Here's what changes Speak Up Brevard participants want County Commission to consider

How can we improve Brevard County?

Maybe by pushing to make the Indian River Lagoon a national park?

How about cash bonuses for people who find ways to save taxpayer dollars?

Increase the impact fees charged on new construction?

More: Rules on public comment at government meetings spark controversy across Brevard

Those are among the dozens of suggestions put forth as part of "Speak Up Brevard," an annual program that allows county residents to submit suggestions on how to improve the county government.

The process is dictated by the county charter.

Those proposals — and 56 others — will come before the County Commission for discussion at its meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Brevard County Government Center in Viera.

In all, 59 recommendations were submitted for consideration in this year's round of Speak Up Brevard, compared with just one recommendation a year ago.

Commissioners can either approve the proposals, approve them with modifications or reject them.

Officials of county departments have vetted the ideas, and are issuing recommendations to commissioners to consider on Tuesday.

Among residents with the most submissions are Sandra Sullivan of South Patrick Shores with 14, Kristin Lortie of Cocoa with nine and Susan Connolly of Palm Bay with seven. Twenty-two others submitted one to four proposals apiece.

Some of the proposals were environmentally related, covering such matters as trees; the use of herbicides; water runoff; trash on the roads; and how revenue from the Save Our Indian River Lagoon special half-percent sales tax is allocated.

Others covered such things as increasing library hours; regulating vacation rentals; staffing deployment on county fire rescue vehicles during emergency calls; and better promotion of the county's Harry T. & Harriette V. Cultural Complex in Mims and the county's pickleball venues.

Sullivan's 14 proposals included ones supporting increasing transportation impact fees that have not been updated in years, as well as introducing a new parks impact fee, to help pay for infrastructure to support new development in the county.

Among Connelly's proposals was one to support the Indian River Lagoon becoming a national park. As it did for other proposals, county staff extensively evaluated this suggestion, and in this case, detailed five potential pros and five potential cons to the national park designation. County staff ultimately recommended that the County Commission reject this proposal because "there is insufficient information to evaluate the potential benefits and detriments of national park designation."

Palm Bay resident Robert Klimkowski made four submissions to Speak Up Brevard, including one to give residents a cash reward for accepted recommendations that result in cost savings.

County staff recommended that some of the residents' suggestions be rejected because the County Commission has no jurisdiction over those issues, such as support for Brevard municipalities creating their own citizen budget review committees patterned after a county advisory board; implementing new procedures for vote-counting in elections; and regulating advertising by attorneys.

Background on program: County seeks resident suggestions through annual Speak Up Brevard program

County staff recommended rejecting some other resident proposals because the county already was doing something similar or because the County Commission rejected a similar proposal in the past.

In discussion the large number of submissions to Speak Up Brevard this year, Brevard County Director of Communications Don Walker said: "There obviously are some people in the county who don't feel their voice is being heard, and are using this as a platform" to get their ideas before the County Commission.

"We gave them our due diligence in responding" to every proposal, with staff feedback, Walker added.

Walker said, outside the Speak Up Brevard program, residents can provide suggestions during public comment periods at County Commission meetings or online via the county's website.

County staff recommended that 49 of this year's 59 proposals be rejected for various reasons, with three suggested for acceptance and seven suggested for acceptance with revisions. But, in past years, a number of resident proposals through Speak Up Brevard were approved.

In 2021, for example, commissioners unanimously approved staff recommendations to accept one resident suggestion and to accept six others with modifications, while rejecting just two. Among resident proposal that received partial or full support were ones to pursue developing more bicycle lanes on roads; to better maintain dirt roads; to enhance recreational opportunities for those over age 40 at Brevard County Parks and Recreation venues; and to expand promotion of the Space Coast to tourists as "Orlando's closest beach."

Residents will get up to three minutes apiece at Tuesday's meeting to pitch their ideas to commissioners. Unless commissioners change the rules for public comment, they will only get three minutes each, even if they submitted multiple suggestions, because the Speak Up Brevard package will be a single agenda item.

Commissioners then can accept all the staff recommendations in a single vote, or pull out one or more proposals for more discussion and a separate vote.

But Sullivan said she would like to see the county instead have a special workshop in the future to more thoroughly discuss each Speak Up Brevard recommendation, rather than making the process part of a regular County Commission meeting.

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Speak Up Brevard draws 59 recommendations to County Commission