The Palm Coast City Council held a wide-ranging business meeting Tuesday morning, honoring the city’s first historian, recognizing mosquito control and parks professionals, receiving a detailed law enforcement update from Sheriff Rick Staly, and working through public comments on data centers, stormwater accountability, and water infrastructure — before a heated exchange between council members about an AI-drafted “austerity budget” that was published publicly before the full council had reviewed it.
Art Dyke Remembered: Palm Coast’s First Historian
The meeting opened with a proclamation honoring Art Dyke, the city’s first official historian and founder of the Palm Coast Historical Society, who passed away on May 18, 2026. Dyke authored two books on Palm Coast history and received the Mayor’s Citizen of the Year Award in 2018.
His family received the proclamation as City Manager Carl Cote read it aloud. Dyke’s wife said it “was a labor of love for Art.” Councilman Sullivan noted that Dyke was already preserving Palm Coast history before the city was even officially incorporated in 1999. A celebration of life is scheduled for June 27, 2026.
Mosquito Control Awareness Week: A Disease Warning and a Budget Plea
The second proclamation designated June 21–27 as National Mosquito Control Awareness Week, recognizing the work of the East Flagler Mosquito Control District.
Mike Martin, representing the district, accepted the proclamation and delivered a pointed message about the financial consequences of the proposed homestead property tax exemption on the November ballot.
“98% of our revenue comes from property taxes,” Martin said. “If they go ahead and reduce property taxes by even like 26%, we are going to have an extremely hard time continuing to protect.” He pointed to current outbreaks of oropouche virus in Puerto Rico and Brazil as examples of the types of diseases the district works to prevent. Martin also noted the recent Tire Amnesty Days event collected 1,441 tires — 19.8 tons — some with live mosquito larvae, funded through an EPA grant at no cost to taxpayers. The district’s annual open house is June 26; reservations available at flaglermosquito.gov.
Parks and Recreation Month: July Events
A third proclamation designated July as Parks and Recreation Month. Parks Director James Hirst thanked staff and highlighted upcoming events: the United Flagler Fourth fireworks on July 4, Pedal in the Park on July 18, a Historical Society Speaker Series on July 25, and Beats and Eats with Half Step Down on July 30. More information is available at parksandrec.fun.
Sheriff Staly’s Annual Briefing: Crime Down, Calls Up, Costs Rising
Sheriff Rick Staly delivered a comprehensive annual update covering crime statistics, staffing levels, a budget request, and his views on the state’s proposed property tax reform.
Crime and calls: The agency received 126,000 calls for service and made 27,000 traffic stops in 2025. Reportable offenses dropped from 2,764 in 2024 to 2,241 in 2025 under the new FBI reporting system, and stood at 699 through April 2026. Palm Coast ranked second safest city in Florida and 39th safest county in the nation. Traffic crash fatalities dropped even as total crashes increased with population growth.
Despite falling crime, calls for service continue to rise as the county’s population — now over 140,000 — has grown by 45,000 residents since Staly took office in 2017. The Sheriff noted that mental health Baker Acts, medical incidents, and multi-deputy responses to single incidents all consume substantial deputy time without appearing in crime statistics. One example: a Baker Act transport to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona averages two and three-quarter to three hours per call.
The deputy deficit: A University of North Florida study in 2020 found the agency was 31 deputies short in 2018 and would need 78 additional deputies by 2025 — projections based on a county population of 124,000 that has since grown to over 140,000. Since the study, the city and county together have funded 75 deputies. Staly committed to conducting an updated manpower study in 2027. Both prior studies are publicly available at the FCSO website.
Budget pressures: The agency lowered its COLA request to match the county’s 2.3%. However, the Florida Legislature, in the final days of the legislative session, approved a retroactive 1.5% COLA for FRS retirees dating back to 2012 — creating a nearly $900,000 annual impact, with roughly $300,000 due between July 1 and September 30. Health insurance rates came in at a 44% increase from the current provider, United Healthcare, far above the 20% that had been projected. The agency is now seeking competitive bids from other insurers.
Starting deputy pay sits at $57,000, compared to $60,000 in St. Johns County and a push toward $70,000 in Volusia. Staly said he recently lost a deputy to a Volusia $10,000 signing bonus, but credited Palm Coast’s quality of life as a retention advantage. Agency turnover runs 5–6%, which Staly described as low for the field. Average cost to bring on a new deputy: $166,000, compared to $206,000 in St. Johns County.
The training facility delay: The joint law enforcement training facility tied to the Florida State Guard is three years behind schedule. Permits are now expected by end of July — a deadline pushed back multiple times. Of the $10 million appropriated, $2 million has already been taken by the Department of Management Services, leaving $8 million for a project now estimated at $25 million.
Immigration enforcement: The FCSO jail has maintained federal detainer capacity since 2017. Deputies trained as 287(g) task force officers can initiate immigration investigations during traffic stops with ICE supervisor approval. Most individuals encountered are driving without a license. Staly said he is legally limited on sharing specific arrest numbers and directed those requests to ICE through public records.
