Unity, Urgency, and a $750 Million Question: Palm Bay Council Delivers on Agenda, Then Opens Pandora’s Box

The Palm Bayer · Feb 6, 2026 · 1m

Palm Bay, FL – The February 5, 2026, Regular Council Meeting began as a model of consensus governance. Five unanimous votes dispatched the formal agenda in under an hour, establishing budget priorities, creating a new citizen oversight board, and greenlighting millions in infrastructure repairs. Then, during Council Reports, Deputy Mayor Mike Jaffe floated the idea of selling the city’s entire utility system to a private company, a proposal he estimated could be worth $750 million. The suggestion split the dais and drew an immediate warning from City Manager Matthew Morton about the…