Panama City leaders spar over housing strategy as officials cite limited city funds

Residents and nonprofit leaders urged the Panama City commission to take stronger, practical steps on affordable housing while commissioners and staff debated how the city can most effectively use limited funds.

Susan Bravo, executive director of a local family-service agency, told commissioners her agency serves "over 20,000 people a year" and warned that many clients are working but still housing‑insecure. "Our numbers, we serve over 20,000 people a year," she said, arguing that the city should not abandon its role entirely and that partnerships with Habitat for Humanity and other nonprofits are needed.

Commissioners and staff then spent a sustained period examining the city's resources and strategy. One commissioner said the housing department currently has program income and reserves and that "there's $2,000,000 right now" available in a housing account that could be redeployed. Commissioner Street (as identified in the discussion) said the emphasis should be on measurable results: "If something doesn't get results, it gets cut," and urged focused, small-scale actions that can demonstrate immediate impact.

Participants debated approaches: selling underused properties to seed a reinvestment fund, giving lots to Habitat for Humanity (which one commissioner estimated could build "about 8 more houses a year" if supplied land), and using partnerships to speed delivery rather than attempting to build everything in-house. City officials warned there are program rules tied to some housing funds that constrain how properties and program income can be used (for example, properties received under specific grants may have resale or retention terms).

Several commissioners pressed for a clear, written plan from staff showing how existing funds would be deployed and what specific results would be expected. The chair urged department directors to present deployment plans so the commission can convert discussion into action.

Next steps: Commissioners asked staff and the housing director to produce a concrete deployment plan that identifies targeted uses of the city's existing housing program income, potential parcels for disposition and partner organizations able to deliver housing outcomes.