Uncomfortable but necessary: Sarasota County reconsiders budget amid warnings

Sarasota County Commissioners will hold a newly scheduled workshop on Aug. 19 to reexamine the proposed $2.5 billion spending plan for fiscal year 2026 — a move that comes just days after Suncoast Searchlight reported that the county’s growing budget plan could lead to significant shortfalls in coming years.

The decision to add a fifth workshop came Tuesday, after County Commissioner Tom Knight raised concerns during a regular commission meeting about the county’s spending trajectory. 

“I’m just not comfortable where we are with our budget,” Knight said. “Our budget is going to go up 20% this year and we saw a historic increase last year.”

He added that raising taxes isn’t an option, saying residents are already suffering “death by a thousand cuts” from insurance hikes and the rising costs of living.

Suncoast Searchlight reported last week that nearly every county department and constitutional office had requested more money for the upcoming fiscal year, contributing to projected shortfalls in 2028, 2029 and 2030.

Some of the largest proposed spending jumps came from Tax Collector Mike Moran, who asked for 27% more than last year, and Sheriff Kurt Hoffman, who asked for 12% more.

Despite the scale of those requests, commissioners raised few objections during previous budget workshops.

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This week, however, commissioners made it clear they wanted to hear more modest budget requests, in particular from the constitutional offices — agencies headed by elected leaders like the Sheriff’s Office, State Attorney and Public Defender —which proposed the most significant increases. 

Those offices are funded largely through the county’s general fund, but the offices set their own priorities and budgets with county commissioners deciding on tax rates to cover expenses.

​​“We’re spending money that we are not going to have,” Commissioner Mark Smith said. “And we’re running out of track and not slowing down.”

Knight made the motion for the additional workshop; Smith provided the second. The measure passed unanimously, with commissioners also directing County Administrator Jonathan Lewis to work with constitutional officers on budget-reduction strategies. 

Commissioner Teresa Mast urged Lewis to provide clearer guidance to those offices, even suggesting they be asked to submit revised budgets more in line with the 4% revenue increase the county expects from property taxes this year.

“It helps to know the boundaries we are trying to play within,” Mast said.

Knight, a former Sarasota County sheriff, acknowledged the difficulty in pushing back on budget requests from fellow elected officials, calling the conversations uncomfortable but necessary as the county begins to grapple with possible shortfalls amid declining property value.

“We all run on conservative values,” he said “I don’t want to be a CINO, a conservative in name only.”

Christine Robinson, a former county commissioner and the executive director of the Argus Foundation, praised the current board for choosing to more closely examine spending levels.

“Being proactive now will lessen the pain later if the economy takes a severe downturn,” she said. “They are being good stewards of the taxpayer dollar by doing this.”