Cutsinger in second place, with Detert reporting smallest figure
Sarasota County Commission Chair Alan Maio continues to outpace his board colleagues in terms of net worth, the latest Florida Commission on Ethics financial disclosure filings indicate.
However, Maio reported a smaller figure for 2020 than he did for 2019, his latest report showed.
As of June 17, Maio wrote that his net worth was $3,082,300. In June 2019, he noted that the figure was $3,252,097.
In second place, Commissioner Ron E. Cutsinger of Englewood reported that his net worth as of July 1 was $1,589,314 — slightly more than half of Maio’s total.
Commissioner Michael Moran narrowly edged out Commissioner Christian Ziegler for third place. Moran reported that his net worth as of April 30 was $927,150.25. That compared to $620,716.38 as of May 1, 2020.
On Dec. 31, 2020, Ziegler noted, his net worth was $876,233.25. That was more than three times the amount he listed as of Dec. 31, 2018: $206,324.83.
Ziegler won his District 2 seat during the November 2018 General Election.
Rounding out the board members, Commissioner Nancy Detert attested that her net worth as of Dec. 31, 2020 was $392,213. That was up slightly from her Dec. 31, 2019 total of $322,206.
Ziegler’s report was stamped “Received” by the Ethics Commission on Aug. 27, whereas Cutsinger’s was dated as having been received on July 15; Moran’s, on July 6; Detert’s, on June 23; and Maio’s, on June 17.
Most of Maio’s 2019 net worth was based on real estate holdings. Those were valued at $1,941,600 at that time.
The report that Maio filed in June of this year shows his real estate investments with a higher value: $2,412,000.
As of mid-June, Maio wrote, his Nokomis home was valued at $1,450,000; in his previous report, the figure was $1.2 million.
He also noted the following properties: a 55-acre ranch located at 16743 Singletary Road in Myakka City, $900,000; a 2-acre lot in Blue Ridge, Ga., $42,000; and a lot in Sevierville, Tenn., $20,000.
Maio and his wife, Nancy, paid $750,000 for the Myakka City property in February, Sarasota County Property Appraiser Office records show.
Sevierville is near the Gatlinburg Pigeon Forge Airport in Tennessee; the community is north of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and east of Cherokee National Forest. Blue Ridge is in the northernmost part of Georgia.
Among other details in Maio’s latest report, his retirement account held $1,070,558 as of June 17, and he listed the value of his household goods and personal effects as $265,000.
Further, Maio noted that his bank accounts held $630,000; that figure compared to $650,298 in his 2019 filing.
The biggest single amount — $621,000 — is with Seaside National Bank, according to list he attached to the document.
His assets added up to $4,377,558, the latest document shows.
Additionally, he reported that his county salary was $91,821, and he received $31,896 in Social Security benefits.
This year, his liabilities totaled $1,280,258, the report said.
Maio noted a Centennial Bank loan of $344,404; a Center State Bank car loan, $43,050; a second Center State Bank loan, $292,804; and a Seaside Bank debt of $600,000.
In Cutsinger’s filing, he, too, wrote that real estate assets made up the majority of his net worth. Altogether, they were valued at $1,660,000.
Of those, the highest figure — $700,000 — was attached to his office/residence located at 1354 Manasota Beach Road in Englewood. The Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s Office records show that Cutsinger has owned that property since December 2009, when he paid $95,000 for it.
He also listed a new home under construction at 1850 Keyway Road in Englewood. That was valued at $500,000.
Further, Cutsinger reported ownership of five vacant lots with a combined value of $460,000; one of those, which encompasses 1 acre, is worth $150,000, the list says.
Further, Cutsinger noted that his interest in his business, Waypoint Wealth Management LLC, is valued at $250,000. The document says he offers insurance and financial services and that he handles investments.
His brokerage and bank accounts totaled $234,960.
Cutsinger’s liabilities added up to $351,646, he continued.
As for the latter: Cutsinger listed a $205,000 commercial mortgage with BB&T; another mortgage — $100,000 — with Ralph Harding of Sarasota; a $22,646 business loan from Wells Fargo; and a $24,000 debt due to Achieva Credit Union in Dunedin.
For income, Cutsinger noted a total of $208,737. Of that,
$123,545 came in the form of broker dealer fees with Securities America, and another $38,986 resulted from the sale of real estate to a Venice couple. His Social Security income was $9,498, he added, and he had received $7,308 in salary from the county.
Cutsinger recently completed his first year on the County Commission; he was elected in November 2020.
Moran’s and Ziegler’s reports
Commissioner Moran reported in his filing this year that his household goods and personal effects added up to $100,000.
Among his assets valued at more than $1,000, Moran listed his home in Laurel Oak Estates — just west of Laurel Oak Country Club — $780,000. He bought the house in May 2020 for $532,500, the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s Office records say.
