Longboat beats North Port in achieving biggest year-over-year jump
The preliminary property values for this year, released on May 23, show an uptick for Sarasota County that is about half of the June 1 estimate last year.
The change from the 2024 certified level is 5.97%, as noted in a chart that Brian Loughrey, chief deputy property appraiser for Sarasota County, provided to The Sarasota News Leader at its request, on behalf of Property Appraiser Bill Furst.
The preliminary estimate for the county in 2024 was 9.86%, while the figure for 2023 was 13.3%.
The state’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research had estimated that the county would see a 6.5% climb this year, as shown in budget materials presented to the County Commission in late March. However, in June 2024, that same office projected a 6% uptick for the county this year, the March chart showed.
The total value of county property listed in the preliminary report for this year is $109,987,372,556. The 2024 certified taxable value was $103,795,055,237.
For the City of Sarasota, the preliminary value is 6.16% higher than the 2024 certified total, the reports note. Last year’s preliminary figure marked a 9.53% jump, while the preliminary value in 2023 represented a 12.39% hike, compared to the certified value for 2022.
The total value of city property in the preliminary reports for this year was put at $19,468,232,203. The 2024 certified tax value was $18,338,387,230.
In recent years, the City of North Port saw the biggest jumps in value. This year, the local government with the highest increase is the Town of Longboat Key: 13.26%, compared to the certified property value for 2024, the reports say. Last year, the preliminary uptick was 7.78%, compared to the certified total for 2023.
This year, North Port marked an 8.51% increase, compared to the 2024 certified total. The preliminary data released before June 1, 2024 showed North Port with a jump of 16.04%. The initial reports released before June 1, 2023 put the hike at 16.57%, compared to the June 2022 certified total.
Each year, state law requires that preliminary values be produced by June 1, with updated values due by July 1. The latter figures are used by local government leaders in determining their millage rate for each fiscal year. Those millage rates then are published in Truth in Millage (TRIM) notices, which Sarasota County Property Appraiser Furst and his staff — and their counterparts across the state — send to property owners in August.
One mill represents $1,000 of property value.
County Administrator Jonathan Lewis has confirmed with the County Commission this spring that no millage rate increase will be sought for the 2026 fiscal year.
At the urging last year of then-Commissioner Neil Rainford, the board members did vote in late June 2024 to direct county staff to reduce department expenses so the total operating millage rate would be no more than 3 mills for the current fiscal year. During remarks at the start of the final hearing on the 2025 fiscal year budget, Lewis said that that reduction was approximately $3.6 million.
Rounding out the preliminary property values for this year, the Sarasota County School Board saw the lowest increase compared to the 2024 certified total: 2.87%; the City of Venice was at 4.63%, compared to the 2024 certified figure.
The preliminary reports released before June 1, 2024 put the City of Venice jump at 11.29%, with the School Board value up 5.05%.
Although the County Commission has conducted two budget workshops thus far this year — in keeping with its traditional schedule — the commissioners have not engaged in detailed discussions about the 2026 fiscal year, which will begin on Oct. 1. Because the Florida Legislature had not finished its 2026 fiscal year budget work before the May 21 workshop was held, staff had no certainty about state action that could affect the county’s new budget.
Rob Lewis, director of governmental relations for the county, pointed out to the commissioners on May 21, “We’re about two weeks away from potentially having conversations in this state regarding budgets that we’ve never had in this state about budgets.”
Since the state fiscal year begins on July 1, he added, no one is certain what will happen “if July 1 rolls around and there’s not a state-adopted budget.”
The Tallahassee Democrat reported that Florida House and Senate negotiators met on June 3 to resolve their differences over the 2025-26 budget. However, the newspaper noted, “While some disagreements were resolved, the details on the main source of the dispute — tax cuts — aren’t likely to be unveiled for several days. Under the latest framework for a deal reached between the chambers, though, there will be $2.25 billion in recurring tax cuts.”
The Sarasota City Commission once again is taking off the month of June. Its budget discussions are planned for July.
New construction values
Along with the preliminary property values, Chief Deputy Property Appraiser Loughrey provided the News Leader a chart showing the net taxable values of new construction for the local governments for this year.
The Sarasota County School Board narrowly beat out the county, the figures show. For the School Board, the figure is $3,498,162,684; for the county, $3,455,858,479.
The City of North Port is in third place, with $829,758,289, while the value for the City of Sarasota is $446,711,204. The Town of Longboat Key surpassed the City of Sarasota with $521,020,360.
The Town of Venice’s value is $249,318,240.
Among other details in the report, the property in the Siesta Key Village Public Improvement District has a 2025 value of $110,875,386, which is almost 7% higher than the 2024 amount: $103,806,617. That district comprises the area where the county completed a beautification project in 2009, in an effort to create a more resort-like appearance for the Village.
The 2024 figure marked a nearly 9.2% increase over the 2023 total.
Additionally, the chart with the preliminary values of property in special districts noted that the new value of the City of Sarasota’s Newtown Redevelopment Area is $357,409,120. That represents a jump of nearly 15%, compared to the preliminary value in 2024, which was $311,756,234.
For the city’s Downtown Improvement District, the preliminary total is $511,091,350, which marks an increase of approximately 3.4%, compared to the June 1, 2024 figure of $494,027,709.