HOLMES BEACH – In her state of the city address, Mayor Judy Titsworth noted that it’s been one month since the state-mandated Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) study began.
The main purpose of the study is to determine if the three Island cities should be consolidated into one city, into the city of Bradenton, into Manatee County or remain as three municipalities.
The idea was first broached by members of the Manatee County Legislative Delegation during a January meeting where the study request was passed unanimously without notification to or input from any of the three Anna Maria Island cities the study is slated to scrutinize.
While leaders in all three cities said they would support the study looking at ways the cities could share resources to save taxpayer money, they are against consolidation of any kind.
After city leaders were given several months to discuss consolidation of services among themselves, state Rep. Will Robinson Jr. (R-Bradenton) and Sen. Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton) came back in the fall with a letter stating they would be moving forward with the OPPAGA study.
During a Dec. 12 meeting, Holmes Beach Commissioner Dan Diggins said he’d spoken with Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown with one of the topics being the OPPAGA study. When asked, Diggins said that Brown has no interest in annexing the Island into his city.
Titsworth said that while the first wave of records requests from the city are over, she expects more in the coming months before the study concludes in 2024 and thanked staff for their hard work to manage the large number of document requests while also attending to their normal duties.
Later in the meeting, Holmes Beach City Attorney Erica Augello said that while the city can’t initiate a referendum to put consolidation of the three cities on the ballot in November, it doesn’t mean that residents can’t. According to the Florida Department of Elections, in order to have a referendum put on the ballot for voter consideration, at least 8% of the city’s voters who voted in the last presidential election must sign a petition to approve the placement of the referendum on the general election ballot and the action must be financially supported by the residents.
Having a referendum to see how many registered Holmes Beach voters are in favor of or against consolidation could potentially override the state if legislators push for consolidation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
