City continues push for county CRA funds

At the end of the month, the downtown Sarasota Community Redevelopment Area will formally expire after 30 years of joint city-county funding.

That’s what county officials believe, at least.

But the city still says the county is obligated to make one last payment into the CRA trust fund. That payment, based on a segment of property tax revenue from within the CRA boundaries, would top $4.5 million.

Because the county has formally rejected the city’s claim to that money, city officials may soon ask the county to go through a state-sanctioned conflict resolution process for resolving disputes between local governments. Depending on how committed the city is to obtaining the final CRA payment, that request could be a precursor to a potential lawsuit between the city and county.

At the Sept. 6 City Commission meeting, City Attorney Robert Fournier laid out the city’s case for another CRA payment. The CRA was established in 1986, and because the county voted to end the CRA after 30 years, it’s set to expire in 2016. But while the county believes that refers to the fiscal year — which ends Sept. 30 — the city is arguing that it should refer to the tax year, which ends Dec. 31.

Fournier pointed to several pieces of evidence to bolster the city’s claims. Perhaps most notably, a 2004 interlocal agreement between the city and county specifically states there would be no further CRA payments after the 2016 tax year.

“I think all of those things, in the aggregate, put us in a position where I feel comfortable raising the issue,” Fournier said. “How it will be resolved, I’m not sure.”

County officials have said there are several county documents memorializing its belief the CRA would sunset after fiscal year 2016. Fournier acknowledged at least one city budget document from 2007 that includes a similar timeline, but called it a simple error on the part of city staff.

In October, the city will discuss sending a formal request to the county to enter the conflict resolution process, which would allow both staffs to discuss a possible agreement on this topic. The county could decline to participate in the conflict resolution, Fournier said.

Although it’s unclear how far the city is willing to push this issue, City Manager Tom Barwin projected confidence in his interpretation of the CRA regulations.

“Thirty-year agreements mean 30 payments,” Barwin said. “Anything else is really rather meaningless. We’re hopeful this can be resolved in an equitable, common resolution.”