NORTH PORT – For the sixth year in a row, the North Port City Commission approved a maximum property tax rate of 3.776 mills.
One mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of taxable property value.
The action came at a meeting July 23, following a workshop on the city manager’s proposed $331.3 million budget for 2025-26.
Because June projections from the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s office indicate that the city’s property values increased 8.9% to $10.8 billion, that property tax rate will bring in $39.4 million of the city’s $97.5 million general fund budget.
At the same special meeting in which the commission unanimously approved the city’s certified taxable value, it set public hearings for the proposed budget at 5:01 p.m. Sept. 4 and 5:01 p.m. Sept. 18.
In June, City Manager Jerome Fletcher cautioned the commission that, after three straight years of double-digit growth, the boom in property values is over.
At that same workshop, by consensus, the commission directed staff to move funds around to spend $500,000 more on efficiencies for police, $500,000 to catch up on deferred maintenance in the Public Works Department, and $650,000 to start building street parking for businesses along the access roads that parallel Tamiami Trail.
The city manager cautioned that because of the city’s age − it’s been around for 65 years − it should expect to spend more on maintenance.
“We are entering a time in our city’s life cycle where things are just starting to need to be repaired,” Fletcher said.
He added that the city also responded to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ latest letter asking for details on city spending, as part of a state effort to audit local government efficiency, had a July 21 deadline.
He anticipated an on-site visit, and noted that the state would not be able to determine context to justify spending from a letter.
A link to the spreadsheet included in that response can be found on the city’s website at: http://bit.ly/4f5v64h.
One commissioner suggests a hiring freeze
In anticipation of a worsening economy, Commissioner Demetrius Petrow suggested the board consider a hiring freeze rather than hire 26 new positions – or at least pare some back to show residents that they are trying to keep expenses in line.
Fletcher noted that 12 of the 26 new positions are not attributed to the general fund and include a new assistant city attorney, a grants compliance officer and two code enforcement inspectors.
“The expense side of the coin is not the concern; it is the revenue side,” Fletcher said.
Commissioner Barbara Langdon asked how many new employee requests never made it into the proposed budget. Fletcher responded that there were about 45 – including 30 in police.
The police department’s proposed $41.3 million budget request represents less than a 1% increase over this year’s budget.
Langdon and other commissioners had no appetite to curb hiring and reduce services. Instead board members echoed Fletcher’s assertion that the city needed more economic development through commercial growth.
Petrow still didn’t see it that way.
“I’ve talked to many families my age and they’re being squeezed,” Petrow said. “Literally they cannot afford to live in the city.
“I think we should go on a diet as a city and be realistic.”
Fletcher, Mayor Phil Stokes and the majority of the board feared that cuts would discourage businesses from locating in the city and possibly signal current employees to look elsewhere too.
“We will make us a less attractive place to come to; that is not a healthy thing for our city,” Stokes said.
A search for space
Still stymied in their attempt to find a way to finance a new North Port Police station, commissioners considered repurposing other facilities – primarily the George Mullen Activity Center, at 1602 Kramer Way, adjacent to the City Hall Boulevard campus.
While hardening that facility for police use is not possible, the idea was floated to move development services there and then police administration into City Hall.
Parks and Recreation Director Sandy Pfundheller explained that there was not enough room to locate potentially displaced programs to the Morgan Family Community Center.
She added that the city’s summer camp programs provide needed affordable childcare for families when school is not in season.
“I would not be in favor of displacing hundreds of kinds and their families in need for child care,” said Pfundeller, who also pointed to youth basketball, cheerleading and recreational programs that operate out of the center.
The commission directed city staff to explore creation of a special district that could fund infrastructure improvements to attract commercial development to the area of Yorkshire Boulevard.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: North Port commission sets September hearings for a $331.3 million budget
Reporting by Earle Kimel, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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