Manatee County work session probes stormwater funding options — fee, MSTU or millage among choices

Manatee County staff and commissioners spent a substantial portion of their April 2 work session scrutinizing how to fund stormwater operations and flood mitigation, reviewing several funding mechanisms — a dedicated fee based on equivalent residential units, a countywide municipal-service taxing unit (MSTU) millage, or basin‑specific drainage districts — and discussing fairness, administrative costs and scale of needs.

“Technically, we are not moving forward on things at the moment,” Chad Butso, Public Works, told the commission as he opened the stormwater briefing. Butso reviewed the structure of current stormwater activity (operations, engineering, natural‑resource water‑quality work and contracting) and the fund flows that today draw support from a mix of sources including solid‑waste transfers, ad valorem and grants.

Why it matters: Manatee County experienced major storms in 2024 and officials say there is a backlog of maintenance and remediation needs. Staff and commissioners agreed the county needs a stable, dedicated funding source for recurring maintenance and for larger capital projects that reduce flooding; board members debated whether to start incremental (base fee) or pursue larger dedicated millage or district financing for capital outlays.

Staff numbers and options: Butso presented the current stormwater fund’s approximate operating cost of…