Conservative values questioned after Manatee commissioners spend $17,000 on office upgrades
The newest members of the Manatee County Commission are under fire for promising to spend taxpayers’ money wisely before using some of those funds to remodel their offices.
A trio of commissioners — George Kruse, James Satcher and Kevin Van Ostenbridge — spent nearly $17,000 on a series of upgrades, renovations and furniture purchases since they began their 4-year terms in November. Those expenses include leather sofas, a recliner and a shiplap accent wall.
Invoices reviewed by the Bradenton Herald detail several purchases that have been called outrageous and unnecessary by former commissioners. On the campaign trail, Republicans Satcher, Van Ostenbridge and Kruse all vowed to keep taxes low while spending money on quality-of-life improvements for county residents.
“I think it’s interesting that these new commissioners, who all campaigned on fiscal responsibly, the first thing they do is come in and spend a lot of money on their offices,” said Commissioner Betsy Benac, who served on the board from 2012 to 2020.
Benac and other former commissioners contest that the office renovations funded by taxpayer dollars are inappropriate, while the new commissioners maintain that their offices were due for an upgrade and they were not provided cost estimates in advance.
Newly elected commissioners inherited offices that hadn’t been renovated in over a decade. Van Ostenbridge’s office was last remodeled in 2010, when former Commissioner John Chappie held the District 3 seat. Satcher’s office hadn’t seen a major update since 2008 when former Commissioner Larry Bustle was sworn in.
Money to pay for office renovations is included in a $1 million fund that commissioners approve in their annual budget. That fund also helps pay for the general maintenance of the County Administration Building and other government properties. The county also uses staff for in-house construction to keep costs down.
‘Really? A couch?’
Still, former commissioners questioned some of the purchases, citing “opulence” and a lack of professional decorum. Reached for comment on the office upgrades, former Commissioner Priscilla Whisenant Trace, who lost in the 2020 GOP primary to Satcher, said she was “flabbergasted” by the amount of money spent on remodeling.
“Really? A couch? I mean, you need chairs and a table. I see no reason why you would ever need a recliner in your office,” Trace said. “You should not be spending that much time in your office anyway. I always tried to make it as easy I could on my constituents.”
“To me, your office should be functional, not luxurious,” she added. “For them to say they’re conservatives, and spending that kind of money is just funny.”
Former Commissioner Joe McClash, who held the county’s District 7 at-large seat from 1990 to 2012, expressed similar concerns. He preferred to meet residents in the community and couldn’t fathom spending that kind of money on his own office.
“You’re better not being in that office and meeting people where they are and not having a presence of opulence or whatever you’d call it. We’ve always been a conservative community,” he explained. “It may not sound like a lot of money, but every dollar is important when you talk to a staff person who’s in charge of a department that’s trying to get $10,000 to take care of something a citizen is requesting, whether it’s a street sign or a sidewalk.”
According to documents obtained via a public records request, Satcher used county funds to move his office door from one part of the room to another. His other office improvements include nearly $1,000 spent on a love seat and a couch, as well as a new desk and cabinets. Overall, improvements to Satcher’s District 1 office cost about $5,000.
“That is not normal. We have never ever, in my 22 years moved a door,” McClash said. “We never put in any fancy wall coverings. We did not order expensive chairs. We used desks and chairs from previous commissioners until they were worn out and needed to be replaced.”
In an interview, Satcher explained he had inherited an office that hadn’t been updated in years. Shortly after he was sworn in, county staff approached and said they’d be happy to construct any modifications.
“The first thing they told us was, ‘We can upgrade your office and do anything you want.’ I didn’t realize that was a trap,” Satcher recalled. “I tried to be pretty reasonable and get us into the 2020s. I’m not looking for a spa experience, but I am looking for something where I can be comfortable having people in there.”
Commissioners push back on criticism
The door was moved to fix a layout issue, according to Satcher. Before, visitors entering the room would immediately stand behind Satcher’s desk. Updating his office doesn’t mean he isn’t being a good steward of public dollars, he added.
