County increase ends up being about 10.4%; for City of Sarasota, approximately 9.8%
Sarasota County’s property valuation did end up climbing a bit in the latest data that the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s Office released to meet the state-mandated, July 1 reporting deadline.
The change from the certified value in 2023 is about 10.4%, with all county property valued at $103,938,478,583. The 2023 certified value was $94,129,509,413, as shown in the preliminary figures that the Property Appraiser’s Office released in late May.
During a June 20 discussion about lowering the county’s millage rate for the 2025 fiscal year — which will begin on Oct. 1 — Commissioner Joe Neunder asked County Administrator Jonathan Lewis about the prospect that the value would rise again in the July 1 reports. The late May data put the change from the certified 2023 value at 9.86%.
Lewis’s reply was that the July 1 calculation in the past has proven to be the same as the June 1 figure, “or it goes up slightly — not a lot …”
For the City of Sarasota, the latest figure puts its property value up nearly 9.8%, compared to the 2023 certified figure. The June 1 number was 9.53%.
The July 1 report values the city property at $18,327,903,650; the late May data put it at $16,694,782,552.
For the Sarasota County School Board, the July 1 reports show a 5.7% uptick from the 2023 certified value of $107,791,009,284. The new figure is $113,989,232,360.
The City of Venice realized only a slight uptick rise in its property value in the latest reports, compared to its 2023 certified value of $6,610,153,001. The July 1 total is $7,361,518,564. That is about 11.36% higher. The late-May figure was 11.29%.
For the City of North Port, the preliminary report this year said the 2024 value was 16.04% higher than the 2023 certified number, $8,496,865,543. The July 1 report put the city’s property value at $10,043,884,136, which marks a jump of approximately 18.2%, compared to the 2023 certified value.
That is the highest year-over-year increase among the reports from the Property Appraiser’s Office.
Finally, the July 1 figure for the Town of Longboat Key is $6,230,214,973. That is close to being 8.5% higher than the 2023 certified value of $5,743,684,652. The late May uptick was put at 7.78%.
The reports released by July 1 are used by local government bodies to set their not-to-exceed millage rates for the new fiscal year. Those rates then are published in Truth in Millage (TRIM) notices that the Property Appraiser’s Office sends to all property owners in the applicable jurisdictions.
The Sarasota News Leader requested copies of the latest reports from Chief Deputy Property Appraiser Brian Loughrey.
As local government finance officers stress to board members, “not-to-exceed” means that the members of local government bodies can lower the rates before they adopt their new fiscal year budgets, but they cannot increase them.
One mill represents $1,000 of the value of a piece of property.
The Sarasota County Commission has directed county administrative staff to plan the 2025 fiscal year budget with a millage rate of 3.30 mills, which would be the lowest in the county in 37 years. The commissioners are scheduled to vote on the not-to-exceed rate during their regular meeting on July 9, which will be held in Venice.
Other details in the July 1 reports
The July 1 property reports for each jurisdiction provide a number of other details. Those include the total number of parcels in each jurisdiction and how many of those have qualified for the homestead limits on increases in property taxes.
In Sarasota County, the total parcel count this year is 302,288, the report notes. That is up only about 1.3%, compared to the 2203 figure of 298,357.
In comparison, the City of Sarasota has 28,179 parcels, which is up about 1%, compared to the 2023 figure of 27,881.
In 2023, the tally of those county parcels with homestead exemptions was 120,977. This year, the count is 113,544.
For the City of Sarasota, the total number of parcels with homestead exemptions is 10,675, which is down approximately .03%, from 10,991 in 2023.
Sarasota County Property Appraiser Bill Furst has used a consultant in an effort to ensure that all of the homesteaded property in the county qualifies for that designation. The goal is to make certain that the total amount of property tax revenue legally due ends up being collected.
Another figure in each annual report is the number of parcels with the “Agricultural” classification. This year, in the county, the figure is 599; in 2023, it was 592. The assessed value this year of those parcels is $41,355,900, which is approximately 73% higher than the 2023 figure: $23,895,100.
Further, the county report says that the value of single-family residential homes this year is $83,353,550,200. That is almost 2% higher than the 2023 total: $81,783,878,700.
For multi-family housing structures with fewer than 10 units, the figure is $4,179,802,100; for those with more than 10 units, it is $3,167,578,700.
The 2023 values were $4,138,263,600 for the structures with fewer than 10 units and $3,279,520,100 for those with more than 10.
The total taxable value of condominiums in the county this year is $26,694,815,400. That is down almost .01%, compared to the 2023 total of $26,701,885,000.