- March 4, 2026
Palm Coast has passed an ordinance to prevent commercial companies from purchasing the city’s utilities.
Pontieri requested the ordinance in a previous council meeting. She said she wanted to protect Palm Cost’s utilities from being purchased or leased long-term by third parties. With this ordinance, that can no longer happen without a supermajority vote and a citywide referendum, according to city documents.
The ordinance also would require at least two public hearings regarding the sale, and require the city manager to publish in advance of the first hearing an independent valuation, fiscal impact analysis, service and regulatory analysis and a summary of the proposed agreement.
Additionally, the ordinance would require that the sale pay off any outstanding debt, including revenue bonds.
In the Feb. 18 Palm Coast City Council meeting, Mayor Mike Norris said that the ordinance prohibiting the sale of the utility could be repealed by future councils. He called it a bit like “virtue signaling.”
Despite those comments, Norris supported the ordinance, which passed in a 3-0 vote on March 3.
“It has limited strength, but I think in this day and age, with changes we see happening in the country, it makes sense to add that extra step,” Sullivan said.
