Just days after the Sarasota County School Board sued Tax Collector Mike Moran over millions of dollars withheld from a voter-approved school tax, county commissioners Tuesday voted to reverse course and resume covering the cost of collecting the tax.
The 3-2 vote marked a shift from a decision commissioners made in August to stop paying the fee for collecting the tax — a move that triggered the escalating dispute between the school district and Moran.
At issue is a 2% commission Moran’s office charges to collect the school district’s 1-mill property tax, which voters overwhelmingly approved in 2024 to support public schools. For more than two decades — through multiple such tax referendums — Sarasota County paid that fee. But after taking office last year, Moran challenged the arrangement, and commissioners voted not to pay it…