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Sarasota County staff recommends phasing out stormwater interlocal with City of Sarasota; options include staged handover
Summary
County Public Works director told commissioners staff recommend moving away from county-provided stormwater services inside the city and presented options: immediate cutover on a set date or phased, geography-based transition; commissioners requested detailed cost, equipment-transfer and assessment information.
Spencer Anderson, the Sarasota County Public Works Director and county engineer, briefed the joint meeting on the countys review of the stormwater interlocal agreement with the City of Sarasota after the 2024 storm season. Anderson said county staff concluded it "does make sense for the county to suggest that we move away from providing services within the city" and proposed two options for transition: a single cutover date (for example, October 1, 2027) or a staged geographic phase-out by ZIP code to spread transition logistics and assessment separation.
Anderson said the county expanded its service area in 2022 by about 87 square miles and that the annual assessments collected within the city are currently roughly $4 million. He cautioned that the county does not yet have detailed transition cost estimates and that equipment currently used in the city would most likely remain allocated to county needs rather than be transferred wholesale to the city.
During Q&A, commissioners expressed concerns about the fiscal and operational scale of a city takeover, equipment and facility needs, and the potential need for different levels of service inside the city. Anderson said capital projects are funded separately from annual maintenance assessments and highlighted an upcoming $20 million Alligator Creek project with a $14.5 million federal grant as an example of major capital work the county is pursuing.
Anderson and County Administrator Jonathan Lewis said staff will bring the topic back as a formal discussion item for policy direction and that the board would be asked to provide guidance ahead of drafting specific transfer terms. Commissioners requested more detailed numbers on current assessments, what would be required for a city-operated service (staffing, facilities and equipment), and any options to phase service responsibilities.
The discussion also touched on dredging and navigable-waterway programs: county staff clarified that dredging is managed through a separate navigable waterways program rather than directly through the stormwater utility.
