New Government Relations department promotes Manatee County

Out of 67 counties in Florida, only 16 have dedicated Government Relations departments, and Manatee County now is part of that group. 

Stephanie Garrison, director of the newly formed Government Relations department, was hired in January. 

Garrison formed her team by pulling in 45 current employees from five different departments — County Administration, Financial Management, Public Safety, Development Services and Natural Resources. 

Prior to joining the county, Garrison worked at Apple for 14 years and served in multiple leadership roles. 

After working for the county for more than three months, Garrison presented her plan to commissioners April 15 through the lens of the private sector. Each team in the department will serve a specific role to bring in funds.

“You can think of (Government Relations) like a sales and marketing team for the county, to use a simple example,” Garrison said. “But we’re not selling a product, we’re selling a vision.” 

There are five teams operating under the umbrella of the new Government Relations department. 

1. Grants a.k.a. “the sales team”
2. Legislative Affairs a.k.a. “the business development team”
3. Economic Development a.k.a. “the account management team”
4. Information Outreach and Records a.k.a. “the marketing team”
5. Administration a.k.a. “the strategy and enablement team”

Garrison assured commissioners that she wasn’t solving a problem, rather she saw an opportunity to work in smarter ways and to streamline processes. 

Instead of working in silos, the five divisions are now aligned together, working toward the same goals to attract new funding, to build long-term legislative partnerships, expand the economy and promote “the Manatee County brand.”

In an Apple-esque vision statement, Garrison told commissioners “strategic grants fund big ideas.” 

The grants team is responsible for prospecting and researching new grant opportunities. They also apply for grants and ensure compliance. 

The department is currently managing $695 million in awards.

“Going forward, I’d love to see more grant funds,” Commissioner Tal Siddique said. “I’d be curious to see what that looks like in the next year. If we get to a billion, that’s great.” 

Garrison replied, “We’re on our way.”

Garrison's Vision

We’re building a stronger Manatee County — where strategic grants fund big ideas, clear communication earns trust, economic development drives opportunity and strong legislative partnerships shape our future.

The only minor pushback to the new department’s services came from Commissioner Carol Felts. 

Felts questioned if the department's role as liaison for Community and Veterans Services would lead to a duplication of services.

Garrison explained that the CVS staff are the subject matter experts, but when they have a message to get out, they’ll use the Government Relations “machine” to send the message.

“We know how to get the word out,” Garrison said. “We know which tools to use, which platforms to leverage, who might (offer) good quotes (and) who might be a great speaker.”

In other government news

Commission Chair George Kruse presented a plan to address the Florida State Department of Governmental Efficiency task force.

A press release from the office of Governor Ron DeSantis, dated Feb. 24, said the DOGE Task Force will use “publicly available county and municipal spending records to expose bloat within local governance.”

Kruse’s proposal was taken from Commissioner Christine Miller in Hillsborough County. 

He said the proposal was discussed with the governor’s office and is a thoughtful and sensible alternative to DOGE “storming in” and demanding full access to all records between now and June 30. 

Instead, the proposal calls on citizens for assistance. A five-member advisory board will be formed for one year. 

Members will be appointed by the commission and must have experience as an accountant, economist, finance professional, certified auditor, IT professional or human resources professional.

Kruse said outsiders are necessary because everybody thinks their kid is the best looking kid, so you need somebody else to tell you the hard truth.

He noted that each year, there are three columns in the budget — what was spent last year, things staff wants to do to keep services and “the niceties” — and the first column of what was spent last year is never questioned. 

“I know this program gets a lot of ‘Oh, we’re going to lose this, or we’re going to lose that,’” Felts said. “But I think that it could be very inspiring for us to just focus on what should be the government’s priorities and level of service that we owe our taxpayers. And sometimes, it’s not as fun or glamorous as having feel-good stuff. It’s more about providing them the basics.” 

The motion passed 5-0 with commissioners Mike Rahn and Jason Bearden absent.