Manatee County Utilities: Deposit Waived for Disabled Veterans and Active Duty

Section 2-31-257(f) of the Manatee County Code says: "Individually metered residential security deposits shall be waived for active duty military and disabled veterans." The subsection dates from Ordinance 07-62 (2007); the section was last amended by Ordinance 23-111 in August 2023. What it saves. Manatee County Utilities asks a $165 deposit for a single-family home's account, returned as a credit after two years of on-time payment. The waiver covers individually metered homes; it does not reach master meters, irrigation or temporary meters, or the $30 deposit on a garbage-only account, which has no meter. What the Code does not say. It does not define "disabled veteran" or set a rating or a proof, so expect to show a VA rating letter, or a military ID or orders for active duty. Where the county's page falls short. The Utilities department's page on opening a residential account lists the $165 deposit without mentioning the waiver, and still gives the deposit interest as "the bank passbook rate", which the Code replaced with the daily Treasury yield curve rate in 2023. Ask Utilities Customer Service, 3647 Cortez Road West, Bradenton (941-792-8811), for the waiver and cite section 2-31-257(f). The rule binds only the county's own utility. The cities of Bradenton and Palmetto run their own utilities.