State updates area taxable values

The Florida Department of Revenue's (DOR) most recent estimates of taxable value in Sarasota County through the 2018 fiscal year take even more pressure off of projected general fund shortfalls, and show an increasingly bullish outlook from the state on economic recovery in the real estate sector.

The new state projections shave $2.6 million off of the general fund deficit forecasted in the 2016 fiscal year in December, leaving a $16.3 million expected shortfall.

The state expects real estate values in the county to increase at least 5.5% each year from the current period through the 2018 fiscal year. The March 10 estimates show a larger increase in three years during that timeframe than previous state projections, according to an email message from Sarasota County fiscal consultant Karen Fratangelo to County Administrator Tom Harmer.

The DOR expects the largest period of growth to be from the current fiscal year to the 2015 fiscal year, with a 6.6% jump in taxable values — that's almost a full percentage point greater than predicted earlier this year.