Sarasota City Commission Budget Workshop – Fiscal Year 2026-2027 – July 27, 2026
Sarasota City Commission Budget Workshop – Fiscal Year 2026-2027 – July 27, 2026
The City of Sarasota Commission held a workshop on July 27, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 3:42 PM (with breaks) to review the proposed Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget. The meeting focused on the city’s financial recovery from the 2024 hurricanes, a three-year reserve restoration plan, and individual department budgets. The proposed total budget is $322,343,679, a 6.18% increase over the prior year. The General Fund is proposed at $113,009,911, with a millage rate held at 3.2730 mills. Commissioners discussed reserve policies, new positions, revenue trends, and the potential impact of a November property tax reform vote (Amendment 3). No formal votes were taken, but staff received direction on several items.
Discussion Items
General Fund Overview & Reserve Restoration
- Finance Director Kelly Strickland and Budget Manager Tyler Harris presented a comprehensive overview. The city’s reserve (unassigned fund balance) dropped to 10.9% in FY2024-25 due to hurricane costs but is projected to end FY2025-26 at 17.1%, within the policy target of 17%-25%. The FY2026-27 budget projects a reserve of 17.8% (or 21.2% including the $3.8 million Revenue Stabilization Fund).
- The three-year reserve restoration plan includes expenditure controls, revenue enhancements (including the FY2025-26 millage increase from 3.0000 to 3.2730), and FEMA reimbursements (received $9.8 million so far).
- Commissioners Ahearn‑Koch and Battie discussed raising the reserve policy target (currently 17%-25%) given the city’s coastal risk and past criticism of high reserves. City Manager Friling noted the need to balance competing needs and indicated the policy could be revisited during next year’s budget discussions.
- Revenues: ad valorem remains the primary driver; taxable values reached $20.2 billion but growth slowed to 3.13%. Non-ad valorem revenues (franchise fees, utility excise tax, communications tax, half-cent sales tax, state revenue sharing) provide diversification.
- Non-discretionary cost increases total $3.8 million, driven by pensions ($2.16M), OPEB ($624K), FRS ($940K), health insurance ($275K), property/self-insurance ($390K), and internal service allocations ($996K).
Department Budgets (General Fund)
Individual department budgets were presented and discussed. Key points:
- Police Department: Proposed $53.3 million (5.3% increase). Red light and speed camera revenues are declining as violations drop, which the Chief noted as a safety success. A federal appropriation of $4.2 million for a radio upgrade by 2030 was noted, with a required local match not yet identified. Commissioner Ahearn‑Koch asked about positions and grant funding.
- Parks and Recreation: Proposed $12.5 million (0.9% increase). Director Fogle reported 24 million visits to 56 City parks over three years. Commissioners discussed resident vs. non-resident usage at Robert L. Taylor Community Complex and the possibility of a resident discount.
- Planning Department: Proposed $2.36 million (3.2% increase). The budget issue for Neighborhood Grants ($40,000) was strongly supported by Vice Mayor Ohlrich, Commissioner Ahearn‑Koch, and Mayor Trice, with comments that it builds community engagement. The Redevelopment Project Specialist position (partially funded by CRA) was also discussed.
- Homelessness Response: Proposed $1.23 million (5.7% increase). Coordinator Legarsky explained that outreach is increasing but client choice and bans from the Salvation Army limit bed utilization. Commissioners noted that services concentrate in one district and asked about state-level solutions for regional burden-sharing.
- Other departments: City Manager’s Office (48.2% increase due to reclassification), Development Services (decrease from shifting personnel to Building Fund), Facilities Management (position moved to Engineering), and Streets/Engineering were reviewed with questions on staffing and capital.
Special Revenue Funds
- The Bay TIF & City Bay TIF: Combined fund balances of $10.5 million, used for Bay Park debt and future phases. The county’s contribution is limited to debt service plus $282,000 for Phase 3.
