Commissions spar over fees levied

The city of Sarasota and Sarasota County officials don’t agree on whether the county is providing the proper level of service for what city residents get charged in their tax bills.

At a joint meeting between the Sarasota City Commission and the Sarasota County Commission Tuesday, commissioners from both bodies debated a perceived dual taxation issue and whether park impact fees should be levied for city residents.

City Finance Director Chris Lyons told both commissions Monday that he believes a recent county finance study is biased because it only shows the benefits the city receives from the county and not the other way around.

The topic was added to the agenda after Vice Mayor Terry Turner suggested that the multipliers the county uses to decide what it charges residents in all of its municipalities need to be reviewed by the county and all its municipalities.

“There’s an inequity that exists, because city taxpayers pick up the full basis of the county millage rate and don’t receive some of the services,” Lyons said. “The question of dual taxation is simply charging property taxes and making sure those charged are receiving the proper benefits.”

Lyons used the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Department as an example, explaining that city residents pay for county road patrol, yet the city has its own police patrol services.

“We can go on and on about things at the county level and argue whether city taxpayers receives a benefit,” Lyons said. “However, if we weren’t a city and the county was here and we decided to incorporate, we would probably not pay for our own police department.”

Lyons noted that several municipalities have similar questions about their level of service, including Venice and North Port.

Lyons’ comments irked several county commissioners.

“What you have to realize is, yeah, you pay, but the bottom line is the county’s budget is made up of a lot of elements and the property taxes we receive are less than half of our general fund,” said Sarasota County Commission Chairwoman Nora Patterson. “If you’re going to examine fairness, there’s a lot to examine.”

County Commissioner Joe Barbetta had more serious comments for city staff and commissioners.
“You obviously thought there was value in having us (the county) here (within city limits) when we contemplated leaving years ago,” Barbetta said. “We have invested a lot of money here, and there is recognition in what we do in the forms of the money our employees spend here, the parks, a downtown library and many other things.”

Despite the criticism, the county decided to allow its finance staff to work with city finance staff to review calculations to see if there’s any issue with what the county charges city residents.

Turner told those in attendance the review is all the city wants.

“You guys may be more than fair,” Turner said, “but many of our constituents don’t feel that way, and we want to confirm their suspicions.”

County commissioners also opposed a proposal by City Commissioner Shannon Snyder to suspend county park impact fees for city residents, because the city has lost population in the last 10 years and the city spends more for its park services than the county is willing to provide.

Barbetta and Patterson said they had concerns about the proposal and wouldn’t support it.

“I would be concerned about the message you would be sending that you don’t think the city is going to grow,” Barbetta said.

The city still has the right, however, to request the county suspend or eliminate certain county impact fees.

Despite the comments, both boards expressed satisfaction with the meeting and vowed to meet more frequently in the future to avoid the perception that there is a schism growing between the city and county’s elected officials.

Also at its meeting, the two commissions decided to:

• Work together to find funds for a $3 million Myrtle Street project that will install a sidewalk on the south side of the road and install a closed drainage system.

• Have staff from the city and the county get together to discuss the use of Sarasota County Fire Rescue assessments to address firefighter pension costs and figure out a way how to use a $2.5 million city fund of premium tax monies to pay for current pension costs.

• Work together to form an interlocal agreement for the Marion Anderson Place Brownfield on the edge of Newtown, east of U.S. 301, which is the site of an old dumping ground that potential developers could clean up and use in the future.