ORLANDO, Fla. — After 10 months, Tuesday will be the last time Orange County Commissioners will meet virtually.
The state is now requiring all public meetings, city and county, to happen in-person again.
With limited space, Orange County leaders are concerned about the safety of citizens who will now need to be physically present to offer public comment or participate in hearings.
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Local leaders didn’t get a say in the decision, as Gov. Ron DeSantis pushes for more normalcy in the everyday lives of Floridians.
Some local leaders said they are being left out of important conversations that directly impact their communities.
“Sometimes he hadn’t even asked for any input,” said Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings. “He just made some decisions and didn’t get any input from any of the counties or the local governments. And so that’s to me, that’s not the way to govern.”
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For example, by executive order of the governor, all public meetings must return to in-person as soon as possible.
“I haven’t found any county leaders who across the state who said well, he called me before he did this,” Demings said. “Maybe there but not in here in Central Florida, because I’ve talked to those, the leadership here in Central Florida.”
Demings said Orange County Commission meetings will go back to in-person starting in November.
The order calls for a quorum to be physically present. So four commissioners will have to be present in-person, but others can remain virtual for now.
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Demings is worried because COVID-19 cases are creeping back up across the state, but said they have no choice.
“Sometimes in life, you just have to make the adjustments that you need to make, and hope for the best,” Demings said.
Commissioners Maribel Gomez-Cordero and Mayra Uribe said they are concerned about protecting the safety of citizens.
Because the executive order covers all public meetings, Uribe said she’s even more fearful about a disability board she’s on for Lynx access.
She said just about everyone involved in those meetings are high-risk and the whole thing is very unsettling.
Demings said he’s going to be optimistic about it. And if there’s an outbreak or the numbers spike, he’ll go back to the state and fight for a change.
Gov. DeSantis press office released the following statement Monday afternoon:
“As Florida continues in Phase 3 and millions of Floridians go to work and school every day, it is time for local government officials to safely return to meeting in-person, where Florida law requires, to conduct official business in the sunshine on behalf of their constituents.”
Cox Media Group
