New commissioners promised conservative policies. What changes do they have in mind?
Led by new commissioners who promised to usher in a more conservative manner of government, the Manatee County Commission laid out goals and ideas for bringing those ideas to life.
In a wide-ranging discussion at Tuesday’s board meeting, commissioners agreed that certain policy revisions could improve the quality of life for local residents. Some of those changes included focusing on infrastructure improvements, making government meetings more accessible to the public and implementing cost-saving measures.
Tuesday’s discussion came months after the board welcomed a trio of new members, each of whom pitched conservative ideologies on the campaign trail.
“This is a great time to be on this board. It’s a great time to be able to say ‘Hey, we’re going to look at things with some new eyes here,’” said Commission Chairwoman Vanessa Baugh, who was re-elected in November.
“We’re not going to continue doing things the way they’ve been done here for the past 20 years because you know what, we now have 411,000 citizens,” she continued. “It’s time to go to the next level and we can’t do it where we are now. We have to change some things.”
“I think we have an opportunity as a county and as a people to really go far and above what other people, other places, other counties have seen happen,” said Commissioner James Satcher, one of the new commissioners. “We could really get some big things accomplished and do it in a hurry.”
Commissioners took turns laying out their priorities, such as coming up with a partnership to resolve Piney Point, figuring out what to do with the county’s broken Confederate monument and adjusting meeting schedules. Those goals were met with open arms, but others, such as privatizing transit operations and slimming down departments, were met with some resistance.
Combining departments was pitched as one way to save money and reduce the county’s workforce of 1,900 employees. Commissioner Reggie Bellamy warned his colleagues to proceed with caution, especially considering the amount of growth in the area.
“When we talk about downsizing departments and how we’re going to do things differently, we do have growth out there,” Bellamy said. “It will be challenging to grow and keep doing the things we’re doing now. We need to have a strategy on how that looks.”
Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge, who was elected in November, clarified that he would prefer to see the county shrink its payroll through attrition, referring to a policy that puts a hiring freeze on positions that become vacant when an employee resigns or retires.
“I’m not interested in laying anyone off or firing anyone, however, I think through attrition, I would like the administrator to look at how we can lower, this year, staffing levels,” he explained. “Go department by department. Obviously, I’m not going to micromanage. I’m simply asking her to use her discretion to do that.”
Tapping into the reserves to build or improve local roads was another priority for Van Ostenbridge, who argued that any delay is only costing the county more money in the long run.
“We can borrow at 2.5 percent and the cost of road construction is going up at least 7 percent a year. I just went to old Manatee High School, but I grasp the math of that one,” Van Ostenbridge joked. “We’re losing money every single year that we aren’t building those roads.”
“We have got to get a grip on our infrastructure,” Baugh agreed.
Commissioner George Kruse, the third of the newly elected commissioners, also had plans to put the county’s reserves to work. According to the county’s newest at-large commissioner, some of that money would be better off if it were placed in funds dedicated to solving some of the county’s nagging issues, such as providing affordable housing, solving homelessness and supporting job creation.
“There are a lot of different areas and pockets that we don’t have the funds for, in part, just because we find a way to spend our general fund,” Kruse said.
Kruse cast a crucial vote in December when the board opted to reverse course in discussions to fire County Administrator Cheri Coryea, citing concerns with how the county had acquired land on Lena Road. At the time, Kruse said he looked forward to working with Coryea and giving her a chance to revise some of the policies that the board’s newcomers had issues with.
There was pushback on the board, as well, when Baugh suggested putting the county’s new animal shelter on hold. She said the county should focus on providing resources for residents. The county already has plans to set aside $10 million in Infrastructure Sales Tax funds to build a new shelter.
“We need to realize that there are services we need for our citizens. That’s all I’m going to say on that right now because it’s going to be a hot topic.”
An animal advocate, Commissioner Carol Whitmore took exception to the suggestion, noting that the county has become a regional leader in animal services thanks to its no-kill policy at the shelter.
“Is this the policy of the board that you don’t want a no-kill in Manatee County where we save 90 percent of adoptable animals? That’s fine, but I, 100 percent, don’t support it, and the majority of this community doesn’t,” Whitmore said. “I would ask you to think long and hard about that.”
Other possible considerations presented by board members were revisions to the Land Development Code, automatic national searches for department director positions and reviewing the county’s land acquisition process.
Commissioners took no official action on any of the items discussed Tuesday, but the board agreed to provide Coryea with specific guidance at a later meeting.
This story was originally published January 15, 2021 at 12:00 AM.
