ORANGE BEACH — The City of Orange Beach is joining as a signatory in support of maintaining state statutes surrounding panhandling and begging.

Through a unanimous vote by Orange Beach City Council, the city will sign on with municipalities in an amicus brief to uphold state law prohibiting panhandling and begging.

According to the resolution, the city considered supporting the appeal of this ruling due to views surrounding panhandling and begging that suggest they are "an indicator of social deterioration and crime."

"These public perceptions negatively impact tourism and business activity, overall causing a decrease in economic prosperity," the resolution reads. "The City of Orange Beach depends heavily on revenues from tourism."

At council's Dec. 2 meeting, Councilwoman Ginger Harrelson said the amicus brief, or "friend of the court brief," does not require the city to pay for the entire brief. The cost to the city is not to exceed $15,000.

The agenda item states attorneys at Galloway, Wettermark and Rutens LLP are drafting the brief on behalf of interested Alabama Gulf Coast cities in an "effort to curb the negative impacts" the case and its result could have on cities in the state.

City Attorney Jamie Logan explained the brief was coordinated by the Alabama League of Municipalities and that the case is now going through the state Supreme Court.

"So, a municipality in Alabama outlawed panhandling, and a ruling from a court said, 'Oh, you can't do that,'" Harrelson said. "We are appealing that, and we are joining other municipalities in that effort because we believe that we should be able to govern public health and safety issues in our cities."

After council voted on all agenda items and moved to the period of public comment, Orange Beach resident C.C. Dixon-Moreno approached the stand and asked council to raise their hand if they could define what an amicus brief is and if they knew what they had approved.

Mayor Tony Kennon said it didn't matter and asked Dixon-Moreno if she knew what it was. At that, she said, "I rest my case" and left the podium.

As she walked out the door of city hall she said, "We'll see you in court, Tony."

He responded, "Been there before."

Dixon-Moreno has an ongoing lawsuit against the City of Orange Beach and some municipal staff, including Kennon, after her public records request for body camera footage relating to a 911 call to the city's Coastal Resources building during Labor Day weekend 2024 was denied.

After Dixon-Moreno left the city council meeting, Kennon said, "For everybody in the audience, that is not how we conduct business here. Anybody is welcome to come to that microphone in a courteous, respectful way, but do not come up here in a way that we know is adversarial."

He said he made a mistake in not letting Harrelson explain what an amicus brief is while Dixon-Moreno was there. He then asked her to share her explanation for those in attendance, those watching the livestream and maybe councilmembers who were unsure.

Harrelson is an attorney and worked under previous city attorney Wanda Cochran for about three years.

The city was notified by the federal court the day before the council meeting that the resolution had to be filed by Dec. 12, City Attorney Logan said. Because the next council meeting wasn't until Dec. 16, the item required approval at the Dec. 2 meeting.

"I would think that the majority of residents of Orange Beach would agree and understand," Kennon said. "It's not a lack of compassion in any way, form or fashion. It's common sense."

Note: This article previously stated the amicus brief challenged Singleton v. Montgomery, a case claiming panhandling cannot be outlawed as a business and has since been updated to reflect that the amicus brief upholds current state legislation prohibiting panhandling and begging.