Commissioner Knight raises concerns during Jan. 13 discussion
A Florida House bill filed in the current session of the Legislature would create what a prominent lobbyist has characterized in a letter to the Sarasota County Commission as an independent special taxing district that would include Benderson Development Co.’s University Town Center on Cattlemen Road, as well as the county-owned Nathan Benderson Park.
A summary of the bill — provided in an Oct. 10, 2025 letter that attorney and lobbyist David Ramba, of the Ramba Consulting Group in Tallahassee, sent to members of the Sarasota and Manatee county legislative delegations — says it would authorize a tax rate up to 3 mills for property in the district. One mill represents $1,000 of the value of a parcel.
Ramba pointed out that House Bill 4091 would create “a unified special district to ensure that the University Town Center area, which consists of one of the region’s largest commercial, retail, sports, and tourism destinations, has the authority and structure necessary to maintain and enhance public infrastructure, stormwater and flood control systems, and community services across [Sarasota and Manatee] counties.”
The bill adds that the district would have the authority to “levy ad valorem taxes and non-ad valorem assessments, prescribe, fix, establish, and collect rates, fees, rentals, fares, or other charges, and to revise the same from time to time, for the facilities and services furnished or to be furnished by the district and to recover the cost of making connection to any district facility or system.”
The taxing district also would be able to “acquire by purchase, gift or condemnation real and personal property … within or without the district” and sell such property “as may be necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes” of the act.
The bill also notes, “Visit Florida and Visit Sarasota [County] have independently verified that Nathan Benderson Park, located within the University Town Center area, has generated over $200 million of regional economic impact since Sarasota County’s initial allocation of Tourist Development revenue to the project.”
The area would encompass 1,514.611 acres, the bill says.
Ramba added in his letter that the bill would do the following, as well:
- Provide “for the election of a five-member Board of Supervisors elected by landowners on a one-acre, one-vote basis”;
- Authorize “the district to issue bonds for infrastructure, stormwater, and public improvements.”
The bill further indicates that neither Sarasota nor Manatee county would be able to impose impact fees in connection with construction in the district. One of the district’s powers would be as follows:
The bill was filed by Republican Rep. William “Bill” Conerly of Lakewood Ranch, a Republican member of the Manatee County Legislative Delegation; he represents House District 72, a legislative webpage says. He first was elected to the House in 2024, his webpages note.
The bill would go into effect only if a majority of the affected landowners who pay property taxes and non-ad valorem assessments approve it, the bill points out. A landowner meeting would have to be held within 20 days of passage of the bill, a Florida Senate webpage points out.
The following are other sections of the proposed bill:
It then explains, “The property owner(s) [of the district] seek to ensure that there is an ongoing source of funding to continue the multi-county comprehensive stormwater and flood control management program and provide all of the enhanced infrastructure and services that are currently provided in the University Town Center area within the two counties, i.e., streets and sidewalk maintenance, irrigation and enhanced landscaping, parking maintenance, lighting enhancements, enhanced security, recreational services, and entertainment services.” Therefore, it adds, the creation of the improvement district is necessary “to ensure the ongoing funding for the continuation of the above described services with the powers and authority to sufficiently address drainage and flood control needs and other infrastructure needs to provide for ongoing operation, maintenance, and enhancement to the existing services in the most efficient, least intrusive, and most cost-effective manner.”
A Sarasota News Leader review of details about the bill on Legislature webpages found that it was referred to the following committees on Jan. 15: the Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee, the Ways and Means Committee and the State Affairs Committee.
A Jan. 14 post on the Facebook page of the Florida Chiropractic Association calls attorney Ramba “a powerhouse in Florida legislative and government affairs.” It adds, “Before launching his firm in 2009, he spent a decade leading the Legislative Team at Lewis, Longman & Walker, representing 30+ clients before the Legislature, Governor, Cabinet, and state agencies on complex government, regulatory, and legal matters. Prior to that, he served as Legislative Counsel for the Florida League of Cities, drafting legislation, advocating for municipalities, and advising city attorneys statewide.”
The News Leader also reviewed articles published in recent years by Florida Politics that reported on the Ramba Consulting Group’s having among the best legislative lobbying compensation reports, based on its collections of fees.
Concern about effects on the county budget
During the Jan. 13 County Commission discussion, Knight also raised his concern about elements that he felt the bill should contain, but which he had found missing: “the cooperation between this new body, this new area … being designated in two counties, how that would affect us with public safety [and] our Phillippi Creek drainage system,” for examples.
A section of the bill says the district would be able to “provide enhanced public safety infrastructure, including, but not limited to, security, guardhouses, fences and gates, and electronic intrusion detection systems, in coordination with the appropriate county public safety official with jurisdiction. The district may contract with the appropriate county sheriff for an increased level of such services within the district’s boundaries.”
“Certainly, it’s at the beginning stages,” Knight noted of the process to pass the measure. The [2026 legislative] session just started.”
Turning toward County Administrator Jonathan Lewis, he asked, “How does that work?” How will it affect the Sarasota County Commission’s budget, he continued, with the money going to a special taxing district.
Lewis did not respond.
“It’s a local bill,” Knight pointed out, adding that he does not believe the County Commission can have any say on it.
By the time the board members conduct their first budget workshop for the 2027 fiscal year — on Feb. 26 — he added, they should have some idea about whether the bill will get passed, as the regular legislative session is set to end on March 13.
Everybody who is affected by the county’s budget should know that the commissioners and staff are monitoring its progress in Tallahassee, Knight said.
“I’ll be definitely different than any [Sarasota] County commissioner had to deal with in the past,” he pointed out.