October’s Manatee County Legislative Delegation meeting could be a look into a crystal ball for Anna Maria Island.
It could foretell a reshaping of the island, and the lines of communication between island and state representatives are opening as the meeting date approaches.
Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy told The Islander Sept. 22 that he’d spoken via phone the week before with state Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, and Rep. Will Robinson Jr., R-Bradenton, about a potential state study into consolidating the island municipalities.
The study by the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, a research arm of the Legislature that provides data and analysis that assists budget and policy deliberations, was requested last January.
Robinson first proposed the study when he motioned the delegation to commission an OPPAGA study into the island’s governing structure.
The delegation unanimously approved Robinson’s motion but legislators tabled the proposed study in February and requested the island mayors discuss and present their options for consolidation.
However, Boyd and Robinson grew impatient with the mayors’ lack of progress on the subject.
They wrote a letter in August asking the mayors to present their feedback ahead of the delegation meeting or “we will move forward with our request to OPPAGA.”
The mayors met and agreed to embrace the study, but said that its scope should be limited to consolidation of services, not municipal governments.
Murphy said he’d conveyed that message to Boyd and Robinson during his phone calls with them and said they listened but did not provide feedback.
“They just listened to me,” he said. “Maybe it’s the rantings of an old man. Maybe, I don’t know, but they were both very respectful.”
Titsworth wrote in a Sept. 22 text message to The Islander that she spoke with Robinson that day and “had a great talk” but declined to expand on their conversation.
Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie did not respond Sept. 22 to a call from The Islander.
Boyd did not respond to multiple calls from The Islander at both his Bradenton and Tallahassee offices Sept. 19 and Sept. 22.
Robinson did not respond to multiple calls from The Islander to his Bradenton and Tallahassee offices Sept. 19 and Sept. 22.
The delegation meeting will be 8:30 a.m.-noon Thursday, Oct. 5, at Bradenton City Hall, 101 Old Main St. W., Bradenton.
Delegation to convene
The Manatee Legislative Delegation will hold its annual meeting and public hearing for the 2024 session at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 5.
The meeting will be at Bradenton City Hall, 101 Old Main St. W., Bradenton.
State Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, chairs the delegation.
The 2024 Legislative session will convene in Tallahassee Jan. 9 and there are a series of deadlines for lawmakers to meet before that date.
Nov. 14 is the deadline for appropriation project requests, as well as bill draft requests, including requests for companion bills.
The last day of the regular session will be March 8, 2024.
For more information, call Boyd’s office at 941-742-6445.
— Lisa Neff
If the proposal does to include a significant tax cut to the residents of Anna Maria there is no justification to move forward. Consolidation will only allow the county to generate additional tax revenue and remove the height restrictions which only benefit developers. I know what’s in it for the county and developers but what’s in it for the AMI residents?