MANATEE COUNTY, FL (September 14, 2022) – County Commissioners unanimously approved next year's budget Tuesday—along with a plan set forth, reducing next year’s property tax rate by .30 mills from the Tentative Budget while continuing significant investments in local roads, infrastructure and public safety.
County Commissioners approved the total annual gross budget of nearly $2.4 billion and net spending budget of more than $1.072 billion while also managing to cut the property tax rate for the second straight year.
The Board of County Commissioners also approved the largest five-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) in Manatee County’s history, totaling more than $2.3 billion in investments in infrastructure, public safety, parks and the environment. The County Commission is investing $435 million in transportation projects, $132 million in parks and $48 million in public safety projects.
Even with the millage rate reduction to 6.2326, the budget invests heavily in local infrastructure improvements. Over $435 million in transportation and road projects, plus significant investments in public safety and law enforcement highlight the $1.2 billion CIP budget. The adopted budget also includes workforce investments to respond to increased capital projects workloads and service levels. Some of the 55 new positions include:
- 5 new 9-1-1 emergency telecommunicators
- 6 new positions in the Development Services Department to respond to increased demand for development review and building inspection services
- 17 new library staff positions as the new Lakewood Ranch Library is scheduled to be completed in September 2023
- 2 Guardian ad Litem positions, including one case manager and an attorney
“I am proud that in each of my first two years we have lowered taxes and allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to building roads to ease traffic congestion,” said Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge.
District 5 Commissioner Vanessa Baugh was similarly pleased with the outcome. “You have all done a fabulous job on the budget this year. We appreciate the dedication and hard work.”
District 4 Commissioner Misty Servia also complimented the Financial Management Team, “You’ve done a really good job once again. I’m very thankful we’ve cut the millage and retained as many services as possible.”
The new spending plan will address the second phase of the County’s aggressive cybersecurity initiative with $3 million in funding earmarked to make county data more secure and prevent potential cyber threats.
“Maintaining the security is vital,” said County Administrator Dr. Scott Hopes. “As is continuing our rapid pace of improvements across the county. We are getting a lot of things done.”
The largest one-year investment in the budget remains in the areas of law enforcement and public safety. Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells’ annual budget of $172 million was fully funded.
“This shows our high priority on citizens’ and visitors’ safety,” said Dr. Hopes. “In partnership with Sheriff Wells, we have made investments to meet the safety needs of our rapidly growing population.”