George Kruse opposes use of land preservation funds to buy equipment.
Johannes Werner
Original Air Date: Jan. 10, 2024
Host: The last elections brought about major turnover on the Manatee County Commission, and a strong signal from voters they want more transparency. Earlier this week, the new chair of the Manatee County Commission laid out how he wants to change the process in that regard. During the first regular meeting he ran on Wednesday, George Kruse provided a first example.
Environmental land candidates for preservation in Manatee County.
Johannes Werner: The first part of every meeting comes as a package called “consent agenda”. The items included in that part of the meeting are supposed to be small-ticket and non-controversial. Usually, the commissioners vote on that package unanimously. In consensus — thus the term “consent agenda”.
But on Wednesday, Kruse requested to pull one small-ticket item from the consent agenda — and it turned into a more than one-hour back-and-forth, and a new motion. It involved activists, five commissioners, the chief financial officer, and the county attorney.
Item 10 suggested to pay for a dump trailer for debris hauling and for a utility trailer with more than $200,000 from the county’s Environmental Lands fund.
Kruse objected to using money from that special tax-fed land fund, which was created to buy natural land to be protected and preserved.
George Kruse: This is something I’ve banged a drum on multiple times, since I got on this board. I still fundamentally, I know what the resolution says. I know the resolution is very broad in terms of what we can use the environmental land tax for. But from day one, I’ve made the argument twofold: one, we can’t bond enough to buy enough land with it because our bonding capacity was restricted based on the ballot. And we discussed adding that to the 2024 ballot. We didn’t. That ship sailed at least till 2026. So we’re working with what we have. We collect way more millage than we could ever bond here. So yes, we end up with this discretionary fund of capital. I promise you with all my heart, regardless of what your resolution says, 71% of the citizens of Manatee County at no point in time when they went to the ballot box in 2020 voted to tax themselves 15 mils to purchase a dump truck. Nobody, zero of those people said, “I really hope this additional tax I’m giving to the government is buying a skid steer, a dump truck and utility trailer for maintenance.” That’s not what it is. People wanted this tax because they want us to buy land. They want us to buy land to protect it from development. They want us to buy land to protect our environment and protect them from flooding. Hard stop.
Kruse at the Jan. 8 meeting.
I’m not so much complaining about this line item so much as this is a line item that becomes a placeholder to bring up something I’ve brought up in the past. I do not believe these environmental land funds should be used for anything other than environmental lands. That’s it.
JW: Fellow commissioners backed up Kruse. In response to questioning by Commissioner Jason Bearden, a staffer said that only a small percentage of the millage funds actually go towards land acquisition. Most of it goes to staff and maintenance expenditures related to that land.
But Kruse got pushback. Staffers and newly elected Commissioner Tal Siddique defended using the natural land funds for the trailer purchase, arguing they would be used for maintenance of the preserved land. Six members of the public lined up to speak, most of them . One of them was Jennifer Hoffman, executive director of non-profit Keep Manatee Beautiful.
Not in agreement with Kruse: Jennifer Hoffman, Keep Manatee Beautiful.
Jennifer Hoffman: The idea of purchasing land without having that initiative to restore it and then to maintain it is almost ridiculous. That being said, where the money comes from, that’s y’all. Figure that out. But, the idea that it’s only to be purchased, it actually does say to purchase and maintain. And the only way to maintain it is to have equipment and to have people who do it.
JW: After a break, the county’s chief financial officer and the county attorney returned with the request reworded, purchasing the trailers from a different fund. The commissioners approved, seven to zero.
Bottom line: Kruse’s opening of this particular can of worms, and the way he managed it, got a commendation from the Manatee League of Women Voters. “We encourage the county commission to continue to examine land acquisition millage fund expenditures to assure the funds are expended as intended.”
Reporting for WSLR News, Johannes Werner.
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