Residents of this Manatee development district are troubled by a lack of financial accountability.
By Josh Salman/Suncoast Searchlight
Original Air Date: August 27, 2025
Host: If you want to live in Florida, beware of the hidden costs. Many homeowners in recently built subdivisions pay more fees to their community development district—known as CDD—than taxes to their county. But those private governments operate with less transparency and accountability than traditional governments. Josh Salman with Suncoast Searchlight reports how this is coming to a head in one development in Parrish, the sprawling exurban area in northern Manatee County.
Josh Salman: Homeowners in Harrison Ranch are raising alarms over questionable and costly practices within their neighborhood’s governing body. Residents are pushing back against rising fees, lack of transparency and what they call “insider favoritism.”
The CDD in Parrish is facing growing criticism from homeowners fed up with how their money is being used. Residents told Suncoast Searchlight that district leaders have hired family members into paid roles, awarded no‑bid contracts to relatives and thrown lavish themed parties—all funded through homeowner assessments.
Many homeowners see these private events, open only to the first 100 registrants, as exclusionary. Yet the hundreds who aren’t able to attend still help foot the bill.
Harrison Ranch homeowners packed themselves into the clubhouse for an August district meeting, where several raised concerns about spending. Photo by Josh Salman via Suncoast Searchlight
At a recent board meeting, residents packed into the clubhouse to complain about everything from deteriorating infrastructure—like fish kills in ponds, missing street signs and repeated pool closures—to sharp increases in CDD fees. Some homeowners are now paying nearly $2,400 annually, almost five times what they paid last year toward the general county operating fund.
One homeowner likened the situation to unraveling fabric: “When you pull at one thread, it starts to unravel,” he said.
He expressed deep regret, saying: “We’re paying more, getting less, and watching our tax dollars go to district insiders with no transparency or accountability.”
Financial records uncover that staffing expenses at Harrison Ranch have soared—up 75% over the past five years. The 2025 staffing budget climbed more than 20% to over $171,000 for two full‑time roles, and then jumped nearly 30% again the following year to accommodate two additional part‑time workers.
Nearly $14,000 was spent on a utility vehicle and $8,000 on a storage container—purchased without any competitive bidding process. Residents say the vehicle barely left the clubhouse parking lot and now requires a part‑time driver.
A circuit court judge authorized Harrison Ranch to float $46 million in municipal bonds in 2007 to build the neighborhood’s infrastructure and amenities, including the community clubhouse, pictured here. Photo by Josh Salman via Suncoast Searchlight
Meanwhile, the district hosted an assessment-funded “Downton Abbey” party with red carpets, mannequins, live entertainment and even liquor. Though intended as community engagement events, limited RSVPs and full capacity crowds mean many feel excluded.
Perhaps most troubling to residents is the web of alleged nepotism. The clubhouse manager, employed by Rizzetta & Co., is married to a former Rizzetta employee and is the stepmother to the assistant clubhouse manager. Both hold paid roles without checking for conflicts or competitive hire disclosures.
Additionally, cleaning services have been repeatedly awarded to a company operated by this family—Nick Knows Cleaning—in single‑bid contracts totaling over $10,000. When residents formally began petitioning over these dealings, the cleaning vendor abruptly resigned, and the board blamed critics for cost increases.
There are even interconnected contracts beyond Harrison Ranch: holiday lighting at one CDD was awarded to a firm linked to the board chair of Harrison Ranch, and that same owner hired the board chair’s relatives for events—a pattern prompting serious concern among residents.
Homeowners say Harrison Ranch may be emblematic of a broader issue across Florida’s fast‑growing Suncoast region. Special-purpose districts like CDDs wield immense authority—from levying fees backed by municipal bonds to processing liens on residents—often with minimal oversight.
Photo by Josh Salman via Suncoast Searchlight
Across Manatee County alone, these districts have issued billions in public bond debt to fund infrastructure, leaving homeowners with long-term financial obligations and little control.
Among the critics is Hugh Culverhouse Jr., the developer of the Palmer Ranch master-planned community in Sarasota County. He said he opposes CDDs and will not use them to fund his projects.
He said the problems that can arise in subdivisions like Harrison Ranch underscore the power and secrecy of these districts. They can leave residents saddled with bond debt and often wondering how their money is spent.
Culverhouse said, “People can be taken advantage of, and they don’t even know it. If you don’t know what the money is being spent on, you can’t stop it.”
Reporting for Suncoast Searchlight, this is Josh Salman. Derek Gilliam contributed to this report. To read the full article, go to suncoastsearchlight.org/manatee-harrison-ranch-nepotism-costs-development-district.
This story was produced by Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom of the Community News Collaborative serving Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org.
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