Santa Rosa County hires federal lobbying firm at $7,000 per month
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Summary
Commissioners approved a contract with Maven Advocacy Partners to provide federal lobbying services at $7,000 per month. County leaders framed the hire as a way to maintain a presence in Washington and pursue federal grants and appropriations.
The Santa Rosa County commission voted on Oct. 23 to approve a contract with Maven Advocacy Partners for federal lobbying services at a rate of $7,000 per month.
County Administrator Baker explained the purpose of the contract is to maintain an ongoing advocacy presence in Washington, D.C., to identify federal grant programs, track appropriations and act as a local advocate when the board and county directors are not in the capital. “The lobbyists are there when the session is going, when the session is out, and they're a face for Santa Rosa County,” Baker said, listing transportation priorities such as Highway 98 and Highway 90 and other capital projects as likely focus areas.
Commissioners supporting the contract argued that professional lobbyists expand the county’s reach beyond meetings with the county’s congressional delegation and provide a “force multiplier” by leveraging long-standing relationships in Congress and among defense and appropriations staff. Commissioner Burkett said relationship-building in Washington is critical: “If the people he deals with every day goes to him, they're more apt to give that to him. And that's why we have federal lobbyists.”
Several commissioners said the county has used federal lobbying services in the past and that the firm’s experience with military and defense-related advocacy was relevant to Santa Rosa’s large military presence. The contract was put forward as a one-year agreement with expectations that the firm meet county directors and review capital projects to identify federal funding opportunities.
During public comment, resident Jerry Lee questioned the value of paying a monthly fee for lobbying and raised other unrelated procurement and appraisal concerns; commissioners invited Lee to meet after the meeting for staff to answer his specific questions.
The motion to approve the contract passed without objection. Staff said the contract would be monitored and the board would reevaluate performance after a year. Specific deliverables were not attached to the agreement; county staff said Florida procurement rules limit the use of fixed deliverables for lobbying contracts.
