- July 2, 2026
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When Sarasota County spun off the Stormwater Department from Public Works during Fiscal Year 2026, the personnel and funding portions of the operation came with it.
During the County Commission's June 17-18 budget workshop, Director Ben Quartermaine presented his first official budget proposal, one striking a stark contrast to every other county department. While they were all asked to contribute to an effort to keep year-over-year spending below a 1.6% growth rate, Stormwater presented a budget increase of just less than $35.3 million for a total of nearly $83.5 million, an increase of 73.3%.
The extra funding, though, is needed to ramp up operations, and for Quartermaine to finish building out his staff with 21.92 additional full-time equivalents (FTE) for a total team of 129.95.
Stormwater Department funding, though, does not greatly impact the general fund. Instead, the bulk of its funding is from the county’s Stormwater Environmental Utility, which operates as a non-ad valorem enterprise fund, along with Resilient SRQ federal grants, the navigable waterways maintenance fund, regional offsite mitigation aras fund, Surtax and other state and federal programs.
Quartermaine’s highest profile mission this fiscal year was to oversee the dredging of Phillippi Creek, which is part of an effort that, to date, has contributed to removing 68,000 pounds of nitrogen from waterways that feed into the Gulf.
“We're making some really huge impacts on the nitrogen removal, and that just improves the water quality of our bay,” Quartermaine told commissioners. “In addition to Midnight Pass, we, our numbers regarding especially Little Sarasota Bay and Dona Bay are continuing to increase in terms of water quality."
That is in part because the department’s in-house crews have removed nearly 5,000 tons of sediment in total, Quartermaine said.
“I just want to highlight the pounds of nitrogen that you removed thus far — massive amounts that can't be overstated,” Commissioner Joe Neunder said. “And the phosphorus, those two chemicals are proliferation for red tide events and the health of the bay. That's a big number in my book.
"You guys are, you're kicking it and taking names.”
Commissioner Teresa Mast echoed Neunder’s praise for the Stormwater Department’s work.
“I think what's really important for all of our residents to understand is that this was a heavy lift. It will continue to be a heavy lift, and it's one that I've said to people, we're doing it in phases,” she said. “We have a two-year plan, a five-year plan and a 10-year plan, and I think as we move through that, those phases continue to provide the incredible updates that you're doing.”
Stormwater management budget proposal | ||||
| FY2026 | FY2027 Prelim. | Difference | Change | |
| FTEs | 108.03 | 129.95 | 21.92 | 20.3% |
| Personnel | $10,672,424 | $13,489,036 | $2,816,612 | 26.4% |
| Operating | $37,495,172 | $83,462,348 | $35,294,752 | 86.6% |
| Total budget | $48,167,596 | $83,462,348 | $35,294,752 | 73.3% |
Budget variances
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Included in Quartermaine’s staffing request are:
Many of the Stormwater Department’s functions are out of the view of the public, Quartermaine told commissioners.
“A lot of our focus in the past year has been flooding and flood management, but certainly a big part of what we do is water quality. We’re proud to keep our beaches open, and that's a big goal of our crew,” he said.
Much of that work occurs underground.
“For the miles of stormwater pipe assessed for renewal and replacement, our target is 48 miles a year,” Quartermaine said. “This year to date, we've done approximately 75 (miles), and this is a big part of our stormwater system that goes unnoticed.”
Quartermaine added meetings are scheduled with Sarasota City Manager Karie Friling and other staff regarding the long-time interlocal agreement with the county to manage stormwater within the city limits. That agree can be terminated by either party at any time.
