I'm not saying nothing more.

When it gets to the road, it's all in good shape.

So it's up to you to get it.

All right, good evening, everybody.

I want to call this uh September 3rd, 2025 special city commission meeting to order, and remind you to put your cell phones on silent, and I will call on our city auditor and clerk Griggs for the invocation.

Please stand.

Heavenly Father, we affirm our faith in thee.

We seek your divine strength, wisdom, and guidance in the deliberations that affect the lives of each of the citizens of our community.

And I name we pray amen.

And I will ask Commissioner Ahan Cox to do the pledge of allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which you stand under God.

All right.

And are there any changes to the order of the day?

No, mayor, none.

Okay.

Um do we have an approval of the proposed agenda schedule?

So moved.

Motion.

So moved.

Thank you.

Second.

All right.

Commissioner Bow Team moved approval of the proposed agenda schedule.

The Vice Mayor seconded.

If you will vote, Commissioners.

Okay.

Motion passes unanimously.

Okay.

Um you want to announce that Commissioner Orrit?

Oh, um, yeah.

Commit just that Commissioner Albreck is not going to be able to be here tonight.

So I will ask the clerk to recite the pledge of public conduct.

Thank you.

We may disagree, but we will be respectful to one another.

We will direct all comments to issues.

We will not engage in personal attacks.

All right.

And then we're at citizens input concerning city topics.

We have one speaker signed up for that, and that would be Martin Hyde.

Accumulating.

All right.

Well, uh on something different from the subject of the evening.

Yesterday, you'll recall, I brought up the uh proposed three-day trip to Delray Beach, which is costing Sarasota taxpayers on the front end for beach front accommodation and daily stipends, despite it being all inclusive of food and board, and potentially tens of thousands on the uh back end for legal costs, defending what is to me an inevitable open government lawsuit.

Three commissioners, a deputy city com uh manager, a department head, and six members of one city advisory board, several of whom have close ties to special interests, being hosted by a former city manager and dozens of businesses with potential interest in city contracts.

What could possibly go wrong?

Such arrogance and indifference towards the appearance of propriety and our state's constitutional rules on open government are unconscionable and unforgivable.

One might hope that the one point eight million annual fees paid to the city attorney or the eighty thousand a year you pay with taxpayers' money to your friend consultant would get you better advice.

In any event, I come bearing gifts, seeing as you seem set on the act of self-destruction.

I bought some disguises for you to wear uh to use in order to make the subterfuge less obvious.

Put these on, and nobody will know uh what's going on in unnoticed meetings, 238 miles from City Hall with special interest groups.

If you believe that, I get a bridge to sell you.

When the inevitable happens and the city is sued, I'd like to think the commissioners who are going will pay their own share of the bills, but I suspect that's about as likely as Joe Biden being the next president of the United States.

These are for you.

All right, thank you.

All right, we're gonna go into our legislative public hearing for tonight, and I'm gonna call upon the city auditor and clerk to administer the oath.

Anybody plans or possibly maybe be speaking at an oath.

Please stand.

Just everybody stand just in case.

Just in case you get called.

Do you swear or affirm that the evidence or factual representations which are about to give or present to this commission during any public hearing held this third day of September 2025 are truthful?

Yes.

Thank you.

Thank you all.

All right.

Um the next items, item two one through two six.

Um they'll be combined into one hearing but with separate motions.

And um call upon the city or open the public hearing and then call upon the city ordering clerk to read the title of the proposed resolutions.

Um I will read all of them.

Now we do have one public comment.

Do you want to do that after I do the okay?

All right.

Sounds good.

Thank you.

Just be a bear with me, everybody.

There's a couple of them here.

Well, we do the presentation and then signed up to speak.

Yeah.

All right.

Sounds good.

Resolution number 25R 3339.

A resolution of the city commission of the city of Sarasota, certifying to the property appraiser and the tax collector of Sarasota County, the rates of millage to be levied by the City of Sarasota for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2025.

Establishing the City of Sarasota's general fund operating millage at 3.300, which contributes to an aggregate millage rate for the city of Sarasota, that is 13.87%, higher than the aggregate rollback millage rate of 2.9573.

