Florence council adopts new meeting rules, restores Zoom public speaking and moves regular meetings to Tuesdays
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Summary
Council approved a revised rules of procedure that restores public speaking on Zoom, adopts a ‘reverse roll call’ voting option and moves regular meetings from Monday to Tuesday; council also approved ordinance changes to permit single‑reading ordinance adoption in many cases.
The Florence Town Council on Tuesday adopted a package of meeting‑procedure changes that allow public participants to speak via Zoom, adopt a reverse roll‑call voting option for the mayor, and move regular council meetings from Monday to Tuesday. The council also approved an ordinance to permit single‑reading adoption of most ordinances (zoning items remain on a two‑reading cycle as required).
Town manager Lisa Garcia presented the rules draft and summarized the proposed changes, including retaining two calls to the public, limiting Zoom participation earlier in the draft to viewing only (with some accessibility exceptions), and adding online public‑comment submission rules. Garcia said staff reviewed practices from other municipalities while drafting the policy.
Council debate focused on Zoom participation. Several members expressed support for keeping Zoom speaking available. Councilmember Benzina asked to explore alternative sign locations for proposed town signs, and Councilmember Bucellato said she supported two calls for public comment and wanted the first call to occur at the start of meetings. After discussion councilmember Bensina moved to adopt the 2025 rules of procedure with public Zoom speaking enabled; the motion passed on a roll‑call vote: Bedford — Aye; Benzina — Aye; Maldonado — Nay; Bucellato — Aye; O’Neil — Aye; Vice Mayor Adam — Nay; Mayor Eaton — Nay (4 Aye, 3 Nay).
Council then completed the second readings of two ordinances tied to the rules package: Ordinance 750125, which revises the town code to move regular meetings to Tuesday, and Ordinance 752‑25, which amends the town code to allow one reading for most ordinances. Both ordinances were approved by council vote.
Council directed staff to return materials showing implementation steps, timelines and any ADA or technology considerations for Zoom participation. Garcia said staff would correct the rules document to reflect council’s final direction and distribute the revised document to council.
