Manatee County voters will decide this election whether to authorize up to $75 million in bonds for land preservation, improvements, and long-term maintenance, a measure that would add to a conservation tax residents approved six years ago.

Supporters say the money would protect natural areas, farmland, and wildlife corridors before development claims them. Jennifer Hoffman, executive director of the nonprofit Keep Manatee Beautiful, said the proposal would expand places such as Emerson Point Preserve. She put the cost for an average $300,000 household at about $4 a month, a figure offered by backers of the measure.

County Commissioner Mike Rahn said the additional funding would let the county’s environmental lands committee review more properties, and he noted that the county is running short of money to buy sensitive land.

Not every voter is convinced. Trent Wayman said he supports keeping land out of developers’ hands but does not trust county leaders with more tax dollars. He said the county has purchased land and later sold it to developers, and he wants stronger language requiring voter approval of any future land sales. “I just don’t trust them with our money,” Wayman said.

A recent audit by the Manatee Clerk of the Circuit Court’s Division of Inspector General adds weight to the transparency concerns. Auditors found that the county has combined revenue and spending from the voter-approved environmental lands tax with money from other Natural Resources Department programs in a single fund. That arrangement, the audit concluded, has created confusion and a lack of transparency about how the tax money is actually spent.

Hoffman said the question comes down to balancing growth with the natural environment that draws people to the county.

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