Sandy’s been working hard since she was elected in 2010.
Here are some of the things she has accomplished so far:
Hillsborough County BOCC Accomplishments
– Served as Chairman of Hillsborough BOCC for 2015 and 2018
– Served as Vice Chairman of Hillsborough BOCC 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016
Economic Development:
– Created and served as Chairman of Economic Prosperity Stakeholders Committee, creating a plan for which businesses can develop in Hillsborough County
– Founded partnership that created Manufacturing Alliance of Hillsborough County
– Continued to reduce property tax millage rate 23 years in a row, saving taxpayers on average $3,700 on average home over the past 8 years
– Hosted 10 successful County Job Fairs with CareerSource Tampa Bay and HCC, most recently with 55 employers and nearly 1,000 job seekers
– Partnered with Amazon and HCC on South County Job Fair offering 2,000 jobs
– Hosted the Access to Capital Summit for entrepreneurs and small businesses
– Facilitated presentations with Tampa/Hillsborough EDC to bring companies like Amazon, USAA, Quest Diagnostics for economic development
– Streamlined building permit process in county
– Established the Entrepreneurial Collaborative Center (ECC) for startup businesses
– Established Small Business Job Creation Program, creating hundreds of new jobs countywide
– Obtained $1 million in funding for the Bryan Glazer Family Jewish Community Center
– Serving as a Port Commissioner from 2010-18, Port Tampa Bay achieved economic growth to position itself as the largest port in Florida and one of the top ports in the nation
– Kept cost of county government down; it has decreased 11% since 2007
– County unemployment has declined to nearly 4%, down from 12% in 2010
– County’s bond rating continues to be AAA
Transportation:
– Sponsored the proposal with St. Petersburg Mayor Kriseman and got approval for the
St. Petersburg/Tampa Ferry pilot project
– Served as panelist for Global Trade Symposium at Port Tampa Bay
Homelessness/Mental Health/Veterans/Disability Awareness:
– Spearheaded Opioid Summit and Task Force which implemented an Opioid Action Plan in Hillsborough County
– Created Mental Health Advisory Committee and passed the Mental Health Parity for services to clients in the Hillsborough County Health Care Plan
– Secured county facility to create a home for Starting Right, Now! a non-profit organization working with homeless teens and youth
– As Chairman, dedicated new Community Housing Solutions Center
– Developed a public/private partnership to reduce chronic homelessness through Housing First model, Cypress Landing
– Co-hosted Veterans Resource Fair with U.S. Senator Marco Rubio to support local veterans
– Expanded eligibility requirements for Hillsborough County Health Care Plan; eliminated ‘3-Strikes’ policy to allow more access to drug abuse services
– Significantly reduced veteran homelessness through Operation Reveille
– Spearheaded successful Jail Diversion Program which prevents costly arrest of people with mental health issues, and directs them to needed services
– Worked with Paralyzed Veterans and County ADA liaison on to educate small businesses on ADA compliance to prevent Drive-by lawsuits in Hillsborough County
– Worked with local disabled veterans to pass gas pumping assistance ordinance to aid persons with disabilities, which served as a model for state legislation recently passed
Government-Citizen Relations:
– Hosted Get Ready! Hurricane Prep talks throughout county since 2011
– Hosted “Community Office Hours” throughout commission district to meet one-on-one with constituents and hear their concerns so they wouldn’t have to travel to downtown office
– Hosted dozens of “Coffee with the Commissioner” events in West Tampa, Town ‘n Country, Westchase, South Tampa and South County to talk about neighborhood issues
– Provided assistance to 450-500 constituents per month in district to address county-related concerns
– Established Northwest County Dog Park which opened in 2016
– Improved customer service and communications in Hillsborough County
– Initiated Lobbying reform ordinance for BOCC and County Center
– Launched Emergency Alert system for Hillsborough County
– Secured funding to open YMCA in South County
– Secured funding for Gardenville School & Ruskin Gynasium openings
– Secured funding for Historic Preservation Grant Program
– Rebranded Community Resource Centers with increased focus on resources and service
– Funded and opened Northwest Skate Park
– Funded improvements to Town ‘n Country Commons
