Not-to-exceed figure ends up at 3.3833 mills
On a unanimous vote during their regular meeting on July 7, the Sarasota County commissioners approved a lower “not-to-exceed” total millage rate for the 2027 fiscal year than the figure for the current fiscal year.
The decrease is 0.0009 mills, or 0.03%, thanks to a reduction in the debt service for the bonds that the county issued several years ago to pay for the extension of The Legacy Trail from Venice to downtown Sarasota and to the city of North Port, Kim Radtke, director of the county’s Office of Financial Management, pointed out to the commissioners on July 7.
The Legacy Trail figure for this fiscal year is 0.0382 mills; for FY 2027, it is 0.0373 mills, a decline of 2.36%, as shown on a chart in the agenda packet.
One mill represents $1,000 of the value of a parcel.
A memo also included in the July 7 agenda packet for that item noted that the county’s tentative budget for the 2027 fiscal year is $2,524,191,559.
Each summer, local government bodies are required by state law to vote on the not-to-exceed rates, so property owners will know the maximum bills they can expect from the local government entities before fiscal year budgets are approved. Those rates are reported in the Truth in Millage (TRIM) notices that the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s Office mails out each August.
The total millage rate that will be advertised for the county will be 3.3833 mills, as shown in the resolution that the commissioners approved as they met on Tuesday in Venice.
That compares to 3.3842 mills for the 2026 fiscal year, the chart noted.
The general operating millage rate on the chart was put at 3.2273 for this fiscal year; for FY 2027 — which will begin on Oct. 1 — it is 3.2317 mills. The latter figure represents an increase of 0.14%, year-over-year, the chart said.
Yet another detail about the total millage rate is that the debt service for bonds backed by the revenue raised for the county’s Land Acquisition and Management Program — identified as the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection Program (ESLPP) — is down 2.10%, year-over-year, as noted on the chart.
Finally, the proposed Mosquito Control millage rate for FY 2027 is 0.0490 mills; this year, the figure is 0.0520.
Between July 7 and the County Commission’s hearings on the proposed budget for the 2027 fiscal year — which are scheduled for Sept. 9 and Sept. 23 — adjustments can be made in the millage rates, as long as they are not increased, Radtke reminded the board members.
After she completed her remarks, Commissioner Tom Knight did seek assurance that the overall millage rate represents “a slight decrease.”
“That is correct,” she told him.
He wanted to make sure that the public understands that, Knight pointed out.
Commissioner Mark Smith made the formal motion to approve the rates, as proposed, and Commissioner Joe Neunder seconded it.