Preliminary property values take double-digit jumps again, though they prove lower than the 2022 increases

Data shows overall county value higher by 13.3%, with City of Sarasota figure at 12.39%

Although they did not take jumps as big this year as they did in 2022, the preliminary property tax value increases for all of Sarasota County’s local government bodies nonetheless surpassed double digits again.

The figures that Brian Loughrey, the chief deputy property appraiser, released just before the start of the Memorial Day weekend, on behalf of Property Appraiser Bill Furst, show the value of Sarasota County’s property to have risen 13.3% above the 2022 certified figure. The preliminary value for the entire county is $93,357,802,438.

Yet, the Cities of North Port and Venice had the largest year-over-year increases. For North Port, the value is 16.57% above the 2022 certified amount. For Venice, it is 14.28%.

The lowest year-over-year uptick is for the Sarasota County School Board: 11.84%.

The City of Sarasota’s property value is up 12.39%, compared to the 2022 certified value, and the Town of Longboat Key value has climbed 12.16%.

During the County Commission’s March budget workshop, Kim Radtke, director of the county’s Office of Financial Management, reported that the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research’s latest projection for the county’s property value this year was that it would rise by 10%.

In early April, during a Sarasota City Commission workshop, staff predicted a 10% climb in the city’s property value this year. The report that Loughrey provided The Sarasota News Leader at its request shows the preliminary total for the City of Sarasota is $16,568,207,504. The 2022 certified taxable value was $14,741,900,749.

In 2022, the City of North Port realized the largest leap in values, compared to the 2021 certified figures. Its increase in the June 1, 2022 data was 24.52%. Yet, the School Board was just a bit behind that, with 24.45%. The City of Venice’s value was up 18.45%; for the City of Sarasota, the hike was 17.41%; and for Longboat Key, it was 13.31%.

State law requires that the final figures be released by the Property Appraiser’s Office by July 1, and those numbers typically are slightly different than the June 1 figures. The July 1 data are what the county’s local government bodies rely on for the Truth in Millage (TRIM) notices, which go out every August.

As County Administrator Jonathan Lewis reminded the county commissioners during their May 23 budget workshop, they will set their not-to-exceed property millage rate in July for those notices. As the phrase indicates, local government leaders subsequently can lower the rates, but they cannot raise them.

The county has its final budget public hearings scheduled for Sept. 11 and Sept. 26, both at the County Administration Center standing at 1660 Ringling Blvd. in downtown Sarasota.

The county commissioners have not indicated any plans to raise the millage rate for the 2024 fiscal year, which will begin on Oct. 1. The only fluctuation, County Administrator Lewis has said, would be related to the debt service for the bonds that the county issued, with voter approval, to complete the extensions of The Legacy Trail to downtown Sarasota and North Port.

The county’s operating millage rate for this fiscal year is 3.34 mills, while the Legacy Trail millage is 0.06%.

A slide that Radtke of the Office of Financial Management showed the commissioners during their May 23 budget workshop noted that if the boards had kept the millage rate flat at the 2007 fiscal year level — 3.67 mills — the county would have been expected to take in an extra $245 million through this fiscal year.

A mill represents $1,000 of the taxable value of a home.

Among other details in the data that Loughrey released on May 26, a chart showing the estimated values of new construction once again put the School Board on top, with a market value total of $3,079,702,730. The net taxable value is $2,504,636,555.

The county is in second place, with a market value of $2,631,475,100.

The figure this year for the City of North Port is $575,915,000. The City of Sarasota was in fourth place, with $302,503,900.

For Venice, the market value of the new construction in the May 26 data was $247,759,100, while the Town of Longboat Key’s figure was $51,053,000.

Additionally, the property values in special taxing districts have risen, as a third document notes.

For example, the new figure for the City of Sarasota’s Newtown Redevelopment Area is $269,615,806. That marks a hike of close to 35%, compared to the preliminary, June 1, 2022 figure: $200,417,979.

For another example, the new preliminary value for the property in the Siesta Key Village Public Improvement District is $95,063,390. That represents an increase of 11.2%, compared to the 2022 preliminary estimate of $85,476,395.

The owners of the property in that district pay an annual assessment that goes toward the upkeep of the Village, given its status as a major tourist destination in the county.

The City of Sarasota’s Downtown Improvement District preliminary property value this year is $444,053,241, which is about 6.1% above the June 1, 2022 figure of $418,368,812.