Manatee County commissioners have voted to keep an illegal dumping cleanup crew on the job after it removed more than 32 tons of trash from roadsides and public spaces in six months.

The effort, run by the nonprofit Keep Manatee Beautiful, started with a CareerSource Suncoast hurricane recovery grant. The grant paid for two full-time employees for six months to clear storm debris. In that time, the two workers removed more than 64,000 pounds of trash.

Commissioners cited those results in deciding to continue funding the rapid response team.

The original report did not say how much the extension will cost or how long it will run. Those are details taxpayers will want as the county weighs the program’s long-term value.

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