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Island mayors receive OPPAGA consolidation report

Island mayors receive OPPAGA consolidation report

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The consolidation of the three Anna Maria Island cities appears unlikely according to a consolidation study-related letter sent to the three Island mayors last week from State Rep. Will Robinson Jr. and Sen. Jim Boyd.

“The OPPAGA study confirms what we have discussed over the past year,” the letter says. “Merging or eliminating cities could negatively impact the unique and special character of the Island and could have a detrimental impact on issues like building height. The lower height of buildings on the Island must be valued and maintained at all costs. Anna Maria Island must never become a high-rise community and anything that would cause that to happen would be a nonstarter to us.”

Dated Jan. 9, the letter accompanied the completed OPPAGA (Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability) consolidation study report emailed to Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth, Anna Maria Mayor Mark Short and Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie on Jan. 8. The mayors then shared the report and the letter with their respective city commissioners.

OPPAGA is a research arm of the Florida Legislature.

The issuance of Boyd and Robinson’s letter and the sharing of the completed 25-page OPPAGA study coincided with the Manatee County Legislative Delegation meeting held in Bradenton on Jan. 9. Robinson, Boyd and the other state legislators who comprise the Manatee County Legislative Delegation announced their desire for a consolidation study in 2023.

The consolidation study was requested at a time when Robinson, Boyd and former Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge were at odds with Holmes Beach officials regarding public parking for beachgoers and the county’s desire to construct a parking garage at the county-owned Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach.

In 2023, Robinson filed legislation that resulted in the Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis authorizing the county to construct a three-story parking garage at Manatee Beach despite the city’s existing prohibition on multi-level parking garages and substantial public opposition. In August, the county commission reversed course and terminated the parking garage design process.

While pursuing the consolidation study, Robinson and Boyd repeatedly expressed their desire for the three Island cities to reduce operating costs and lower property taxes by consolidating some of the similar services provided by all three cities.

The study

The 25-page OPPAGA report begins with an executive summary that says the Legislature directed OPPAGA to analyze the potential benefits of consolidating the services provided by the three Island cities and present options for the potential restructuring of the Island’s governance.

Island mayors receive OPPAGA consolidation report
The OPPAGA Anna Maria Island consolidation study report has been made public. – OPPAGA | Submitted

The study notes the Island’s permanent resident population declined 42% between 2007 and 2023, from 8,449 residents to 4,915. It also notes that 66% of the new vacation rental properties developed in Manatee County between 2000 to 2023 were developed on Anna Maria Island.

“There are some municipal services on the Island that could be streamlined through interlocal agreements, contracts or government reorganization. This streamlining of services could result in savings for Island residents,” the report says.

The report notes all three cities provide administrative, building and planning, public works, code enforcement and emergency management services; and Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach have their own police departments. Anna Maria contracts with the Manatee County Sherrif’s Office for law enforcement services. Using data provided by the cities, the report summarizes each city’s revenues, expenditures, outstanding debt and reserve funds.

The report references four government restructuring options:

  • Leaving the Anna Maria Island governmental structure as is;
  • Combining the three Island cities into one new city;
  • Including the three cities as part of unincorporated Manatee County; and
  • Including the three cities as part of the city of Bradenton.

The analytical report does not include a recommendation of any of the consolidation options, but provides considerations and potential impacts for each consolidation option.

In regard to maintaining the status quo, the report states the duplicated services and the financial impacts created by those duplications would continue and each city’s property tax rates would remain the same. Maintaining the status quo would also avoid the expense, time, effort and disruption of city governance, and Island residents would not have to change their addresses.

Regarding the one city, county and Bradenton consolidation options, the report notes each of those options may produce economies of scale and cost savings but would also result in the elimination of each city’s charter, code ordinances, land development codes and comprehensive plan. Consolidation would also eliminate the current city commissions and advisory boards and require the restructuring of existing municipal contracts.

Robinson and Boyd’s letter notes that Manatee County government and the school district have also been encouraged to become more efficient and lower their taxes and millage rates.
“We know that cutting taxes and finding efficiencies is challenging, but we believe it is possible to accomplish this with hard work and now with this OPPAGA study as a roadmap,” the letter says.

“As we head into the 2025 Legislative Session, we would like to hear from you prior to Feb. 13 on ways you all believe services can be streamlined and better coordinated,” the letter concludes.

