At its July 25 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Manasota Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2008 (FY2008) millage rate of 0.1484 mill, which is .0116 less than the current fiscal year. This reduction is in accordance with the tax reduction mandated by the Florida Legislature.
The FY2008 millage rate has been set equal to 97 percent of the rolled-back rate in compliance with House Bill 1B, the tax reform legislation signed into law by Gov. Charlie Crist on June 21. The Basin Board has adopted its millage before July 31 so the Governing Board can set proposed millage rates for the District and the Basins in compliance with House Bill 1B.
The budget for FY2008 is $25,297,509, which is an increase of $320,320 from the approved FY2007 budget. The main reason for this increase is a balance from prior years. FY2008 will run from Oct. 1, 2007, through Sept. 30, 2008.
The Manasota Basin Board area includes Manatee and Sarasota counties.
For the owner of a $125,000 home with a $25,000 homestead exemption, the FY2008 Basin Board tax would be $14.84, or about $1.24 per month.
The Manasota Basin Board’s FY2008 budget includes cooperative funding projects. These projects are proposed by local governments, and are usually funded equally by the Basin Board and the local cooperator. One of the Manasota Basin Board’s cooperative funding projects is the Wares Creek watershed project in Manatee County, which will help control flooding.
The Wares Creek watershed is a 6.23 square mile watershed in Manatee County that drains into the Manatee River. This watershed has significant flooding problems. Improvements include widening the channel and stabilizing the banks. These improvements will provide additional capacity within the stream bank, which will address structure flooding along Wares Creek by providing flood protection for homes currently inundated and damaged during the 10-year flood event. The improvements will begin where the creek and the Manatee River meet and end at Cortez Road.
This project is a joint effort between Manatee County and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The total cost of this project is $55.2 million. The USACE’s share is $24.5 million. The District’s share of the funding is $14.3 million, which is from the Manasota Basin Board. The county is also contributing $14.3 million. Additional funding includes $2.2 million from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Of the Basin Board funding, $2.9 million is budgeted for FY2008 for land acquisition, easement expenses, and the non-federal share of construction, which includes dredging of the lower Wares Creek between the Manatee Avenue bridge and the Manatee River.
The Basin Board’s budget also includes $6.5 million for the Water Supply and Resource Development program, which provides matching funds for the development of additional new sustainable water supplies.
One of the Water Supply and Resource Development projects is the City of Bradenton Reservoir Expansion project, which will provide additional storage at the Bill Evers Reservoir and capture excess flow from the Braden River during the wet season’s high flow periods.
This multi-year project includes the design, permitting and construction of an earthen dike storage structure on city-owned property, adjacent to the city’s water supply reservoir. The proposed storage facility includes pumps, the intake structure to withdraw water from the river, and systems to prevent the water from becoming stratified or stagnant.
This project is also consistent with the District’s Southern Water Use Caution Area Recovery Plan in providing water supply from an alternative source, in this case, surface water. It also has the potential to reduce demand on the Upper Floridan aquifer.
The project is expected to cost at least $8 million. Funding is divided among the City of Bradenton and the Manasota Basin Board. Funding in FY2007 was used to address preliminary design, geotechnical and survey tasks. The Basin Board has budgeted $130,574 for FY2008. Future funding is contingent upon Basin Board approval.
The District has eight regional Basin Boards that provide guidance for local programs that are specific to the watershed basins they protect. The District’s ninth 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 District’s Basin Boards has at least one of the 13 members of the District’s Governing Board that serves as the Board’s chair ex officio.
The District’s Governing Board will adopt the proposed millage rate for the District’s General Fund at its July 31 meeting.
In September, the Governing Board will adopt millage rates for the District’s General Fund and the eight Basin Boards after two statutorily required public Truth in Millage (TRIM) hearings have been held. The first will be Sept. 11 at 5:01 p.m. at the District’s Tampa Service Office.
The Governor’s office will review and approve the budgets of all five water management districts before the second and final public hearing.
The District’s second and final TRIM hearing will be Sept. 25 at 5:01 p.m. at the District’s Brooksville Headquarters. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Governing Board will formally adopt the final millage rates and budgets. The public is welcome to attend any Governing Board or Basin Board meeting to provide comment on the budgets.