Brevard County’s online suggestion box is open.
With the start of 2025, the submission period has begun for residents to suggest improvements to Brevard County government, in an annual process required under a voter-approved provision of the county’s charter.
Residents have until Jan. 31 to submit ideas and recommendations aimed at improving county efficiency and effectiveness, as part of the “Speak Up Brevard” program.
Last year, 59 ideas were submitted, but county commissioners approved only a handful of them. In all, 49 ideas were rejected, four were accepted and six were classified as accepted “with revisions.”
Residents can submit recommendations online via Speak Up Brevard at this link: https://sites.brevardcounty.us/SpeakUpBrevard/Search
Delaney pushes for more resident input
District 1 County Commissioner Katie Delaney — who took office in November, representing North Brevard — is hoping by giving residents more direct input with commissioners. She made government accountability an issue of her 2024 election campaign.
At a recent County Commission meeting, Delaney proposed having a special workshop in February for residents to go over their submitted ideas in person with commissioners.
But other commissioners decided to hold off on voting on whether to schedule such a workshop until after the submission period ends on Jan. 31.
Delaney said she believes there are times when residents “feel unheard” by the County Commission, partly because they have only three minutes apiece during public comment periods. Commissioners usually do not interact with residents during those public comment periods, Delaney noted.
Under the current procedures, residents present their Speak Up Brevard recommendations in person to the County Commission on the day the board takes its votes. But the three-minute time limit per person is in place, even if the applicant submits multiple suggestions, as some residents have done in the past.
“I just don’t believe that’s what the spirit of this program was,” Delaney said.
County Commission Chair Rob Feltner, who represents District 4 in Central Brevard, suggested that Delaney host her own public meeting related to Speak Up Brevard proposals, rather than having a workshop involving all five commissioners.
Feltner said Delaney could then pick some of the top proposals for further discussion by the County Commission, including by submitting “legislative intent” agenda items on the proposals she felt were most promising.
But Delaney said she thought it is important to have the entire County Commission involved in a workshop. So her proposal for a workshop will be debated again after the Jan. 31 deadline for Speak Up Brevard proposals.
“I’m hoping to find more of a: ‘How can we work these ideas into our county?’ ” Delaney said. “Maybe it won’t be exactly what the people are proposing. But maybe there’s a ‘yes’ somewhere in there. So I think that, if the people have a fair shake of submitting their proposal and talking to the commission about it, we can get a better idea of what they’re proposing, and that way, we can direct the staff. Is there a ‘yes’ somewhere in this proposal?”
How process has worked
The past practice has included county staff going through the written proposals and making their determinations to commissioners of whether the idea is feasible. Commissioners generally have gone along with the county staff’s views.
Here’s how the process now works:
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Submission deadline: All recommendations for the current cycle must be submitted by Jan. 31.
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Evaluation period: The Brevard County manager’s office, working with other county officials, reviews submissions and provides comments to be presented to the County Commission.
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Commission review: Recommendations are forwarded to the County Commission, which will vote to approve, reject or revise each proposal.
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Notification: Submitters will receive at least one week’s notice prior to their recommendation being reviewed by the County Commission. Submitters can be present at the meeting under this agenda item.
County Commission votes on the proposals would come in late-March or April, leaving time for a workshop to be held in the interim, if commissioners want to schedule one.
Other methods of feedback
In addition to Speak Up Brevard, county staff says residents can provide feedback to county officials throughout the year in these ways:
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Online feedback: Go to www.brevardfl.gov under the e-Government tab to share input on the county budget, parks, public safety, transit services and other topics.
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Public comments: Attend County Commission meetings to voice concerns or ideas directly during the non-agenda public comment periods.
Origins of Speak Up Brevard
The process in an outgrowth of a proposal approved by Brevard voters in 2010 that was initiated through the county’s Charter Review Commission, allowing residents to make recommendations to the County Commission. That referendum was approved by voters, with 73.27% support.
Under revisions the County Commission approved in April 2024 to its Speak Up Brevard policy, the county manager can recommend rejecting proposals for a variety of reasons — including that the suggestions involve grievances relating to prior board action, involve specific service requests or are matters outside of the commission’s jurisdiction.
Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard County seeks ideas for improving local government operations
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