Establishing the City of Sarasota's debt service millage at 0.1348, providing for the reading of this resolution by title only and providing for an effective date.

Resolution number 25R 3340.

A resolution of the City Commission of the City of Sarasota, Florida, approving a budget and making appropriations of sums of money for all expenditures of the city of Sarasota for the fiscal year beginning on October 1, 2025, and ending on September 30th, 2026.

Prescribing the terms, conditions, and provisions with respect to the items for appropriation in their payment, providing for a supplemental appropriation and reappropriations, providing for the severability of the parts hereof if declared invalid, providing for reading by title only and providing an effective date.

Resolution number 25R 3341.

A resolution of the City Commission of the City of Sarasota, Florida, certifying to the property appraiser and the tax collector of Sarasota County the rates of millage to be levied by the City of Sarasota within the Golden Gate Point Streetscape Special District for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2025.

Establishing the Golden Gate Point Streetscape Special Districts operating millage at 0.6148, which contributes to an aggregate millage rate for the City of Sarasota, that is 13.87% higher than the aggregate rollback millage rate of 2.9573.

Establishing the Golden Gate Point Streetscape Special Districts debt service millage at 0.5899.

Providing for the reading of this resolution by title only and providing for an effective date.

A resolution of the City Commission of the City of Sarasota, Florida, approving a budget and making appropriations of sons of money for all expenditures of the Golden Gate Point Streetscape Special District for the fiscal year beginning on October 1st, 2025, and ending on September 30th, 2026.

Provo prescribing the terms, conditions, and provisions with respect to the items of appropriation in their payment, providing for supplemental appropriations or reappropriations, providing for the severability of the parts hereof if declared invalid, providing for reading by title only and providing an effective date.

Resolution number 25R 3343.

A resolution of the City Commission of the City of Sarasota, Florida, certifying to the property appraiser and the tax collector of Sarasota County, the rates of millage to be levied by the City of Sarasota within the downtown improvement district for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2025.

Establishing the downtown improvement district operating millage at 2.000, which contributes to an aggregate millage rate for the city of Sarasota that is 13.87% higher than the aggregate rollback millage rate of 2.9573.

Providing for the reading of this resolution by title only and providing an effective date.

Prescribing the terms, conditions, and provisions with respect to the items of appropriation and their payment, providing for supplemental appropriations and reappropriations, providing for the server ability of the parts hereof if declared invalid, providing for reading by title only and provide an effective date.

All right, thank you.

Um our financial administration director Strickland to make a presentation.

Good evening.

My name is Kelly Strickland.

I'm Director of Financial Administration, and with me I have Tyler Harris, who is the budget manager for financial administration.

Well, commission, congratulations.

We've made it to the first public hearing for the budget.

It's been a long road.

In February and through May, we rolled it out to the departments to ask for their proposals.

Then through June and July, we worked on ciphering through that and making sure that it was the budget that we wanted to present to you.

July 28th and 29th, we had two very long days of uh budget workshop, and we went through the various funds of the city.

And then tonight we have the first public hearing.

We will have another the second public hearing, which will be September 15th.

Tonight you're gonna be asked to approve six resolutions, and that will be for the city millage, the Golden Gate millage, and the downtown improvement district millage, along with those millage resolutions, each one has an attached budget.

And per the trim requirements, you have to vote on each resolution separately.

The total per but proposed city budget is 303.5 million.

Um of that the general fund expenditure budget is 108 million.

Um the total in decrease to the entire city is 2.1 million, and as we talked about in the workshops this summer, those are various fund types that have a uh different restrictions on the spending of the sources.

Before you you have the millage rates that were um preliminary approved this summer, and with each one, we have listed what the current millage rate is versus the new proposed millage rate for the general fund.

Uh the current millage rate is 3.000.

We are proposing um 3.300.

The citywide debt debt service millage is was one four three six, and we are proposing 0.1348.

The special districts Golden Gate Streetscape has two millages.

One is the operating, which is 0.6148.

