission on July 8 voted 5‑0 to shift non‑agenda public comments into monthly town halls and to move the commission's regular evening meetings to 5:30 p.m., keeping the existing 8 a.m. meeting. Commissioners also approved holding town halls monthly (except December) for an initial test period.

The move is intended to give residents earlier opportunities to weigh in on items before staff has spent substantial time preparing proposals. "My goal with town halls and virtual meetings is to push that discussion forward much earlier before staff has spent a lot of time on things and, and, and not surprise citizens with things that we're, like, voting on right now," Mayor Alan Branch said during the mayor's report. He told commissioners he had received eight critical emails about the meeting changes but said some writers did not realize additional times and formats had been added.

City Attorney Jack Zimmerman and staff reviewed how the change intersects with existing rules of procedure and the city charter. Zimmerman summarized the charter and rule provisions explaining the mayor’s authority to preserve order at meetings and noted that the commission could draft clearer language if it wanted to limit public comment to agenda items in all meeting types.

Commissioners debated tradeoffs between preserving in‑chamber public comment time and expanding virtual town halls, noting that past meetings occasionally ran many hours and that broad participation often depends on whether an item is perceived as “hot.” Council members said they were open to testing the new format and frequency, with the understanding it could be revisited after initial town‑hall sessions.

Public commenters gave mixed reactions. Derek Thomas, a frequent speaker, urged more options for attendance: "If you adjusted your start time to 08:30 that would give them the opportunity to attend as well," he said. Other residents raised constitutional and enforcement concerns; Joel Putnam said, "Is this, anyway, I'm against it. It's illegal. I'm constitutional."

The commission approved two related procedural motions on unanimous votes: a motion to hold town halls monthly (except December) and a separate motion to shift regularly scheduled evening commission meetings and related virtual workshops to 5:30 p.m. Commissioners said staff will monitor participation and bring adjustments back if the town halls do not increase engagement.

The commission also left an "if allowed" clause in the rules of procedure that the mayor may use, at his discretion, to permit non‑agenda comment during meetings in exceptional circumstances. Officials said they will provide clearer language if the commission decides to make the restriction narrower or broader after the testing period.

The changes take effect immediately; staff and the city attorney said they will prepare any needed wording revisions and report back if adjustments are necessary.