Manatee County Seeks Animal Welfare Volunteers for Newly Created Advisory Boards
By Lisa Neff
Animal lovers with a knack for policy, a veterinary license or volunteer hours clocked now have a way to put those credentials to work for Manatee County.
The Manatee County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously Feb. 17 to establish two animal welfare advisory boards and immediately opened applications for seats. The move sets the stage for what officials hope will be a new era of transparency and community involvement in local animal welfare.
The two boards — the Animal Services Advisory Board and the Animal Services Technical Advisory Board — work in tandem. The ASAB is a citizen-facing body, a panel of 11 community members who will advise commissioners and administration on animal welfare policy, education programs, community outreach and funding options.
The ASTAB is its expert counterpart: a seven-member body of professionals drawn from recognized organizations in veterinary medicine, animal rescue, law enforcement, wildlife management and livestock care.
Together, the boards are designed so that people have a place to bring ideas and qualified experts have a forum to vet them.
The need has been building for years.
The county’s previous animal services advisory board went inactive in 2021.
County staff began laying the groundwork for a new structure last November, presenting ideas to commissioners and refining them through January, before the two resolutions reached a final vote Feb. 17.
Dr. Syna Johnson, the county’s chief veterinarian of shelter operations, described the process as a culmination of three months of discussion.
The citizen board was expanded from seven to 11 members during that process, she said, in part to make it more accessible and representative.
Johnson said in a county news release that the boards give residents a direct channel to contribute ideas, experience and insight to support informed decision-making.
The ASAB’s 11 seats are open to the public through an application process. The county is specifically seeking residents with backgrounds in nonprofit animal care or rescue, business or finance, veterinary medicine, recent animal adoption from the county and volunteer work with county animal services or a private rescue agency.
Terms on the board are for four years, with appointments made by the full county commission.
The ASTAB’s seven seats will be filled through nominations from partner organizations, including the Humane Society of Manatee County, the Humane Society of Lakewood Ranch, Nate’s Honor Animal Rescue, the University of Florida Shelter Medicine Program and entities with recognized wildlife and livestock expertise. A member of local law enforcement with animal cruelty investigation experience also will serve on the board.
Focus areas include shelter operations, veterinary best practices, policy development, wildlife/livestock considerations and community partnerships.
Both boards operate under Florida’s Sunshine Law, meet publicly and allow for citizen comment — meaning the public will have a voice not just in who sits on these boards.
Commissioner Carol Ann Felts, who represents a district with significant agricultural interests, made clear she sees the vote as the starting gun, not the finish line.
“This is what we’ve been waiting for so we could get to work,” she said during the commission meeting in Bradenton.
Felts called for regular check-ins from board liaisons — at least every other month — and said she hopes the structure draws out the kind of engaged, knowledgeable residents the county needs.
“All those people who are out there that want to help — let’s get them on this board,” she said.
Commissioner George Kruse, expected to serve as liaison to the ASAB, echoed the sentiment in the county’s news release, saying that bringing together community voices and technical expertise will allow the county to make decisions that are more informed and transparent.
Applications and nomination instructions are available at mymanatee.org. Positions will be posted for 21 days before the commission makes its selections. So, for anyone who has ever wanted to do more than just love their pet, the clock is ticking.