Mayors respond

In her Jan. 9 email to The Sun, Mayor Titsworth wrote, “I appreciate the time and effort that the team put into this study. I also look forward to working with the Island mayors, the new county board members and our state leaders in identifying efficiencies to decrease taxes for our citizens. I am pleased that the threats of consolidation and or elimination of our cities has passed and I appreciate the respect our Legislature has for home rule.”

During the Jan. 10 city commission meeting, Mayor Short read aloud some key points contained in Robinson and Boyd’s letter.

“I have reviewed the report,” he said. “I don’t necessarily agree with some of the data that’s in there, but it’s there. I need to digest this some more. I’d like the commission to do the same.”

Short said the report contains some inaccuracies, including some inaccurate financial figures, and he intends to issue a formal response to the report.

Commission Chair Charlie Salem thanked Short, city staff and former mayor Dan Murphy for ensuring the OPPAGA team received the data and information they requested. He also credited the citizens who sent emails and letters of opposition to the state legislators opposing consolidation and reinforcing the importance for the Island cities to maintain their home rule rights.

In conclusion, Short said, “This was an Island-wide effort. This wasn’t just us. It was all three cities, as well as support from others off-Island. I take comfort in this letter, but I’m not 100% convinced that it’s completely done.”

When contacted on Jan. 10, Mayor Chappie said he was glad the state legislators shared the report with the Island mayors, which is not a legal requirement.

Chappie also questions some of the figures and facts stated in the study, but he feels the study reinforces the unique characteristics of the three Island cites and the need to maintain local governance.

Chappie feels the three cities can use the OPPAGA report to help address Boyd and Robinson’s ongoing cost-cutting and tax reduction concerns.

“This is going to be a tool to help us look at ourselves as a community and how we can better our community,” he said.

County pushes for fire district mergers

County pushes for fire district mergers

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Manatee County, West Manatee Fire Rescue.

MANATEE COUNTY – County commissioners asked the county’s seven fire chiefs to consider merging their districts at an April 23 meeting.

Commissioners said they would support doing a study to look into the benefits of consolidating fire districts, adding that they would bring state leaders and the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Governmental Accountability into the conversation if needed.

Manatee County Administrator Charlie Bishop reminded commissioners that they have no authority over fire districts, which are special districts and governed by the state of Florida.

The conversation was brought to the dais by District Four Commissioner Mike Rahn as a result of the volunteer Duette Fire Department seeking a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (COPCN) for non-transport advanced life support capabilities from the county. Receiving a COPCN is one of the many steps for district firefighters to be certified to provide the same care as an EMS first responder. Non-transport ALS means that the firefighters can provide the same medical care as EMS workers but cannot transport patients to the hospital or other care facility. West Manatee Fire Rescue, the department that covers Anna Maria Island, Cortez and the west side of unincorporated Manatee County, is a non-transport ALS provider in addition to having fire response, water rescue and dive team capabilities, among others.

During the meeting, Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge said that Duette does not meet the minimum capabilities to provide non-transport ALS service to its residents and encouraged the fire chiefs to consider merging districts.

Duette Fire Chief Rocky Parker took to social media to dispute Van Ostenbridge’s claim. Parker said that he believes the district meets the requirements to provide the service to residents and will continue to seek COPCN approval, despite the county commission’s argument that the Duette fire department doesn’t meet the requirements because its firefighters are volunteers.

Van Ostenbridge said that there are positives and negatives to living “out in the country” with one of the negatives being that there is less access to emergency services. He suggested that Duette and Parrish fire districts consider consolidating with North River Fire District to provide more services to residents and property owners.

While fire districts are allowed to consolidate, they can only merge with ones contiguous to their established boundaries within the county.

During the discussion, Van Ostenbridge singled out WMFR as a fire district that would be interested in merging with another district. While Chief Ben Rigney said that the district is always willing to keep its options open to better serve residents and property owners, he doesn’t see a merger coming any time soon.

“It seems to come up every five to 10 years or so,” Rigney said of the talk of fire district consolidation in Manatee County. “I did not feel that West Manatee was being targeted or threatened by the discussion from the Manatee County commission meeting. The commissioners are trying to ensure that the fire districts remain fiscally responsible to their communities. I feel that our district has continued to be responsible with taxpayer monies and are always open to working with them on providing a better service.”

Van Ostenbridge said he doesn’t want to see services reduced but would like to see administrative costs reduced.

