From failing wastewater systems and inlet erosion to the disastrous impact of red tide along the coast, local officials are routinely inundated with water-related issues that directly impact their districts.
Each year, to find common ground, the Florida League of Cities appoints five municipal officials from across the state to chair five legislative policy committees, each tasked with isolating one priority – something that can positively impact all communities.
This year, Indialantic Vice Mayor Stu Glass was selected to chair a committee considered of high importance – the Committee for Utilities, Natural Resources and Public Works.
The committee selects a focus amid a multifaceted area that covers coastal management, energy, environmental and wetlands permitting, hazardous and toxic wastes, recycling, solid waste collection and disposal, stormwater, wastewater treatment and reuse, water management, and water quality and quantity.
With just one meeting under his belt, Glass said the committee focus this year is not only on water, but also on funding, because the state does not currently have a recurring source of funding for water supply, water quality and associated infrastructure.
League officials are looking at legislation that would create a recurring source of state funding for current and future water supply and infrastructure needs that are estimated to cost around $48.71 billion over the next 20 years.
The committee met for the first time last month. In July, an expert in water-related funding is set to speak to the group. Another meeting is planned for August, and in November they will present their findings in a call to action for the 2020 legislative session.
“We’ll come up with one legislative priority specific enough to get passed but broad enough to not exclude related legislation,” Glass said. “We have to look at what has the best chance for funding, implementation and long-range acceptance.”
A team of lobbyists helps guide each committee and keep them on task and focused. “They work to support legislative action for the league and have 412 municipalities to represent so they know what is important to communities as a whole,” Glass said. “Mine may be the Indian River Lagoon while for someone else it may be the Everglades or the springs.”
The key is to get the 60-65 committee members from different municipalities behind one priority. “Water is the focus this year and in the first meeting we listened to each community, and what they want to do varies a lot – from irrigation, wastewater and supply, to recreation, reuse and stormwater; the lobbyist keeps us focused so we can find common ground and move forward in a common direction.”
Legislative policy committee chairs, vice-chairs and members were appointed by the league’s incoming president, Bay Harbor Islands Councilman Isaac Salver. “Municipal officials are the driving force behind the league’s legislative success. In addition to developing legislative priorities, policy committee members provide us with a better understanding of real-world implications of proposed legislation,” said Salver. “We appreciate their willingness to serve, as there is a significant commitment of time and effort that goes into identifying legislative priorities for the membership to adopt.”
Appointments are typically a one-year commitment.
The decisions and direction taken by these committees help form the league’s priorities for the upcoming session as part its Legislative Action Agenda.
Other committees include: Finance, Taxation and Personnel; Land Use and Economic Development; Municipal Administration; Transportation; and Intergovernmental Relations.
Glass retired from IBM as the business area manager of Industrial Sector System Integration and Architecture in 1999 after a 30-year career. He and his wife, whom he met while attending Florida Atlantic University, moved to Brevard County in 1998, where he immersed himself in community service.
Among his various endeavors, Glass served as president of the Space Coast League of Cities.
He was also elected as representative to the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council for the 16 municipalities of Brevard County, and to the Space Coast Transportation Planning representing the South Beaches Collation, as well as the Indian River Lagoon Council National Estuary Program Management Board. The Florida League of Cities has named him a “Home Rule Hero” for several years in a row, including 2019.
In 2016 he was awarded the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award by President Barack Obama for National and Community service.