Editing Longboat Key, Florida (section)

==Government==

The town of Longboat Key has a [[Council-manager government|commission-manager form of government]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} The Mayor of Longboat Key is elected for a two-year long term by the town commission consisting of seven members who serve two-year terms each.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Longboat Key |url=https://www.longboatkeychamber.com/information-about-longboat-key/#:~:text=Longboat%20Key%20is%20an%20offshore,been%20dredged%20and%20marinas%20built. |access-date=September 8, 2024 |website=Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce}}</ref> The town commission has 7 members with each member being elected to a three-year long term.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Town Commission {{!}} Town of Longboat Key, FL |url=https://www.longboatkey.org/town-government/town-commission |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250307060608/https://www.longboatkey.org/town-government/town-commission |archive-date=2025-03-07 |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=www.longboatkey.org |language=en}}</ref> Two of the members of the town commission under the town charter are elected for at-large seats.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Municipal Elections - Municipal Elections for Commissioners |url=https://www.longboatkey.org/town-government/town-commission/municipal-elections |access-date=September 8, 2024 |website=Town of Longboat Key}}</ref>

The [[United States Postal Service]] operates a [[post office]] on Longboat Key, with the entire island having the [[ZIP code]] of 34228. The post office was established on October 10, 1907, as "Longbeach", and was located in the community of that name on the north end of the key. On February 1, 1958, the name of the Longbeach post office was changed to Longboat Key. There was also another post office named "Longboat" established on March 27, 1914, in the Sarasota County portion of the key, but it was discontinued on January 14, 1922, and its functions were assumed by the Sarasota post office.<ref>Bradbury, Alford G., and Hallock, E. Story, ''A Chronology of Florida Post Offices'', 1962, reprinted 1993, Port Salerno, Florida: Florida Classics Library, p. 49. {{ISBN|0-9630788-1-X}}</ref>

The quasi-governmental form of the [[Condominium (living space)|condominium association]] exists in one of its most complex forms in and on Longboat Key, consisting of the Federation of Longboat Key Condominiums.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.federationoflbk.com/about-1 |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=federationoflbk |language=en}}</ref>

Longboat Key is served by two newspapers published year-round, the ''[[Longboat Observer]]'' and the ''Longboat Key News''.<ref>[http://www.lbknews.com/ http://www.lbknews.com/] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205073824/http://www.lbknews.com/ |date=February 5, 2007 }}</ref>

Currently, Longboat Key is located within two Florida [[County (United States)|counties]], Manatee County in the north and Sarasota County in the south. There have been calls for the [[Florida Legislature]] to pursue an initiative to create a 68th county, "Longboat Key County," to simplify governance of the island. Neither of these initiatives is likely to be passed, however.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Longboat Key wants off the fence, into one county |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/sarasota/2017/06/28/longboat-key-wants-off-fence-into-one-county/20411889007/ |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>  As of February 2019, Longboat Key officials had not started any comprehensive effort to put Longboat in one county or the other. Officials did, however, ask state legislators to request the Florida Legislature's [[Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability|OPPAGA]] perform an analysis of the potential benefits and drawbacks of moving into only one county.<ref>{{cite web |last1=White |first1=Dale |title=Manatee likely to fight any move by Longboat Key to leave county |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20190226/manatee-likely-to-fight-any-move-by-longboat-key-to-leave-county |website=www.heraldtribune.com |access-date=30 March 2019}}</ref>

In recent years, it has been suggested to declare Longboat Key a [[national seashore]], a public land operated by the [[National Park Service]].