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Commission declines to ratify county administrator’s attestation on State appropriations request after contested outreach to lobbyists
Summary
The Citrus County Board of County Commissioners voted 5‑0 to deny ratification of an attestation filed in Tallahassee that named the county on a state appropriations request for County Road 491 after commissioners said staff and an outside lobbyist advanced the filing without prior board approval.
The Citrus County Board of County Commissioners voted 5‑0 on April 8 to deny ratification of an attestation form that had been filed in Tallahassee naming the board on a state appropriations request tied to County Road 491.
What happened: Chair Rebecca Bays and county administrator Steve Howard had been approached by an outside lobbying firm (identified in public records as the Southern Group) and a developer interest about an appropriations request related to the 491 corridor. The filing — an attestation submitted in March — listed the county as the recipient of an appropriation. Multiple commissioners said they first learned about the filing from public reports and a blog, not from staff or the chair.
Why it matters: Commissioners said the process bypassed normal board discussion and public notice for a large transportation project.…
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