The South Florida Water Management District is tweaking a land-lease program that has come under fire.
Critics of the current policies say the proposed revisions are an admission of past wrongdoing, and they vow to push for more changes when the SFWMD governing board meets Thursday in West Palm Beach.
"There's a pattern here. [SFWMD] has a dirty house, and it will take a big broom to clean it up," Glades County rancher Mark Pearce told Sunshine State News.
Pearce and other landholders were outraged when the district extended leases on 4,701 acres last month without putting them up for competitive bids.
Old River Cattle Co. currently leases the Glades County tracts in three parcels for $55,381 -- or $11.78 per acre.
District officials maintained that, per SFWMD regulations, extensions do not require bidding. But Pearce and others argued that Florida Statute 373.093 says otherwise.
Two board members -- Jim Moran and Glenn Waldman, both lawyers -- cast the only dissenting votes against the extensions at the Oct. 13 meeting.
At a workshop Wednesday, Bob Brown, the district's recently appointed assistant executive director, laid out revised rules that call for termination and bidding of expiring leases where there had been no previous bids.
Critics of the lease program say that if SFWMD changes its policies, the agency should redo all leases under the principle of retroactivity.
It is unclear if the district would agree to that, but with $4.3 million in annual leases on 129,000 acres, SFWMD taxpayers have a lot at stake.
"The Old River land was never put up for bid," said Pearce, whose land borders the leased property. "These [proposed] changes admit to wrongdoing because they're now saying you have to bid."
Under the new proposal put forth by Brown:
"Leases of less than 10 cumulative years may be renewed for up to five years, provided the overall term, including the renewal does not exceed the total of 10 cumulative years. Exceptions to be approved by the governing board."
The proposed revision also includes a "board waiver" from competition on new leases.
Disgruntled ranchers, alleging favoritism in the district's leasing policies, contend that corners have been cut and rules have been bent to keep some lessees in "good standing."
Pearce notes, for example, that the district repaired exterior fencing on leased property, even though SFWMD regulations stipulate that lessees are responsible for such maintenance.
Going forward, Pearce, a part-time auctioneer, would like to see open auctions for all leased lands, as well as strict application of the "land manager" criteria for bidders.
"Make it transparent, do it all in the open and the district will get the most money," he said.
Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 802-5341.
