ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Thirty-five years after it was first discussed, a decision on merging three of Tampa Bay’s metropolitan planning organizations may be on the horizon.
“We would be the largest metropolitan planning organization in the state of Florida, and with size comes some funding,” said Whit Blanton, executive director of Forward Pinellas. “A lot of the federal funding is based on formula: based on population, based on transit ridership, things like that.”
What You Need To Know
Metropolitan planning organizations in Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties could learn in the next few months whether they’ll merge into a regional MPO
Forward Pinellas Executive Director Whit Blanton said the idea of a merger was first brought up in the early 1990s, but it was thought at the time the counties were too different for the move to make sense
Blanton said creating a larger organization could make it easier for Tampa Bay to secure federal dollars for transportation projects
The MPOs could vote on whether to merge in March or April. The county commissions and Tampa City Council would also have to give their approval
Forward Pinellas, the Hillsborough Transportation Planning Organization, and the Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization are the groups that could merge. Blanton said initial talks happened in the 1990s, but it was thought the counties were too different for a merger to make sense.
For instance, Pasco County was just starting to grow. Now, he said the time is right and the move would be in the best interest of the region.
“So much funding for capital projects, like the big interstate projects or the big transit projects, is competitive, and you’ve got to show strong regional support to be competitive with Seattle or San Diego,” said Blanton.
He said a merger could help Tampa Bay compete at that level.
“We would be a mega MPO, and with that would come so much more opportunity for funding,” said St. Petersburg City Council Member Gina Driscoll.
Blanton updated council members on the effort at Thursday’s meeting, telling them the latest effort began in 2023. That’s when state lawmakers passed legislation requiring the MPOs to study what a merger would mean. Details are still being worked out, but Blanton said a 25-member board seems to be the preference.
He said federal law requires the number of representatives from each county to be based on population. He also said Florida statutes require tax revenues to be distributed equitably among counties based on population.
“So, even though Hillsborough County, City of Tampa may be larger, they would not be able to take down all the transportation dollars, nor would they have a majority of the votes,” said Blanton.
“It’s going to take a lot of political will across the region to bring this together,” said City Councilmember Brandi Gabbard.
Gabbard said MetroPlan Orlando, the MPO for Orange, Osceola, and Seminole Counties, is an example of how local governments can work together to benefit a region.
“What they’re accomplishing is phenomenal,” said Gabbard. “Because right now, those dollars are not coming to us the way that they should be, and this is really the only way to make that happen.”
Blanton said a workshop is being held Friday to talk about the details of the governing board and what the structure of the organization would look like.
He said the MPOs will likely vote on whether to merge in March or April. Next, the three county commissions and Tampa City Council would also have to approve it. Blanton said that could happen by June, and the merger could be complete in 2027 or 2028.