Lee County residents are frustrated that the county’s $3 billion budget does not replenish the popular Conservation 20/20 land-buying fund.
The fund is currently at $19 million, which is less than half of the $40 million minimum required by a county ordinance.
Commissioners argue the ordinance does not specify a timeline for replenishing the funds, while advocates say the rule is clear.
County officials cite recent hurricane-related budget constraints and plan future workshops to discuss the program’s funding.
Those who showed up to Lee County’s final budget hearing Sept. 16 hoping to influence how the $3 billion annual budget is spent left frustrated
The last meeting was a formality – a chance for the board to approve the budget, which had been wrangled into shape in a series of workshops months ago. Yes, people could speak their minds and yes, commissioners would hear them, but would they act on their input? No.
The 30 or so who came weren’t there to discuss money for the sheriff or libraries. Their issue – argued with passion, projections, even poetry – was Conservation 20/20, a land-buying program overwhelmingly approved by voters twice. Yet despite that popularity with taxpayers, it’s facing a funding shortfall the county’s 2025-26 budget doesn’t remedy. The fund currently holds just over $19 million, less than half the ordinance-required minimum of $40 million.
Deciphering the process is daunting, says Barbara Manzo, of the nonprofit Eyes on 20/20. “It’s very difficult for most people to go through those (budget) documents and understand, but