Property tax reform: Staly urged council members not to assume the homestead exemption amendment will pass, noting that two popular marijuana legalization amendments never reached the required 60% threshold. He said the law as written does not clearly define “law enforcement,” leaving uncertainty about which services would be protected. “I would encourage you to not jump off the cliff yet,” he said. “I have faith in the voters that they will see through a political operation.”
He also noted that Palm Coast pays $397 per capita for law enforcement — lower than neighboring cities and counties — and that standing up a separate city police department would cost approximately $40 million in operating expenses alone.
Public Comment Highlights
DC Blocks / Data Centers: Resident George Mayo told the council that a June 6 ABC News story referenced DC Blocks describing its Palm Coast cable landing station as a “specialized data center.” Vice Mayor Pontieri said the company’s own public handout explains the facility uses a closed-loop cooling system and will not raise utility costs, and that it is not comparable to hyperscale AI data centers. Councilman Miller confirmed that any project classified as a data center must now receive a supermajority council vote — no administrative approval pathway exists.
Airport fuel facility: Resident Darlene Shelley raised concerns about a Flagler County consent agenda item approving a $3.2 million FDOT-funded aviation fuel facility at the Flagler County Airport. Mayor Norris noted the county’s own commissioners had compared the facility’s fuel capacity to that of a Wawa.
Stormwater accountability: Resident Mr. Davis asked who is responsible for explaining development decisions made before the current city manager’s tenure, arguing institutional accountability cannot end when personnel change.
Water and development: Resident Jimmy Henge raised concerns about whether the city’s water infrastructure can support the volume of already-approved future development, and suggested pausing westward expansion discussions until after November. Vice Mayor Pontieri corrected his figures: the water loan was $284 million, not $330 million, and included a refinancing of prior debt.
SR-100 / Belter Boulevard: Developer Randy Baugh followed up on the council’s previously approved right-of-way purchase, explaining that direct access to SR-100 was denied by FDOT but that cross-access through an adjacent property will provide a right-in, right-out. He said traffic studies show the project will improve conditions on Belter. He also described plans for a public art installation and “Welcome to Palm Coast” entry feature at the project site.
Stormwater Studies: $700,000 in Engineering Contracts Approved
Three stormwater study work orders with engineering firm Freeze and Nichols — totaling approximately $700,000 — were approved as part of the consent agenda. Vice Mayor Pontieri questioned whether the city should explore in-house capacity rather than repeatedly outsourcing. Staff explained that the studies involve multiple engineering specialties that one hire cannot cover, and that all three figures had already been negotiated down from higher initial proposals. The consent agenda passed 5-0.
Parks Funds Tabled for Workshop: Skate Park, Safety Netting, and Parking
The council unanimously tabled a resolution to redirect roughly $1 million in unused Indian Trails Sports Complex parking funds toward expanded parking at the Southern Recreation Center — choosing instead to hold a workshop to explore multiple uses.
Mayor Norris proposed using the savings for a community skate park. Councilman Miller suggested safety netting around Field 2 at Indian Trails Sports Complex, noting that Palm Coast Little League has proposed a public-private partnership in which the league would fund the actual cage structure if the city provides the concrete pad. Vice Mayor Pontieri supports a skate park but prefers siting it adjacent to the planned YMCA at the Town Center, where it could be built quickly.
City staff noted the Southern Recreation Center currently runs at 65–70% cost recovery, and that expanded parking could increase membership and revenue. The workshop will examine all three options alongside the legal requirements for how impact fees versus capital project funds can be spent.
The AI Austerity Budget Debate
The meeting’s most pointed exchange came when Vice Mayor Pontieri publicly addressed an AI-generated “shell” austerity budget document that Mayor Norris had shared with the city manager and city attorney — and which was subsequently published by an online outlet before the full council had seen it.
Pontieri said many of the document’s proposals are either already in practice or legally impossible. Examples she cited: merging finance and procurement (already done), shifting road maintenance to crack-sealing over full rebuilds (already a three-year policy), and cutting arts programs and festivals. “Claude can’t possibly understand how important things like the Josh Cruz writing competition are,” she said, citing the AI-generated document by name.
“When you put things out like this… it makes the city look bad. It makes us look like we’re not already engaging in a lot of things that could save us money,” Pontieri said.
Mayor Norris said the document was meant only as a starting point for conversation. “I said AI doesn’t know a lot of things about our community or our systems of government. It was just giving us something to go by.” He said he found it troubling that an internal staff email was published publicly.
Both council members agreed that the real work of the budget process requires reading documents, understanding dedicated fund structures, and identifying where alternative revenue sources can protect the general fund. The next budget milestone is the July 14 general fund workshop, with millage rate adoption expected at the July 21 meeting.
This article is based on a Palm Coast City Council Business Meeting transcript from June 16, 2026.
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