"Nobody told us" say Sarasota's elected leaders

"Hear no evil" was the refrain at Sarasota County's budget workshop the other day.

Top to bottom: Sarasota
Commissioners Al Maio, Mike Moran, Christian Ziegler, Charles Hines, Nancy Detert
Bottom right: 20 years of county data indicating rising nitrates in Sarasota waterways

When the issue of the degraded condition of Sarasota's wastewater facilities came up, Sarasota's elected officials bravely faced the fact that their public duty requires them to invest $150 million in the facility in order to meet state DEP standards.

They then concluded the workshop by covering their posteriors (around 2 hr 31 min):

“Were we asleep at the wheel?” Commissioner Christian Ziegler asked, referencing Detert’s earlier remarks.. . . He remembered asking [County Administrator Jonathan] Lewis, Ziegler continued, about comments he had heard in the community about wastewater spills. Lewis’ response, Ziegler said, was that the county generally had no problems except during hurricanes and other heavy rain periods.

Then just a few days later, Ziegler added, he heard about the federal lawsuit.

“I talked to previous commissioners,” asking if they were aware of the problems, Ziegler pointed out. “Nobody had any idea, I think.” Sarasota News Leader

If Sarasota's elected officials now believe that crucial, economically significant information was systematically withheld from them, why not get to the bottom  of this mystery?

“I can’t remember anybody ever coming to me, privately or publicly,” [Commissioner Charles Hines] added, to suggest the need for the upgrade of the Bee Ridge facility.

The reason the commissioners were told nothing about the water treatment plant problems, [Commissioner Mike] Moran indicated — based on what he had heard — was that previous staff members felt the commissioners never would consider paying a high price to resolve the issues. (SNL)

Mike Mylett, left, was only appointed head of wastewater in April,
Commissioner Nancy Detert tried to blame him for not telling the Board last year
about problems at the facility. Administrator Jonathan Lewis on the right.

Well now. Instead of indiscriminately throwing staff under the bus, our commissioners might have taken another tack: ordering an independent investigation to find out what persons, what assumptions, what mechanisms, what puppeteers are concealing significant information from public view.

When he ran for reelection in 2018, Commissioner Al Maio claimed he'd kept Sarasota property taxes low for 20 years, but, somehow, this came at no cost to the environment or infrastructural conditions, to parks and other services, or to long range planning and development. Maio was reelected by voters who apparently are drawn to magical thinking.

It may be past time for citizens of Sarasota to buy a clue for our elected officials -- to say something like:

If you don't know how come you're not apprised of key data relating to our economy, environment, and infrastructure, don't you think it might be a good idea to find out how and why that is?

How does critically important information for the people of Sarasota get suppressed? At whose bidding? How long has this been going on?

Are Commissioners Moran and Detert going to run on a platform of "nobody told me" in the 2020 election?

Perhaps it's all too clear, Commissioners. You know the trail would lead right back to you and your friends, whose ambitious large-scale activities have long contributed to the rise in nitrates feeding Red Tide in our waters. (At your morning session on Affordable Housing, developer Pat Neal thanked you for lower impact fees here than in Manatee County.)


If you choose not to investigate, what does this say about the value you place upon "hard truths"?

Bringing an umbrella to a hurricane: Update

On Friday May 25, 2018, the Board of Sarasota County Commissioners will hold a fiscal workshop in the "Think Tank" on the third floor of the County Administration building. The workshop is open to the public, begins at 9 a.m., and will examine all facets of the Sarasota County budget, including a recent inventory of all public lands. The Board will consider selling public lands as one strategy to offset budget shortfalls.*

Updates:

A detailed article from the Sarasota News Leader: Plans call for about 200 surplus Sarasota County parcels to be turned over to one or more brokers in July for sale as soon as possible 

The Board identified more than 200 parcels of public land that could be sold immediately. Observer

The Board's review comes in the wake of prior Board decisions to take key revenue options off the table.

On June 22, 2017, the Board voted against raising millage rates for 2018.

That decision was predicated on the understanding that the Board had a better solution: A public service tax of up to 8% on electricity, natural gas, liquid petroleum and water.

On September 21, 2017, the Board voted against instituting a public service tax.

