Naples News
Editorial: Water Management Districts
Consider an election idea ..Sunday, January 8, 2006
No taxation without representation.

How American can you get?

Not American enough for the South Florida Water Management District which
includes Collier and Lee counties, yet does not allow our voters to select
the people who levy annual taxes on their property.

Now comes word of a legislative proposal by an Apopka member of the Florida
House of Representatives. Though he is from a different water district, his
point is the same. He says board members of all water districts should be
elected rather than appointed by the governor.

Ideally, opening the selection of people to fill these important posts would
mean candidates with more public-interest water management skills would come
forward. Now the South Florida board, for example, is dominated by the
development industry.

We like the realistic view of Mary Rawl, president of Caloosahatchee
RiverWatch. "The same forces that put board members in now will be throwing
money at candidates," she says. "But I think it's a step in the right
direction."

Who knows? The public might even be able to get some clear answers about
where all those tax dollars go, and why every drainage challenge means
dodging accountability or reinventing the wheel.