Most preliminary 2018 taxable values for Sarasota County and cities lag increases seen in 2017

County’s overall figure up 7.06%, with City of Sarasota showing 8.49% uptick

The Vue Sarasota Bay, which was completed in 2017, has been among the most visible signs of new construction in the city of Sarasota. File photo

Sarasota County property values generally did not jump as much this year as they did in 2017, based on preliminary figures from the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s Office.

The report released on May 25 show the county’s total taxable value for ad valorem taxing authorities to have climbed 7.06%, compared to the certified value in 2017.

The year-over-year change from 2016 to 2017 was 8.25%, the Property Appraiser’s Office’s numbers showed when they were released before the state-mandated deadline of July 1, 2017.

On Jan. 31, county administrative staff noted that the state’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research was projecting a 6.3% uptick in property values for this year.

Altogether, taxable property in the county has a preliminary value of $58,418,198,817, according to information that Brian Loughrey, administrative director of the Property Appraiser’s Office, provided to The Sarasota News Leaderon May 25. That marks an increase of $3,850,576,555 from the 2017 certified value.

For the City of Sarasota, the total property value was up 8.49%, compared to the 9.77% rise the city saw in the July 2017 report. The preliminary, total taxable value of city parcels this year is $10,486,151,689, the chart shows.

A chart shows a partial list of the preliminary 2018 taxable values. Image courtesy Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s Office

In a May 28 email to City of Sarasota leaders, Kelly Strickland, director of financial administration, reported that the taxable value figure released by the Property Appraiser’s Office on May 25 is up 8.56% compared to the final 2017 taxable value.

“The Net Market Value of new construction for Tax Year 2018 for the City is $450,706,905,” Strickland added.

Among other information, Strickland noted the following, based on the preliminary figures:

  • The value of the Newtown Redevelopment Area is up 10.94%.
  • The value of the St. Armand’s Business District increased 3.05%.
  • The city’s Downtown Improvement District value rose 9.8%.

The preliminary figures, which the state requires to be released by June 1, may change in the final report, as Strickland pointed out in her email.

The biggest jump among the municipalities this year — once again — came for the City of North Port. The preliminary figure for 2018 is a 12.6% increase, which is the same as the hike the city realized in the July 2017 report.

Among other figures, the Sarasota County School Board saw its overall taxable property value rise 6.13%, compared to a climb of 7.33% as of July 2017.

The City of Venice total taxable property value rose 6.21%, while the Town of Longboat Key saw its value go up 2.99%.

The July 2017 figure for Venice showed an increase of 8.2% from the 2016 value. Longboat’s total property value rose 3.88% as of July 2017, compared to the certified 2016 figure.

The value of the property owned by Sarasota Memorial Hospital rose 7.03%, to $58,447,785,927, the preliminary report shows,

Sarasota County Administrator Jonathan Lewis already has received confirmation from the County Commission that no millage rate increase is planned for the 2019 fiscal year budget. The current rate is 3.3912. As Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competiveness at the University of Central Florida, pointed out in remarks to the commission on May 25, the countywide millage rate has remained flat or has been reduced for the past 18 years. The only change was a 1.6% increase of the Mosquito Control rate for the 2013 fiscal year, he noted.

The county board will hold workshops in the latter half of June to receive the FY19 budget requests from the constitutional officers — including Sheriff Tom Knight and Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller Karen Rushing. Additionally, those sessions, which will begin June 19, will give the commissioners opportunities to provide any further direction to staff before they go on their summer break.

The Sarasota City Commission has scheduled day-long budget workshops on June 26 and 27.

Final budget hearings for the County Commission and the municipalities traditionally are held in September, as the new fiscal year for local governments will begin Oct. 1.