Derek Gilliam

3 days ago | tampabay.com | Josh Salman |Derek Gilliam

A Naples developer had big plans in 2022 to bring more than 850 homes to a rural area of DeSoto County, betting the region’s unprecedented housing demand would continue stretching further east into Arcadia. With no connections to municipal sewers, the homebuilder wanted the authority to tax future residents for the cost of a new utility plant needed to bring basic plumbing to their homes. So the company petitioned local officials to establish a new special government that it would control.

4 days ago | wslr.org | Josh Salman |Derek Gilliam |Marianne Barisonek

‘Community Development Districts’ have mushroomed on the Suncoast. By Josh Salman and Derek Gilliam/Suncoast SearchlightOriginal Air Date: May 9, 2025Host: If you buy a home in the suburbs, beware: Dozens of new local governments have popped up in Sarasota and Manatee Counties recently. They are not led by elected officials but by corporations that make a profit from residents. Josh Salman with Suncoast Searchlight reports.

5 days ago | mysuncoast.com | Josh Salman |Derek Gilliam

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - As more new special development districts break ground across the Suncoast, area officials warn they could mean higher tax bills and traffic congestion for those buying into these communities. From state lawmakers to county commissioners and national reform leaders, stakeholders reacting to a recent Suncoast Searchlight investigation into the potential dangers of these independent government districts called the reporting revealing.

6 days ago | wslr.org | Derek Gilliam

Commissioners vote to fund Erik Arroyo’s defense against three ethics complaints. By Derek Gilliam/Suncoast SearchlightOriginal Air Date: May 7, 2025Host: A former Sarasota City commissioner asked the city to reimburse more than $10,000 in legal fees, and four of the five sitting commissioners approved his request on Monday. Erik Arroyo spent that money fighting ethics complaints that had not previously been reported. Derek Gilliam with Suncoast Searchlight has the details.

1 week ago | mysuncoast.com | Derek Gilliam

Former Sarasota City Commissioner Erik Arroyo is asking the city to reimburse more than $10,000 in legal fees he spent fighting ethics complaints that had not previously been reported. Three local residents — Harrison Lovisa, Laura Bowers and Bill Farber — filed complaints early last year with the Florida Commission on Ethics, accusing Arroyo of using his elected position to promote a proposed project without disclosing his business ties to it.