Governor Charlie Crist recently reappointed Mitchell Hammer to the Southwest Florida Water Management District's Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board.
Hammer is a senior appraiser for the Internal Revenue Service who lives in New Port Richey. He was first appointed to the Board in June 2005. His current term ends March 1, 2011.
The Pinellas-Anclote River Basin area includes Pinellas County and the southern portion of Pasco County.
The District has seven regional Basin Boards that provide guidance for local programs that are specific to the basins they protect. The District's eighth basin, the Green Swamp, is administered by the Governing Board. Basin Boards work with local governments and other entities on water resource projects that have an impact in local communities. Basin Boards often provide partial funding for these projects in partnership with a local government or local cooperator.
Basin Board members are unpaid citizen volunteers appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. They serve three-year staggered terms. Each of the Basin Boards includes a minimum of one person from each county within the basin, and there must be at least three members on each board. Each Basin Board has at least one of the 13 members of the District's Governing Board that serves as the Board's chair.