Property values up even more with July 1 report

Figure for City of North Port approaching Longboat Key overall value

A bar graph presented to the Sarasota City Commission last week — prior to the release of the July 1 property values — shows the trend in the values over the past decade. Image courtesy City of Sarasota

Revised Sarasota County property values — released to meet the July 1 state deadline — show even greater gains than the preliminary figures issued in late May to comply with the state mandate for reporting by June 1.

As local governments continue to work on their budgets for the 2019 fiscal year, the changes mean more money to cover expenses that have to come out of their General Funds, which largely are made up of property tax revenue.

For the City of Sarasota, for example, staff will have more funds to deal with department requests for new employees. City staff recommended a millage rate increase of 0.0905 for the 2019 fiscal year. However, the commissioners voted 3-2 on June 27 — and clarified their direction on July 2 — to have senior staff make every effort to determine whether cuts can be made, in lieu of a tax hike for property owners.

The preliminary City of Sarasota property value increase for this year, compared to the 2017 certified figure, was 8.49%. However, the July 1 report shows the actual uptick is 8.63%.

The 2017 certified value of City of Sarasota property was $9,665,428,451; the July 1 figure is $10,499,678,769, the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s Office’s report shows.

A bar graph shown to the County Commission on June 19 shows the trend in county property values over the past decade. Image courtesy Sarasota County

During a County Commission budget workshop on June 19, Deputy County Administrator and Chief Financial Management Officer Steve Botelho pointed to the preliminary property value, which was higher than the most recent state estimate for FY19. The preliminary increase was 7.06%, as reported by the Property Appraiser’s Office in late May.

The July 1 figure shows the value of county property up 7.35% from the certified figure in 2017.

The July 1 total value of county property is $58,578,865,977, while the 2017 certified figure was $54,567,622.262.

Neither the City nor County of Sarasota has yet to recover the property value levels they reached prior to the Great Recession, staff has noted.

The City of North Port realized the biggest year-over-year increase in value — 12.74%, which also is up from the 12.6% preliminary figure released in late May. The July 1 value is $4,136,746,220, compared to the certified 2017 figure of $3,669,279,089.

The City of North Port is not far behind the Town of Longboat Key in overall property value, based on the latest numbers from the Property Appraiser’s Office. The July 1 value for the Town of Longboat Key is $4,186,438,490, compared to its 2017 certified value of $4,055,179,642. Year-over-year, its increase is 3.236%, which also is higher than the estimate released in late May.

The July 1 value of property in the City of Venice is slightly lower than the figures for the Town of Longboat Key and the City of North Port. The Venice number is $4,056,212,039, compared to the 2017 certified figure of $3,819,935,108. The increase is 6.185%, also an uptick from the late May figure.

For the Sarasota County School Board, the July 1 figure is $62,826,665,585. The 2017 certified value was $58,905,218,336. Thus, the School Board has seen its property value rise 6.657%. The uptick indicated by the late-May value was 6.13%.