- Golden Gate Point Streetscape: Operating millage unchanged at 0.6148; debt service millage declining. The district is independent, and no separate board meeting is needed.
- Downtown Improvement District (DID): Proposed budget includes a new full-time Administrative Specialist (budget issue, $74,021). Director Cover outlined a restructuring of the Economic Development Office from 3 to 5 positions with minimal net impact. Commissioners discussed sidewalk/alleys cleaning – staff added $28,000 for additional cleaning in the general fund and $18,000 in DID. A follow‑up on staining vs. cleaning was directed.
- Building Services: Fund balance exceeds statutory limits; a new Administrative Assistant requested ($80,060).
- Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA): Newtown CRA values increased 6.58%. Programs include title clearance and home beautification grants. Commissioner Battie noted challenges with property title clouds in Newtown.
- Economic Development Fund: $665,000 allocated to the citywide trolley (Bay Runner). Commissioners expressed concern that the trolley consumes most of the fund, limiting other economic development initiatives. Staff will explore sponsorship and alternative funding sources.
- Citizens with Disabilities Fund: Very low fund balance ($4,256 projected). Commissioners discussed moving closed-captioning costs to another fund and exploring additional ADA parking spaces/fines.
- Public Art Fund: Beginning balance $2.36 million; expenditures include citywide projects. Commissioner Ohlrich requested continued public art in District 3.
- Affordable Housing Trust Fund: Fund balance declining; revenues from lease of First Street property roughly cover operational costs. The Affordable Housing Advisory Committee recommended establishing ongoing revenue deposits.
Debt Service Funds
- Total governmental debt outstanding: $77.3 million. Proposed debt service millage: 0.1305 for police station, 0.497 for Golden Gate. Bond ratings are Aa1 (Moody’s) and AA+ (Fitch). Commissioner Ahearn‑Koch noted the Bay Park Phase 2 debt carries a relatively high average interest rate of 5%; staff will monitor refinancing opportunities.
Legislative & Future Risks
- City Manager Friling outlined a dual track: the proposed budget assumes current law, but staff is also analyzing impacts of Amendment 3 (property tax reform) should it pass in November. No immediate cuts are planned; a “scalpel” approach will be used.
Key Outcomes
- Budget Issues to Advance: Staff will present the proposed General Fund budget issues (3 new positions, Neighborhood Grants) and other fund new positions to the City Commission at the July 28, 2026 special meeting for inclusion in public hearings.
- Correction Needed: A $20,220 revenue increase in the General Fund and a corresponding expenditure in the CRA fund will be presented at the July 28 special meeting.
- Citizen Academy: City Manager Friling will report back to the commission on whether the Citizens Academy is budgeted.
- Sidewalk/Alley Cleaning: Staff will follow up on the issues of sidewalk staining (vs. dirtiness) and consider options like painting or chemical treatment, and also address daily cleanup responsibilities of businesses.
- ADA Parking Spaces & Fines: Direction to explore adding more ADA spaces and whether fines for illegal parking in them can be increased.
- Closed-Captioning Funding: Staff to consider moving closed-captioning costs from the Citizens with Disabilities Fund to another source.
- Homelessness: Regional Cooperation: Commissioner Battie raised the need for state-level efforts to ensure other municipalities contribute to homeless services; staff to continue education and coordination.
- Reserve Policy Review: Commissioner Ahearn‑Koch suggested raising the reserve target range; Mayor Trice and City Manager noted the topic could be revisited after the current restoration phase.
- Economic Development/Trolley: Staff will explore advertising/sponsorship to offset trolley costs and consider alternative funding sources in future budgets.
- Future Workshops: The budget workshop will continue on July 28, 2026, covering Enterprise Funds, Internal Service Funds, and the Capital Improvement Program (CIP).
