Bradenton Times News Articles

On Monday, the Palmetto City Commission will hold a regular meeting. Tuesday, the Manatee County Commission has a full day of workshops, on subjects that include the north county deep well, purchasing, nuisance abatement/vacant and abandoned property registry. On Thursday, the BOCC is back in session for a special land use meeting.

On Thursday afternoon, disgruntled and disenfranchised county employees filled the commission chambers for a workshop on compensation, intent not only to give commissioners a piece of their mind, but to get back a slice of their life. They complained about budget cuts that have resulted in fewer workers doing more for less; reduced insurance coverage that now requires co-payments; and having to borrow money to keep pace with the escalating cost of food, gas and keeping the lights on.

At Tuesday's BOCC Health Care Funding workshop, commissioners voted 5-2 to move toward a voter referendum to determine whether a half-cent sales tax could be levied to cover the cost of health care for the indigent, the uninsured and underinsured in Manatee County. The item will be added to the March 12 commission meeting.

The monthly evening meeting of the Bradenton City Council was a relatively bare one. The council passed a light consent agenda, which consisted of a request made by the city's Police Department to use forfeiture funds for sighting systems for its SWAT Team, a line item budget adjustment for the same department, and an amendment and supplement for an interlocal agreement that affirms the use and funding of renovations for McKechnie Field. Councilman Patrick Roffwas absent due to being in Washington, D.C., for a League of Cities meeting.

Mosaic can't be accused of wasting time in getting things done with the Manatee BOCC. Tuesday was the mining company's third time in front of the board in just two weeks looking for an approval and once again, they got it. The company amended the master mining plan for their mine in northeast Manatee, which had been approved in June of last year. The board voted 5-1 to give the phosphate giant a 5-year permit for the operation.

At Tuesday's meeting, the Manatee County Commission voted to authorize a bid for the 2017 world rowing championships to be held at Nathan Benderson Park. The county's cost is estimated to amount to $1,104,740 over a five year period. A joint effort between Manatee and Sarasota Counties, in conjunction with the Suncoast Aquatic Nature Center Association, the bid will be funded by "bed tax" revenues.

After months of collaboration and the regular sharing of information resulting in preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps, officials with the incorporated and unincorporated municipalities in Manatee County and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are asking the public to participate in a comment and appeal period.

At Tuesday's BOCC meeting, commissioners voted to approve Mosaic Mining's last hurdle, granting them an operating permit for their Wingate Creek Extension mine. In other business, the commission also gave the green light to participate in a joint bid for the 2017 World Rowing Championships to be held at Nathan Benderson Park Aquatic Facility. And finally, construction on the long awaited ball parks in Palmetto is scheduled to start March 11.

The Manatee County BOCC caused a big stir among taxpayers recently, when it voted 5-2 to invest hundreds of thousands of additional dollars in keeping county administrator Ed Hunzeker beyond his planned retirement in August of 2014. According to both an attorney who specializes in government law and a recent legal opinion from the Florida Attorney General's office, that may have violated state law.

Florida Governor Rick Scott continued his ideological shift this week with an announcement Wednesday that he now supports expanding Medicaid and funneling billions of federal dollars to Florida, a significant reversal that could bring health care coverage to more than a million Floridians currently without. Throughout his campaign for governor in 2010, Scott pledged not to allow expansion.