Mid-County Tax Collector’s Office named in her honor
Following up on a proposal that Sarasota County Commissioner Tom Knight made last year, the entire County Commission recognized Barbara Ford-Coates on Jan. 28 for her decades of service as the county tax collector.
Her last day in office was Jan. 6.
Standing in front of the dais on Jan. 28 with the other commissioners and Ford-Coates, Chair Joe Neunder pointed out, “This young woman here next to me has been an institution in our community for almost 50 years.”
He added that he has known her and her family since his childhood. In fact, Neunder acknowledged one of Ford-Coates’ daughters in the front row in the Commission Chambers that day in the County Administration Center in downtown Sarasota. “Thank you for getting me through eighth-grade marine biology,” Neunder told his former lab partner, generating laughter among audience members.
Then Neunder left the levity behind as he turned to prepared remarks.
Ford-Coates began her service with the Tax Collector’s Office on Oct. 27, 1975, Neunder said. “On May 1, 1984, she was appointed tax collector by Gov. Bob Graham,” he continued.
In June 2014, Neunder pointed out, Ford-Coates “became the longest-serving elected official in the history of Sarasota County. And I think that speaks volumes in today’s world. That’s quite an accomplishment.”
Neunder stressed Ford-Coates’ service to the community for more than 49 years, prompting a round of applause.
After he presented her a certificate, yet more applause rang out in the Chambers, and both Knight and Neunder gave Ford-Coates hugs.
Neunder invited the other board members to offer their own remarks, starting with Commissioner Ron Cutsinger.
“I’ve been here for all of those 49 years,” Cutsinger said, before generating more laughter by adding, “and, frankly, I have written [Ford-Coates] more checks than anyone in this audience …”
Cutsinger told her, “You’ve done a great job. It’s been an honor to have you as our tax collector.”
The recognition that day, Cutsinger said, was “a great thing to do.”
Commissioner Teresa Mast told Ford-Coates, “I understand how challenging it can be to serve with a bunch of men,” alluding to the fact that she is the solitary woman on the board. “And you’ve done it for almost 50 years, which says a lot about your tenacity, your character and your will to serve the public,” Mast added.
“Thank you for your accountability to our community,” Mast told Ford-Coates, “and thank you for your sense of humor.”
Addressing Ford-Coates Commissioner Mark Smith said, “Your length of service and the quality that you brought to the office, the integrity, is why you were there so long.”
Knight, who previously served three terms as sheriff, pointed out that he had the opportunity to work with Ford-Coates for 12 years in his capacity as a county constitutional officer. Often after his meetings with her, he continued, he would go back to his office and tell his staff, “We would just be an exceptional organization,” if they could provide the level of service that she did.
“She served the community the way we’re elected to do,” Knight added — ethically and with a focus on everyone in the county.
Following the remarks, Neunder read the engraving on a plaque that will be affixed to the Mid-County Tax Collector’s Office on Sawyer Loop Road in Sarasota. It names the facility in her honor.
“You will be permanently etched in Sarasota County history forever,” Neunder told Ford-Coates.
Cheers rang out in the Chambers.
“This is a very special day or me,” Ford-Coates responded. When she applied for a job with the Tax Collector’s Office in 1975, she continued, “I thought it might be interesting to work in this office and maybe there’d be a chance for advancement. Little did I know, two years later, I would be the assistant tax collector” or that then-Gov. Bob Graham would appoint her tax collector in 1984.
For 10 elections, she continued, “Voters allowed me to serve them. It has been an incredible experience because of the people,” she said. She especially noted her “incredible staff,” who helped customers “with kindness and empathy and creativity.” Ford-Coates added of her staff, “They are the whole reason I got to serve all this time.”
She did point out that, in 2008, she was honored to accept the title ofOutstanding Tax Collector in the United States, on behalf of her staff.
Further, she talked of how customers would share compliments, as well as complaints and questions. The latter, Ford-Coates noted, “led us to question how we did things and find ways to do them better.”
Further, Ford-Coates pointed out that all of the county commissioners and county administrators, as well as the other county constitutional officers with whom she had served, had been very helpful to her.
Ford-Coates expressed her appreciation, as well, for the state and national tax collectors associations, noting that Chris Craft of St. Lucie County, who is the immediate past president of the national organization and the incoming president of the Florida association, was present that morning.
Representatives from the Manatee County Tax Collector’s Office also were in the Chambers that day, she said.
“I have such wonderful colleagues,” Ford-Coates noted.
She spoke of friends in the audience, too, adding that some of them were present when she first was sworn in as tax collector. And she recognized her “incredible family,” many of whom were in the Chambers, as well.
Moreover, she expressed appreciation for her late husband, Brian, “for all his support all those crazy years.”
“It’s been an incredible run,” Ford-Coates added. “I will always be grateful for the 40 years, eight months and six days I served as the elected tax collector. Thank you all.”
The audience gave her a standing ovation.