Bradenton declares coronavirus state of emergency. The decision didn’t come easily

The Bradenton City Council on Wednesday declared a local state of emergency due to the novel coronavirus crisis. As part the declaration, the council prohibiting public access into city hall with one exception.

The emergency resolution, as well resolutions to allow some city workers to work remotely and to shut off public access to city hall passed unanimously. But when it came to the possibility of suspending city council meetings, tempers flared.

Ward 1 Councilman Gene Gallo motioned to suspend city council meetings until April 22 with a reevaluation of the coronavirus emergency to be done on April 15 to determine what is best for public safety.

“This is more important to the public and to us to do this,” Gallo said. “We shouldn’t think twice.”

The motion was supported by Ward 2 Councilman Gene Brown.

“If we can’t have the public in city hall then I don’t believe it’s OK to put rules on other people and then break that rule,” Brown said. “We have to be careful about what precedent we set.”

Councilmen Patrick Roff and Bill Sanders immediately opposed the motion with Sanders going so far as to tell the council members they should resign if they aren’t willing to schedule and attend meetings as planned.

Sanders was immediately criticized for returning to city hall after being recently sick. Brown and Gallo said Sanders put the entire city commission and staff at risk.

Roff said the current recommendations from the state and federal governments to limit the number of people in a single setting are “recommendations.”

Roff went on to argue that if police, fire and public works would continue to protect the city then, “I signed up to protect the city. We have business to attend to and this is a pretty safe operation,” noting that few residents attend city council meetings.

Gallo argued that these are unique times and that council members sitting side by side is not “essential” at this time.

Gallo said the opposition had underlying political goals given that a public hearing is scheduled for March 25 on a proposed amendment to the city’s charter that would transfer oversight of the police department from the mayor to the commission.

Gallo’s motion was defeated, 3-2, Councilman Harold Byrd Jr. joining Roff and Sanders in voting against.

City attorney Scott Rudacille said Gov. Ron DeSantis has been asked to allow government meetings to continue remotely as long as the public and the press have access to those meetings. DeSantis has not yet acted on that request.

Mayor Wayne Poston said an earlier state of emergency declaration essentially covers all of the municipalities in the county, “But we want to make sure if money comes from the state or federal government, we want our fair share.”

City Hall will be closed to the public starting Thursday morning.

The majority of residents’ needs can be obtained online or city staff will be available by phone. There may be a rare case where someone absolutely has to pick something up from city hall and staff are working on solutions.

Council meetings will continue as scheduled, with the next meeting planned for March 25. Public access will be granted at the city hall’s back entrance.

This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 11:05 AM.