Sarasota County stormwater crisis sparks major shakeup after public trust erodes

Sarasota County leaders voted Tuesday to create a separate stormwater department — breaking it off from Public Works — just days after a joint investigation by Suncoast Searchlight and Florida Trident revealed systemic mismanagement ahead of catastrophic flooding from Tropical Storm Debby.

The decision, which includes hiring a new department head, came during a tense budget workshop marked by blistering public criticism. Residents packed the small meeting chambers, demanding accountability from Public Works Director Spencer Anderson and County Administrator Jonathan Lewis for what they described as years of neglect and failed leadership.

Speaker after speaker described the disconnect between the county’s prior assurances and the reality of their flood-damaged neighborhoods, where rising waters destroyed possessions, upended lives and left homes uninhabitable — some to this day. 

Many cited the newsrooms’ investigation, which uncovered problems in the county’s stormwater division, including neglected infrastructure that failed during last year’s storm, chronic maintenance backlogs and high staff turnover. That’s despite the county collecting more in stormwater taxes than any other Florida county in the past 18 years. 

“Stormwater leadership is broken,” said Kristy Molyneaux, a Phillippi Creek resident affected by last years’ storms.

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Commissioners last month directed Lewis to return with a proposal for creating a standalone stormwater department. But the sharp public backlash prompted County Commissioner Tom Knight to bypass Lewis’ report to push through major changes — notably, the creation of the independent stormwater department with a new chief reporting directly to the county administrator. 

His motions won unanimous support, and the job was posted during the meeting. 

Commissioners Joe Neunder and Mark Smith urged even faster action, suggesting the hire of a temporary, interim manager and floating the name of former county stormwater manager Steve Suau. 

Suau, who conducted an independent review of what went wrong during Tropical Storm Debby, later told reporters he would be interested in the job but had not been in contact with county administration.

“All due respect to the current folks,” Smith said, “it hasn’t worked out.”

Commissioners spoke sternly to Anderson and Lewis during the meeting, making clear they now face heightened scrutiny. The approval of sweeping structural changes sent a strong signal: the status quo is no longer acceptable, and both leaders will be expected to act swiftly and transparently to rebuild public trust.

Before commissioners and residents had their say, Anderson delivered a detailed defense of the county’s stormwater management, pointing to recent maintenance projects along Phillippi Creek and stressing his team’s qualifications. 

Public speakers later challenged Anderson’s statements, accusing county leaders of a lack of urgency, ineffective management and poor communication that fostered a sense of mistrust in the community.

“Now you don’t just have a flood problem; you have a trust problem,” said Forest Lakes resident Connie Neeley, citing the county’s recent fumbling of a dredging permit for Phillippi Creek. 

Although county officials submitted an emergency dredging application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in April, the Army Corps later confirmed that the creek didn’t qualify for emergency dredging, since the sediment buildup predated Tropical Storm Debby — and the county had known that since last summer.

The decision to pursue an emergency permit the county knew would not qualify — resulting in a delay until at least 2026 — was an act of “arrogance,” said Jacob Crabtree, who has yet to return to his Phillippi Creek home, still under reconstruction after it was inundated by nearly 3 feet of water.

“This is your job,” Neeley said to commissioners, “and it’s time to fix it.”

Neeley said her home didn’t flood but she felt the pain of her neighbors who’ve been affected by the flooding. She told reporters that “when a society does not stand up for issues that do not directly impact them, we risk losing our shared sense of responsibility and unity.”

Some residents called for sweeping leadership changes, saying the county needed “new blood” to address problems that have been building for years.

“Hiring from within means hiring someone who is accustomed to a reactive, inefficient, ineffective and even neglectful culture,” said David Ochs, another resident on Phillippi Creek.

In addition to the creation of a new separate stormwater department, commissioners also voted to require county staff to provide an update to the public on recommendations Suau provided after his review last year.

Commissioners also tabled a staff-initiated discussion, begun earlier this year, to end the county’s longstanding agreement with the city of Sarasota to maintain its stormwater infrastructure, ostensibly to save money.

Smith said the county needs more time to resolve its own stormwater issues before offloading that responsibility back onto the city.

“Urgency,” Smith said at the end of the meeting, “is the word of the day.”

Derek Gilliam is a watchdog/investigative reporter for Suncoast Searchlight, and Michael Barfield is an investigative reporter for the Florida Trident, both nonprofit newsrooms serving the Sunshine State. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org and floridatrident.org

ABOUT THIS PROJECT: Suncoast Searchlight is partnering with the Florida Trident and its publisher, the Florida Center for Government Accountability, to examine the challenges facing Florida as it grapples with hurricanes, sea level rise and climate change. This story is part of that statewide effort.