City transfers $9.2 million from projects to hurricane recovery fund

To help fund storm recovery efforts, the Sarasota City Commission approved reallocating capital improvement project funding to help pay for $37 million in remaining storm damage projects.

By Andrew Warfield
| 5:00 a.m. September 4, 2025

Among the storm damage to city property is the Sarasota Bay shoreline at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.

Sarasota
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Last year’s hurricane season left the city of Sarasota with a tab in the tens of millions in non-budgeted recovery costs and uncertainty surrounding how much, if any, reimbursement the city anticipates to receive from FEMA.

The impact of the 2024 storms on the general fund, not including damages covered by enterprise fund balances, is estimated at $37.8 million. The short-term impact on the city’s fund balance in expenses already paid has left the city with $16.8 million in its reserve fund, down from the $32 million it entered the current fiscal year with and well short of the target of 17% to 25% of its total operating budget.

With more recovery bills on the way, the City Commission at its Sept. 2 meeting, without discussion, unanimously approved an amendment to the city’s 1% Surtax III extension fund. That will reallocate a total of $9.26 million from 15 capital improvement projects for a new project added to the list: Hurricane Helene and Milton infrastructure damage.

City Funding Transfers

Funding will be transferred from:

Project No. 2: Landscape and streetscape improvements, $310,672.
Project No. 3: Canopy tree program, $500,000.
Project No. 13: Traffic calming, $1,204,565.
Project No. 18: Bicycle network improvements, $124,800
Project No. 19: Sidewalk Program, $1,428,000.
Project No. 25: Parks and recreation facility upgrades, $23,000.
Project No. 35: Advance Traffic Management System, $560,000.
Project No. 67: Seawall rehab/reconstruction program, $1,495,000.
Project No. 101: U.S. 41 at Gulfstream Avenue roundabout, $750,000
Project No. 114: Sarasota in Motion transit, $212,587.
Project No. 115: Shade Avenue complete street, $1,070,461.
Project No. 119: Expansion of multi-modal trail network, $943,000.
Project No. 127: Alley beautification, $99,689.
Project No. 136: Lighting improvement projects, $393,375.
Project No. 138: Curb and cutter construction program, $149,890.

Funding will be transferred to:

Project 140: Hurricane Helene and Milton infrastructure damage, $9,265,039.

The city is required to hold a public hearing on any proposal that would amend the Infrastructure Sales Surtax 15-Year extension Expenditure Project Detail List. The capital improvement plan that is proposed to be adopted during budget hearings on Sept. 3 and Sept. 15 will be amended to reflect changes in the allocations of that list of projects.

The budget for fiscal year 2026 is required to be adopted by the City Commission by the end of September. To help rebuild the city’s general fund balance, Interim City Manager Dave Bullock proposed a citywide millage rate increase of 0.273 mill and dedicate all additional revenue it generates to the city’s emergency savings account.

At its July 29 budget meeting, the commission set the maximum millage rate for fiscal year 2026 at 3.3 mills, a 0.3 mill increase over the current fiscal year.

author

Andrew Warfield

Andrew Warfield is the Sarasota Observer city reporter. He is a four-decade veteran of print media. A Florida native, he has spent most of his career in the Carolinas as a writer and editor, nearly a decade as co-founder and editor of a community newspaper in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.