At a special meeting on September 8, 2026, the Sarasota City Commission held the first public hearing on the proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget, unanimously approving six resolutions setting millage rates and budgets for the City, the Golden Gate Point Streetscape Special District, and the Downtown Improvement District. The Commission also unanimously adopted an ordinance updating the Capital Improvements Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan, including level-of-service projects and the school board's five-year capital schedule.
Good evening, everyone. Welcome to this special uh September eighth City Commission meeting. Um calling it to order. Oh, and please silence your cell phones, and we will have the invocation by city auditor and clerk Griggs followed by the pledge led by the Vice Mayor. Those who can stand, please stand. No mayor, thank you. Um, so before we do the citizens input concerning city topics, Ms. Griggs, would you recite the Pledge of C public conduct for us, please? Thank you. We may disagree, but we will be respectful to one another. We will direct all comments to issues. I'm hoping that the workshop for which a topic has not been announced coming up in just a few days will do this. Because frankly, it's contrary to law for staff to be lining up policy behind the scenes in one-on-one conversations with commissioners. It's happened over the years, but this shall not pass if that's the way this comes down. There are inaccurate statements being made about this transportation chapter. One of which is that it's tougher on developers. Number one, you can't do that under SP 180. Number one, you can't require developers to do things once a road is overcrowded beyond your 100 percent congestion standard, which these amendments would establish. Because that's against chapter 163. Um I have here the text of the current transportation chapter and the future transportation chapter. It's very clear today if a developer is going to exceed the adopted level of service, and that's D outside downtown, E within a downtown, that certain improvements need to be funded by the developer to try to maintain level of service. And we don't have time to get into that. And of the new one, it's a hundred percent congestion. You had your consultant the other day actually say that. With that, I don't know if we can zoom in on it. That's what he likes to see in a city. Bumper to bumper. Thank you. He pointed to that graphic. That's what's appropriate in an urban context. And I have other detail on that. I want to leave with you something that rebuts the other misstatement that's going around that you heard at the transmital hearing that you can't require a developer to pay for anything. Because you've got a multimodal fee. I will leave a copy of a letter I don't think you've ever seen. I think one of you did. I I got this in a public records request from the respected attorney outside firm that tells you, in fact, you can. Thank you, Mr. Lowe. Okay. So the next items on this evening's agenda are all public hearings. So I will call upon City Auditor and Clerk Griggs to administer the oath. Those who may participate or possibly speak at any public hearing held today, please stand and take an oath. Just everybody, just in case just in case you get called down. All right. Do you swear or affirm at evidence of factual representation which you are about to give or present to this commission during any public hearing held this eighth day of September 2026 are truthful? Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. So the next item is a public hearing on budget resolutions number 26R-3417 through 26R-342.