Sarasota County budget first vote approval falls short of unanimous

Sarasota County is now one more public hearing and final vote away from adopting its $2.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2026. Although the budget includes a 0.5% decrease in the countywide millage rate at 3.2273 mills, the property tax value assessment rose 5.6% over the current fiscal year, bringing a revenue increase of $15.7 million.

Still, the county will shift some $23 million from the general fund balance to balance the budget, and for that reason, freshman County Commissioner Tom Knight said he could not support the resolution. His was the lone dissenting vote on a motion to approve the budget at its first of two public hearings on Sept. 10.

Final budget approval requires a second public hearing and a second vote of commissioners. That is scheduled to be held Sept. 24.

During an Aug. 19 budget workshop, Knight and others sounded the alarm that future budgets will require some belt tightening. They approved a resolution instructing County Administrator Jonathan Lewis and staff to begin the commission’s involvement in budgeting earlier in the year, particularly with constitutional and elected officials such as the Sheriff’s Office, Medical Examiner’s Office, Clerk of Court, Tax Collector’s Office, State Attorney’s Office and more.

Those offices represent the lion’s share of the budget — just more than $2 billion — and the state approves their budgets. Commissioners want to meet with them starting as early as February in an effort to help control rapidly rising costs before their budgets are submitted to their respective state agencies.

At the Aug. 19 meeting, commissioners were warned that, by the time fiscal year 2028 arrives, the county could be facing a $25.22 million deficit according to staff budget projections. That prognostication was based on current spending increases year over year, continued anticipated deceleration of the rate of assessed property tax value increases, and the commission’s lack of control over elected and constitutional officer budgeting. 

The county has set a goal of holding the line at a 1.6% spending increase across the board in fiscal year 2027.

But that’s next year and beyond. Knight would prefer to see cuts starting now.

“I just want to let the board know that I will not be approving or partaking in the approval of this,” Knight said. “I know the Sheriff's Office budget escalated tremendously. We had an opportunity to slow down our capital programs and our own buildings, which next year will add $4 million, but the biggest thing for me was over $20 million of our fund balance being used to patch up the budget. 

"We wouldn't run our checkbook at home like that.”