Politics & Government
Full Plate at County Commission This Week
Cost of the BMX Olympic trials goes up, $1 million to the arts, tax rate setting and a whole lot more are on this week's Sarasota County Commission agenda. The biggie is the County Clerk's audit of the county procurement system.
Sarasota County Commissioners will clear their plates on Tuesday and Wednesday in preparation for their annual August recess. A host, a veritable hordes of issues are up for decisions. Here are just a few 57 items on their agendas.
The “bad dog” ordinance is up for review. It now says if a bad dog on the lose kills a household pet, it’s a quick trip to the gas chamber. State law says it take two, and an appeals court upheld a “two versus one” challenge, so Sarasota needs to up the ante to two dead pets before a bad dog can go down. Look for a public hearing in the future.
The BXM Supercross Olympic trials were expected to cost $260,000 for the Sarasota County Agricultural Association (AKA the Fair Board) to buy almost 300 truckloads of dirt to make the bicycle track. On Tuesday county commissioners will be asked for about $100,000 more. Almost $83,000 goes to the international sanctioning organization, and $15,000 is requested for “hospitality.” All of this comes out of a rapidly dwindling economic development fund.
Find out what's happening in Sarasotawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
More than $1,000,000 in grants to arts organizations is up for approval. The money comes from the Tourist Development Tax. The grants process has been a bit rocky these past two years, but approval is expected. We’ll try to give you a rundown of who-got-what this year.
After the June budget workshops, commissioners Wednesday are ready to set the do-not-exceed tax millage on property on Tuesday. The Sarasota County Property Appraiser should have his final tax roll complete, so if commissioners hold the line on millage, most people can look for a drop in their property taxes in November.
Find out what's happening in Sarasotawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Also Wednesday the county will be asked to guarantee in writing a $500,000 payment to help clean up the Marion Anderson Brownfield site at the southeastern corner of Washington Boulevard and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.
Until environmental remediation is finished, the property cannot be developed. The half-million combined with some city money would be used to entice a developer.
Commissioners will be briefed on the radical changes to Florida’s growth management laws. The resulting debate could provide an insight into any possible relaxation of Sarasota’s home-rule regulations, which are among the strongest in the state.
The Siesta Key Condominium Council is asking for traffic control changes, especially around the beaches. A drop in the speed limit, better visibility, improved crosswalks and more are on their agenda.
Seems with all the resignations, suspensions, firings and retirements, the county is now short-handed. Commissioners will be asked to kick in an extra $400,000 in the current fiscal year to cover hiring of temporary workers. And an extra million over the projections of human services for next fiscal year. These figures did not come up at the budget hearings last month, so a few financial fireworks are anticipated.
The elephant on the agenda comes up as the second-to-last item on Wednesday. A big turnout is expected for a report by County Comptroller and Clerk Karen Rushing on the county’s procurement system. Currently one employee is under indictment for breaking the law (in Palm Beach County), four others were discharged for violating the terms of purchasing cards, and the procurement director was reassigned. In the hub-bub, former County Administrator .
Her report is suppose to shed light on if there are any additional violations, loopholes in the system, etc that need to be cleaned up.