And I will note that this operating millage, because of the assessed values in the Golden Gate District that increased so much, we are required to have a 4.0 vote for that one.

The debt millage for the Golden Gate is proposed at 0.5899, and previously it was 0.6979.

Just to note, for each of the debt service millages, you'll see that those are general obligation debt, um, which pays for the debt service, and in each one they're going down as we get closer to paying off those debts.

The downtown improvement district is currently at two mills, and we are proposing for fiscal year 26 two mills.

And that is the end of the presentation for tonight.

Um, and as I mentioned, this is the first public hearing, and the second and final public hearing will be on September 15th.

And this is a time for city commission to discuss the proposed budget and provide direction to the staff regarding millage.

All right.

We have one person signed up to speak, so we will go to that, and you all can stay there because there's only they can he can come up here.

Martin Hyde.

Oh, you have to five times.

Oh, yes, you get five, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Okay.

Three hundred seconds of truth.

Right.

So Ronald Reagan said, as government expands, liberty contracts.

All right, he was Maggie.

Margaret Thatcher famously said, the problem with socialism is they always run out of other people's money to spend.

Uh she was right too, as evidenced by tonight's budget.

In the chamber behind me on the right, lots of city staff ready to cut loose with another year of spending other people's money.

Uh, let's look at where the other people's money has been squandered recently.

A so-called one-stop center costing millions, followed by bel unbelievably a budget request for a further 500 grand in additional renovations, and millions for parking, essentially for staff.

Land for the uh infamous yappie towers, a pipe dream project, uh for which you have no funding whatsoever.

Millions of dollars.

A so-called commission consultant for eighty thousand dollars a year on whom you've already spent four hundred thousand dollars.

We do have a new fountain outside the deputy city manager's office for nine hundred thousand dollars on a single big contract.

We have done sweetheart lease deals uh to uh various individuals in favor, costing millions to taxpayers.

We do, of course, have clothing allowances for 200,000 plus a year staff, car allowances for staff making over a hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year, costing tens of thousands a year.

Just mentioned thousands on a junket to Delray Beach, which could cost ten times as much in an inevitable sunshine lawsuit, but notwithstanding that, let's carry on with some others.

Millions on a design of a 400 million plus building that you haven't got the money to build.

Millions spent in recent years on reports which now gather dust on a shelf somewhere here in City Hall, if you recall reports in particular about the odor.

Remember that one?

The odor of city water or the viability of Marianne Anderson, and let's not forget the water taxes fantasy, none of which have been actioned.

Fifty thousand dollars on hiring and then firing a recruiting firm for a new city manager, eye ordering inflation busting raises for staff, and the result obviously is a double digit tax increase for a budget that is blatantly incomplete, which is also important.

The budget does not include staff raises, despite you all knowing that the city is in negotiation to give raises.

So near a 15%.

But Florida Doge is, and it's about time they paid you all a visit.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right, Commissioners.

Let's go to um probably any commissioner questions.

I I when we were here this summer and we were discussing the millage rate, uh the interim city manager and the director of finance uh I think made an excellent case for a millage rate of three point two seven three zero.

And when we came to vote, the recommendation by several on the commission was recognizing that whatever we voted for, we couldn't go higher than that at this meeting.

So the suggestion was to put forward a rate of 3.300 pending something unforeseen that might necessitate the that higher amount.

So my question is has anything happened between then and now that would warrant going with 3.300 as opposed to 3.2730.

Thank you.

That was my question.

Nobody else has a question that I'm going to ask about you know, have we looked at what would happen if we did include some raises for the staff?

So as you know, we're in negotiations with the two unions right now, and those are that's still unresolved.

We we have no um we've not reached any agreement yet.

We would bring back to you, you we had a discussion of non-bargaining unit um compensation, and we'll bring that along with hopefully the two union resolutions back to you as a budget amendment uh when that gets resolved.

Okay.

And then the improvements to the one stop shop, that's coming out of the development services fund or the Yes.

That comes out of the fund that the uh Building Services Fund.

Or building services, yeah.

