County Administrator delivers Annual Report highlighting year of progress, change
MANATEE COUNTY, FL (March 10, 2020) – Manatee County Administrator Cheri Coryea marked the completion of a successful first year on the job by delivering the 2019 Annual Report to County Commissioners today.
"2019 will be remembered as a year of great change and transition in Manatee County Government," Coryea said. "With the help of new Deputy County Administrators John Osborne and Karen Stewart, a tight-knit group of department directors and 1,900 employees who take pride in their public service, we’ve accomplished so much over the past year."
Coryea became acting County Administrator last March. Two months later, Commissioners confirmed Cheri as the County's first permanent female County Administrator.
View the video Annual Report or download copies of the PDF at www.mymanatee.org/annualreport. Hard copies are available in the lobby of the County Administration Building and at the County's six public libraries.
"What a year it has been, Cheri," said Commissioner Misty Servia. "It is your leadership style that has set the tone for what we've accomplished over the past year. You have vision, you allow your employees to be innovative, you encourage team building. Everybody is welcome to be part of the team and encouraged. You're the most hard working person I know. You govern this County with integrity."
Among highlights from the past year, Coryea pointed to several successes from the voter-approved half cent sales tax for infrastructure and a new five-year plan for the Southwest District. Some of the Annual Report highlights include:
- 2019 was the busiest year of construction using the citizen-approved Infrastructure Sales Tax. Over the past year Manatee County Public Works team continued the design and construction of the 44th Avenue Extension Project that will connect Lakewood Ranch and east Manatee to west Bradenton.
- The County's popular Downtown Cat Town was relocated to a bigger building one mile east. The new adoption facility is a new, larger home with indoor and outdoor areas for adoptable cats and kittens to walk.
- County Commissioners approved the purchase of a former Red Cross facility in Lakewood Ranch which has been converted into a 24-hour EMS facility to improve response times in one of our fastest growing areas. Public Safety's new Rapid Activation Patient Treatment (RAPTOR) bus also rolled out for the first time in 2019.
- Last year County Commissioners worked with our Redevelopment and Economic Opportunity Department to through the approval of create a five-year Southwest District Strategic Plan that will invest in some of our oldest areas with a $14.7 million budget for FY20 and over $26 million in projected revenues over the next five years.
For more information on Manatee County Government, visit www.mymanatee.org or call (941) 748-4501. You can also follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/manatee.county.fl and on Twitter, @ManateeGov.