Sarasota County’s priority transportation goals can be broken down into seven projects, ranging from a hurricane evacuation route for Englewood to extending Lorraine Road north to Fruitville Road, with a projected cost of $322 million.
Sarasota County must still find about $26.5 million to upgrade that hurricane evacuation route, known as the River Road Regional Interstate Connector.
But Sarasota County commissioners learned at an April 22 transportation workshop that the county may be $1.77 billion short in revenue to cover $2 billion in long-range transportation needs — something that could prompt them to ask voters to approve a dedicated half-cent sales increase as soon as the 2028 general election.
Sarasota County Public Works Director Spencer Anderson and consultant Katie Habgood of Patel, Greene & Associates walked the board through the county’s projected transportation needs, as well as potential funding sources for what would ultimately become Sarasota County’s 2050 Thoroughfare Plan.
That plan includes seven priority roadway corridor improvements that cover more than 66 new lane miles of road and more than $320 million of community investment.
What are the seven corridors?
Some of that $26.5 million shortfall could be made up with unencumbered Resilient SRQ funding, reduced costs because of aggressive bidding, or partnerships with private developers.
How does Sarasota County now pay for transportation infrastructure and maintenance?
Traditional funding sources include a portion of the one-percent sales surtax, which was renewed until 2039 on a 2024 voter referendum; transportation impact and mobility fees, gas taxes and state and federal grants.
The projected revenue through 2039 is $573 million — 66% from surtax, 17% from mobility fees, 11% from gas taxes and 6% from grants and other contributions.
How much revenue is anticipated through 2039?
Sarasota County has identified about $2.35 billion in transportation needs over that same time period, including $2 billion for 82 road and bridge projects; $180 million for 14 high-priority projects along 105 miles of paved and unpaved trail projects in the trail master plan; and $170 million in 40 high-priority bicycle and pedestrian projects along nearly 100 miles of facilities.
What additional revenue streams may be considered?
For illustrative purposes, Anderson and Habgood listed five potential revenue options, though one — a tolling authority for bridges — was quickly dismissed by Commissioner Joe Neunder.
“For me, I don’t see something like that fitting in with Sarasota County and the aesthetics,” he said.
A 25% increase in mobility fees could raise an additional $113 million from 2027 to 2039.
An increase in public-private partnerships — which could reduce project costs by as much as 10% — was given a value of $70 million.
A municipal services billing unit — similar to when a neighborhood pays for enhanced streetlights — pegged as a 0.01 mill increase within that geographic area was given a value of $13 million.
The proposed half-cent surtax was projected to raise as much as $840 million.
What’s next?
Commissioners did not deviate from those seven funded priority projects, though Commission Chairman Ron Cutsinger asked Anderson to determine mobility fees generated by planned development on East Venice Avenue between Jacaranda Boulevard and River Road, in anticipation of the need to widen that road from two to four lanes.
Neunder asked for an accounting of the cost to enhance Pinebrook Road north of Venice Avenue, though residents represented by the Central Venice Coalition have asked for traffic calming there, in hopes of improving pedestrian access to Wellfield Park, which the county will reconfigure as a regional park.
Though still in the embryonic stage, board members may entertain placing a referendum seeking a surtax increase on the 2028 ballot, which would make the combined state and county sales tax rate of 7.5%.
Cutsinger asked staff to gather information on how a similar surtax increase has been applied in other communities.
The appeal of that, he noted, is “about one-third of that would be shared by tourism.”
Earle Kimel primarily covers local governments in Sarasota County as well as land development and environmental issues for the Herald-Tribune. Follow him on Facebook, and X. He can be reached by email at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota County may ask voters for tax hike to fund roads
Reporting by Earle Kimel, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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