Governing Board
Message from the Governing Board Chairman
As the incoming chairman of the St. Johns River Water Management District’s Governing Board, I am inspired by all of the opportunities ahead to ensure the quality and quantity of the water supply for nearly 5 million residents in more than 12,000 square miles in 18 counties in northeast and central Florida.
It is a pivotal time of change and evolution for all five of Florida’s water management districts. The St. Johns District is emerging this fall as a stronger and more focused agency that has a clear path forward. During the past six months, considerable time and energy have gone into right-sizing the agency to ensure that our budget, staff and priorities are appropriate given our economic climate and the needs of our environment.
Because of the changing economic conditions, we reduced our property tax revenue by more than 25 percent. We did this in the same way that your families and businesses do. We focused on eliminating unnecessary expenditures and identified ways to work more efficiently. We reduced our staff to 591 highly qualified scientists, engineers and other professionals. Even with these reductions, the productivity of our workforce has improved. We have not compromised our core missions.
A thorough analysis of those core missions and our highest priorities is allowing us to focus the $85 million a year we receive in property taxes on: implementing a regional water supply strategy to provide sufficient quantities of water for users and the environment; protecting water quality and natural systems; and preventing increases in flooding and operating and maintaining the District’s regional flood control projects.
We are focused on working more efficiently and leveraging more partnership opportunities with our extremely diverse constituency.
As a permitting agency, we are tasked with upholding the laws of Florida that relate to our region’s water resources. We will keep water resource protections solidly in place. And we will continually search for ways to improve these protections. We will assist permitees to identify ways to achieve their goals without compromising our standards.
As a water resource agency, we have the experience and expertise to complete the numerous regional restoration projects already in progress. And we are well equipped to undertake new projects that will permanently enhance our quality of life.
As we begin 2012, the District’s Board, the new executive director and our team are dedicated to ensuring that we adhere to our core missions. We will continually seek ways to achieve our goals in the most efficient and fiscally conservative way possible. It is critical that we, as your water management district, ensure that we are thoughtful and deliberative in our decision-making. We will base our decisions on sound science. We will ensure that protections for our water resources remain in place. We will work collaboratively with our constituency for the betterment of our environment.
We welcome your participation and input as we seek to protect our region’s unique water resources. We are continually searching for ways to keep you informed. I encourage you to continue to visit our website and to connect with us through the various social media platforms.
Sincerely,
Lad Daniels, Governing Board Chairman
St. Johns River Water Management District