Commissioner George Kruse said he thinks it’s important to continually look at opportunities but he’s not sure what the opportunity would be. He said he doesn’t want to see residents have different kinds of safety services based on where they live. He said he would rather see fire safety capabilities standardized across Manatee County. Kruse added that he doesn’t want safety services dictated by where people can afford to live.

“I would just encourage people to have that conversation,” Kruse said. “I would like this to be a bigger discussion. Maybe the (state) delegation needs to get involved in it. We seemingly can get free OPPAGA studies at a snap of a finger. It doesn’t commit to anything, but it can support data for future discussion.”

“I want you guys to keep control of all of this, keep control of your own destiny,” Van Ostenbridge said. When the state delegation and OPPAGA studies are involved, he said that the fire districts would start to lose control of their futures.

Hundreds rally against consolidation, garage

Hundreds rally against consolidation, garage

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Featured.

HOLMES BEACH – The Florida heat didn’t stop a crowd from gathering at City Field on Saturday to express their opposition to the Manatee County Commission and Florida Legislature consolidating or eliminating the three Anna Maria Island cities and building a parking garage at Manatee Beach.

The rally, held on May 4 by the Save Florida Home Rule grassroots activist group, brought hundreds of people to the pavilion, including residents, visitors, property owners and other interested community members. The rallying cry for the group was “save home rule.” It was a sentiment echoed by all in attendance as Island elected officials, residents, city staff and a county commission candidate took the stage to share facts with the community on both issues and speak out against the ongoing state-mandated Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) study and a planned parking garage at the public beach.

Save Florida Home Rule organizer Barbara Ehren was first to take the stage, telling onlookers about the grassroots effort to stop government overreach at the state and county levels to bypass municipal land development codes and ordinances regarding development on the Island. The rally was the second official event for the group following a Hands Across the Sand event held in April that was attended by more than 300 people.

Stepping in for Mayor Judy Titsworth was Holmes Beach Commissioner Terry Schaefer, who said he believes that the push to dissolve the cities is to get rid of land use regulations to allow for increased development on the Island. He said that city leaders are working to mount a “strong defense” against government overreach and that he’s happy to see so many community members getting involved in the effort with the hopes that the battle to hang on to the cities won’t get that far.

Hundreds rally against consolidation, garage
Commissioner Terry Schaefer stepped in for Mayor Judy Titsworth to speak on behalf of the city of Holmes Beach. – Kristin Swain | Sun

Schaefer discussed the ongoing unfounded rhetoric largely being voiced by county commissioners, primarily that the city does not have enough parking and that city leaders refuse to work with the county. He said the parking garage and OPPAGA study efforts began at a January 2023 Manatee County state legislative delegation meeting. The parking garage effort was moved through the state House and Senate in an effort to allow the county to circumvent Holmes Beach regulations that do not allow for multi-level parking garages as a land use or paid parking in the city. He said that no county staff or commissioners approached the city to seek a potential exemption for a parking garage at Manatee Beach.

City leaders are required to provide just over 500 parking spaces at beach access points, including the county-owned Manatee Beach under an interlocal agreement governing beach renourishment. Schaefer said the city provides 752 parking spaces at the beach and beach access points throughout the city with hundreds more marked spaces available within a quarter mile of the beach. Police Chief Bill Tokajer regularly counts parking spaces during high-traffic events, such as holiday weekends, and noted that even during spring break there were regularly 70-100 or more spaces available to the public.

“The turnout at a recent Hands Across the Sand and today is certainly encouraging and inspirational to all of us,” Schaefer said. He thanked the assembled community members, stating that he believes it will take not only the Island’s elected officials fighting back but also the residents and property owners to maintain their current way of life.

Holmes Beach Commissioner Dan Diggins also spoke, as well as Anna Maria residents stepping in with short statements from their city leaders, all stating they are against the consolidation of the cities.

One name that came up multiple times during the rally was that of County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge.

Speakers stated that Van Ostenbridge was largely the catalyst behind the effort for the parking garage, an effort that he previously told The Sun he was putting forth to make the beach accessible for all. If the parking garage is built, Van Ostenbridge said it would be paid parking. It would also make Manatee Beach and the restroom, food and beverage, and retail facilities there, along with parking, inaccessible during three or more years of construction on the parking garage. The existing facilities would be destroyed and new ones would be built in the three-story garage with additional parking on the roof. Previously, Titsworth said that she’s fighting to keep parking in Holmes Beach free for everyone, but that if a paid parking garage was constructed at Manatee Beach city leaders would have to rethink their stance on that. Holmes Beach is the only Island city that does not allow paid parking. Currently, there is no funding to build the parking garage.