– Secured seed funding to build HCC SouthShore Community Center
– Secured funding for Westchase Recreation Center, Upper Tampa Bay Library expansion
– Implemented recycling at County Parks, facilities
– Expanded Senior Services in Town ‘n Country
– Funded splash pads at regional parks through Hillsborough County; E.G. Simmons eco-tourism project and splash pad in South County is in planning stages
– Extended Community Collection Center times to six days per week
Child Safety/Children’s Services:
– Created Blue Ribbon Committee on Child Safety (BRCCS) to establish plan to provide collaborative services to community’s children and their families in need
– Hosted Anti-bullying Town Hall meetings with Quinton Aaron to create awareness
– Funded Sheriff programs for juveniles at recreation centers with the Boys & Girls Clubs
– Established more education for drowning prevention
Public Safety/Community Improvement:
– Shut down Internet/Sweepstakes Cafes
– Sponsored Human Trafficking Signage Ordinance; Task Force has made a difference
– Secured funding for Anti-bullying Advisory Committee and USO-Fallen Soldiers
– Obtained building and funding for Firehouse Cultural Center in South County
– Strengthened animal Anti-tethering laws in county
– Reviewed intersections along Hwy 41 and Hwy 301 for safety
– Secured funding for Northwest Service Center and Northwest Skate Park
– Funded Apollo Beach Restoration and dredging in South County
– Secured funding for South County Sports Complex
– Funded repaving of Bayshore Boulevard
– Established county policy for municipal services units to fund citizen initiated localized capital projects like undergrounding of electric utilities in the Dana Shores community; opening doors for other communities
Service on Boards & Committees
| American Cancer Society Board member |
| Anti-Bullying Advisory Committee (ABAC) |
| Athena Society |
| Behavioral Health Task Force |
| Blue Ribbon Committee on Child Safety (BRCCS) |
| CareerSource Tampa Bay Board member (Vice Chairman) |
| Catholic Women’s Club |
| Children’s Home Board member |
| Children’s Board of Hillsborough County |
| Council of Governments |
| Courtney Campbell Scenic Highway Corridor Advisory Committee |
| DACCO Advisory Board member |
| Early Learning Coalition Board member |
| Eckerd Community Alternatives Advisory Council member |
| Economic Club of Tampa Board member |
| Economic Prosperity Stakeholders Committee (served as Chairman) |
| Family Healthcare Foundation Board |
| Firehouse Cultural Center (FCC) Advisory Board member |
| Florida Association of Counties’ Health, Human Services and Public Safety Committee (Vice Chairman) |
| Florida Healthy Kids Board (former member) |
| Florida KIDS Count |
| Florida Prepaid Foundation Board member |
| Glazer Children’s Museum Board member (served as Chairman) |
| GCM Development Committee (Chairman) |
| Guardian Ad Litem Program |
| HCC EMS Advisory Board |
| Healthy Start Coalition Board member |
| Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) Board member |
| Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) (Chairman) |
| Hillsborough County Emergency Policy Group (EPG) |
| Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) |
| Hillsborough County Healthcare Advisory Board (HCAB) |
| Hillsborough County Hospital Authority Board member |
| Hillsborough County Republican Women’s Club |
| Hillsborough Education Foundation (HEF) |
| Jail Diversion Program Committee |
| Junior Achievement Board member |
| Junior League Tampa Advisory Board |
| Kiwanis Club of Tampa |
| LEAP/HCAN Leadership Council member |
| Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Board member |
| MPO Transportation Disadvantaged Coordinating Board (TDCB) |
| MPO Vision Zero Committee |
| Phoenix House Board member (Chairman) |
| Port Tampa Bay Board member |
| Shriner’s Hospital Corporate Council |
| South Tampa Chamber of Commerce Board member |
| SouthShore Chamber of Commerce Board member |
| Starting Right, Now Board member |
| Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) former board member |
| Tampa Bay Water Board (Chairman) |
| Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Inititative (THHI) (founding Board member) |
| Tampa Museum of Art Board member |
| Tampa/Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation (EDC) |
| Tourist Development Council (Chairman) |
| Transportation Management Area (TMA) Leadership Group |
| United States Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) Florida Advisory Committee |
| USF Nursing Advisory Board member |
| USF Women in Leadership and Philanthropy |
