It appears Manatee Commissioner Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge (KVO for short) wants to cut Manatee County beach patrol funding to the City of Holmes Beach - $40,000 per year, back to $10,000 per year. The 2019 funding level.
According to the county's website, each county deputy's cost per day is about $200, not including vehicle costs. Meaning, that an equivalent cost to the County, for 2 deputies per year at the beach is at least $146,000 per year. Of course, that is if Holmes Beach PD ceases all beach patrol. They will not, and will continue to do the right thing.
Seems like a good investment. $40,000 for local patrol versus $146,000+ for county patrol. The actual average cost for HBPD to patrol the beach over the last 6 years is $131,711 – still less than having the county patrol. For four of those years, the county contributed only $10K per year. Over the last 2 years, the county contributed $40K per year – less than one-third of actual costs.
But this is where it gets interesting. KVO apparently wants to also increase beach access via a parking garage at the public beach as well as adding more street parking in residential neighborhoods. While at the same time proposing a cut in funding to patrol and manage those same beach access points. Go figure. Apparently, he hasn't thought this issue through. Okay, no problem. PLEASE, KVO, take all the beach patrol funding away. Then, we the property owners, will gladly pay for beach access management and patrol – in compliance with state and federal guidelines.
Then, because we are paying, we get to dictate most of the conditions. That is, no garage, limited/managed residential street parking, and excellent continued beach patrol. And, of course, at that point, KVO can boast he saved the county taxpayers a total of $40K per year. For a point of reference: the City of Holmes Beach has contributed $30M of the $42M of Manatee County’s Tourism Development Taxes (TDT) collected over the last 10 years.
We welcome visitors to enjoy the beaches and our city. We want our visitors and residents alike to be safe and not feel overcrowded. Seems like a $40,000 per year county expenditure to have HBPD patrol the beach is a good investment, but either way, we are good.
Dan Diggins
Holmes Beach Commission candidate
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