COMMISSIONERS CONTEMPLATE
NEW WEBSITE LAUNCH, PERMITTING
2026 July 28
The Cedar Key City Commission met on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at 10 am at City Hall in a workshop session to share knowledge about the city's automation efforts after the resignation of Jolie Davis who previously led the effort. All commissioners were in attendance: Mayor Jim Wortham, Vice Mayor Mel Beckham, Nancy Sera, Dell Weible, and Heath Davis.
Nancy Sera chaired the workshop, assisted most ably by City Clerk Brooke Smith. The workshop's title, "New Website and Automation with CivicPlus Workshop," clarified much to a previously unclear public.
Made clear were the following items.
• CivicPlus is the permitting software system the city will use, as does Levy County, where it is heralded as a well-functioning system.
• The city's new website is nearly complete and should be ready to launch next week.
• On the website will be a CivicPlus permitting section that will not be open to the public immediately. Needed are: additional work "on the back, technical, end, staff training, internal testing.
• Resident and contractor Ken Edomnds volunteered to mock test or actually provide permitting requests to test and perfect the system. Resident and property owner Sheryl Belcher offered the same for a non-commercial permitting.
• Thus fair, total costs for the new website and the permitting automation function amount to nearly $50,000. Commissioner Beckham requested a more detailed explanation of that cost.
• Both Nancy Sera and Brooke Smith expressed their readiness to move forward to complete the work.
Automation efforts are hardly a choice in recent years. Effective in January 2027, new Florida legislation requires local governments to accept payments online by credit card, charge card, debit card, or other means of electronic funds transfer.
The meeting adjourned at 11:10 am.
IN ATTENDANCE
Among those in the audience were: Vanessa and Ken Edmonds, Sheryl Belcher, Jeri Treat, Sue Colson, and Mandy and Frank Offerle.
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