| Value Adjustment Board member (Chairman) |
Service to Women’s & Children’s Issues
– Chaired statewide 2016 Women’s Conference in Tampa
– Founded Women’s Exchange to get more women appointed to public and private boards
– Spearheaded Mobile Interactive Literacy Opportunity (MILO bus) for young children in at-risk areas of Hillsborough County
– Created Blue Ribbon Committee on Child Care Safety
– Hosted Think Pink Breast Cancer awareness events
– Hosted Go Red for Women event at County Center
– Hosted Women in Tech Event to inspire young women in this emerging field
– Worked with county staff to address safety concerns with youth Soccer Goals
– Strengthened Alcoholic Beverage Public Awareness Ordinance to include risks of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
– Guardian Ad Litem volunteer
More details of what Sandy has done:
One of her first priorities was to change the way County government is run. In this era of economic challenges, she wanted the county budgets to be leaner, more efficient and innovative.
Working with the County Administration and her fellow Commissioners, Sandy is doing just that: the county now shares office work like accounting and administrative functions; it utilizes one-stop social service case management; it now contracts out services like mowing parks and roadsides.
Most importantly, Sandy is helping to make it easier to grow our local economy by streamlining the permitting processes through a one-stop permit center; revising regulations that inhibit job creation; offering economic incentive funds for recruiting target industry jobs that includes a small business investment fund to grow our own jobs.
When small businesses were continuing to struggle, Sandy spearheaded the Hillsborough County Small Business Job Creation Program which has put more than 115 people back to work and given nearly 70 of these businesses more resources to help keep their doors open.
When nearly 50 Internet Sweepstakes Cafes were preying on our hard-working citizens and our vulnerable seniors in Hillsborough County, Sandy worked with the Sheriff’s Office to craft an ordinance that virtually shut down the illegal gambling operations. She continues to work on this issue as some illegal businesses try to skirt the law.
When Sandy saw that County customers were frustrated with front-end customer service, she made this and communications the County’s number one priority. She believes the most efficient and effective way of using taxpayer dollars is to serve taxpayers in the best way possible, and to communicate with them so that they understand how to navigate the maze of departments and agencies that are here for them.
When Federal and state guidelines did not spell out how persons with disabilities should go about requesting refueling assistance at gas stations, other than honking or waving a placard, Sandy worked with disabled citizens on a solution to place gas station/convenience store telephone numbers on gas pumps. This legislation has been used as a model for the Florida Legislature to pass a similar law, and now the United States Congress is also looking at it as a model for Federal legislation.
When there were safety concerns with youth soccer goals in Hillsborough County, Sandy was there to work with the County Parks department to make sure goals were secure and safe throughout the County within days.
When there was an opportunity to help law enforcement get back to work protecting the public, Sandy brought together a special mental health and substance abuse policy leadership group to create a jail-diversion program to decriminalize mental health and substance abuse issues at the misdemeanor level.
When businesses were feeling strangled by regulation, Sandy asked the BOCC to bring economic stakeholders to the table to make suggestions, and to think outside the box to restructure the county’s approach to economic development, growth management and planning. She now chairs this Economic Prosperity Committee that is working toward these goals.
When people in South Countywere facing unemployment and under-employment during these tough times, Sandy worked with local businesses and CareerSource Tampa Bay, formerly the Workforce Alliance and organized South County Job Fairs and a County Job Fairs since 2011, where hundreds of employers and vendors met with now thousands of job seekers. Commissioner Murman has also partnered with Amazon Fulfillment to give thousands of job seekers a chance to work with Amazon in south Hillsborough County.
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