Neunder only member of board to report total below $1 million
For 2024, Sarasota County Commissioner Ron Cutsinger had the highest net worth of all the members of the board, as The Sarasota News Leader learned from reviewing forms that the commissioners filed, as required, with the Florida Commission on Ethics.
On his June 29, 2025 form, Cutsinger noted that his net worth as of Dec. 31, 2024 was $2,733,087. As of Aug. 28, 2023, his net worth — as he noted in his previous filing with the state — was $3,475,477.
Commissioner Tom Knight, who was elected to the board in November 2024, had the second highest amount, the documents show: $2,292,633. That was valid as of Dec. 31, 2024, the form says. When he was running for his District 3 seat, he reported his net worth as of Dec. 31, 2023 was $1,934,189.
Commissioner Teresa Mast reported that her net worth as of Dec. 31, 2024 was $1,413,000, her form says. When she was running for the board, she reported to the Commission on Ethics that, as of Dec. 31, 2023, her net worth was $1,516,056.
Commissioner Mark Smith reported a net worth of $1,409,837.45 as of Dec. 31, 2024. Smith’s 2023 report put the figure at $1,526,560.
Finally, Commissioner Joe Neunder cited a net worth of $753,303.20 as of June 26 of this year. Neunder wrote in his prior report to the Commission on Ethics that his net worth was $969,612.92 as of Dec. 31, 2023.
Details of Commissioner Cutsinger’s report
Cutsinger, who first was elected to the commission in 2020, typically has had the highest net worth among his colleagues. The figure he reported to the state as of Aug. 28, 2023 was even higher than the total for 2024: $3,475,477.
In his report for 2024, Cutsinger reported that he owned real estate valued at $1,877,350. The list he attached named the following properties:
- His Waypoint Professional Center office and residence — $656,000.
- Two vacant lots on Manasota Beach Road in Englewood; one, with a value of $275,000; the second, $175,000.
- Investment property standing at 1704 Lemon Ave. in Englewood — $750,000.
- A vacant lot on Englewood Road in Vence — $21,350.
Cutsinger’s filing with the Commission on Ethics, as of Aug. 28, 2023, put the value of his real estate holdings at $3,544,000.
He also listed the following assets in his 2024 report:
- A Truist checking/savings account holding $32,800.
- A Charles Schwab account with $571,765.
- A Waypoint Wealth Management account with $118,000.
- His Florida Retirement System plan held $62,475.
- A Nationwide 457(b) account with $5,697.
The only liability Cutsinger listed for 2024 was $30,000, which is owed to Toyota Finance.
Among sources of income exceeding $1,000, Cutsinger noted the following:
The aggregate value of his household goods and personal effects was $95,000, he noted.
Commissioner Knight
Commissioner Knight’s report for 2024 noted that he had five assets valued at more than $1,000:
- His primary residence — $1.2 million.
- A 2018 Kia Sportage — $10,000.
- A 2014 GMC Acadia — $6,000.
- Stocks, bonds and investments — $1,403,000.
- Bank accounts — $5,000.
His listed two liabilities in excess of $1,000: a mortgage of $115,000 and a Truist bank loan of $350,367.
His primary sources of income adding up to more than $1,000 were as follows:
Finally, Knight wrote that the aggregate value of his household goods and personal effects was $10,000.
Commissioner Mast
Commissioner Mast’s report says it was filed with the Commission on Ethics on June 19.
In it, she listed no assets individually valued at more than $1,000, no liabilities in excess of $1,000, and no primary sources of income — not even her salary as a member of the board. However, she, too, was elected in November 2024 during the General Election, and she joined the County Commission in the latter part of that month.
Then, the News Leader learned, in an amended form filed with the Commission on Ethics on June 24, Mast reported that she had received $108,745 in 2024 for her board salary.
As for the aggregate value of her household goods and personal effects, she wrote “N/A,” for “not applicable,” on the original form.
Given the lack of details on Mast’s form, the News Leader also reviewed the document that her husband, Jon Mast, filed this year, in regard to his serving as a member of the board of the Florida PACE Funding Agency. (The instructions for filling out Form 6, provided on the Commission on Ethics website, do note, “You are not required to disclose assets owned solely by your spouse.”)
Instead of the more detailed Form 6 report that Teresa Mast had to file as a member of the County Commission, Jon Mast was allowed in his position to file a Form 1, which requires no monetary figures.