Applicants pay into it is restricted by state law on its uses.

Right.

Okay.

So we're covered with that.

And again, um asking about Fruitville Road, um, which has been my my uh one of my uh things that I've been promoting for years and years and years.

So Fruitville Road does show up in your CIP for 2026.

It's in a with a minimum amount of funding.

If the commission has a wants to move that up in priority, we would bring a uh budget amendment uh to the CIP, would have to move some funding from other projects to put it into Fruit Vill Road for whatever it is we would want to do in 2026.

Okay.

So it has a minimum funding in it now.

I want to say it's about $10,000.

Yes.

Okay.

The the former public works director, Citizen Jeff Cope has indicated yes, it's got about 10,000 in it.

All right.

And and I know that there is some um it's moving through the uh MPO too right now.

So um Commissioner Airnakotch.

Um just to clarify, the negotiations that are taking place that are have not come to a conclusion.

Um where would those funds come from?

They would there were like almost everything in the I have to be clear, on the police union, they would come from the general fund or unions.

Uh for the other unions, some of them would come from some of the enterprise funds that because we have utility workers and there may be some other workers, so that all come from the appropriate funds that pay for the services of those individuals.

And what's the breakdown between the other funds and the general fund?

Um help me with the about uh 10 percent other funds, 90 percent general fund.

Well, for police, let's call it 100 percent general fund, and Kelly, I'm gonna have to turn to you and Tyler for an estimate of uh the enterprise funds versus general funds.

About 70 percent general fund.

The remainder is enterprise funds.

Okay.

So depending upon those negotiations, the vast majority of that will come from the general fund.

For sure, yes.

Okay.

Okay.

No other questions?

No.

All right.

Yes, go ahead.

Commissioner Battle, go ahead.

Mine is, you know, um pretty much centered around the conversations uh that I had you know, with various um officials from municipalities at uh in Orlando, uh what have you?

Um So the state recomm recommendation is uh what 17 percent uh what have you?

The recommended the national recommendation to have your fund balance is between 17 and 25 percent of fund balance.

In the past, we've always had a little bit more simply because we are a coastal city.

Um and I think in our presentation we had it down to 13 percent.

Um if you go with the 3.3, it'll be at 20.4 percent.

Uh the point two seven three oh is twenty percent.

Which we felt in light of we don't know when FEMA funds will come in that that would get us in a safe place in a case we had another hurricane and more damage so um we are presently if we kept it, you know, at the the current millage.

What would what would you say that's like 15, 14, 15 percent?

I believe we were at like 13 percent.

I think it was 139.

I know Tyler's gonna tell us here in just a second, but I think it was 139.

That's where we would start at the current millage, that's where we would start the next fiscal year.

Yes.

Yes, uh, we would start at 13.9, but then ending at 15.6 if you leave it at 3.000.

Uh may I just minister might all right then does um if there are no other questions, I'm gonna close the public hearing and ask for a motion on resolution number 25R 3339, which is the millage.

I would move approval of resolution 23 25R-3339.

Okay, is there a second?

I'll second it for purposes of um discussion.

Commissioners I'm I'm yeah, I'm I'm opting for the 3.2730, not the 3.30s.

So that's why I can't second.

That's okay.

Yeah.

All right.

So then should we vote on the motion?

We have a motion on the table, so in no yet.

No, oh no, I was just gonna say that I concur with with with that of the vice mayor, you know, that to uh keep it at you know the the three two seven three zero.

I would have you as opposed to the raising it to the three three so you seconded Mr.

Madame Mayor?

Yes, okay.

So yes, yes.

So we have a motion on table in the second, so we need to move forward with that vote first.

Yeah, okay.

Okay.

All right.

Are we ready to vote?

Yep.

Uh somehow mine got listed as let me vote it and I did not vote that.

Okay, let me clear it.

And try it again.

There you go.

And also I'm gonna do a roll call on that as well.

Aherncot?

Yes.

Alpert?

Yes.

That's he?

No.

No.

Okay.

Okay.

So the mo it's a tie, so the motion fails.

Fails, yes.

All right.

All right.

