On orders from Gov. Scott, SWFWMD Basin Boards Eliminated

In a move they said was dictated from Tallahassee, Southwest Florida Water Management District board members voted Tuesday to get rid of seven volunteer boards that help with everything from restoring Tampa Bay to planning for future water needs.

The seven basin boards had their own budgets and taxes, and some had been around longer than the water district itself. But as of May 31, they will all be gone.

The proposal to disband all the basin boards wasn't on the meeting agenda posted online, according to Todd Pressman, the district board member who cast the lone vote against. Instead, it came up during a discussion of ways to cut the budget.

But the leaders of the state agency commonly known as Swiftmud were well aware this was coming, Pressman said, and that it was being pushed by Gov. Rick Scott and his staff. ...

» Read about the role the Basin Boards played in local water resource management