Town receives additional beach funds

Bullock asked the commission at a joint meeting on Sept. 17 for an additional 20% of the third penny in tourist tax dollars the county collects from visitors who rent hotel rooms or rentals.

The commission agreed to the request, in part, because the county already distributes similar distributions to Sarasota County and the cities of Venice and Sarasota.

A presentation displayed to the county commission stated: “Since the county reallocated 20% of the third penny for beach maintenance in all areas of the county except for Longboat Key, the town requests that 20% of the third penny collected in the town be allocated to Longboat Key for beach maintenance in the Sarasota County portion of Longboat Key.”

“It was simply an issue of fairness,” Bullock said.

The additional funds for Longboat Key totaled approximately $64,826 in fiscal year 2012. That number will fluctuate annually and depends on annual tourism tax collections. The town could received an additional $30,000 a year or more with the new collection for beach maintenance.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].