“The fiscally conservative values to keep taxes low and get more done with our money is what I wake up thinking about. So, that’s an overarching goal of my term as a county commissioner,” Satcher said. “I think the people can rest easy knowing I’m trying to keep our roads safe and our sidewalks safe for our children.”
“I would mention that the people complaining are the same ones who voted to spend $32 million on land next to a landfill,” he continued, referring to the previous board’s controversial Lena Road land purchase.
Van Ostenbridge echoed Satcher’s critique of their critics.
“If Betsy Benac was truly worried about wasting taxpayer money, she would not have rushed through the $32 million purchase of the Lena Road land,” said Van Ostenbridge.
New accent wall cost almost $2,300
Van Ostenbridge’s office saw the most expensive modifications thanks in part to a shiplap accent wall that cost the county more than $2,280, according to invoices obtained by the Bradenton Herald. The District 3 commissioner also used an additional $2,250 in county funds for a leather recliner and two love seats from Rooms To Go.
“Under what scenario is a recliner necessary to do your job as a county commissioner? This is a professional job they have,” Benac said.
A $650 recliner was a cheaper purchase than the county’s default wingback office chair, said Van Ostenbridge, who also pushed for the complete renovation of an older office.
“If you’re renovating an office from top to bottom, those are pretty standard costs,” he said, explaining his $8,500 renovation by pointing to baseboards that were peeling from the wall, the lack of a ceiling fan and a 12-year-old paint job.
Van Ostenbridge totally revamped his office, getting rid of a large, antiquated desk and bookshelves in favor of a smaller built-in workstation desk. He said his furniture requests were meant to create a welcoming atmosphere.
“I do a lot of work in the field, but I would rather sit my guests in a comfortable, less-intimidating setting,” Van Ostenbridge noted.
The shiplap accent wall was another cost-saving measure, he said. The planks are actually made from a foam material meant to resemble wood. Because he was unaware of the costs, Van Ostenbridge said he didn’t believe former commissioners could question his fiscally conservative views.
New door represents ‘transparency,’ Kruse says
In a social media post on Jan. 13, Kruse shared the news of his office updates. He opted to switch out his solid wood door for another with a large built-in glass window, citing his “promised transparency.” Kruse also requested a blinds attachment for the door that cost the county about $38. The door itself cost the county about $760.
Kruse opted to keep most of the office furniture he inherited from Benac, but he also requested an $800 couch and a $186 television.
“Betsy can come up and look at her old office. It’s virtually identical,” said Kruse, who defended his modifications in an interview with the Bradenton Herald. “I like the old school feel. That’s my personality.”
According to Kruse, he was happy with the old furniture in his office and asked for the couch so that visitors have a place to sit in front of his desk. The county suggested a more expensive couch before Kruse pushed back, asking for a cheaper model. He said he kept his upgrades to a minimum but didn’t fault his fellow commissioners for making more expensive decisions.
“I can understand how some people want some level of comfort. If somebody wants to make themselves slightly more comfortable, that’s their business,” Kruse said.
Kruse maintained that he has consistently tried to save the county money by requesting only the bare essentials to do his job.
“There’s some level of expense across all walks of life. I don’t even use a desktop computer. I was given an iPad and I gave it back because I have my own. People need to be at least remotely comfortable,” Kruse said, responding to a question about how those purchases could be considered fiscally conservative. “By that logic, I should give back my chair and desk and just stand in my room or work from home. There’s a limit to where cost savings aren’t productive.”
In defense of their office renovations, commissioners pinned the blame on government inefficiency, arguing that they would have preferred to see the county pay lower prices for their modifications.
“I asked for the accent wall and nobody raised an eyebrow,” Van Ostenbridge said. “If I had known it would cost $2,000, I wouldn’t have asked for it.”
“I would just ask people to reserve judgment and realize that if we made a mistake, it was taking people at their word,” Satcher added. “As I’m in this position longer and longer, I’m realizing more and more that you can’t just take them at their word.”
This story was originally published February 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
