Special meeting held to meet requirements for reporting for Truth in Millage notices
On a unanimous vote during a special meeting held July 23, the Sarasota City Commission approved a not-to-exceed millage rate of 3 mills for the city’s General Fund for the 2025 fiscal year, which is unchanged from the millage rate this year.
The vote followed about two-and-half days of workshops on Monday and Tuesday, focused on department requests and other factors related to the city’s new budget, which will go into effect on Oct. 1.
One mill represents $1,000 of the value of a piece of property.
Because the city’s debt payments on bonds are going down, city Finance Director Kelly Strickland told the commissioners on July 22, a person with a house assessed at $300,000 would see a $3.60 decrease in their next tax bill, if the 3 mill rate wins final approval late this summer.
Commissioners did not indicate any willingness to alter the millage.
The July 23 vote essentially was on not-to-exceed millage rates, which will be conveyed to the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s Office for inclusion in the Truth in Millage (TRIM) notices that go out each August.
Along with the General Fund rate, the commissioners approved the 2025 fiscal year rates for the Golden Gate Point Streetscape District and the Downtown Improvement District, along with debt service millage rates.
The General Fund, which is the repository of all of the city’s property tax revenue, is the least constrained when it comes to spending policies, local government finance directors have explained through the years. It funds departments that generate no revenue of their own, and it also covers unanticipated expenses that come up in a given year when funding is not available from any other city government source.
In opening remarks during the July 22 budget workshop, city Finance Director Strickland noted that the proposed total budget for the city in the 2025 fiscal year is $305,644,916, which is up 6.6%, compared to the adopted FY 2024 budget of $286,713,513.
The General Fund is to increase by 9.69%, to $106,900,125, she pointed out.
Further, Strickland reported that the overall value of city property, determined by the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s Office to meet a July 1 state deadline, was $18,327,903,650. That was higher by 9.71% than the July 1 value recorded last year, she said.
For reference terms, Franklin noted, the taxable value of city property in 2015 was $7.6 billion.
The July 1 value of the property in The Bay Park Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District, which was approved in November 2020 to help pay for the creation of the public park on the city’s 53 waterfront acres in downtown Sarasota, was $1,869,410,365, Franklin added. That is 14.62% higher than the 2024 figure.
The value of the property in the 2019 base year was $850,000, she pointed out. For every year that the value of the land in that district climbs, city staff applies the approved millage rate to the difference between that new value and the base value to arrive at the amount of money to be set aside in a trust fund for the park amenities.
The TIF district encompasses a broader are than the park, to capture revenue from developments underway in that area, including the Quay Sarasota.
Both the City and County commissions must approve any expenditures for the park.
Among other details of the proposed 2025 fiscal year budget, it “includes the creation of a Real Time Operations Center within the Sarasota Police Department with four full-time positions to safeguard the community” through the use of advanced technology, a city news release pointed out. “Cyber security remains a high priority,” the release noted, with additional funding allocated to strengthen the city’s cyber defenses.
Additionally, to continue “providing excellent customer service” with city staff’s growing workloads, “new positions are proposed for the Development Services, Financial Administration, Public Works and Parks and Recreation departments,” including a code compliance inspector, an arborist, an accounts receivable coordinator, a maintenance mechanic and a building maintenance technician, the release continued.
Funds also have been dedicated for a downtown master plan, water transit planning and design, an update of the Transportation chapter of the city’s Comprehensive Plan — which guides growth in the municipality — and a traffic calming plan, the release added.
The Capital Improvement Plan for the 2025 fiscal year totals $30.8 million for infrastructure improvements, focusing on environmental, public safety, public health, and transportation initiatives, as well as projects for neighborhoods and parks and recreation, the release noted.
The city’s proposed budget also includes an unassigned fund balance representing 26.9% of the city’s FY 2025 expenditures, adhering to the city policy calling for reserves to be able to cover two to three months of operations in the event of an emergency, with no income being received, the release added.
“The City Commission is continuing the cautious discipline of fiscal responsibility while making moderate strides toward new and enhanced services,” said City Manager Marlon Brown in the release.
Two public hearings will be conducted before the City Commission formally adopts the 2025 fiscal year budget. Those will be held at City Hall, which stands at 1565 First St. in downtown Sarasota, on the following schedule:
- 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3.
- 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16.