County commission candidate Diana Shoemaker spoke, sending a few shots at Van Ostenbridge, whose seat on the dais she’s seeking to fill. Shoemaker will face off against either Van Ostenbridge or Tal Siddique on the November election ballot, depending on which one wins the August Republican primary.

If elected, Shoemaker vowed to work with Island residents to make sure that their voices are heard at the county level and to work to stop government overreach in the municipalities.

While Van Ostenbridge has not been directly linked to the ongoing OPPAGA study looking at options to consolidate the cities into one, dissolve the municipalities and consolidate them into either unincorporated Manatee County or the city of Bradenton, or leave them as-is, his strained relationship with the elected officials of the cities, particularly Holmes Beach, has been well-vocalized by the commissioner both on and off the dais. After a recent OPPAGA visit, Holmes Beach leaders were left with the distinct impression that the option being most strongly considered is the elimination of the three municipalities, folding them into unincorporated Manatee County and directly under the authority of the county commission.

Ending the rally, Ehren restated the motto of the Save Florida Home Rule group, “Keep your hands off our cities.”

State orders immediate AMI consolidation study

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Mayors in the three Island cities received a trick on Halloween in the form of a letter from the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA). The Oct. 31 letter states that the Florida Legislature has directed the organization to begin reviewing the potential consolidation of services and government entities on Anna Maria Island.

The OPPAGA study is expected to begin immediately.

While Mayor Dan Murphy of Anna Maria declined to comment on the study and Mayor John Chappie of Bradenton Beach was unable to comment due to illness, Mayor Judy Titsworth of Holmes Beach spoke to The Sun concerning the pending study.

“I’m feeling really threatened,” Titsworth said. “I’m not concerned about the city of Holmes Beach’s worthiness to be a city. I feel the city will show when audited that we have every right to be a city. We’re thriving. We didn’t ask for this study and neither did the residents. It’s not supposed to be government from the top down, it’s supposed to be a government for the people, by the people and that’s not what’s happening in this case. We didn’t ask for this.”

The study into whether or not certain services among the three Island cities should be consolidated or the cities themselves merged into one came about as a result of a Manatee County legislative delegation meeting in January in which delegation members brought up consolidation without warning to the three Island governments.

Legislators have since demanded that the three mayors work to consolidate services themselves. In the past, Titsworth said she’s hosted regular meetings of the three Island mayors and that some efforts to standardize services across the Island have been made. During an October legislative delegation meeting, neither consolidation nor the pending study was mentioned.

As the study progresses, representatives from OPPAGA are expected to meet with city leaders and staff in each Island city. Items ranging from tax rates to expenses, staff numbers, services offered, utilities, infrastructure, number of voters and number of residents are all expected to be analyzed during the study.

While most OPPAGA studies are conducted at the request of a municipality’s residents or government leaders, this one was requested by state leaders. And though it’s not common, state leaders have the ability to present a bill to the Legislature for a vote to consolidate the three Island cities without the input of city leaders, property owners or voters.

Typically a municipality is only dissolved at the state level when the city is insolvent or the level of residents has dropped to such a small number that it can’t sustain the city’s government. Titsworth said that Holmes Beach doesn’t suffer from either problem. She added that she also believes the cities of Anna Maria and Bradenton Beach are still strong despite a recent lack of people running for office in those municipalities.

“No one wants to lose their incorporation,” she said, adding that she plans to show her city’s strengths at every turn during the auditing process. “The best thing we can do right now is work harder to prove them (state leaders) wrong and show the strength of the community and city.”

Mayors tentatively embrace consolidation study

Mayors tentatively embrace consolidation study

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Anna Maria Island, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The three Island mayors are united in their response to Sen. Jim Boyd and Rep. Will Robinson Jr.’s ongoing efforts to consolidate city services to reduce property taxes.

During the Aug. 24 Anna Maria City Commission meeting, Mayor Dan Murphy and Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie presented a statement on behalf of all three cities, noting that they have Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth’s permission to speak on her behalf. The mayors announced their support for a study on the consolidation of city services, but they do not support a study on the consolidation or elimination of the Island’s three city governments.