Meeting Transcript
We'll draw a line down the middle. Okay, guys. Good morning. I'd like to call this um city Sarasota Commission workshop to order. Um I turned off my silence my cell phone before I came in, so I'm gonna ask that everyone else silence their phones. We've got very important discussion today. And um Commissioner Alpert is joining us via Zoom. Is that the product we're using? Yes. And I will turn it over to City Manager Carrie Fryling for opening remarks. So this morning, my pleasure to present the proposed fiscal year twenty twenty-six, twenty twenty-seven budget for the city of Sarasota. This budget represents more than six months of dedicated work by our staff, guided by the leadership of our two former interim city managers under the commitment of employees across the organization. It also reflects the policy direction and difficult decisions made by this commission over the past year to restore the city's financial position following the extraordinary costs associated with the 2024 hurricane season. Although I recently joined the city, I have spent the past few weeks working closely with our finance team and each department director to review this budget in detail. I am confident reflects sound financial stewardship, aligns with the Commission's priorities and policy set, and positions the city to remain financially strong while continuing to deliver high quality services our residents expect. The city is in a significantly stronger financial position than it was a year ago. Through the Commissioner's leadership and the hard work of our employees, we have rebuilt our fund balances, strengthen our financial resilience, and are better prepared to respond to future challenges that we may face. As the Commission is aware, the proposed budget must be adopted before the end of September, well in advance of the November vote on the proposed constitutional amendment three. While our focus today is on adopting a balanced and physically responsible budget for next year, we must also responsibly prepare for the uncertainty that can result if the amendment is approved. Accordingly, we are moving forward on two parallel paths. First is the budget before you today, a balanced budget that continues to strengthen the city's financial foundation while maintaining the level of service our residents and businesses have come to expect. The second is evaluating the potential long-term financial impacts of the proposed amendment three, and developing thoughtful response strategies should the measure be ultimately approved. These efforts are centered on three areas identifying opportunities to reduce costs, while minimizing negative impacts to essential services, evaluating revenue options that could help sustain current service levels, and improving organizational efficiency and business processes to deliver services that are effectively and lower long-term cost. The work is being approached deliberately and strategically. Our objective is not across the board reductions, but targeted, data-driven recommendations that protect core services and position the city for long-term financial sustainability. Simply put, our approach is to use a scapel, not a sledgehammer, as we approach November. These analysis and recommendations will be presented to the Commission separately at a future workshop separate from the deli budget adoption process, allowing each discussion to receive the attention and thoughtful deliberation that they both deserve. Today's presentation is about the proposed fiscal year 26-27 budget, a budget that reflects fiscal discipline, strengthen the city's financial foundation, and continues our commitment to providing exceptional public services to the city community. With that, I will turn it over to Finance Director Kelly Strickland to begin the budget presentation. Thank you. Good morning. My name is Kelly Strickland. I'm Director of Financial Administration. And with me I have Tyler Harris. He is the budget manager for finance. And today we are going to go through potentially the citywide portion of our budget, and then we're going to narrow down into the departments of the general fund. So to start out with, you're going to see, we're going to talk about the city budget, where were we last year, where are we now? We're going to have a discussion on our revenues, a discussion on our expenditures, the legislative priorities, and then we're going to go into each individual general fund department. Where were we last year? This slide provides a snapshot of major challenges the city faced last year and how they shaped our financial position going into fiscal year 26-27. We dealt with multiple hurricanes and significant significant recovery needs. Those storms created uncertainty and delayed federal reimbursements, which strained our ability to plan and fund normal operations. Rising non-discretionary expenses, such as pension contributions, retirement obligations, and insurance added further to the pressure. These costs increased automatically and are outside of the department's control. To manage the financial impact, we suspended our equipment replacement program and we reduced funding across several internal allocations. These measures were temporary but necessary to stabilize the general fund. We also had to postpone the employee cost of living adjustment, underscoring how tight the fiscal environment was at the time. The millage was increased from 3.000 to 3.2730, which helped support essential needs and maintain service levels despite the challenges. Overall, the last year required difficult decisions and careful prioritization, all aimed at protecting core services while navigating significant internal pressures. For recap, how did we get where we are today?
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