People often describe the Great Recession like some kind of flying beast that swooped down and struck Southwest Florida by surprise, but Tom Dabney, Gulf Coast Property Services founder, could see it coming. The developer knew not only from projects of his own like Hi Hat Ranch but from colleagues throughout the region that interest in new homes was starting to wane, and that typical feeder markets like Ohio were not providing as much business as people started to delay retirement plans. Growth in Sarasota County slowed down to about 1.5 percent, a lower annual rate than counties to the immediate north and south. But he couldn’t convince any elected officials that dark times were coming and the business community needed some help. “They literally raised impact fees when we were telling them they needed to be lowering them,” Dabney recalls, referencing the last time fees climbed upward in 2006. “We pleaded, but they raised them anyways.”

Of course, few such complaints get leveled by the business community today. Instead, you more frequently here concerns the relationship between development and government has grown too tight. Protesters earlier this year were calling for County Commissioner Christine Robinson to resign, for example, when she took over as executive director of the pro-business Argus Foundation. And while most business leaders scoff at regularly leveled charges that commissioners are “in the pocket of developers,” all confirm a stronger relationship exists today than a decade ago. Sarasota City Commission races this year swung in favor of pro-business candidates over neighborhood leaders. Sarasota County Commission contests last year swung the same way—by landslide margins.

Whether it’s a change in the people elected or the electorate itself, Dabney appreciates the shift. He only feels confident identifying what instigated change. “There’s nothing like a recession to help commissioners appreciate the priorities of the community.”As business activists discuss the evolution, all point to change with a certain recently retired Sarasota County commissioner. Joe Barbetta in 2006 ran on a platform of environmental protection and in 2009 bristled openly at the suggestion impact fees be cut in half to spur a recovery in development. By the time he finished his second term in office in 2014, Barbetta was considered the most pro-business member of the board. Of course, Barbetta says reports of a supposed transformation are “garbage.” “I ran on conservation but also as a former businessman,” he said. “The two can be the same person. One is not the antithesis of the other.”

But Kerry Kirschner, former Argus Foundation executive director, recalls the days when Barbetta seemed more foe than friend. He recalls when Barbetta was still chairing the Sarasota Planning Board for the city, and once he openly questioned why a Chamber of Commerce official would even address the board about zoning decisions. “But over time he became quite a supporter of the business community,” Kirschner says. Dabney says a loss in revenues resulting from the recession likely instigated an evolution for Barbetta and peers in government. “When we were in a go-go economy, they were layering rules, procedures and requirements on business and getting away with it,” he says. “Then all the music stops and things start to crumble. You see a 12-percent reduction in tax revenues and you are suddenly closing down libraries and seeing an impact on quality of life.”

But Dan Lobeck, a land-use attorney and frequent public critic,remains unconvinced. He feels explosive growth needed to be reigned in pre-recession, and that many of the problems resulting from the housing crash came from not having enough rules in place to restrain growth. “The county commission has never put in place an impact fee schedule that was fully funded to where it needed to be,” Lobeck says. One thing Dabney and Lobeck agree on, though, is that Barbetta and other officials moved significantly over time in office. But Barbetta says he handled issues the same throughout his tenure. When he was elected as a conservationist, the greatest public concern was development over-running the rural and semi-rural areas east of Interstate-75, and he notes that throughout his career, he voted against projects that would have led to sprawl in that direction. He remains a critic of the Sarasota County 2050 plan. But he also eventually changed his feelings about development impact fees, ultimately swinging his vote in favor of temporarily slashing fees to encourage growth. He also became the loudest voice in favor of taking over ownership of Ed Smith Stadium from the city and using tourist development dollars to renovate the facility in order to keep a Major League Baseball team’s spring training operations in the region; the Baltimore Orioles ultimately made a 30-year agreement with the county to be that team. And as the recession was gaining strength, the Sarasota County Commission also implemented a business incentives program, credited with keeping such major employers as PGT Industries in town.

