- December 4, 2025
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Manatee County commissioners have opted not to renew a contract with the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation.
The main goal of the EDC is to recruit and retain high-paying jobs across Manatee County, not only in the Bradenton area.
It looked as if commissioners would approve the $336,900 annual contract because a motion to allow the contract to expire failed in a 4-3 vote. Then, a motion to approve the new contract also failed in a 4-3 vote.
Commissioner Carol Felts changed her mind, so the current contract will expire as of Sept. 30.
Those in favor of renewing the contract were commissioners George Kruse, Mike Rahn and Amanda Ballard. Those opposed to renewing the contract were commissioners Tal Siddique, Jason Bearden and Bob McCann.
Siddique cited problems with the board, including too many members. The EDC website lists 47 board members and seven executive committee members.
Bearden questioned the county’s return on investment, and McCann equated the group to lobbyists.
Following the meeting McCann said he made two campaign promises — One, stop greedy builders, and two, stop the deceptive politics.
During her presentation, EDC President and CEO Sharon Hillstrom said that one of the ways the EDC “gets stuff done” for businesses that are expanding or moving to the area is to "pick up the phone" and call Deputy County Administrator Courtney De Pol or Director of Government Relations Stephanie Garrison, who is a member of the EDC board.
Hillstrom noted that fostering good relationships is crucial in any business, but her role is not one of a lobbyist.
“(Hillstrom) is not a registered lobbyist, but she’s doing the same thing a lobbyist does,” McCann said. “That’s how sweetheart deals happen, and I don’t like that.”
The EDC receives 40% of its funding from public partners and 60% of its funding from private investors, so its board is not subject to the Sunshine Law and does not have to conduct meetings that are open to the public.
“I don’t like that we’re trying to hide economic development outside the sunshine,” Siddique said. “It should be a concern that it's not a sunshine board. Sarasota is a sunshine board, and they function well.”
Hillstrom was caught off guard by the way the meeting was headed, so she asked that the contract be extended through December to allow more time for discussions between the EDC and the county.
“This is kind of pulling the rug out from under us,” she said.
However, Manatee County pulling its funding doesn't put the EDC out of business. Hillstrom said in an email that staff will move forward communicating with its private investors and public partners as they address this "unexpected challenge."
Bearden wanted to know how much of the EDC’s budget is spent on administration, salaries and marketing versus directly assisting businesses.
Hillstrom said she couldn’t answer that question off the top of her head, but she would get those numbers to him.
She told the East County Observer that as a private corporation, the EDC does not publicly disclose its budget or employee salaries, but it does supply the county with an annual report.
From Oct. 1, 2023 to Sept. 30, 2024, the EDC reported spending $76,579.75 on administrative costs. The corporation collected $532,960 from public partners and $600,853 from private investors, totaling $1,133,813.
McCann said that he was told during his briefing from the county staff that Hillstrom’s salary is $245,000 a year, which would equate to over 20% of the entire EDC budget and over 70% of the funding request from Manatee County.
Cause IQ, which provides a database of information on nonprofits, reported Hillstrom’s salary at $236,217 on Oct. 15, 2024.
Similarly to chambers of commerce, the EDC is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit corporation, so tax filings are available on the Internal Revenue Service's website.
The most recent tax return available is for Fiscal Year 2022 that ran from Oct. 1, 2021 through Sept. 30, 2022. The return shows the EDC's total revenue was $1,123,700 and its total expenses were $966,805.
The expenses were split between two main categories — $302,409 was listed under "other expenses," and $664,396 was listed under "salaries, other compensation and employee benefits."
The return shows nine employees working for the EDC, and $215,615 of the $664,396 for salaries and benefits was listed under the category of "compensation of current officers, directors, trustees, and key employees."
As far as marketing expenses, the return shows $49,454 was spent on "advertising and promotion."
Kruse, a member of the EDC’s board, posed the argument of what it would cost the county in office space, benefits and retirement funds to hire three people to handle economic development directly for the county.
“Then, all the money is our money, and none of the members are helping out,” he said. “We need to approve their contract for one year and make a concerted effort to work in good faith to come up with a better contract if you believe this is not the right contract for Manatee County and their taxpayers.”
Siddique said there needs to be a “comprehensive reframing” of the contract, and McCann said the county doesn’t need the EDC at all.
Siddique pointed to SpaceX as an example of businesses that have bypassed the EDC and dealt directly with Manatee County. SpaceX plans to build a satellite communications facility in Myakka City.
“There are businesses that have talked to me and said the EDC hasn’t responded to them,” Siddique said. “That’s a serious problem. I just don’t feel confident spending this money here.”
Commissioners opposed to renewing the county’s contract with the EDC took issue with some of its success stories, namely First Watch and Detwiler’s Farm Market, two brands that are considered local.
Bearden opined that both companies would have likely expanded into Manatee County with or without the EDC.
First Watch moved its corporate headquarters to the University Town Center area in 2021, and Detwiler’s is opening a distribution center in Palmetto this month.
The East County Observer reached out to First Watch, however, the company declined to comment on the location of its headquarters or any specific services it has received from the EDC.
Jenni Glester, senior director of PR and Communications, offered the following statement:
“We care deeply about all of the communities in which we operate, but particularly so here in the Bradenton/Sarasota area that we call home. We partner with numerous civic and nonprofit groups, including the Bradenton Area EDC, and value and support each of their contributions to our region."
In a letter to commissioners, Lilah Taha-Rippet, Supply Chain senior vice president for First Watch and EDC board member, wrote that without the EDC’s support, “Manatee County risks losing opportunities for new jobs and investment at a time when economic competitiveness is more important than ever.”
Elizabeth Cordes, director of business recruitment and expansion for the EDC, was able to provide more specific details as to how Detwiler’s was assisted.
“We worked with their leadership team to make sure they were selecting the right site and that it was accessible to their employees,” Cordes said. “There’s a lot of qualifiers that come into that. I work on a daily basis with these companies to make sure it’s not only a good fit for them, but it’s a good fit for us.”
A good fit means the zoning is appropriate and infrastructure is in place or will be in place.
Stromwell offered additional examples. She recently coordinated with Florida Power & Light to get a business a transformer to avoid the cost of a generator.
Honeywell, a manufacturer located in Palmetto, is having traffic issues on U.S. 41. Employees are upset about the number of accidents occurring, so the EDC coordinated a meeting between Honeywell, the Florida Department of Transportation and Manatee County to work on solutions.
But it wasn’t enough to secure four votes. The EDC’s contract, which was initiated in 2021 under former County Administrator Scott Hopes, will expire Sept. 30.
“I don’t think investing in the EDC is producing the results we expected,” McCann said. “The EDC was supposed to be this great thing, but it’s more like a collaborative country club. It’s great for social networking, but you should not have special relationships with people in the county and undermine the process.”