Somebody else want to make a motion.

I'm looking at you, Vice Mayor.

Yeah, I I would move um acceptance of the adoption of the proposal with the change that the millage be 3.2730.

Second.

All right.

Any discussion, Commissioners?

Let's vote.

There you go.

And then also roll call on that.

Albert?

Yes.

Betty?

Yes.

Price?

Yes.

Aaron Cotton?

Yes.

Okay.

All right.

The motion passes unanimously, so we're at the 3.27.

30.

Which we have discussed that we were going to possibly lower it.

Anyway, so we can do that.

All right.

Um let's go to a motion on proposed resolution number 25R 3339, which is the expenditures.

Uh three three I would say move approval of resolution number 25R-3340.

Yeah, no, thank you.

I was going to say that that we just uh approving the budget.

Second.

Okay.

All right.

Um any discussion?

If not, if you'll vote, Commissioners.

There you go.

Now you hit it.

And then also roll call, Betty.

Yes.

Tryce?

Yes.

Aaron Cotch?

Yes.

Alpert.

Yes.

Now we're going.

Is that your vote, Commissioners?

Yes.

All right.

It passes unanimously.

All right.

Let's go to proposed resolution number 25R 3340.

Move approval of the 2013.

Wait, wait, wait.

I'm sorry, we had that.

Sorry, 3341.

Yeah, this went over to the second page.

Yeah, 3341.

Setting the millage for Golden Gate Point.

Yeah.

Second.

Well, hold on, hold on here.

We got 3339, 3340.

3341.

And 3341.

Yeah, okay.

Okay, yes.

And I I wrote my note in the wrong place.

So Commissioner Ahern Gotch Koch just moved that.

Okay.

And Commissioner Batti just seconded it.

All right, Commissioner Ahern Cotch moved approval of proposed resolution number 25R 3341.

Uh Commissioner Batti second.

If you will vote, Commissioners.

Now Trice.

Yes.

Aheron Kotch?

Yes.

Alpert?

Yes.

That's he.

Yes.

All right.

Now I need a motion on proposed resolution number 25R 3342, which is approval of resolution number 25R-3342.

Approving a budget for Golden Gate Points Recape.

Second.

Oh well we tied.

Okay.

Commissioner Aheron Koch moved approval of proposed resolution number 25R 3342.

Commissioner Batti second.

If you'll vote, Commissioners.

Aaron Kotch, yes.

Albert?

Yes.

Yes.

Trice.

Yes.

All right.

Um, and then if we go to uh proposed resolution number 25R 3343, we need a move approval of proposed resolution number 25R-3343.

Um approving a millage for the downtown improvement district.

Second.

All right.

Commissioner Ahern Koch moved approval of resolution number 25R 3343.

Um Vice Mayor seconded.

If you'll vote, Commissioners.

Okay.

Albert?

Yes.

Yes.

Trice?

Yes.

Aaron Kotch.

Yes.

Is that your vote?

Yes.

All right.

Passed unanimously.

And then finally we have uh proposed resolution number 25R 3344.

Move approval of proposed resolution number 25R-3344 setting a budget for the downtown improvement district.

Yes.

Let me second.

Second.

All right.

Um Commissioner Ahernotch moved approval resolution number 25R 3344.

Commissioner Batti second, if you will vote, Commissioners.

Batti?

Yes.

Price?

Yes.

Aaron Kotch?

Yes.

Alpert.

Is that your vote?

No, you have to.

All right.

Yes.

Passes unanimously.

All right.

Um do we have anything?

Um any other matters from our administrative officers, Miss Ms.

Griggs.

Yes, I just wanted to make an announcement that um I emailed you all.

We have we received an email from one of the consultants this afternoon.

They decided to pull out of the executive search that it was Slavin Consultants.

Okay.

So they will no longer be presenting a proposal next week.

So right now, just the other two.

But I did send you all the email from them, so you all have that as well.

They probably saw our discussion.

Yeah.

So this all right.

And that's on the record.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

Any anyone else?

No.

All right.

Then we are adjourned.

Thank you all.