Sarasota County leaders voted Tuesday to create a separate stormwater department — breaking it off from Public Works — just days after a joint investigation by Suncoast Searchlight and Florida Trident revealed systemic mismanagement ahead of catastrophic flooding from Tropical Storm Debby.
The decision, which includes hiring a new department head, came during a tense budget workshop marked by blistering public criticism. Residents packed the small meeting chambers, demanding accountability from Public Works Director Spencer Anderson and County Administrator Jonathan Lewis for what they described as years of neglect and failed leadership.
Speaker after speaker described the disconnect between the county’s prior assurances and the reality of their flood-damaged neighborhoods, where rising waters destroyed possessions, upended lives and left homes uninhabitable — some to this day.
Many cited the newsrooms’ investigation, which uncovered problems in the county’s stormwater division, including neglected infrastructure that failed during last year’s storm, chronic maintenance backlogs and high staff turnover. That’s despite the county collecting more in stormwater taxes than any other Florida county in the past 18 years…