Public Utilities Director Bailey discusses factors linked to recommended increases
The average Sarasota County Public Utilities Department customer — the user of 4,000 gallons of water a month — likely will experience an increase of $6.50 per month on the household’s water and wastewater bill, for a total of $115.16, with the Oct. 1 start of the 2027 fiscal year.
Brooke Bailey, director of that department, provided that information to the county commissioners during their recent budget workshop.
The recommended water rate uptick for the average customer is $2.93, Bailey noted; the wastewater increase would be $3.57.
The proposed rise in the wastewater rate for the next fiscal year is 5%, she said on June 17, while the water rate increase is 6.4%.
The modification in the wastewater rate, she explained, is a result of the county’s conversion of its Bee Ridge Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) to Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT) status last year.
The Venice Gardens AWT also is being modified to AWT status, she reminded the commissioners. In a December 2024 report to the board, Bailey said her expectation was that that project would be completed in December 2027.
In its June update on that initiative, the county’s Capital Projects Department wrote that the work is anticipated to be finished in the summer of 2028. (The damage that Hurricanes Helene and Milton wrought in the county in the fall of 2025 set back schedules for a number of county projects, staff has pointed out.)
Yet, on June 17, Bailey told the commissioners that it is possible the Venice Gardens conversion could be finished in late 2027.
Along with the change to AWT status, the capacity of that facility is being doubled to 6 million gallons per day, the Capital Projects Department document noted. (The capacity of the Bee Ridge WRF also was doubled.)
The construction expenses for the Venice Gardens undertaking is $169,185,365, the document said.
Although the board is not scheduled to vote on the new water and wastewater rates until August, Bailey took the opportunity of her June 17 presentation to them of the department’s proposed budget for the 2027 fiscal year to give them a preview of her recommendations.
The biggest factor necessitating the water rate increase, Bailey explained, is the county’s share of the 12-million-gallon surface water treatment plant being built by the Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority, which provides about 60% of the county’s potable water. The county’s share of the expense of that facility has been estimated at $337 million, she said, though the debt service is expected to rise by $30 million by the year 2030.
On March 19, 2024, the county commissioners seated at the time offered their full support for the water treatment initiative, as The Sarasota News Leaderreported. During a presentation to the board that day, Bailey explained that staff estimated that the county would need another 12 million gallons of water per day (mgd) by 2033. “We have a lot of growth coming,” she pointed out, referring to new residential developments.
The Peace River facility is expected to supply the county up to an extra 17 mgd through 2039, she said.
A county staff memo in the agenda packet for that March 2024 board meeting noted that construction of the project was scheduled to begin in January 2025, with completion anticipated in January 2028. The total cost of that initiative was estimated at $504 million, the memo added. “The Authority has secured $133 [million] of grant funding,” the memo continued, “leaving an estimated project cost of $370 [million] to be paid by the utility customers.”
Bailey did note that the county could sell any of the extra water from that facility that it did not end up needing.
During the March 2024 discussion, then-Commissioner Mike Moran, chair of the board, pointed out, “Erring on the side of more water I don’t think is too much of a risk.” Many communities throughout the state are going to need more water as the years go by, he added.
On June 17, as she made her FY 2027 budget presentation to the commissioners, Bailey noted that the Peace River Authority also implemented a 2.7% increase in its water rate as of Oct. 1, 2025.
Further, she told the commissioners that Manatee County raised its contract rate for Sarasota County’s purchase of part of Manatee’s water supply by 5.1% on June 1, 2025 and 4.45% on June 1 of this year. Last year, Sarasota County received about 4% of its potable water from Manatee County, she noted. The figure for this year is 3%.
Finally, she reminded the board members that, during their regular meeting on April 7, they agreed to the Florida Public Service Commission’s Annual Price Index increase of 2.46% for this year, for county water customers.
A staff memo included in the agenda packet for the April 7 meeting explained that the commissioners seated on Sept. 23, 2016 approved an ordinance that requires the board each year to adopt the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) annual price index for water and wastewater utilities. That memo added, “The price index allows franchised utilities to implement an increase in rates based on the application of the price index to operating expenses.”
However, Bailey pointed out on June 17, she was seeking the application of that index just to the county’s water rate.
The 2025 price index was 2.23%, the memo noted.
Any chance of longer contract periods to hold rates down?
Following Bailey’s presentation, Commissioner Teresa Mast told her, “I know that you and your team do an incredible job at negotiating [the water rates].” Nonetheless, Mast asked, “Is there anything we could do” to try to lock in contracts for a longer period than one year?
“I can definitely talk with them,” Bailey replied, referring to the members of the board of the Peace River Authority. (Those members comprise one person from each of the county commissions whose boards are members of the Authority. Along with Sarasota County, the local governments are the Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto County commissions. Ron Custinsger represents the Sarasota County Commission on the board.)
Moreover, Bailey indicated that the Peace River Authority has yet to vote on its exact water rate for the 2027 fiscal year, so that could change.
As for the Manatee County contract: She reminded Mast that Sarasota County gradually has been decreasing use of that local government’s water. In January, Bailey provided details about that transition, with the amount of water from Manatee County expected to be only 0.5 mgd from April 1 2028 through March 31, 2038.
“I know that the increases are minimal,” Mast told Bailey, referring to the proposed changes for FY 2027, “but some families — 6, 7 dollars a month — it really does have an impact. … There are some of our residents that are really struggling,” Mast added.