Long-term funding and staffing of ASAP
Summary
Commissioners debated how to make the program sustainable: whether to use the roughly $1.5 million embezzlement-recovery fund for a three-year stabilization period or to seed a new structure, and how to protect long-tenured ASAP employees nearing retirement if the program moves out from under the city.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 2
- Last 30 days
- 0
Last discussed Jul 20, 2026.
Impact analysis
About $1.5 million sits in a dedicated fund, enough to cover roughly four to four and a half years of the program's ~$300,000 annual shortfall.
ASAP employees close to retirement would keep city employment status under proposals discussed.
Mentions & discussions (2)
Public Workshop - Jul 20, 2026
Commissioners debated how to make the program sustainable: whether to use the roughly $1.5 million embezzlement-recovery fund for a three-year stabilization period or to seed a new structure, and how to protect long-tenured ASAP employees nearing retirement if the program moves out from under the city.
Public Workshop - Jul 16, 2026
ASAP serves 94 children at two sites but is funded by reserves from the defunct Friends of ASAP nonprofit and the recouped Michael Johnson embezzlement money, with about five years of runway. Commissioners disagreed on whether to keep burning operating reserves or put the Panama City Community Fund money into a sustainable structure — a dedicated workshop Monday will decide.
We'll email you when it's on an upcoming agenda and when it's voted on, at most once a day.
The weekly brief for Panama City
What the council decided, in plain English — one email a week.
Free. Unsubscribe with one click any time. We never sell your email.