On Jan. 12, the Manatee County Legislative Delegation, consisting of Boyd, Robinson, Sen. Joe Gruters, Rep. Tommy Gregory and Rep. Mike Beltran, all Republicans, expressed a collective desire for a consolidation study conducted by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA). On Jan. 19, Boyd sent a letter to Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo requesting her approval for the study.

During the Florida Legislature’s 2023 legislative session that began in March, Murphy traveled to Tallahassee to meet with Boyd and Robinson. According to Murphy, he helped convince them to delay the study and give the mayors time to discuss and propose potential consolidations of service. Those mayoral discussions have not yet produced any tangible results.

On Aug. 21, Boyd and Robinson sent a letter to the three mayors stating the legislative delegation was prepared to resume its pursuit of an OPPAGA study because the mayors had not yet presented “implementable concepts” regarding the potential consolidation of police, building department and public works department services as tax-cutting measures.

Mayors’ response

During Thursday’s Anna Maria commission meeting, Murphy referenced Boyd and Robinson’s letter.

“I must say it does not come as a surprise,” he said when acknowledging the three mayors’ lack of progress thus far.

Murphy said he met with Chappie and Titsworth earlier that morning to discuss their collective response to the letter and the study.

“Unanimously, we agreed that the right thing to do is to embrace this study. If this study can reduce our taxes, which it probably could, and if it could also enhance and improve the scope of services to the residents of this Island, we’re all in. All three of us,” Murphy said.

“On the other hand, I think it needs to be very clear that’s the scope of the study. The scope should not be the consolidation or the elimination or the de-annexation of the three municipalities on this Island,” Murphy said.

“The three of us agreed there are three very distinct cultures in the cities on the Island. To maintain that difference, we need to have a separate government addressing the needs and the wants of that community. If we can do it for less money, I’m all for it. And if this study can generate that, I’m all for that; and so is Judy Titsworth and so is John Chappie,” Murphy said.

Mayors tentatively embrace consolidation study

Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie feels a consolidation of services study could be beneficial to Island residents. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Murphy then asked Chappie to speak.

“I agree with everything Mayor Murphy said,” Chappie said. “I’m here as a sign of unity. We are one Island community and three distinctive individual cities. We work together. We live here together. We’re neighbors.”

Regarding the study, he said, “We embrace the opportunity to help us possibly lower our taxes, help improve our services, and improve the quality of life for our residents and visitors.”

Chappie shared some research he did on OPPAGA studies.

“It is a research arm for state legislators. They provide data, valuational research, and objective analysis. Objective analysis is required to be impartial, detached, neutral and unbiased. I look forward to, and I think the other mayors do too, to the state being able to help with some of the things we need to do that would help improve the quality of life for our residents and visitors. I think we need to take advantage of this tool,” he said.

Chappie said he and the Bradenton Beach Commission will discuss the OPPAGA study at their next meeting.

He added that Titsworth would have attended the commission meeting, but she was with her pregnant daughter who was overdue to give birth.

When contacted Friday and asked if she supported a study focused on consolidating services, Titsworth said, “Yes. If a study is being done, it would be nice if the city mayors could have input on the parameters as we all look for ways to reduce taxes for our property owners.”

During Thursday’s meeting, Commissioner Jon Crane said he’d prefer that the OPPAGA study focus on consolidating services rather than city governments.

Murphy briefly mentioned the potential consolidation of law enforcement services – an idea that has not garnered public support from Chappie or Titsworth.

Law enforcement is generally among the largest annual expenses a local government incurs. For the coming 2023-24 fiscal year, Anna Maria is budgeting $1.34 million for law enforcement services provided by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. Bradenton Beach is budgeting $1.77 million for law enforcement services provided by its police department. Holmes Beach is budgeting $4.53 million for law enforcement services provided by its police department. The three cities combined are budgeting $7.64 million for law enforcement.

Commissioner Charlie Salem said it might be useful to ask the legislative lobbyists from each city to interact with those requesting the study.

“These studies get done all the time and how they’re used with the Legislature is going to be an important part of whether or not this goes the way we’d like,” Salem said.

Murphy said he spoke with Anna Maria’s lobbyist Wednesday evening who agreed that the mayors should support a study on consolidating services.

During public input, Murphy was asked if he’d received any indication from Boyd and Robinson that they’re amenable to consolidating services without consolidating the city governments.

“It’s premature at this point. I think ultimately that discussion has to happen, and it has to happen soon,” Murphy said.

 

Related coverage

 

Island consolidation back on table