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Sarasota commissioners authorize ‘not‑to‑exceed’ stormwater rate on TRIM notices and order ordinance review
Summary
After public pleas from residents of flood‑prone neighborhoods, the Sarasota County Commission directed staff to advertise the highest stormwater assessment option on TRIM notices to preserve flexibility while they hire a stormwater chief and overhaul stormwater ordinances. Commissioners also signaled interest in programmatic dredging funding and grant coordination.
The Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously July 2 to instruct staff to advertise the highest proposed stormwater assessment as a “not‑to‑exceed” figure on TRIM notices while the county develops policy and brings an ordinance package back to the board for formal adoption.
The move followed public comments from residents and community advocates calling for faster action on recurrent flooding. Nancy McKenzie, a Long Philippine Shores resident, told commissioners, “Phillipie Creek needs dredged from shore to shore, and it needs annual maintenance,” recounting repeated residential flooding during recent king tides.
Commissioners and staff framed the vote as a procedural step that preserves the board’s flexibility. Public Works Director Spencer Anderson presented two budget scenarios for a stand‑alone stormwater department: a baseline level of service and a version that adds a $10 million annual waterways dredging program. Anderson also said the county has identified roughly $90 million already allocated toward dredging projects — including an earlier $5 million transfer and proposed SRQ Resilient funding of $75 million — and described additional proposals to fund a systemwide navigable waterways maintenance program.
Commissioner Knight moved the TRIM‑notice instruction and Commissioner Mast seconded. Commissioners stressed that marking the highest option on the TRIM notice does not automatically raise homeowners’ bills: it simply prevents the county from exceeding that ceiling later in the budget process. After the motion passed, the board directed the county administrator and county attorney to return with a comprehensive review of county stormwater ordinances and recommended changes to align policy, rates and enforcement. That ordinance review is expected to be presented at an August meeting.
County staff and several commissioners emphasized the need to hire a full‑time stormwater director and for the new office to lead a deliberative, basin‑by‑basin approach to investments. Commissioners discussed phasing, reserve levels needed to match grant requirements, and how SRQ funding and stormwater utility balances could be used to accelerate early contracts.
Next steps: the county will include the not‑to‑exceed stormwater assessment on TRIM mailings, continue the search for a stormwater director, and report back with an ordinance package and more detailed fiscal impacts in August and throughout the summer budget process.
