The future of many Manatee County festivals could be at risk

The Florida Legislature will once again take a run at restricting spending powers of Community Redevelopment Agencies, but verbiage in one bill could potentially put an end to some of the major festivals in the area.

The House version repeats much of last session’s attempts to strip away CRA control, an effort that died in the Senate. That bill is likely to be once again vigorously opposed, but another version being introduced in the Senate would forbid CRAs from spending money to promote tourism or festivals.

The primary mission of a CRA is the elimination of slum and blight. A CRA district receives tax dollars from within that specific district with a directive to invest those funds back into the CRA. But it has other missions, including economic development.

The Senate version of the legislation could put at risk events like the Fourth of July Festival, the Multicultural Festival, the DeSoto Seafood Festival and other events local CRAs use to promote economic development.

“First of all there is an inconsistency in the House and Senate version of the bills right off the bat,” said Palmetto CRA Director Jeff Burton. “When it comes to public funding of events, it’s a large gray area in CRA law. At one point the state attorney general was asked for an opinion and after a review, the option was to give no opinion. But if the Senate language is approved, then it becomes state law so our investment in all of those festivals would be in jeopardy.”

Bradenton Mayor Wayne Poston said it will be another round of cities doing what is necessary “to protect the CRAs. There will be another fight.”

Bradenton Economic Development Director Carl Callahan, who oversees the city’s three CRAs, said most of the language in the Senate’s version is what the city is already doing, but it would require CRA boards to undergo more ethics training and restrict how much the CRAs can spend on administration.

“It’s a process,” Burton said. “There are over 225 CRAs in the state of Florida so whatever the Legislature does affects everyone of them. This is just one of those processes we have to go through again.”

This story was originally published October 18, 2017 at 2:13 PM with the headline "The future of many Manatee County festivals could be at risk."