All entries tagged with “Charles Smith”

Manatee Approves Plan to Phase School Impact Fees Back Into Effect

Posted by Jacob Ogles on Thursday Jan 7, 2016 11:21 am

Manatee County Commission voted to phase school impact fees back into effect for the first time since 2009, but members criticized a plan by the School Board to connect the rate to an upcoming referendum on a sales tax next year.

Manatee commissioners on Tuesday morning voted 5-2 in favor of restoring the fee, but charging it at a 50-percent rate and phasing it in over two years. At full strength, the fee for a new single-family home would be $6,475.

County Commissioner Betsy Benac, who supported the action, stressed it was the School Board that supported that level of fee, and that the county commission needed to support that board’s stance. “We have no super-authority on this,” she said. “We are not the ones charged with setting the school fee,” she said. “We are charged with collecting it and sending the money to the School Board.” 

But County Commissioner Charles Smith, a dissenting vote, disagreed mostly with a School Board plan to tie a reduction of fees to a renewal vote regarding a schools sales tax expected in 2017. The plan is to attach to that referendum a commitment to cut the school impact in half should the sales tax pass. “I really want to School Board to get as much money as possible,” he said. “But this is troubling to me.”

Gallen, Smith in recount territory in Manatee County. DiSabatino wins.

Posted by Jacob Ogles on Tuesday Aug 26, 2014 8:39 pm

One major race in Southwest Florida was too close to call Tuesday night. Manatee County Commissioner Michael Gallen trailed challenger Charles Smith, a Palmetto City Commissioner, by just five votes when unofficial final results were tallied. That’s enough to force a recount. SRQ could not reach either candidate for comment, which isn’t utterly surprising as neither is in a great position to declare victory or concede.

The race has been controversial in part due to the presence of a write-in candidate who has made little noise since entering the race. Since a write-in candidate is a general election competitor, that means the race was open only to Democratic voters, as opposed to a race with no general election contenders that would be open to all voters in the district. For example, Manatee County Commissioner Robin DiSabatino was re-elected last night over challenger Tim Norwood in a Republican primary where independents and Democrats were allowed to vote, and that election is now over.

The general consensus leading into the election was that the closing of the election hurt Gallen, mostly because it meant a much higher percentage of voters would be minority voters. Gallen, who is white, defeated Gwen Brown, Manatee County’s first black County Commissioner, when he was elected four years ago. Smith and Corie Holmes, the other Democratic candidate, were both black.

Regardless of the racial politics, the election certainly proved closer than financing might indicate. Gallen raised $36,292 to Smith’s $7,805.

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