At its Monday night meeting, the Safety Harbor City Commission voted unanimously to have City Manager Matthew Spoor and City Attorney Isabella Sobel negotiate a one-year contract with Shumaker Advisors of Tampa to lobby for the city in Tallahassee.
The contract is not to exceed $42,000, even though Shumaker's bid was for $60,000.Two other firms bid - Johnson & Stewart Government Strategies of Lutz ($42,000) and Sunrise Consulting Group of New Port Richey ($42,000).
The city has not had a lobbyist before, and city staff has reported that the city is getting left behind in competing with other cities for state funding.