Sarasota County Commission

The Sarasota County Commission approved $32 million in stormwater projects Tuesday to help prevent future floods at Bahia Vista, St. Armands and Celery Fields following the severe storms in 2024.

Commissioners approved $2.1 million in county support to 33 organizations. Urbanite Theatre, which declined to sign a DEI acknowledgement circulated by the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, was the lone exception.

Who created and funds a purportedly national accountability institute whose only developed investigation functions like a Sarasota election apparatus?

The plan comes amid uncertainty over how basic services would continue to function if voters approve steep reductions in property taxes in a November constitutional amendment proposal.

County staff presented a combination of funding options, including an additional sales tax for residents or increased mobility taxes on new housing developments.

A Sarasota County judge dismissed a legal challenge to a controversial Siesta Key land swap, clearing the way for a 5,000-square-foot home to be built on a county-owned parcel originally purchased for preservation.

Local officials, attorneys and community leaders gathered in Venice to warn that state preemption and developer influence have eroded meaningful local control over growth, citing laws like SB 180 that limit regulation and weaken environmental protections.

After floods ravaged the county last year, commissioners said there seems to be enough already in the coffers, and from hurricane relief aid.

County commissioners voted to explore a plan to demolish just the jail’s west wing and build an eight-story addition in its place. The $401 million project would create 725 beds, lifting operational capacity to 1,237 by 2033

They're warning of a looming budget crisis after efforts to trim spending fell far short, with constitutional officers offering just $2.2 million in concessions toward a gap of more than $20 million.

Sarasota County commissioners ended their final budget workshop Tuesday with little progress on curbing spending, despite earlier vows to rein in ballooning budgets.

Stormwater activities are currently managed under a division within the Public Works Department.