Manatee County Commission District 5: Joseph Di Bartolomeo

Age: 64

Current occupation: Business owner

How long have you been a resident of Manatee County? More than 18 years in Tara Preserve

What are the three top priorities/issues facing the county, and how should the commission address them? 

1. Quality of life — Clean drinking water, excessive traffic, strained infrastructure crowded schools. All of these should be addressed with prioritization, fiscal responsibility and feasibility with consideration given to of our current comprehensive plan, FDAP, taxes and impact fees.
2. Property Rights — The property rights of our residents are as important as the property rights of the developer community. Everyone should abide by the comprehensive and FDAP plan. Special exceptions for developers and threats of Bert Harris Act should be addressed proactively rather than reactively.
3. Environment — The compressing of the buffer zones, mangrove trimming and excessive pollutants reaching our streams, rivers and bay need immediate policy action to restore and protect our previously pristine environment.

Why are you running for office? 

Manatee County requires a candidate with civic courage to push back against the influence of the special interest groups that are profiteering off the citizens of this county with policies and actions that favor big campaign donors. 

Rather than being a “bleacher screamer” and complaining about how the game on the field is played wrong, I am willing to suit up and get into game for the benefit of all Manatee County residents.

What makes you more qualified than your opponents for this office? 

As a small business owner for the past 25 years and an elected Manatee County CDD supervisor for the last six years, my education, skills and experience provide the foundation to address many of Manatee County’s financial, infrastructure, management and communication challenges.

Affordable housing — what can the Manatee County Commission do to increase the supply of workforce housing? The county needs to partner with local business to address the shortage of workforce housing. 

The solutions may be in the form of credits, offsets or any other tools at the BOCC disposal to create a symbiotic partnership between the private and public sector for the benefit of our residents and small businesses.

If elected, you likely are going to be asked many times to allow changes to the county zoning code for certain projects. What is your philosophy toward zoning? 

Exceptions to anything are a feasibility exercise that I have participated in many times in my personal and professional life. If the benefits of the project, coupled with a net zero cost to the community makes the exception desirable, then I will consider it. If it only benefits one party and/or costs the county, and thus the taxpayer, I will not consider it.

What is your position on the Future Development Area Boundary — keep it; abide by it; eliminate it? Why? 

The FDAP is an important part of county planning. You cannot build homes and businesses without proper infrastructure which includes roads, utilities, schools and transportation. 

All of this expansion of the FDAP requires funding. When you have interest rates at 20-year highs, it is not fiscally responsible to take on additional debt to be serviced by taxpayers if the return on investment is not timely or realistic. 

Incremental, slow and properly planned growth benefits the county rather than rushing through special projects through exceptions to benefit special interests.

Growth — What is your philosophy on how population growth should be addressed in Manatee County? 

Slow and steady to support our construction workforce and ancillary businesses and allow the necessary time to build, maintain and develop the infrastructure to support the growth. This in conjunction with a sensible comprehensive plan and FDAP that benefits all citizens.

Roads/Transportation — What should the County Commission’s strategy be to address the county’s increased road needs? 

Funds should be allocated by usage metrics to enhance, maintain and upgrade our roadways. 

I am not personally a huge fan of roundabouts and medians beautification. I believe that funds can be better used for technology-oriented traffic and speed controls. 

I need to personally speak to our traffic department and the community for suggestions and proposed solutions.

What is your position on impact fees? 

The cost of incremental dwellings should be a burden of the developer, not the taxpayer. Paying 40%-60% of impact fees that are based on old studies is equivalent to corporate welfare for a select few. 

We need to use the most current Impact fee study and charge 100% of the cost to the development community. This will keep our debt and taxes low.

What is your position on land acquisition for conservtion and preservation? 

In a balanced, fiscally responsible manner, I believe Manatee County should continue to acquire and preserve our lands for future generations to enjoy, as well as for flood control and wildlife preservation.

What grade would you give the County Commission on managing the county’s tax dollars? What needs to be changed in the county fiscal management? 

I would give each commissioner a grade of C, except for George Kruse, which I would give an A. 

I believe that anyone who is in the position as county commissioner should be extremely well versed in financial and accounting matters. The current board members position themselves as fiscal conservatives, but personally I don’t see that in their decisions or actions.

Can you identify any area where you think the county’s spending should be cut, or any area where more needs to be spent? 

We need to cut the pork from those pet projects which do not make logical sense or provide the ROI to the community. 

The recent increase in funds to the SOE for voter integrity is an example of throwing money at solutions to problems that do not exist. 

Also, millions of dollars for another Veterans’ Park planning exercise near the FDAP, when we have veterans that require basic services and housing is not fiscal conservation, does not serve our community or is a best use of taxpayer funds.

What is your position on the county’s current millage rate — is it satisfactory? Too high? Too low? 

The questions should be are our real estate taxes too low, high or fine. The millage rate is just the mathematical factor times the property value to calculate the tax. This amount is driven by the county budget and spread among all property owners in combination with other revenue sources and uses.

We need to be more fiscally responsible to make sure that every tax dollar paid by Manatee County property owners are being used for the highest ROI for our community and not subsidizing impact fees deficiencies, pet projects or finding solutions to issues that don’t exist.

How would you describe your philosophy on the role of government and on taxation? 

As a financial professional, owning several small businesses and having degrees in accounting and finance, I cannot overstate the need for financial responsibility in the position of BOCC. 

Everything is a feasibility study when making financial decisions with tax dollars. There are vital community services that need to funded but discretionary projects need to be revisited and justified. 

I am an advocate of small government, but we need to protect the most vulnerable of our society and setup infrastructure to achieve that. That doesn’t imply we abandon common sense and responsibility to all taxpayers.