County Commissioner Smith stresses importance of island to county’s tourism-related revenue
During his report to his colleagues as part of their regular meeting on April 22, Sarasota County Commissioner Mark Smith encountered pushback when he discussed a letter that U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, a Sarasota County Republican, wrote the board members on March 31.
Steube had endorsed the request of two Siesta Key organizations that the county provide $30 million to “support capital improvements allowing Siesta Key to meet growing aesthetic and safety expectations for hundreds of thousands of visitors annually,” as Steube put it.
He noted that the request came from the Siesta Key Beautification Alliance and the Siesta Key Village Maintenance Corp. (SKVMC), calling for the money to come “from previous and prospective resiliency funds.”
The county has received two federal grants, each more than $200 million, to deal separately with unmet needs in the wake of Hurricane Ian’s extensive South County damage in 2022 and the catastrophic aftermath of Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024. Those are called the Resilient SRQ Programs. The funds came from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through its Community Development Block Grant Program.
In early February, Commissioner Smith suggested to his board colleagues that funds could be allocated for Siesta Key improvements out of the $210.1-million HUD grant for unmet needs following the 2024 storm season. Subsequently, the commissioners have talked of receiving a tremendous number of emails and phone calls — along with hearing public comments during their meetings — from residents urging them to prevent more neighborhood flooding by dredging county waterways. Thus, they have dedicated more than half of the latest HUD funds to such efforts, though HUD must approve those plans before the county can begin the work.
Steube pointed out in his letter, “Tourism remains a critical revenue generator for Sarasota County, as Visit Sarasota reported that the county [documented] 159,400 paid accommodations in March 2024 alone. With Siesta Key drawing 62% of these visitors, it is crucial for capital improvements to keep pace with village maintenance so that lodging providers may continue to stimulate over one-third of the county’s Tourist Development Tax (TDT) revenue.”
Visit Sarasota County is the county’s tourism marketing office; the organization receives a county allocation of funds out of the county’s Tourist Development Tax revenue to promote the county to visitors. The 6% tax is charged on accommodations rented for six months or less time.
Representatives of the Siesta Key Beautification Alliance appeared before the commissioners on March 11. Natalie Gutwein, a leader of that organization, read them a letter that included the following: “We ask the Board of Commissioners to instruct staff to engage our advisory group to develop and oversee [a] beautification project, to include both entranceways, rights-of-way, commercial districts, and interstate signage, and to review budget and funding sources.”
That day, Chair Joe Neunder won his colleagues’ support for his proposal to direct County Administrator Jonathan Lewis and Lewis’ staff to work with the Alliance on improving the appearance of the barrier island as it continues to recover from the 2024 hurricane damage.
The Siesta Key Village Maintenance Corp. (SKVMC) represents the owners of property in Siesta Village and its environs who pay an annual tax assessment to the county for the upkeep of the Village following the county’s 2009 completion of a beautification project in that area. Smith was the long-time chair of the Maintenance Corp.
(Smith has been a Siesta resident and business owner for decades; the island is part of his District 2 territory.)
Steube continued in his letter, “Beyond reinforcing Siesta Key’s TDT [Tourist Development Tax] earning capacity, such capital improvement funds may be captured for safety projects, including an increase in lifeguard presence and fallen tree removal. Additionally, the Siesta Key Beautification Alliance and SKVMC [have] expressed [their] commitment to [their] share in a public-private partnership. Together, the Siesta Key Beautification Alliance and SKVMC have made clear that an infusion of funds now will build a foundation for a self-supporting improvement fund that would preclude the need for redirecting at-large county revenue in the future.”
He added, “Siesta Key residents and commercial property owners alike faced an arduous recovery in the aftermath of three unprecedented hurricanes last year. Families, not just spring breakers, visit Siesta Key every year for its natural beauty that earned it the top spot in TripAdvisor’s ‘Best of the Best Beaches’ in 2025. For these reasons, I am confident that you will prioritize Siesta Key in evaluating the allocation of resiliency funds moving forward.”
The ‘No. 1 cash crop’
During his April 22 remarks, Smith referenced a recent training session involving Sarasota County leaders and Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM). Smith pointed out that tourism is the state’s “No. 1 cash crop … and getting us back and going [in the aftermath of the 2024 hurricane season] is extremely important.”
(in response to a Sarasota News Leader question about that meeting, Sara Nealeigh, the media relations officer for the county’s Emergency Services Department, explained in an April 22 email, “Sarasota County in partnership with Florida Division of Emergency Management Director, Kevin Guthrie, recently hosted a training for senior, elected, and appointed officials to familiarize them with their role in supporting incident management during a disaster activation. Making sure everyone stays informed and works together is a key part of hurricane season preparedness. This preparation plays a pivotal role in ensuring staff and county partners can respond to and recover from disaster.”)
Smith told his colleagues that he would like for them to have a future discussion “on how we might make [Steube’s recommendation] happen.”
He also pointed out, “With the [Tourist Development Tax] revenue going down, we’ve got to spruce up an area that is our No. 1 tourist attraction that has been devastated by the hurricanes and does need desperately to be brought up to snuff, to be that No. 1 world-class destination.”
As the News Leader has reported, the county’s Tourist Development Tax revenue collected for every month so far this fiscal year — which began on Oct. 1, 2024 — has been lower than the corresponding month in the 2023 fiscal year. Moreover, the News Leader has noted, Siesta Key’s share of what also is known as the “bed tax” funds has been lower each of those months than it was in FY 2023. Thus far, Siesta hosts of accommodations have accounted for only 17.65% of the revenue through February, compared to 24.85% of the funds collected through February 2024.
Smith asked for his colleagues’ support to try to find the $30 million.
The first to respond, Commissioner Teresa Mast told Smith, “I’m in support of the letter in theory.” However, she added, “The $30 million I really, really struggle with.”
Mast did point out, “It’s so valuable for us to refurbish and bring back to life that gem,” referring to Siesta Key. “But $30 million is a very heavy lift at this time.”
That day, the commissioners had heard from 16 residents — by count of the News Leader — who begged for the dredging of Phillippi Creek and the maintenance of other major waterways, including Whitaker Creek and Hudson Bayou in the city of Sarasota.
Following Mast’s remarks, Smith suggested that perhaps the board could direct county staff to work with the Siesta organizations to develop a scope of work involving improvements to the island, and then staff could bring that back to the commissioners for further discussion.
Mast did propose that a plan for Siesta could be included among projects that the board members will consider for funding through the Resilient SRQ Program linked to the 2024 storms.
In fact, she said, “I think that each of us have within our districts a significant need, whether it’s dredging, whether it’s beautification or completion of roadways.”
Mast added, “I would be very supportive of putting it on the [Resilient SRQ] list … I just want to be very fair” about allocating funds to projects countywide.
“I appreciate that,” Smith responded, emphasizing that the Key “is a tremendous generator of income [for the county]. If they don’t come back because it’s damaged goods – which it is right now — our tax dollars are going to be diminished.”