If there was an improvement in relationships between business and government, Barbetta said much of it had to do with business leaders dropping an adversarial tone. The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County now have board seats reserved for city and county commission liaisons, giving the government leaders insight and direct involvement in private sector conversations about the needs of business instead of just waiting to bring requests before boards during public hearings. Additionally, the focus of the business world turned away from purely development issues as a consensus grew that Sarasota County needed a more diverse economy better prepared for weathering recessions.

“The Commissioners made a conscious effort to diversify the economy so as not to rely solely on real estate construction and tourism, which had been the case,” Barbetta says. “During the recent recession, real estate construction slowed down dramatically, thousand of jobs were lost, and many of our young people moved from the area. Realizing that, the Commissioners actively worked with businesses, Chambers of Commerce and the Economic Development Corporation to pursue opportunities to provide an environment to assist with job creation and business expansion.”

But has it gone too far? Some think so. The announcement that Robinson would succeed Kirschner as Argus Foundation director nearly two years before her term on the Sarasota County Commission was complete struck many as inappropriate. Since Argus’mission statement says the foundation “actively monitors the activities of the various governmental bodies and comments on relevant government proposals,” critics said having an elected official helming the organization creates a conflict of interest. “At least in Washington, elected officials leave office before becoming paid lobbyists,” wrote citizen watchdog Catherine Antunes in her regular SRQ Daily column.

Of course, lobbying is a sticky term. To be a paid lobbying influencing members of Congress or other collegial bodies like the Florida Legislature, professionals must actually register as lobbyists and be governed by a set of rules and regulations. No such system is in place with local government boards. And while Kirschner would regularly speak to county commissioners on behalf of Argus, he may meet the Webster-Merriam Dictionary definition of lobbying, but was never was considered a lobbyist in any formal sense. “In terms of conflict of interest, I have researched ethics rules in the state of Florida, and there is no conflict because the Argus Foundation does not contract any work with the county in any way,” Robinson says. “There is no inherent conflict or any voting conflict. There is no conflict of interest issue.” She suggested critics of her employer simply don’t like her positions in the first place. “This has less to do with conflict of interest and more to do with positions I’ve taken. My positions are very consistent with what I campaigned on. Some of these people saying things now also accused me of having a conflict for voting on a park I like to use. This is just another one of those instances of accusing someone of a conflict of interest where one doesn’t exist. I have held the same positions on many issues since I was on the Planning Commission before I held public office.”

Joe Hembree, Argus president, said the conflict-of-interest discussion is off base. Robinson’s background with the business community and local government made her a good candidate for the job, but during her time as county commissioner she won’t be lobbying government. Instead, she will focus her energy on internal management at the foundation and building membership in the group. Robinson said her focus as executive director so far has all been on issues like boosting diversity within the foundation, whether geographically, by gender or by age. “We just had a strategic planning meeting regarding the internals of Argus,” she says. “The board is certainly interested in diversifying geographically. They want to move south. And they want diversity in terms of race and culture. They want to make sure they are getting a good cross-section of the community. And we just need to get different dynamics and ages involved. I think that is why the Argus Foundation board chose me.” Kirschner says this far he has been impressed by Robinson. “She is an ethical person, and she isn’t going to let a conflict arise,” he says. “Eventually people will realize it’s good to have an alliance and an understanding between elected officials and the business community.”

But plenty of government watchdogs have expressed concerns about the situation. Robert Wechsler, director of research for City Ethics, says Robinson’s position can get sticky even without lobbying government, precisely because of the way it murkies the relationship between business and government. “One of her jobs would be seeking out contributions to the foundation, questionable area. That could become a pay-to-play issue with the commission,” he says. “She’s wearing two hats, supporting two different groups in the community. Is she representing the people or the businesses?”That said, a frequent refrain amongst private sector leaders is that businesspeople are part of “the people.” Kirschner notes the business community is made of people involved in the local discourse. “And business people are the same as everyone else. They are concerned with the quality of life,” he says.