- February 24, 2026
The November election will have the first proposed changes to Palm Coast City Charter, including changes to the procedure for filling council vacancies.
Palm Coast’s Charter Review Committee suggested 35 changes to the charter, but not all the suggestions will be implemented. As the Palm Coast City Council meticulously reviewed all 35 proposals during a meeting that lasted almost four hours, the council found several suggestions could be encompassed in policy decisions instead of charter changes.
“That's the crux of this,” Councilman Ty Miller said. “We need to make sure that the ones we're putting on here are the important ones.”
The top three items that will be included in the November general election will include changes to how council vacancies are filled, how City Council members are disciplined and the council’s contracting abilities. All three of these sections of the City Charter have caused stumbling blocks and delays for Palm Coast’s government over the last two years.
Clarifying the procedures on how the council fills vacancies outside of the election period was the first issue addressed by the Palm Coast Council. The current version of the charter does not provide guidance on what to do when a vacancy occurs too close to a general election to qualify.
We need to make sure that the ones we're putting on here are the important ones.”
— TY MILLER, Palm Coast Councilman
In August 2024, the District 4 City Council position was vacated the day before the primary election, and led to the contentious appointment of Councilman Charles Gambaro ahead of the November 2024 general election. In early 2025, Councilman Dave Sullivan was appointed to fill the District 3 seat when the newly-elected Ray Stevens stepped down.
Gambaro’s appointment spurred outcry from members of the public who felt the seat should have been listed on the November 2024 ballot, even though the qualifying period had ended. It even led to Mayor Mike Norris filing a lawsuit against Palm Coast to have Gambaro removed.
The judge in that case ruled that Gambaro’s appointment followed the charter, but pointed out that "the result is flawed."
Under the proposed changes, a vacancy can be filled by appointment. If the vacancy occurs less than six months from any regularly scheduled election in the county, the council must hold a special election within 90 days to fill the vacancy with an elected representative.
If the vacancy occurs outside that six-month window, the seat must be placed on a scheduled election within 12 months. If there is no scheduled election in 12 months, the council must announce the date of a special election by 30 days after the seat is filled by appointment.
“It is imperative that the person sitting in that seat is elected by the people,” Norris said.
Georgette Dumont, the facilitator hired for the charter review process, presented the proposed changes to the Palm Coast City Council on Feb. 24.
“The goal was that at no time do you have unelected individuals on the dais for a long period of time,” Dumont said.
Updating the city’s contracting ability will also, for the second time, be on the ballot. Currently, Palm Coast is limited to borrowing $15 million at a time, with a repayment period of 36 months. Any amount or repayment period greater than that needs referendum approval.
It is imperative that the person sitting in that seat is elected by the people.”
— MIKE NORRIS, Palm Coast Mayor
The proposed changes keep the referendum approval but update the amount and time period to be more in line with today's financial needs than the terms set in 1999. The council suggested the amount be increased to today’s equivalent of the $15 million in 1999 — estimated to be around $30 million, but to be finalized at a later date — with a repayment period of no more than eight to 10 years. The total amount to be financed would also increase along with the annual consumer price index.
“If we don't do something on this now, it’s another another two years [before we can],” Sullivan said.
“And the number gets bigger and bigger to right-size it,” Miller said.
The first time the city tried to update its contracting ability, the effort was tied to a multi-million dollar sports complex project residents were against. The initiative failed at the ballot with 58% of 52,500 Palm Coast voters against it.
Lastly, the council decided to include updates to disciplining council members to the ballot. This issue came up after Norris was censured twice in early 2025 and Gambaro motioned twice for his removal.
Under the proposed changes, a council member or mayor can only be censured with a supermajority vote — four out the five council members. Additionally, the council can not ask the governor to remove a council member or mayor from their seat unless that individual has been censured at least three times and without evidence supporting the request.
Elected officials could still remove themselves from office or be removed through a recall vote.
“That's the way it should be,” Norris said. “It's the consent of the governed.”
That's the way it should be...It's the consent of the governed.”
— MIKE NORRIS, Palm Coast Mayor
Among the other changes that will be included on future ballots are changing term limits to two maximum terms per council member and mayor — allowing a council member to serve two terms as mayor and vice versa — adding a preamble, removing retirement benefits for council members, tying any council salary increase to a CPI and requiring a referendum for increases outside that, and lowering city candidate qualifying fee to 4% of a position’s salary instead of 10%.
Only changes that are approved by voters will be implemented. In order to avoid overwhelming voters with too many items on one ballot, the council decided to spread out the proposals over multiple elections. Miller suggested the council try to place several administrative changes together as one ballot item, as well.
What goes on the ballot will be a summary of the proposed changes for each item. The Palm Coast Council will workshop the final language of the first charter amendments in the coming weeks before voting.