That decision was predicated on the understanding that the Board would use $5.4 million from its Economic Uncertainty Fund to balance the budget. The Board agreed it could later find ways to pare expenses, making cuts in services if necessary. 

Despite improving tourist taxes and other added revenue from new construction, and despite $5.4 million in recurring budget cuts, the County is not off the hook.

Two new state revenue referenda on the November ballot virtually guarantee that the County will be looking at large budget shortfalls in the near future. The Sarasota News Leader states:

If those pass — the result commissioners have indicated they expect — then the board would be looking at finding money to eliminate a shortfall of $8,970,406 in its FY20 budget and an even larger hole — about $10.3 million — in the FY21 budget.

One referendum increases the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $75,000, which is estimated will cost Broward County $32 million in annual revenue. The other referendum makes permanent a cap on increases on non-homestead property assessments. Both involve amending the state Constitution, so both are on the ballot.

As property values have risen, the county's ad valorem revenues have risen as well:

Graphic courtesy of the Sarasota News Leader

Despite the ad valorem increase and the cuts made to parks, libraries, other public services, Friday's workshop focus is on selling public lands. This is like opening an umbrella before a hurricane.

The county needs a realistic strategy, given the extraordinary shortfalls looming:

The Board is facing a new fiscal reality, yet it appears not to have begun to address it. It is looking to sell public lands -- a one-time, market-sensitive, relatively small-revenue option -- rather than examining systemic, recurring revenue options such as millage or impact fee increases, or through a public service fee.

At a public talk he gave recently, former Commissioner Jon Thaxton said that the sale of public lands is not the first thing a Board does -- indeed it should be the last. The bar in the public interest should be "extraordinarily high" before public land should be sold, he added.

Now might be a good time for our officials to close their cocktail umbrellas and take an honest look at current growth patterns and what's coming down the road. With the state's egregious electoral giveaway, local governments are looking at serious budget pain. Examine realistic provisions now and bite the bullet.

*Note: Friday's workshop is a review of all public lands with an eye toward selling those which staff identifies as neither necessary nor significant for possible future use. So far, the public lands known as "the Quads" near the Celery Fields are not part of this review. They are on hold as a citizens group (The Fresh Start Initiative) works with the County on constructive, community-friendly proposals for at least two of those parcels.

The Think Tank Workshop should be available for viewing online.

All accessible links to the Sarasota News Leader courtesy of the publisher.

Celery Fields at the tipping point

The Sarasota County Commission is holding a "Think Tank" discussion Tuesday Nov. 28th at which it will consider the sale of surplus lands as part of a "budget reduction" process presented by the new interim county administrator, Jonathan Lewis.

These surplus lands include three parcels near the Celery Fields which occasioned two highly controversial public hearings earlier this year (Restaurant Depot and James Gabbert's waste facility).

More than 50 homeowners associations near the Celery Fields area have signed on to an initiative known as Fresh Start. The idea is simple: hold off on the sale of these public lands temporarily; consult the community; go forward with a consensus vision that will serve the economic and environmental interests of all.

Forethought: Sarasota County now has a rare opportunity to shape and nurture a critical area to which many changes are coming. If the County sells to the first comer, it's choosing to act spasmodically and without forethought.

Gift horse: The Celery fields came about as an accidental stroke of great fortune. It’s a fabulous gift -- an amenity that we deeply love for all sorts of reasons. 

The shock people felt when they learned of a plan to put a heavy industrial waste facility there was palpable. The County can choose to take the rare value of this gift of nature and its place in people’s hearts into account when looking at future development here, or it may ignore all that. In the latter case, it abdicates its obligation as steward of public lands to plan rationally, intentionally, and comprehensively.

Pound Foolish: Actual fiscal responsibility goes beyond putting out fires. The County doesn't even have a fire. Some within the administration are considering quick sales of significant public lands to replenish a rainy day fund. Fast sales to industrial developers will doom higher prospects that hold economic promise, such as the planned Fruitville Initiative, soon to break ground:

Tipping Point

The Celery Fields Area is at a tipping point. This complex, changing landscape is rich in commercial, residential, recreational, ecological and -- with the Fruitville Initiative -- potent economic assets. These opportunities will gain in visibility and significance as the I-75 corridor develops. The County would be penny-wise, pound-foolish to do in haste what all will regret in years to come.