North Port sets tentative May 13 special election to ask voters for borrowing authority and police headquarters funding

The North Port City Commission decided Dec. 10 to ask voters whether to grant the city authority to borrow for designated infrastructure projects and to fund construction of a new North Port Police Department headquarters, directing staff to prepare referendum language and public engagement ahead of a special election tentatively scheduled for May 13, 2025.

City Manager Fletcher told the commission staff had received updated election logistics and cost information from the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections and that "the cost of the special election would be a $131,000," a figure the city said influenced timing and public‑outreach planning. Fletcher recommended moving the special election from March to May to allow more time for education and to capture seasonal voters.

Commissioners framed the vote as a response to community input after a prior referendum narrowly failed. "The citizens voted and despite that, it failed by literally out of almost 50,000 votes, it failed by 300," Mayor Stokes said, summarizing the narrow margin and the commission's view that voters want a clearer, project‑by‑project decision.

The decision to put the issues before voters followed a detailed presentation from outside consultants on the police headquarters design and budget. Consultants described a project that includes a central three‑story headquarters, supporting buildings, covered vehicle parking, evidence impound, and "shelf space" built now to avoid higher costs later. They said construction midpoint estimates were about $102,600,000 for the building components and that other costs (site work, utilities, FF&E, contingencies) raise the overall program total.

Commissioners and staff debated how much to ask voters to authorize. Staff outlined potential funding pieces — including approximately $25 million identified as reallocated surtax capacity, an internal $5 million transfer and a $20 million state grant application — and sketched borrowing scenarios ranging from roughly $35 million to $78 million depending on the model. Director Kim Williams recommended preserving about $50 million of the city's approximate $150 million borrowing capacity for true emergencies as a prudent margin.

Vice Mayor Emmerich moved that staff be directed to include referendum questions relating to borrowing authority for designated infrastructure projects and borrowing authority for construction of a new North Port Police Department headquarters on a date to be determined. The motion passed 5–0. On Dec. 10 the commission later reconsidered earlier ordinance language and amended the referenced election date to May 13, 2025 to align with Supervisor of Elections availability and the commission's outreach timeline.

Commissioners emphasized transparency and public engagement. The commission asked staff to return with a clearer CIP‑based list of candidate infrastructure projects, estimated costs, and refined polling and millage‑impact scenarios so voters can assess tradeoffs. The commission also requested detailed breakouts separating costs that must be funded as part of construction from items that can be deferred or procured later.

What’s next: staff will prepare ordinance language and outreach materials, present the fiscal analysis and CIP prioritization in January, and return with final ballot language and scheduling so the commission can adopt second‑reading ordinances before submitting questions to the Supervisor of Elections.