Previously, Moran lived in The Meadows, in north Sarasota.
In his latest report, he also listed stock in the Blue Water Insurance Group LLC, valued at $513,305.94. Additionally, he noted income of $80,271.12 from Blue Water Insurance Group, along with $91,567.84 as his county salary; $100,000 from Moran 360 LLC; and $50,000 from Florida PACE Funding Agency.
Moran is listed as the executive director of the Florida PACE Funding Agency, which has its office at 6650 Professional Parkway, Suite 102, in Sarasota.
PACE — Property Assessed Clean Energy — “is a long term, fixed rate source of financing that allows homeowners to do energy conservation and hurricane hardening improvements to their property,” the website explains. “Property owners can use PACE financing to cover 100% of the costs involved in installing eligible projects, including all related equipment, materials and labor,” the website adds. “Eligible improvements include energy efficiency, water conservation, renewable energy generation, and resiliency upgrades. A few examples include: air conditioners, roofs, windows/doors, water heaters, solar panels, pool heaters, hurricane shutters, and generators.”
In October 2017, the County Commission voted 3-2 to adopt an ordinance that implemented the PACE program in the county. Detert and Maio cast the “No” votes, though the ordinance — at Detert’s request — included a statement of the risks associated with the program.
Moran was part of the majority that approved the ordinance. He first was elected to the commission in November 2016.
The PACE program has been controversial, because people participating in it must pay their tax/assessment each year, or the government can put a tax lien on the property. “While this has been greatly exaggerated in the press,” the PACE website continues, “it is true that a foreclosure on your home is possible if you do not pay property taxes and assessments related to PACE.”
Under “Secondary Sources of Income” in his latest financial disclosure report, Moran noted “Wilde Automotive Management (Client)” and then that the major source of that income was commission on insurance.
As The Sarasota News Leader explained in its report last year on the commissioners’ net worth, Buzzfile.com says Blue Water Insurance Group, “also operates under the name Wilde Insurance Services,” which was established about 19 years ago. Moran is listed as president of Blue Water Insurance Group.
In a check of Buzzfile records this week, the News Leader found the following information: “Blue Water Insurance Group is estimated to generate $513,987 in annual revenues, and employs approximately 2 people [at 7021 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota].”
Further, Buzzfile says the website for Blue Water Insurance Group is www.wildeinsurancefl.com. That website says the address for Wilde Insurance is 7021 S. Tamiami Trail. Moran’s wife, Lori, is listed as an insurance agent, while Moran is named as president.
Among his other assets, Moran listed two checking accounts. One, with Bank of America, held $16,862.79. The other, with Chase Bank, contained $14,574.97.
In regard to liabilities, Moran noted a $515,000 mortgage on his home; and leases on three vehicles: a 2019 Lexus GX, a 2019 Honda Pilot and a 2020 Chevrolet.
His liabilities totaled $537,655.47, the document said.
In his report, Ziegler listed the value of his home as $350,000 and the value of his business, Microtargeted Media LLC, as $412,181. He also noted that his personal checking account held $3,817.80 at the end of December 2020.
On its website, Microtargeted Media says, “The typical cellphone user touches his/her phone 2,617 times every day. The extreme cellphone users — top 10% — touch their phones more than 5,400 times daily.”
It adds, “We target constituents, voters, and potential customers during those moments.”
The website says that the firm also handles website design and development, as well as communications consulting. Ziegler is named as the firm’s founder.
In regard to liabilities, Ziegler noted that he owes $19,491.94 on his 2017 Ford Explorer; $180,013.79 to Roundpointe Mortgage Servicing Corp. in Charlotte, N.C., for his house; and $63,897.64 to the Congressional Federal Credit Union in Washington, D.C., also for his home.
Ziegler listed income of $88,342.99 from Sarasota County and $302,1818 from his business.
Among other assets, he noted a Chase checking account for his business that held $186,779.47; a retirement account with an Alabama firm that held $6,085.73; and $4,772.62 in a Florida pre-paid college fund. Ziegler has three young daughters.
Detert’s latest report
In her report, Commissioner Detert listed the value of her Venice residence as $280,000. That was up from $262,000 in her 2020 filing.
Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s Office records show that she bought the house in May 2005 for $221,500.
In her latest filing with the Ethics Commission, she also noted a $120,587 mortgage on it. In her previous report, she wrote that her mortgage was $125,700.
The value of her household goods and personal effects was $80,000, the document said.
Further, Detert listed $35,000 in a Bank of America savings account, $6,400 in a Wells Fargo checking account and stocks valued at $113,600. Among the latter, she noted, are shares of Amazon, Apple, Home Depot, General Motors and Microsoft.
On her income statement, Detert wrote that her County Commission salary was $90,299, and she received $16,215 in Social Security payments.