Jon Mast did note that his primary sources of income above $2,500 for 2024 were the Suncoast Builders Association, which he serves as CEO, and The Davin Group, a general contracting firm. The latter is the same company that Teresa Mast cited as owning when she applied to county staff in 2020 for a seat on the county’s Planning Commission, as the News Leader reported. In that application, she pointed out, “I am majority owner and President of a construction company of 27 years.”
Like his wife, Jon Mast also did not list any real property in his filing with the Commission on Ethics. He did write, however, that he has a Truist bank account, a Simple IRA and mutual funds; the latter, with Raymond James.
Further, like his wife, he listed no liabilities.
An Oct. 17 News Leader search of the records maintained by Sarasota County Property Appraiser Bill Furst and his staff found one listing of a home under the name of Jon or Teresa Mast. Located at 3537 Founders Club Drive in Sarasota, that record shows that the Masts paid $1,850,000 for the property on May 8 2023.
Through a review of the records maintained by Sarasota County Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller Karen Rushing, the News Leader learned that, on May 8, 2023, Jon and Teresa Mast purchased that home in the Founders Club, off Fruitville Road east of Interstate 75. Moreover, the Suncoast Builders Association listing for The Davin Group notes the address as 3537 Founders Club Drive in Sarasota.
Further News Leader review of Property Appraiser’s Office website found that, on May 25, 2023, Teresa Mast transferred property standing at 10808 Leafwing Drive, in the Forest at Hi Hat Ranch, to 10808 Leafwing Drive LLC, for a “recorded consideration” of $100.
The warranty deed says Jon and Teresa Mast sold the property to the limited liability company. The document stamp tax on that deed was $18,900, which means the sale amount was $2.7 million.
The News Leader also learned from the Clerk of Court’s Office records that Jon and Teresa Mast bought the Leafwing Drive property from the Texas homebuilding company D.R. Horton for $125,000 on May 29, 2020; the deed notes that the land was vacant.
Then, on July 25, 2023, the limited liability corporation transferred the Leafwing Drive property to Eamonn and Elizabeth Okane for $100 via a quit claim deed, Furst’s records say. Alper Law explains, “A quitclaim deed in Florida allows a property owner to quickly transfer real estate ownership without guaranteeing a clear title. Quitclaim deeds are commonly used between family members, divorcing spouses, or to correct errors in a title.”
Further, on June 1, 2023 records maintained by the Sarasota County Clerk of Court’s office show that the Masts paid off a $450,000 mortgage on the Leafwing Drive home.
When the News Leader researched 10808 Leafwing Drive LLC through the Florida Division of Corporations, the publication learned that the registration for the limited liability company was submitted to the division on April 26, 2023. However, no annual reports were filed, and the company has become inactive. The documentation says that the last event for 10808 Leafwing Drive LLC was the company’s administrative dissolution on Sept. 27, 2024.
The registered agent for the company was listed as Northwest Registered Agent LLC on Fourth Street in St. Petersburg. The record for that LLC in the Division of Corporations files says the authorized representative of the company is Taylor Newman of Spokane, Wash.
The Better Business Bureau says that Florida Registered Agent LLC is not BBB accredited.
Commissioner Smith
In his report, Commissioner Smith listed five other sources of income, along with his board salary of $108,762.31, that were above $1,000.
His architectural practice, based on Siesta Key, brought in $26,000 in 2024, he wrote.
He added the following:
- A dividend of $8,295 from the Woodside Energy Group, which is located in Houston.
- Funds from Diversified Energy Co. of Birmingham, AL — $1,160.
- Income totaling $2,420 from Lufax Holding Ltd. of Shanghai, whose website says its mission is “to foster small business competitiveness and sustainability by providing individual entrepreneurs with easy access to inclusive products and services and empowering institutional partners to reach and serve [small business owners] efficiently.”
- Funds from PT United Tractors TBK of Jakarta, Indonesia, totaling $1,402.30.
Smith’s assets valued above $1,000 were as follows:
Smith’s only liability on the form is a mortgage on his Siesta home: $287,374.55.
The aggregate value of his household goods and personal effects was $90,000, he wrote.
Commissioner Neunder
In his form, Commissioner Neunder reported three assets above $1,000:
- A 401(k) account with Fidelity — $489,596.58.
- His personal checking account — $4,557.62.
- His personal savings account — $11,228.07.
Neunder noted two liabilities in excess of $1,000:
- A mortgage on a home in Charlotte, N.C. — $232,691.
- A U.S. Department of Education loan — $353,060.
His only source of income for 2024 was his board salary — $92,428, Neunder reported.
As of June 26, he added, the aggregate value of his household goods and personal effects was $1,334,496.58.