Applications open for Manatee County criminal oversight board

Manatee County is searching for four county residents to add to the Criminal Nuisance Abatement Board.

Applications are open through Dec. 31 and can be found on the county's website. Three of the available seats are for two-year terms that began Oct. 21 and the other is for the remainder of a two-year term which expires Jan. 25, 2022. 

The board hears cases involving criminal nuisances in unincorporated areas of the county. A criminal nuisance is the unlawful use of property for activities such as gang activity or the use or sale of illegal substances. The board meets on the second Monday of each month when needed.

Prospective members should be "interested in providing administrative oversight with authority to impose administrative fines and other non-criminal penalties in order to provide equitable, expeditious and effective method of enforcing ordinances," according to a county release.

For more information, call the county's Code Enforcement Department at 748-2071. You can also email Code Enforcement Supervisor John Howard at [email protected] or Code Enforcement Division Chief Jeffrey Bowman at [email protected].