New tax would fund conservation effort in Manatee County

Environmental enthusiasts soon will get to work educating Manatee County taxpayers about a proposed millage dedicated to land conservation.

Manatee County commissioners on July 28 voted 6-0 to have such a measure placed on the Nov. 3 ballot. As proposed, a 20-year 0.15 mill property tax would provide dedicated funding for the purchase of land valuable for protecting drinking water sources, preserving fish and wildlife habitat, preventing stormwater runoff pollution and providing parks. 

The measure also would allow for Manatee County to issue general obligation bonds not exceeding $50 million toward land acquisition.

For a home with an assessed value of $300,000, that cost would be about $45 annually.

A survey conducted by the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast in May indicated 67% of those surveyed would support such a measure. Manatee County commissioners said they believed in giving taxpayers an opportunity to decide.

“This is to improve water quality and buy properties along Sarasota Bay or other places in the county where we can preserve what little property we have,” at-large Commissioner Carol Whitmore said. “The only way we can afford it is if the citizens agree to pay for it.”

Chairwoman Betsy Benac, a planner by background, said she has heard a desire from the public for more emphasis on land conservation. The measure will not prevent development, she said, but it would give the county more opportunities to buy land that would benefit taxpayers.

“I think the opportunity to experience open space is extremely important for our residents now more than ever,” she said. “I think it’s going to be critical we have as much transparency with this vote as possible.”

Manatee County does not have a list of properties in which it is interested but instead would identify properties and work with willing landowners to purchase land or possibly conservation easements. Advocates of the tax say having designated properties will drive up costs for land.

An advisory committee would review potential purchases, and there will be public hearings on the purchase of any property.

Suzanne Gregory, director of programs and marketing for the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast, one of the organization’s leading referendum efforts, said funds provided by the tax would allow the county to have dedicated funding available if a property became available. For example, it might have been able to purchase Long Bar Point, a 500-acre property in Cortez that is a watershed for north Sarasota Bay and is nicknamed “the kitchen” by local fisherman because of its bountiful seafood supply. That land is being developed.

“Existing county preserves like Robinson Preserve and Johnson Preserve on Braden River are excellent examples of the kind of properties Manatee County would conserve in the future,” Gregory said.

Gregory said the goal is have a healthy balance between development and land conservation, so there is a good quality of life for Manatee County residents.