Lakewood Ranch taxpayers are footing part of the bill for one of Manatee County's biggest budget outliers: the Sheriff's Office, whose spending growth outpaced population and inflation between 2022 and 2025, according to a citizen-led efficiency committee's final report first reported by WSLR.

The Government Efficiency Liaison Committee, chaired by Lakewood Ranch resident Mark Stanoch, presented its findings to county commissioners on July 28. The panel set a benchmark of roughly 7% budget growth over the three-year period, combining about 3% annual population growth with about 4% average inflation. It found that if the Sheriff's Office and Public Safety were excluded from the analysis, overall county spending growth would have landed at about 8%, close to that target.

But the Sheriff's Office blew past it. The committee did not label the increase wasteful. Instead, it pointed to specific drivers: four new judges added during the period, each requiring eight deputies; more than 90 school crossing guards hired to serve a growing student population; expanded patrols tied to new road construction and development; increased contracted law enforcement for churches, synagogues, mosques and homeowners associations; and hurricane response costs from Hurricanes Ian and Milton.

The third outlier, Utilities, operates as an enterprise fund supported by customer fees rather than property taxes.

State audit prompted the local review

The county commission created the five-member citizen committee in July 2025 after Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia announced that Manatee County had spent more than $112 million beyond what the state considered appropriate in a single fiscal year. Ingoglia's office said in an October 2025 press release that the county's general fund budget had increased 69% since fiscal year 2019-20.

Commissioners had voted in April 2025 to volunteer for the state Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) audit. Commissioner George Kruse said in August 2025 Herald-Tribune coverage that the board was "all on board with tax cuts" and welcomed anyone who could identify inefficiencies "that puts real dollars in people's pockets."

Five recommendations, no timeline

Beyond the spending analysis, the committee issued five recommendations: study joint purchasing agreements with municipal governments; create a centralized database for interlocal agreements; improve oversight of capital improvement projects; increase transparency on tourism-tax spending; and give commissioners more detailed information on nearly $1 billion in county reserve funds.

Commissioner Jason Bearden responded sharply to the tourism-tax finding at the July 28 meeting. "These are funds that we could have been using in the last few years, but I had nobody coming up and advising me on these opportunities," Bearden said. "I am appalled that our director of the TDC [Tourist Development Council] did not let us know about these."

What it means for Lakewood Ranch

Only about 34% of Manatee County's revenue comes from property taxes, the county's only unrestricted funding source. That means Lakewood Ranch homeowners paying into the general fund are directly affected by how efficiently the county deploys those dollars.

The Sheriff's Office, Commissioner Kruse, Commissioner Bob McCann and Florida DOGE had not responded to WSLR's requests for comment as of Aug. 5.

Stanoch, who is now running for Manatee County Commission District 1 in the Aug. 18 primary, told commissioners the efficiency process "should not end with the close of this study." His committee's work is done.